Outside the restaurant.
On the narrow deck, Marco's crew alone took up most of the space.
Don Krieg immediately drew two guns, and even the sides of his golden armor revealed ten gun barrels. "Die!"
In an instant, countless bullets were fired, swarming toward Marco in a dense barrage.
Marco smirked and immediately transformed, a pair of wings engulfed in blue flames sprouting from his back.
All of Krieg's bullets passed right through Marco's body, punching several holes through him.
Just as Krieg thought Marco was a goner, the bullet holes were quickly covered in blue flames and healed back to normal.
Marco was completely unscathed.
He was the user of the Mythical Zoan-type Bird-Bird Fruit, a fruit even rarer than Logia-types, and one of only known five Zoan types that grant the ability to fly.
Marco's power allowed him to regenerate wounds enveloped in his "blue flames of resurrection," rendering attacks ineffective.
His ability not only healed his own injuries but could even accelerate the healing of others.
As such, he was both the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and the ship's doctor.
"Damn it, a Devil Fruit user!" Krieg realized his attacks were useless and quickly calmed down. He hadn't intended to use this move yet. "So what if you're a Devil Fruit user? I'm the one destined to conquer all the seas! Today, I'll show you my true power!"
As he spoke, Krieg removed a shoulder-mounted shield and pointed it at Marco.
"It's the MH5… the deadliest poison gas weapon."
"Gas masks! Put on your masks!"
"You idiot! Do you even know the consequences of using that thing?!"
Crewmates in the water and aboard Krieg's ship all started yelling in protest.
But Krieg sneered dismissively. "Shut up, fools! Battle is battle. Victory is all that matters! If winning means using any means necessary, then so be it. That's true strength. Hahaha!"
"Poison gas?" Marco frowned and immediately flew at Krieg.
He knew that once the poison gas was released, many people would be affected.
He had to stop it before it could be deployed!
Fortunately, they weren't far apart.
Before Krieg could activate the gas, Marco reached him and knocked the shoulder shield—housing the poison—clear away.
Krieg was shocked.
He hadn't expected Marco to be this fast.
Quickly recovering, Krieg caught the falling shield, merged it with his other one, and pulled out a handle from the center. A sharp spearhead extended from the tip, forming a massive war spear.
This was his secret weapon—an ultra-heavy spear weighing over a ton, capable of causing massive explosions upon impact.
"Die! Take this damned restaurant with you!" Krieg roared, swinging the war spear at Marco.
Marco easily leapt out of the way.
Though he missed, the strike shattered the deck outside Baratie's main entrance in half.
Marco's crew quickly retreated to their ship nearby, narrowly avoiding falling into the sea.
Inside the restaurant.
Lin Mo furrowed his brow and suddenly appeared at the entrance using shunpo.
Marco noticed him and immediately shouted, "Kid, get back inside! It's dangerous out here!"
But Lin Mo didn't listen.
His eyes were locked on the tiny bit of ship stern sticking out of the water—his boat, now sunken with the shattered deck.
He didn't care how Marco and Krieg fought.
But once it affected him…
Even if it was just a humble little boat…
That was unacceptable.
With a cold gaze, Lin Mo looked at Krieg as he charged toward Marco.
Marco even stepped in front of Lin Mo, trying to protect him.
But Lin Mo unsheathed Toyako and moved past Marco's side, directly meeting Krieg's attack head-on.
"Kid, get back!" Marco shouted in alarm.
A fierce glint flashed in Lin Mo's eyes.
A powerful sword aura burst from him.
With just one strike—
Krieg's massive war spear was sliced in half before it even touched Lin Mo's wooden sword.
"What?!" Krieg's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Huh?" Marco was stunned.
Even the onlookers were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.
With an indifferent expression, Lin Mo delivered a second strike.
The powerful sword aura hit Krieg square in the chest.
Krieg's eyes rolled back as he collapsed backward with a thud.
His crewmates were stunned and afraid to approach. Even the woman with Krieg trembled as she crawled over.
She pushed him, but he didn't respond. She checked his pulse.
Her face went pale as she gasped behind her hand. "He… he's dead…"
"What?! The boss is dead?!"
"He was taken out by a kid?!"
"Who is that kid? That's terrifying! He not only broke the boss's war spear with a single slash but even killed him in one hit! Is he really just a child?!"
"That's insane! If we fight them, we'll die too! Run!"
Krieg's men panicked and scrambled to get their ships moving.
The woman glanced between Krieg's body and the departing ship. After a moment's hesitation, she abandoned him and fled with the crew.
Marco didn't stop them.
Instead, he thoughtfully stared at Lin Mo, who stood silently gazing at the sea.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
"My boat…" Lin Mo murmured.
"Boat?" Marco paused, then realized—there had been a small sailboat tied up outside when they arrived.
But now… nothing.
It had sunk with the shattered deck.
No wonder the kid attacked—his own boat had been caught in the crossfire.
Marco chuckled and asked, "What's your name?"
"Lin Mo."
"You look about nine or ten years old."
"Yeah."
"Your swordsmanship is impressive. Who taught you?"
Lin Mo glanced at him, said nothing, and quietly turned to walk back into the restaurant.
Marco smiled at his retreating figure. He didn't press further.
Turning back to his crew, he called, "Alright, boys! Get ready—we're having dinner!"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
"That kid was amazing! Is he with the restaurant?"
"Dunno. He wasn't wearing a uniform or chef's outfit. Probably not."
"If he's not, I wish we could get him to join our crew! That kid's gotta be something special. Hahaha!"
Marco's men entered the restaurant, chatting excitedly.
Zeff had some chefs push a few empty tables together and served up fifteen portions of dinner.
Marco's crew gathered around and happily dug in.
Meanwhile, Lin Mo sat alone at a small table nearby, quietly eating his own meal.
At that moment—
Some of Marco's men called out to him.
"Hey kid, wanna eat with us?"
"You were awesome earlier! Wanna join the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Yeah, join our family! Pops is the best!"
Lin Mo ignored them, silently continuing his meal.