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The Red-Haired Pirates, a crew destined to one day be known throughout the world, was born in obscurity on some nameless island in the West Blue.
When elites gather for a common cause, their potential is bound to be unparalleled.
Of all this, Arthur, far away on the Sabaody Archipelago, knew nothing. He had likely even forgotten the challenge he had once issued to Shanks.
A man's life is meaningless if he doesn't strive for the things he desires.
And the thing Arthur desired most right now was to see his insane hypothesis to its conclusion. Everything else was secondary.
But the prerequisite for all of it was a trip to the Drum Kingdom, to see if the first step of his plan was even possible.
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The arrows flew.
Tipped with Dyna Stones, they streaked across the sky like meteors, racing towards Arthur.
On the deck of the steel shuttle, Arthur rubbed his temples, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes. He rose from his lounge chair, his eyes snapping open.
In an instant, his irises were flooded with purple, and two dazzling beams of pure electricity shot out, colliding with the arrows in mid-air.
"ZZZZZZZZT!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!"
Lightning intercepted stone. The violent explosions shook the sky, and the aftershocks sent the sea into a furious churn.
The terrifying power of Dyna Stones—even Arthur at his peak would never have taken a direct hit willingly. The explosive force was simply too massive. Maybe only that lunatic Kaido could walk away without a scratch.
He hadn't fought in three years. Forcing his power now, in his weakened state, instantly threw his body into turmoil. A wave of blood surged up his throat.
"Cough, cough, cough…" He covered his mouth, his face paling, his spirit flagging. And then, a low laugh rumbled in his chest.
"I guess this is what they mean when they say a pack of dogs can corner even a tiger. Shiryu... kill them all."
It wasn't that he was powerless. He always retained enough strength to take his enemies down with him. And he had never been opposed to a mutually destructive outcome.
But to fight now—he might not die, but he would certainly fall unconscious.
And to fall unconscious was to place his life in the hands of others. Arthur did not like that feeling.
Besides, Shiryu had just returned from Grove 13. And killing… it was what he loved most.
Arthur was more than happy to leave this to him.
The moment the words left his mouth, a sharp shing cut through the air—the sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath.
A ghostly green slash, like something from a dream, shot out from the distance. It moved in the blink of an eye, a blade of pure, unstoppable energy that tore through the air, appearing before Mad Treasure and Gecko Moria in an instant.
Shiryu's cold, merciless voice followed close behind.
"Troublesome flies... having the nerve to disturb the Captain."
"Die."
An oppressive, bloody aura pulsed from the Seven Star Sword, so thick it made one forget to breathe.
That single sword strike—it was perhaps as powerful as the one Mihawk would one day unleash at the War of the Best, just to measure the distance between himself and a man like Whitebeard.
A blow of this magnitude was not something that trash like Moria and Mad Treasure could ever hope to withstand.
After three years in the New World, after being baptized by its cruel realities, even a fool would know the immense gap between themselves and the First Division Commander of the Thunder God Pirates.
The news reports, the intelligence from the underworld—it was all clear. Aside from Arthur himself, Shiryu was the strongest man in the Thunder God Pirates. No exceptions.
He was, for all intents and purposes, the number one man under the emperors.
Shiryu's name was a byword for hell on earth. A symbol of pure slaughter.
"IT'S SHIRYU!!"
"DODGE!!"
The two of them roared, not even considering a direct confrontation. They threw themselves aside, trying to evade the peerless sword energy that could cut through anything.
They might have been able to dodge. But their subordinates had no such skill.
In that single instant—
"SHHHHLLLLK…"
It was the sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh. The beach was instantly filled with severed limbs and viscera. A river of crimson blood flowed into the sea.
Everyone who had been standing in the path of the sword strike had been cut down from head to toe.
The power of a single slash had nearly split the beach of Grove 13 in two. And still, the ghostly green energy did not dissipate, but continued on, cutting a deep scar into the sea beyond.
The scene was utterly horrifying. A blow of this magnitude could shatter the will of any man, make them drop their weapons and become as lambs to the slaughter.
"GO! GET OUT OF HERE!! I'M DONE WITH THIS…" Mad Treasure's courage had been completely shattered.
He had always heard how strong Shiryu was, but who could truly understand without seeing it with their own eyes? And to see it with one's own eyes was to be filled with an endless regret.
"Chain!"
He activated his Chain-Chain Fruit powers without a second thought, sending a web of iron chains towards Shiryu as a distraction.
He himself had no intention of staying. He grabbed his archer, Naomi, and his other subordinate, Psycho P, and fled the battlefield.
The rest of his subordinates were trash. He could always recruit more. But his right and left hands had to be saved.
Mad Treasure was able to escape because his two main subordinates were not weak themselves. The same could not be said for Moria's crew.
In less than a minute, the entire boatload of pirates had been slaughtered by Shiryu.
"STOP! STOP IT!!"
Moria no longer had the strength to fight. The death of his crew had broken him. He collapsed to the ground, his eyes dim and lifeless, as if he had lost his entire world.
No one knew that beneath his evil, grotesque, and ugly exterior, he treated his crew like his own family. And now, to watch his family die one by one before his eyes, while he was powerless to do anything… how could anyone bear such pain?
"Drip… drip…"
Blood slid slowly from the blade of the Seven Star Sword. On the beach of Grove 13 on the Sabaody Archipelago, besides Moria, there was not a single living soul left.
Shiryu, sword in hand, slowly walked towards him, preparing to kill the man who had attacked his captain.
"That's enough, Shiryu… cough, cough!" Arthur coughed, then waved a hand, signaling for him to return so they could get underway.
He was going to let Moria live.
It wasn't that Arthur had suddenly become merciful. It was that he had never liked to kill people with potential. In fact, he would often intentionally let such people escape.
In his mind, there were two kinds of people in the world: those with dreams, and those without. And among those with dreams, there were those with ability, and those who were nothing more than daydreamers.
If a person had a dream, and also had potential, he would almost never kill them directly. Instead, he would make them hate him to their very core, and then deliberately let them go.
Because potential meant a high capacity for growth. It meant infinite possibilities. It meant that with the right opportunity, they could become strong.
Arthur hoped that in the future, these people who hated him to their very souls would be able to surpass him, to even kill him. He hoped that one day, when they had grown, they would be able to bring him a sufficient amount of… excitement and fun.
Arrogant, conceited—perhaps. But Arthur would continue to do as he pleased.
Because sooner or later, even a man as terrifyingly powerful as Whitebeard would have to face the merciless passage of time and die. He represented the strongest power on the seas. The newcomers could never hope to surpass such a man.
And when Whitebeard died, wouldn't the seas become even more boring? Arthur was accustomed to loneliness, but who truly enjoyed it?
So, when that time came, the ones with potential whom he had intentionally let escape could finally take the stage.
Fueled by their hatred, they would surely come for him again. And when they found that they could not match him, they would even join forces to try and take him down.
When the world can no longer provide you with entertainment, you have no choice but to create your own, right?
How insane was such an idea? To let your enemies escape, to let them grow stronger and team up against you in the future…
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Hearing Arthur's words, Shiryu, without a shred of hesitation, sheathed his sword, leaped into the air, and landed on the steel boat.
He did not ask Arthur his reasons for letting Moria go.
He simply took control of the vessel and began to race towards the Drum Kingdom, as indicated by the Log Pose.
Leaving only Moria, half-kneeling on the ground. As for whether he would one day walk the old path of researching zombies, that would depend on whether he could ever emerge from the shadows of this day.
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