The bowl of ramen was knocked over, spilling onto the ground.
Arthur glanced at Sanji out of the corner of his eye and noticed that Sanji was already trembling with anger.
Everyone knows that Sanji despises it when his food is disrespected or ruined by others. Seeing the ramen wasted like this, it was clear Sanji was on the brink of exploding.
Arthur, taking in the scene, said nothing. He shifted his gaze back to the empty table in front of him, set his chopsticks down, and stayed silent.
Deep down, Arthur felt extremely frustrated. If it weren't for Sanji, he might have already taken matters into his own hands. After all, with the power of lightning at his command, he believed himself to be like a god in this world, wielding strength that only deities could possess.
Taking care of these soldiers would have been effortless for Arthur. But since Sanji hadn't acted yet, Arthur held himself back. Sitting calmly, he made no move to get up or leave.
The soldiers, however, were growing impatient. One of them, anger flaring, stormed up to Arthur. He kicked the bench in front of him and then reached out to grab Arthur's shoulder.
"Hey! Can't you hear me talking to you? Are you deaf or something? We're letting you off easy, so leave already!
If you don't get out of here, don't blame us for teaching you a lesson. You should know we're subordinates of Kurozumi Orochi!
If you dare to fight back, Orochi will make sure you can't survive in this country!"
The officers and soldiers were clearly unaware of the danger they were in and continued yelling at Arthur.
Arthur glanced at the spilled ramen on the ground, then stood up and walked over to Sanji. He knew Sanji couldn't act right now, but in his heart, Arthur felt disgusted by the waste of food.
Arthur crouched down, carefully picking up the scattered ramen from the ground, piece by piece. He placed it back into the bowl and set it on the table. When he turned to face the officers and soldiers, a strange smile spread across his face.
"There are people in this country who can't even afford a single meal," Arthur said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Yet here you are, knocking over ramen onto the ground. I can't imagine what's going through your heads. Only fools like you could pull off something this pathetic."
Though Arthur spoke with a smile, his words were sharp and full of mockery. The officers and soldiers exchanged uneasy glances, finally realizing the tension in the air.
"Looks like you're bold enough to insult us. Do you really think you can get away with that? We'll teach you a lesson and show you what real authority means!"
Arthur's words and actions had completely enraged the officers and soldiers. Their anger boiled over as they lost control and stormed forward, ready to teach him a lesson.
But Arthur was already prepared. Lightning crackled and sparked in his hands as he stood firm. Sanji stayed still, making no move, but Arthur didn't need him to. Even if Kaido himself showed up, Arthur believed he'd make him kneel.
"You fools really don't know when to stop, do you?" Arthur said, his voice laced with calm menace. "I already gave you a chance to walk away. But since you don't value your lives... fine by me."