Bellemere came back fifteen minutes later with everything Marcus asked for and collected everything he had for sale. As Nami was happily clutching a book to her chest she froze as she remembered what Marcus said early and turned to Bellemere before she asked, "That pirate boy said he didn't like kids or people that looked like planks… What did he mean by people looking like planks?"
Bellemere's eyes widened and she turned to look at Marcus who smirked slightly before he took a sip of lemonade. Bellemere's eyes twitched slightly but she lifted the bag full of books and some clothes as she said, "He's just a little brat, don't worry about what he says."
Nami thought it over for a moment before she turned to Marcus and stuck out her tongue as she pulled down in one eyelid. Marcus ignored her as he turned back to the newspaper before he picked up a piece of mikan and popped it in his mouth. After Nami and her mom left, Marcus enjoyed his lemonade and snacks for a while before he packed up and headed to the ship. He ended up getting into a game of cards with Kuina, Zoro, Gin and Tashigi until dinner. Afterwards he headed to the local bath house and relaxed there for about an hour before he headed to bed.
Over the next month everyone trained hard and Marcus made sure to push everyone to their limits. At first the villagers watched them with a bit of fascination or concern. But after a month of training, the villagers just ignored them for the most part. During that time Marcus even set up another stall for trading and Bellemere bought everything again. It was basically books again, but they were all stuff Marcus already finished reading. Was it strange that most of them had to do with navigation, weather and other useful skills a potential navigator might need? It was probably just fate.
On a particularly nice day off from training Ace and a few others decided to go swimming by the dock. As they were playing in the water and having fun, Marcus suggested using the rigging as a swing to jump into the water. At that point even more people decided to join in and soon most of the crew were playing in the water. Luffy also joined in on the fun by using a life vest, even though he wasn't able to move much in the water like the others. He wasn't completely drained since he was used to sleeping with his seastone necklace on. Even Nami, Nojiko and a few other local kids joined in on the fun.
Marcus climbed back onto the ship as Sabo swung past on a rope before he let go with a shout of joy. As Sabo splashed down into the water Marcus turned to see Sanji on the deck with the hint of a frown on his face. While Sanji joined in on training and would even hang out with people sometimes. Marcus noticed the boy was somewhat distant from everyone else except maybe Zeff, just like today. Instead of joining in on the fun, he leaned on the railing and watched instead. Marcus followed Sanji's gaze and noticed it was on his brothers, something he did a lot when he thought people weren't looking.
Marcus brushed his wet hair back before he stepped next to Sanji and said, "You know you could easily join us right?"
Sanji jumped slightly as he heard Marcus speak, but quickly recovered and shook his head. Marcus raised an eyebrow at that before he asked, "Why not? Can't swim?"
"I can swim."
"Then what's stopping you from having fun with us? Look at them, they're having a great time." Marcus said as he pointed at everyone in the water.
Sanji's eyes flashed with a bit of jealousy before he looked down slightly but when he said nothing for a while, Marcus let out a sigh before he said, "You know, you're not very good at hiding your emotions."
Sanji's eyes widened and he looked towards Marcus like a little kid who got caught stealing cookies. Marcus smirked slightly as he said, "Right now, your face just gave you away again."
Sanji tried to control his face and once it was back to normal he asked, "Is that why you always try to talk with me?"
Marcus shrugged slightly as Zoro flew past them on the rope swing and flipped a couple times before he landed in the water. Marcus watched everyone for a few moments before he said, "That's part of it. But I'm more curious about the jealous look you always show whenever you look at me and my brothers."
Sanji's eyes widened again and before Sanji could do anything Marcus cut him off as he said, "It's fine if you don't wanna talk about it…"
Sanji frowned slightly as he glanced down at the water again. He was quiet for a while as a couple more kids used the rope swing and attempted flips before they splashed down in the water. Even Luffy was helped out of the water before he used the rope swing himself to fly back in. Sanji watched everyone as his eyes filtered through several emotions for a few minutes before he said in a sad tone, "I… I wish I had a family like yours."
Marcus chuckled softly at that, which made Sanji frown as he looked towards Marcus. Marcus smirked before he asked, "You want an absentee father, a dead mother and a grandpa who only knows how to show affection by beating you half to death?"
Sanji's eyes widened at Marcus's statement before he said in a jealous tone, "At least you have brothers who like you."
Marcus chuckled before he said, "Sure Luffy likes me, but he also doesn't seem to have a brain…"
"Ace and Sabo like you too."
Marcus nodded along before he said, "True. But we're sworn brothers, not blood related."
Sanji's head flickered between Marcus and the others as he asked in a disbelieving tone, "You're not blood related?"
"Only with Luffy since we're fraternal twins. We met Ace and Sabo when we were almost three and have lived together since then."
Sanji's expression changed a few times as he thought over the new information. Marcus had an idea what was going on, since he knew Sanji's history from the Manga, but remained quiet to let the boy think for a while. They both stood by the railing in silence for minutes as the others played in the water and used the rope swing. After a while Marcus asked, "Have you ever heard the saying, "Blood is thicker than water?"
Sanji nodded before Marcus asked, "Do you understand what that means?"
"It means your family should always come first before other relationships."
"Yup… You know why that is bullshit though?" Marcus asked as Kuina flew past them and did a double backflip off the rope.
Sanji thought of his own family for a few moments and while he had an idea of why, decided to shake his head instead. Marcus watched his brothers below before he said, "Because people should earn that type of trust and not just have it handed to them because you share something like blood."
Marcus nodded towards Sabo and Ace as he said, "I call them brothers because I know they would go through hell to help me and I would gladly do the same for them."
Marcus shook his head slightly as he said, "Anyways I'm not good at this philosophy bullshit… But the point I'm trying to make is that real family doesn't mean shit and that sometimes the brothers you really need in life are fosters."
They stood in silence for a while longer before Marcus asked, "Wanna come swim with us or do you plan to mope around here a while longer?"
Sanji's expression softened slightly before he nodded his head. Marcus smirked before he grabbed the smaller boy and lifted him overhead with ease. Sanji flailed around as he asked in a panicked tone, "What are you doing!?!"
"Helping you get to the water faster." Marcus said before he threw Sanji overboard.
"You're a dick!" Sanji yelled out with a slight smile on his face before he slammed into the water. When he popped back out he flipped Marcus off, who just smiled back as he waved and disappeared from the railing.
A few moments later Marcus soared through the air on the rope swing before he flipped off of it and into the water. The rest of the day the kids all swam in the water until they had a late lunch on the deck. Marcus even shared it with the local kids, Nami and Nojiko. Afterwards they played around a while longer before the other kids had to leave for dinner. The rest of the night the crew hung out and played cards and some other game before they called it a night.
Time passed fast with everyone going into training mode and before long two months passed. The entire time Marcus was on edge as he waited for Arlong and his crew to arrive. He also bought a newspaper whenever he had the chance to look for information on Arlong's whereabouts. But as far as he could tell Arlong and his crew disappeared in the grandline and haven't been seen since.
Marcus thought about calling Garp once or twice to ask for information, but in the end just decided to wait. Sure he changed things already, but Arlong coming to this island wasn't one of them… At least he hoped so. With that in mind, Marcus focused on everyone's training, but made sure not to push them hard at this point. He focused more on their skill training than strength since being exhausted when Arlong and his crew arrived would be stupid.
During that time he did receive some information from his dad, Doflamingo took over Dressrosa, but he was able to get the entire royal family out. They attempted to reach out for help, but with how Doflamingo used his fruit to control the royal guards to murder people. Along with Doflamingo's connections, the royal family was labeled as evil and their statis revoked by the world government. With nowhere else to go, they were currently staying with the revolutionary army.
Another piece of news Marcus found out was from the newspaper that reported about the world noble who landed on Fishman Island. He was apparently saved by the Queen of the island and even escorted back home by her. That news made him wonder if Jinbe made his move yet or not… Well Marcus could only wait and see what happened, since it was out of his hands anyway.
A few more weeks passed without incident before another rest day came around. Marcus was one of the first people up and luckily caught sight of a news coo after he stepped out onto the ships deck. After he paid for the newspaper he headed up to the crows nest to relax and read it in the early morning light. He unrolled the newspaper and on the front page was a picture of Jinbe holding up another fishman by his neck. The bold letters on the top of the newspaper said, "Warlord of the sea Jinbe foiled an assassination attempt on Queen Otohime of Fishman Island!"
Marcus sat up in his seat as he quickly read through the story with hyper focus. Once finished he leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh of relief as he rested the paper on his lap. Apparently Jinbe took his advice to heart, but instead of acting early he waited for Hody Jones to make his move. Once the man did, he saved the queen's life and absolutely demolished Hody Jones. There was also a note that a few other people were captured linked to the plot to kill the queen including Vander Decken and all of them were executed.
With those loose ends out of the way, Marcus knew that things would probably change even more than before. Sure saving Rosinante, Ginny, and a few others would change things. But the queen being saved and the princess not being locked away in the tower would change a lot… Whether or not that would be a good thing Marcus had no idea, but hopefully it was.
Marcus cleared his head of things he couldn't control and picked the newspaper back up. On the next page was a story about the sea train around Water 7 being completed and its routes. Marcus frowned because he knew that meant Fanky and everything with him probably happened already. Or was about to happen…
Sure Marcus would've liked to help him out, but he wasn't sure how. He knew his dad wouldn't step into that mess and while Jinbe might…
He doubted Jinbe would be able to make it in time or would even want to clash with the world government over Tom just because Marcus asked him too. Sure Jinbe was honorable and probably felt he owed Marcus a debt, but that didn't mean he would do something like that. Marcus shook his head to clear it before he went back to reading again.
A little while passed before an explosion went off in the distance. Marcus's head snapped in the direction of the noise which was in the direction of the next town over. It was also on the coast and only a mile or so away from where Cocoyasi Village was… It was also on the other side of Bellemere's mikan Grove.
Marcus dropped the newspaper as he jumped over the side of the crows nest and dropped down to the deck. He rushed inside the ship and slammed the alarm bell a few times before he quickly moved towards his room. He grabbed his sword and slid it into his waistband before he bolted out of his room back into the main hallway. As he moved towards the alarm bell to hit it again, Sabo and Ace stumbled out of their room getting dressed.
Ace noticed Marcus first and said, "What's going on? We got up as soon as he heard that explosion."
Just as Marcus was about to speak, Zeff stepped out of the door from the galley. Marcus acknowledged him with a nod before he said, "It came from the next village over and it's most likely a pirate attack… Also it might be grandline strength pirates."
Zeff and the others paused at that information but Marcus didn't stop as he hit the alarm bell a couple more times before he said, "I'm the fastest so I am going ahead. Gather everyone else and follow after me."
Before anyone could say anything, Marcus disappeared out the door as his after image faded from view. Sabo glanced at Ace who frowned slightly as he said, "We need to hurry, I'll go make sure Luffy is up."