An Eternal Bond

A Dream

"I'll find Marco."

"Huh? Why do you need to find him?" Chopper asked.

"He's a really good doctor. And he has better control over his Devil Fruit than I do, so he'd be able to help."

Marco was somewhere around the entrance of the castle.

"Y/N!" Robin ran up to me. "I need to warn you about Big Mom. Franky and I sent her out of the castle not long ago and she may be where Marco is. You may be very powerful when it comes to most situations, but as Big Mom is a Yonko, she's on a different level than most opponents of yours in the past. Please be careful."

I chuckled dryly. "Don't worry, I will."

Big Mom was different from Blackbeard. She's significantly stronger, and I know that I probably can't take her in a fight. Blackbeard relies solely on his Devil Fruit, and no matter the Devil Fruit, I'll almost always be superior in a fight. But Big Mom... she could probably step on me by accident and I'd be a goner.

Take my soul...

I took in a deep breath and ran down the stairs leading out of the palace. I couldn't feel Marco's presence nearby, so I knew that he wasn't making his way into the palace.

Once I found Marco and told him the situation, I needed to get back to Luffy. It wasn't about me being worried for him on his way to Kaido, I was worried about him when he gets to Kaido.

He's reckless. He'd pick a fight with anyone if they hurt his friends—no, scratch that. He'd fight anyone for his friends. I've known him for years. He's loyal. He's always wanted a close friend right from the beginning, and when he got the perfect few, he held them close.

I stopped in my tracks, seeing two of the Minks standing at the bottom of the steps. "Huh..." I ran down the steps, catching a glimpse of Big Mom squeezing Marco in her hand.

"Marco!"

I spread my arms and flew into the air as I watched two white blurs run past me and towards one of the Big Mom Pirates that were with Big Mom.

I deactivated my wings and pulled back my arm. "Kagero!" I felt a sharp pain in the back of my eyes, but I left one open to dive and grab Marco while Big Mom was busy with her clothes that caught fire. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

I looked to the two Minks that had attacked one of Big Mom's crew mates, two scratched across his face. "He's the one who killed Pedro!" One of them called out. "That's right! If it weren't for him..."

"That idiot blew himself up! You're taking it out on the wrong man!"

I wasn't sure who Pedro was, but I could tell that he was important to them. And to that, I say screw this tongue-guy.

"Who are you?" Marco questioned.

"You must be Marco, a friend of Nekomamushi, yes?"

"Yeah, you could say that!"

I rubbed my eyes, staring at the bunny Mink for a second. "W-Wait... Carrot?" She nodded. "Y/N, please tell him what's going on back there."

"S-Sure..." I took Marco's hand. "By tongue-guy!"

"IT'S PEROSPERO!!"

Alright, alright, no need to get so angry about it. "Marco, there's something... complicated going on in there."

"Yeah, what exactly is this 'something'?"

"There's this weapon that encases anyone who is hit by it, and it turns them into an Ice Oni of some sort. Could you somehow help out?" He chuckled a bit. "If it's ice, then it shouldn't be a problem." I smiled a bit and followed him through the air, seeing the chaos happening in the castle.