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Shanks chuckled. "Uta becoming a pirate is already a done deal. Since that's the case, why would I oppose her being given a bounty? And if she's going to be wanted, of course the higher the better. The higher her bounty, the stronger she's proven to be—then the Marines and bounty hunters will have a harder time catching her. I can relax a little."
Yasopp: "So, Arton getting thirty billion Berries makes you happy too, huh? After all, it proves he has the strength to protect Uta."
Shanks nodded. "Exactly. The stronger that kid is, the safer Uta will be."
Benn Beckman: "Do we still need to go find them, then? Because of our recent moves, the Marines are watching us very closely."
Shanks waved his hand. "Of course we're going! Uta said, right in front of Mihawk, that she and Arton are husband and wife. As her father, how could I not go see them? Don't you two want to see Uta—and Arton—yourselves?" He grimaced, eyes suddenly moist. "Damn it, I haven't seen Uta in so long. How'd she get stolen away like this?"
At that, Shanks couldn't help but bang the rail with his hand, eyes brimming. Yasopp and Beckman exchanged a glance, then turned to inform the rest of the crew about Uta and Arton.
"Hey—wait for me! Don't leave me behind! At least let me look at Uta's photo again!" Shanks shouted, breaking into a run after Beckman and Yasopp.
…
New World, second half of the Grand Line. Aboard the Moby Dick.
"Whitey Bay's eye for people is really something." Marco, First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, gazed at the newspaper in his hand, full of admiration. "This Arton really is incredible, right, Pops?"
"Gurararara! First bounty at thirty billion." Whitebeard laughed, holding another copy of the paper. "That man truly is remarkable. And every one of his crewmates has at least a nine-figure bounty. It's been a long time since I've seen rookies like this."
Marco shook his head. "Strictly speaking, he's not a 'rookie' anymore— the Marines and the World Government were just late in posting his bounty. When he beat Shiki and admitted he was a pirate, the Marines should've issued it then."
Whitebeard nodded in agreement. "It is strange. By rights, they should've posted it earlier. Why did they wait until Arton entered the Grand Line to finally put it out?" He fell into thought. "Maybe Arton did something else just before entering the Grand Line."
The Fifth Division Commander, Flower Sword Vista, strode over. "You figured something out, Vista?" Whitebeard asked.
"Yes, Pops." Vista inclined his head. "The paper reports that Arton compressed Unlimited Blade Works into a single bullet and fired it. He'd never shown that before. When he fought Dracule Mihawk, Arton did reveal a dual-pistol, black-skin form, but he didn't use that move on Mihawk in the end. So he must have unleashed that technique later— that's how the Marines learned of it. And since the information was published by the Marines… it's obvious some Marine powerhouse fought Arton. Arton then used that bullet hiding the Unlimited Blade Works, and they suffered for it—possibly with heavy casualties. So the Marines finally ran out of patience and issued the bounties on Arton and his crew."
Chapter 320: Whitebeard Wants Grandkids — Hoping for Arton and Whitey Bay to Tie the Knot
Hearing this, Whitebeard, Marco, and the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't help nodding. From every angle, Vista's analysis made perfect sense.
"Gurararara, the Marines really are covering their ears and stealing a bell," Whitebeard said with a shake of his head. "A loss is a loss—why bother hiding anything?"
"To make Arton use that move, the opponent must have been very strong," Vista mused. "I wonder who was fortunate enough to witness it firsthand."
"Vista, don't tell me you want to see that move for yourself—and fight Arton?" Diamond Jozu asked.
At that, everyone turned to look at Vista, the strongest swordsman among Whitebeard's crew.
"Of course!" Vista's eyes lit up. "Arton is the current world's greatest swordsman. I doubt I'm the only one who wants to challenge him." His gaze fell to the newspaper line about Arton hiding an entire world of blades inside a single bullet. "Originally, I wasn't interested in Arton's dual-pistols state. I wanted to challenge the Arton who fuses with Nami to unleash the 'No-Thought One Slash,' or the Arton who can directly invoke Unlimited Blade Works. But once I learned he can hide Unlimited Blade Works inside a bullet… I changed my mind. A man who can do that is also worth challenging."
Marco scratched his head. "But Arton is the man Whitey Bay set her sights on. If you go challenge him, won't that make Whitey Bay unhappy? Don't forget—when that woman loses her temper, she's terrifying."
Vista's excitement stalled; a shiver ran up his spine. Marco's words dragged up the fear of being "ruled" by Whitey Bay twenty years ago. Back then, he'd only just joined the Whitebeard Pirates, while Whitey Bay was already an established veteran—stronger than him by a good margin—so she'd put him in his place more than once.
"Gurararara," Whitebeard boomed, "that move of Arton's is too dangerous. Even if you meet him, don't ask him to use it on you. At most, have him open that so-called Unlimited Blade Works directly so you can take a look. By the way—hasn't Whitey Bay found Arton yet? He's already entered the Grand Line."
"That can't be helped," Marco said with a helpless spread of his hands. "The sea is vast, and Arton's movements are unpredictable." He added, "But with Whitey Bay's abilities, finding Arton is only a matter of time."
"In that case, I'll just wait for the day Whitey Bay brings Arton to meet me."
"Gurararara! If I can see Whitey Bay get married, that would make me happier than anything." Whitebeard laughed out loud.
No wonder he felt that way. Though the Whitebeard Pirates were many, they were, on average, all single—men and women alike seemed uninterested in romance. To this day, none of Whitebeard's many "sons" and "daughters" had married. In other words, Whitebeard had never held a grandchild.
If Arton and Whitey Bay could truly come together, then holding a grandson or granddaughter would be just around the corner. For that reason, aside from Whitey Bay herself, Whitebeard might be the most invested person in the entire crew when it came to tracking down Arton.
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