The next day around noon Usopp spotted an island on the horizon which Marcus decided to visit since he didn't see it on his map. He double checked their location with Sabo just in case but they both confirmed where they most likely were and there shouldn't be an island in the area. So with an unmarked island in front of them, no one could resist going to explore it.
When they got closer to the island, Marcus decided to circle it once to check it out and see if it was worth landing on. The island was a decent size with a small harbor on one side protected by a natural breakwater that separated most of it from the sea. It was actually the perfect place to build a dock, but with no sign of human habitation on the island it was currently empty.
Marcus sailed the ship into the small harbor area behind the large breakwater and dropped anchor close to the shore. Once the ship was parked Luffy immediately tried to go explore the island. If it wasn't for the fact he couldn't really use his gum gum no rocket yet, he would already be on the island. Instead he was forced to wait as a boat was lowered before half the ship went to explore the island.
Zeff left with everyone to watch over them and look for some fresh ingredients, while Marcus stayed on the ship to train with Kuina and Zoro. As he trained them in swordsmanship, Zoe and the other women did their normal training. Once Marcus finished training he moved up to the crows nest to relax and read the newspaper that arrived not long ago.
The first thing Marcus saw when he unrolled the newspaper was Jinbe on the front page. In bold print it said, 'Captain of the Sun Pirates Jinbe joins the new warlord program!' Marcus's eyes narrowed as he read through the article and near the end of it, it mentioned that fishmen were being released from prison because of the deal. Marcus quickly skimmed the rest of the newspaper and when he found no mention of Arlong or his bounty he relaxed slightly. But already decided on the ship's next destination and where they would stay for the foreseeable future.
As it started to get dark, Zeff brought the small boat back to the ship filled with different stuff he found on the island. After he unloaded and stored it on the ship, he collected some spices and his knives before he said to Marcus, "We are gonna BBQ on the island for dinner."
"Sounds good to me." Marcus said as he glanced towards the beach where he saw a couple large animals and a big bonfire being built up.
Marcus collected his sword as the other boat was being lowered into the water before everyone headed to shore. Once he arrived he was greeted by Usopp in the middle of a story of how he took down the massive ox he stood on. As he finished Luffy burst into laughter before he said, "You shot it once before you ran away, I was the one who took it down."
"My shot was what helped to knock it down, if I didn't shoot it, it wouldn't have collapsed." Usopp said with confidence.
Marcus shook his head as Luffy seemed to be agreeing with Usopp and turned to look at the other large animal which was a bird. Well it looked like a bird and had feathers, but it was massive like the ox and had tiny wings, so it probably couldn't fly. Which explained how they were able to catch the thing. It didn't take long for Zeff with help from Sanji and a few others to start getting the animals.
By the time the sun was setting, Zeff finished preparing the meat and started placing them around the bonfire that was already going strong. As Zeff cooked, Sanji watched from the side as he learned but occasionally his eyes would wander towards Luffy, Ace and Sabo who were playing and joking around with Usopp, Zoro and Kuina.
Marcus watched the boy frown slightly a few times as jealousy flashed in his eyes. It was whenever he caught Sanji looking towards Luffy and the others. Marcus had an idea what the issue might be given his history, but decided against mentioning it for now. Everyone was having a good time, there was no reason to potentially ruin the mood.
The impromptu BBQ and party lasted well into the night and everyone ended up sleeping on the beach. The next day was the boys normal rest day so instead of setting sail Marcus suggested staying on the island another day and relaxing. The next day everyone explored the island for a while before they had another BBQ for lunch. Afterwards they packed up and headed back to the ship as they prepared to set sail.
Marcus checked his map as they sailed out of the harbor to make sure the new course was correct with his compass. The next few days passed in relative peace as the ship sailed towards its next destination until midway through the fourth day.
Usopp was up in the crows nest as he glanced around with his spyglass that was slightly damaged. He hadn't taken Marcus's advice to heart and let Luffy use his spyglass which Luffy quickly broke. It was luckily only the middle housing unit and not the lenses, so Usopp managed to fix it. But the spyglass could no longer fully collapse like before and made it harder to focus with.
Usopp studied the horizon all around the ship for a few minutes before he placed his spyglass down and went back to working on a new type of pellet for his slingshot. After ten minutes or so he picked back up his spyglass and scanned the horizon again but stopped where he found a black dot off the port bow of the ship. He watched it for a few moments before he called out, "I see something off the port bow, possibly a ship."
Marcus, who was in the middle of a training session with Zoro and Kuina, blocked both of their attacks before he said, "Let me know when you can identify them."
Marcus focused back on training for a while before a panicked Usopp said, "It's a pirate ship!"
Marcus quickly stepped away from Zoro and Kuina, while he signaled them to stop training before he pulled out his spyglass. He turned towards the port bow and quickly found the ship with its pirate flag waving in the air. He studied the ship for a few moments before he said, "No more training, go prepare for battle."
"Battle?!? Shouldn't we be running?" Usopp asked with fear in his voice.
Marcus smiled as he glanced up at the boy who was leaning out of the crows nest with wide eyes before he asked, "Didn't you say you wanna be a brave warrior of the sea?"
Usopp nodded but stuttered as he said, "Y-Y-Yes! I-I wanna be-be like my dad!"
Marcus pointed towards the approaching ship before he said, "A brave warrior of the sea wouldn't be scared of some no name pirate crew."
"But…"
Marcus cut off Usopp as he said, "Then get your shit together and prepare to fight. Otherwise go below the deck and hide while the rest of us fight."
Usopp smiled in relief for a moment before he frowned as Marcus turned away and said, "If you decide to hide, you might as well go pack up your things because I'll turn this ship around and take you home after we finish this fight. We have no need for cowards on this ship."
Usopp's eyes widened as Marcus walked below the deck to get ready. Usopp fell back into the crows nest as he debated what to do. He really wanted to go and hide, he knew he couldn't fight real pirates. He couldn't even beat anyone on the ship in a normal fight, let alone pirates…
Usopp gritted his teeth as he thought of being taken back home. He didn't want to go home, he wanted to stay with his friends and keep having fun… But he knew he stood no chance in a real fight.
As Usopp sat in the crows nest, the rest of the ship prepared for battle and within ten minutes everyone was on the deck with their weapons. Marcus took over the helm and aimed the ship towards the incoming ship before he pulled out his spyglass to watch it. The ship was bigger with five masts and riding high in the water as it quickly approached them.
Marcus watched them for a little while before he put his spyglass away and said, "Furl the sails and prepare to be boarded!"
As they started collapsing the sails, Sabo glanced towards the approaching ship before he asked, "Isn't this a little early?"
"No, they are faster than us. We might as well wait for them here." Marcus said as the ship slowed down.
As the ship approached closer Marcus stood on the helm deck and observed the rest of the ship. Everyone seemed excited besides Usopp who was still in the crows nest which he would peek out from every once in a while. Marcus thought about ordering him to come down, but decided against it for now. If Usopp fought from the crows nest it was fine, as long as he actually participated in the battle…
Marcus glanced up towards Usopp and smirked to himself. While Usopp might think he was safe being up in the crows nest alone, the truth was he was separated from not only the enemy but any help if he needed it. Marcus wondered what would happen if one of the pirates managed to reach Usopp. Would the boy panic or face the situation head on and fight?
Marcus rested a hand on the hilt of his sword as he glanced back at the approaching ship that was collapsing some of its sails to slow down. Within a few more minutes the ship was within range and started throwing grappling hooks over as all the sails were furled. As the ships were being pulled together a man's voice rang out from the other ship and said, "Thanks for not running, I hate it when my target makes me chase them."
An older man with a bandana wrapped around his head glanced over from the taller ship. He glanced over the ship and frowned slightly when he noticed everyone was relaxed with no sign of fear. If anything most of them looked ready to fight, which made him second guess if taking this particular ship was a good idea. As the ships got closer he had a gut feeling something was very wrong and instantly yelled out, "Drop the lines and raise the sails!"
To the man's credit his crew didn't even question his orders and the grappling lines were dropped and sails started to rise a few moments later. Marcus raised an eyebrow in surprise but after a moment of thought he smiled. If these pirates wanted to give them a different type of training he wouldn't mind. Ace and the others glanced towards Marcus as the pirate ship started to pull away.
Marcus pointed at the ship and said, "Prepare to chase them!"
Marcus quickly moved to the helm as everyone else scrambled to raise the sails and chase the other ship. As Marcus took the helm he looked up towards the crows nest and yelled, "Usopp! Get below deck and prepare the bow cannon!"
Usopp peeked from his spot as he said, "Cannon?!? I don't know how to use a cannon."
"Sabo! Go teach Usopp how to use a cannon and aim for the enemy ship's sails and masts."
Within five minutes they were basically turned around and in the process of chasing after the pirate ship. While the pirate ship was faster than them, it wasn't that much faster and its higher water displacement made it unstable which slowed it down a little. By the time Marcus lined the ship up behind the pirate ship they were a few hundred yards in front of them.
It was about a minute later when Usopp fired the cannon for the first time and the cannonball splashed down to the port side of the ship. After that first shot, the enemy ship started to turn slightly to try and throw off the next shot. Marcus didn't adjust the ship's own course and decided to let Usopp adjust the shot on his own. It seemed to be the right decision because the next shot slammed into the ship near one of the masts.
Over the next half an hour a few more shots hit the pirate ship as it tried to evade. Marcus watched as another shot was fired and ripped through the main mast. As it collapsed it broke some of the spars on two more masts and tangled up in the rigging before it dropped into the water. With it still connected to the ship by most of the rigging it caused the ship to tilt towards the starboard side and slow down considerably within minutes.
Sabo and Usopp came up onto the deck a few moments later and Usopp was beaming with pride, his head held high and tilted back with his nose in the air. Marcus let the boy have his glory for a few moments as he bragged to Luffy and the others before Marcus said, "Everyone get ready, we have pirates to fight!"
Usopp instantly deflated and even looked like it wanted to run away as they got closer to the pirate ship. Marcus maneuvered the ship to the port side of the ship to not hit the mast the pirates were desperately trying to cut from the ship. Once they were close enough Marcus yelled out, "Furl the sails and prepare for boarding action!"