~ Support & Read 12 Advanced Chapters on my Patreon!
❁❁❁❁
"Huh?" Startled by Arthur's commanding tone, Olga instinctively took a half-step back, her small form pressing against her green lizard companion, Elizabeth, who trembled in Arthur's imposing presence.
It was a small miracle the creature hadn't fainted outright from the sheer force of his aura.
"You…you greedy pirate! Are you after my treasure too? Well, I'll tell you—it's mine! I'm the greediest person in the world!"
Olga, seemingly embarrassed by her involuntary retreat, puffed out her chest, her small voice filled with bravado as she glared defiantly at the towering figure before her.
Arthur's eye twitched.
He was finding this conversation with the small, eccentric girl—isolated for nearly two centuries—increasingly tiresome.
He reached out, his large hand gently but firmly grasping the back of Olga's collar, lifting her small form—which felt no heavier than a feather—into the air.
"I don't need your consent." Arthur said, settling himself onto Elizabeth's back, who'd collapsed onto the ground in a mixture of fear and exhaustion, and fixed Olga with a stern look.
"Now, take me to the third stomach. Or you're going to find yourself the main ingredient in tonight's stew."
While Arthur could easily reach Alchemi Island by himself, using his lightning form—carrying Olga would drain his precious stamina. He needed transportation.
Elizabeth, whimpering at Arthur's thinly veiled threat, scrambled to her feet and darted off, her small legs pumping furiously.
————
Thirty minutes later, Garp and Akainu finally arrived in the second stomach, discovering a scene of unusual destruction—a pile of shattered rock, and at its base, the unconscious form of Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"Tsuru-chan!!" Garp, his voice laced with a rare urgency, rushed to her side, gently shaking her.
Tsuru's eyes fluttered open. Her first words were a desperate plea, her voice strained with urgency. "Arthur…He took the girl! You have to stop him! Don't let him get the Pure Gold!"
"That brat hurt you?!" Garp roared, his eyes blazing with fury, his protective instincts overriding his usual jovial demeanor.
The two Vice Admirals began a frantic search for Arthur, their eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the grotesque landscape.
————
The deeper they descended within the anglerfish, the darker and colder the environment became, the golden glow of the lure fading into a distant memory.
Elizabeth, panting, her small body trembling with exhaustion, finally reached Alchemi Island in the third stomach, depositing Arthur and Olga near the shore.
Arthur, still holding Olga, began his trek across the desolate island, comparing the landscape to the information gleaned from Acier's journal and his own memories.
The silence of this lower stomach was unnerving, broken only by the occasional drip of corrosive acid, and the air was frigid. Olga shivered, pulling her threadbare clothes tighter around her small frame.
Zzzzzzt!
Arthur's free hand crackled with lightning, illuminating the desolate landscape, the increasing voltage pushing back the chill.
Olga, glancing at his glowing hand with a mixture of surprise and suspicion, quickly turned away, scoffing. "Hmph! Even if you warm me up, I'm still not sharing my treasure! Give up!"
"I have no intention of sharing. And do you really think I need your help to find it?" Arthur's tone was laced with amusement.
Olga's eyes widened in surprise, then a sinister grin spread across her face.
"Hee hee hee! Once you find it, I'll stick to you like glue, then steal it back while you're sleeping! Hee hee—mmmph!" She quickly clapped her hand over her mouth.
Arthur chuckled. "Little girl, it's not good to say everything you're thinking, you know? It can be dangerous."
"I'm not a little girl! I'm older than you! Almost two hundred years old!" Olga squirmed in Arthur's grasp, her short arms and legs flailing uselessly, unable to reach the ground.
They continued bickering as they made their way across the island, eventually arriving at a peculiar, dilapidated structure.
Arthur stepped forward, shattering the massive doors with a single punch, and entered the darkened corridor beyond.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Arrows, tipped with metal, shot out from hidden traps in the walls.
Arthur effortlessly deflected them with his Electromagnetism, sending them clattering harmlessly to the floor. Such childish traps might fool ordinary people, but anyone with a modicum of awareness—or even rudimentary Observation Haki—could easily avoid them.
They traversed the long corridor, arriving at a chasm. On the opposite side stood a target. Only by hitting the target could they extend a bridge across the gap.
A triceratops and a pterodactyl roared from the other side, their calls echoing through the cavernous space.
Arthur snapped his fingers.
Fzzzzzzt!
A spear of lightning materialized, flying across the chasm and piercing the target.
Click! Click! Click!
Gears whirred and groaned as the bridge slowly extended, its metal components creaking under the strain of centuries of disuse. Ignoring the roaring dinosaurs, Arthur carried Olga across the chasm and continued his trek down another long corridor.
At the end of the passage stood a massive, intricately carved crocodile head, its jaws agape, revealing a series of keyholes. It was eerily lifelike, crafted with a skill that belied its age and the harsh environment.
Arthur recognized it as one of Acier's traps, designed to prevent greedy thieves from reaching the Pure Gold.
The real treasure lay hidden below, in his secret laboratory.
Olga giggled. "Hee hee! Is the Pure Gold down there? I'll steal it back after you find it!"
Arthur, sighing inwardly at her inability to keep a secret, stomped his foot with a sudden, explosive force.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The floor beneath them shattered, revealing a dark, gaping hole.
"Down we go!"
He leaped into the darkness, still carrying Olga.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Olga's terrified scream echoed through the darkness. All traces of her earlier bravado were gone, replaced by pure, unadulterated terror.
Thump!
They landed on a soft cushion, breaking their fall. Arthur, unfazed, activated his electric field, illuminating the hidden chamber.
He pushed open another wooden door, revealing Acier's two-century-old laboratory.
————
Rows of bookshelves lined the walls, filled with volumes on metallurgy, alchemy, and other scientific disciplines.
Complex equations and diagrams covered a blackboard. Colorful minerals lay scattered on a table, alongside various tools and instruments, all covered in a thick layer of dust.
Olga's expression shifted, her voice trembling slightly. "This is…my stupid dad's…laboratory?"
"I don't know about your dad being stupid. Read his journal first." Arthur picked up the thick, leather-bound diary from the table and tossed it to Olga.
Then, his gaze fixed on a glass container shaped like a lamp, its wooden base adorned with intricate carvings, filled with a clear liquid that suppressed the Pure Gold's luminescence.
Inside, a fist-sized piece of metal floated gently.
"So, this is it. The Pure Gold—the treasure that drove the world mad." Arthur lifted the container, his fingers tracing the smooth glass.
This seemingly insignificant object, if revealed to the outside world, would ignite a firestorm of greed and violence, perhaps even surpassing the chaos of the dawning Great Pirate Era.
❁❁❁❁
~ 12 Advanced Chapters Available on My Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)