Malphegor
patreon
OP: AMP Ch. 31
🕑 Added 2025-08-18 01:36:15 +0000 UTCIn the end, Kuro left with his remaining crew members, though not without some complications along the way.
The Black Cat Pirates staged a mutiny.
After Kuro was defeated, some of the scattered pirates hadn't been captured by Luffy and the others.
During the aftermath, Jango had been playing dead, and working together with the remaining pirates, he successfully escaped the area. Naturally, they had no intention of taking their former captain with them.
Over the past three years, he had become the acting captain of the Black Cat Pirates. During that time, the bonds and recognition he'd built with the crew were genuine and hard-earned.
From their perspective, Kuro had not only failed to bring any benefits to his crew, but now he was showing up again trying to reclaim his position as captain of the Black Cat Pirates.
The older members might have gladly accepted him back, after all, they had witnessed his strength firsthand, which was significantly greater than Jango's. But the newer crew members who had joined under Jango's leadership naturally couldn't accept this sudden change in command.
The result was an inevitable confrontation between the two factions.
Jango suffered a crushing defeat in the leadership battle.
The ship and most of the crew were taken back under Kuro's control.
Marcus wasn't surprised by this outcome at all. A current captain and a former captain simply couldn't coexist peacefully on the same ship, at best, it would only be a temporary arrangement. Being an intelligent man, Kuro understood this dynamic perfectly, which was why he acted so decisively to consolidate power.
As for why Luffy's group hadn't completely eliminated the Black Cat Pirates when they had the chance, the reason was surprisingly simple.
Kaya had chosen to forgive them.
After he had exposed all of Kuro's true motivations and inner thoughts, the former butler simply couldn't bring himself to face Kaya directly. Was he planning revenge? Would he harbor resentment?
But Kaya's response had been that, if necessary, she would willingly give Kuro her entire family fortune if that's what he truly wanted, as repayment for the devoted care he had given her after her parents passed away.
What do the smartest villains fear most? A pure and sincere heart that refuses to be corrupted.
Marcus witnessed the entire exchange, his expression unusually conflicted. Perhaps this was part of the unique charm of the One Piece world, even minor characters had their own complex stories.
But he didn't really care about that. In Kaya's small courtyard, he decided it was finally time to test something he'd been curious about for a while.
He summoned an Iron Golem.
Ever since obtaining pumpkin seeds, he'd wanted to try this out. The reason he hadn't tested it on the ship was because he was worried that the golem's weight might sink their ship.
In Minecraft, iron golems didn't have a set weight, but reality might work very differently.
The moment the iron golem materialized, it looked exactly like its in-game counterpart. But the first thing it did after appearing was offer him a bright red poppy flower, holding it out with surprising gentleness.
"Amazing! Amazing! Is this a robot?!" Luffy's eyes sparkled like stars as he stared at the golem.
Usopp was equally fascinated, reaching out to touch its body.
The cold, metallic texture felt exactly like real iron.
"This... this is incredible!"
Zoro, meanwhile, sized up the iron golem. To be honest, its nearly three-meter-tall frame was quite imposing. But its eyes... there was this... clueless stupidity in them, making it hard to know what to say.
As for sensing danger from it? There was absolutely none.
"Zoro, want to try lifting it? Don't worry, it won't mind at all," Marcus said with a grin.
Zoro, who had a well-known habit of strength training, walked up curiously and gripped the golem around its waist and midsection.
He strained with all his might, his face turning red.
But even with every muscle straining, he couldn't lift it even a millimeter off the ground.
"This thing is heavy," he muttered, stepping back.
Marcus nodded, that was exactly what he'd expected.
The iron golem was constructed from four blocks of solid iron, each one representing a cubic meter of metal. A single cubic meter of iron weighs approximately 7.68 tons, which meant the total weight was over 30 tons.
The math spoke for itself.
In the future, Zoro would undoubtedly develop the strength to lift such a weight, but now, that was simply beyond his capabilities.
At that moment, the iron golem turned toward Zoro and offered him a poppy flower as well, its head tilting slightly.
Zoro looked puzzled, not understanding the meaning.
"Take it," Marcus explained. "He thinks you were playing with him."
"..."
Zoro silently accepted it. Looking at the distinctly pixelated flower, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
Marcus then did a simple test of the iron golem's intelligence, giving it various basic commands.
Simple instructions like running, patrolling, and similar tasks, the golem understood clearly.
It could even handle more complex orders.
For example: "Go to the front gate and bring me the hat-wearing bodyguard with a scar on his face."
Since the iron golem couldn't speak, it simply walked to the gate, identified the correct person among several guards, and carefully carried the bewildered man back to Marcus.
Clearly, it could distinguish between different people based on physical appearance and clothing.
Impressed by this demonstration, he made a decision and appointed Kaya as the golem's owner.
The iron golem's expression fell when it realized Marcus was essentially "abandoning" it. But it quickly recovered and presented Kaya with a poppy flower.
Of course, Marcus retained the ability to give the golem commands as well, but Kaya would be its main responsibility.
"You should give it a name," he suggested. "I built it to be your bodyguard anyway, so the naming rights should be yours."
Kaya looked thoughtfully at the iron golem, then gave it what she considered a perfect name: "Alfred."
The iron golem raised both arms, its iron head nodding enthusiastically, and even its glowing eyes seemed to convey joy.
"Looks like you've accepted it. Well then, Alfred, please take good care of me from now on," Kaya said with a warm smile, patting the golem's arm.
The iron golem extended its two long, straight arms and gently patted Kaya's head in return.
"Marcus, why does it have moss growing on its body? Can I give it a bath?" she asked curiously, noticing the green patches scattered across the golem's iron surface.
"You can give it a try."
Kaya and the rest of Luffy's crew were completely captivated by the golem, gathering around to examine its various features.
Meanwhile, Marcus was thinking about something else. Could the iron golem independently identify someone as an enemy? Would it only fight back when directly attacked, or could it take proactive defensive action?
It was difficult to find an appropriate test subject for such experiments at the moment, but the golem's ability to distinguish between different people and its obedience to commands were good signs.
If Kaya gave it an order to attack a specific threat, it could definitely take offensive action when necessary.
It was at this point that Merry walked over to Marcus.
"Thank you very much for all your assistance," the butler said formally. "I cannot adequately express how much your help has meant to Miss Kaya and this household."
Now that Kaya's household consisted of just the two of them, he knew he would have to work even harder than before to ensure their safety and security.
"No need to mention it," Marcus replied, waving off the thanks. "I can't take it aboard the ship, so leaving it here is the best use for it."
He paused, studying Merry's features more carefully. "By the way, you're part of the Mink Tribe, aren't you? With injuries like yours, if it were an ordinary person, they'd be dead."
Merry unconsciously touched his small ram horns.
"I'm not entirely certain about my racial heritage," he admitted. "But my father once told me that my mother was half-Mink. So I suppose I have about one-quarter Mink blood running through my veins. As you can see, though, these horns are pretty much the only feature I inherited."
"No issues during the full moon?"
"If I had to say... maybe I used to feel somewhat restless during full moons when I was a child," Merry replied thoughtfully. "But that hasn't happened in many years now. Age seems to have mellowed whatever wild instincts I might have inherited."
He smiled gently.
As for his unusual traits, only Kaya's parents had never minded. That was also why he was willing to serve as the family's butler.
