Chapter 9 Are you planning to give me a beating, Jozu?

When Marco finally arrived at the clearing next to the mangrove forest, he found Jozu squatting on the ground and muttering to himself, looking completely absorbed in what he was doing.

"Jozuuuu!!"

Marco landed next to Jozu and was shocked to see him reading a comic book. He couldn't believe that a grown man and a pirate would be indulging in something that's meant for children. Marco was frustrated because pirates are expected to be focused on their goals, but Jozu was wasting time reading comics instead of practicing or doing business.

"Marco, you are finally here!" Upon seeing Marco, Jozu's face lit up with a smile, causing Marco to feel frustrated and wonder if there was any hope left for Jozu

"Jozu, what are you doing?"Looking at Jozu, Marco was full of worry.

"Hey Marco, you're just in time, come and test my current power!"

Jouz used his left hand to close the comic book and clapped his right fist into it. Then he activated the first of the Eight Inner Gates,

"Activate the FIRST GATE: THE GATE OF OPENING, release!" Jozu yelled

Which allowed him to surpass the normal limits of his brain's capacity. This resulted in a significant increase in his power and speed. Although these changes were invisible to the naked eye, they were evident in Jozu's aura, which became more intense. The ground beneath Jozu's feet shook, causing the gravel and fine sand to scatter around, a result of the strong aura emanating from him.

With a slightly open mouth, Marco revealed a look of surprise and asked, "What's with that look? It seems like something interesting is happening."

"Marco, don't waste time talking, just attack me!" Jozu's right fist was clenched, ready to go.

"You don't know what level of Armament Haki it is, Jozu."

While Marco didn't find Jozu's demonstration interesting, he acknowledged that the strength of a person's Armament Haki is a key factor in determining their power, and his own is better than Jozu's. As brothers on the same crew, they frequently learn from each other, and even though Jozu's strength is formidable, he still falls short when compared to Marco's Armament Haki.

"Stop stalling Marco! Come on and fight me! My strength has greatly improved since last time. Give it a shot, I guarantee you won't be disappointed!"

Marco gestured with his hand "It's not possible to fight, let's not do it"

Jozu became frustrated when he heard Marco's response.

He couldn't believe it. He had already prepared to show off his improved strength, but Marco was more focused on his concerns about Alzheimer's.

Jozu felt upset and annoyed at Marco's lack of interest in fighting.

"Since you're not coming, I'll come to you! Marco, prepare yourself!"

Jozu threw a punch, and his fist whistled through the air with incredible speed, aimed directly at Marco's side.

Observing Jozu's strong punch, Marco quickly used his Observation Haki to lock onto Jozu's fist.

He was surprised by the strength of Jozu's punch, which seemed much stronger than before. Reacting quickly, Marco covered his fist with black Haki and clashed with Jozu's punch.

However, he underestimated Jozu's power, and his Armament Haki was not strong enough to handle the punch.

Marco was pushed back several steps and even suffered muscle soreness in his upper arm due to inadequate Haki protection. The power of Jozu's punch surprised Marco.

"Jozu, what happened to your power? It's increased a lot."

Jozu burst out laughing when he saw Marco struggling, and he said: "Marco, let me ask you, is my punch powerful?"

"Powerful..!" Marco didn't want to be dishonest.

Marco couldn't help but wonder how Jozu's strength had improved so much in just a few days. He recalled their previous discussion where Jozu's power was easily suppressed by him, and now, Jozu's power had greatly increased. Marco couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it.

As something suddenly occurred to him, Marco's eyes brightened and he asked, "Has your Twinkle Twinkle Fruit finally unlocked new abilities, Jozu?"

Jozu boasted that his current strength is only the beginning of his true power, and that he could defeat even more than just Marco. Marco found his boastful attitude irritating and rolled his eyes.

Marco's face showed a look of disdain as he spoke, "You're getting too excited. I can take you down easily. Do you still want to take on ten opponents? You're just looking for trouble."

After chatting with Jozu for a while, Marco felt relieved as he confirmed Jozu's nerves were still normal. Jozu, noticing Marco's disbelief,

Jozu tapped Marco's shoulder and said, "Listen, Marco. I know you're skeptical, but I'm telling the truth. You can feel it, right? My power has grown significantly. Am I exaggerating?"

"I can feel that you've become stronger," Marco admitted.

"I was going to ask you about this. We talked a few days ago and at that time, you weren't as strong as you are now. Were you intentionally holding back?"

"How could someone's strength change so drastically in just a few days unless they deliberately concealed their true abilities?" Marco murmured to himself.

"I wouldn't hide my abilities from you, hahahaha!" Jozu replied.

Jozu chuckled, "To be honest, my strength just skyrocketed today!"

Marco's face was filled with confusion as he repeated, "Today?"

"You heard correctly, it was today," Jozu confirmed.

Jozu showed Marco the "Might Guy 'The Leaf's Noble Green Beast' Biography" and said, "Look, I learned a powerful physical skill from this manga. After successfully practicing the first gate my strength increased significantly." Seeing Marco's disbelief, Joz explained, "I'm serious!"

Marco was even more shocked at the idea that Jozu learned powerful skills from a comic book.