"Sorry about that."
Arthur smiled faintly, completely unfazed.
"Shiki, I'm not interested in becoming your right hand."
"And besides… I'm responsible for everyone here. I am the king of Britannia now. If I can't even fulfill that responsibility, that would be disgraceful."
Arthur rejected him without a hint of hesitation.
To be precise—there was no world in which he would ever accept Shiki's offer.
Back in the Rocks Pirates, every officer was a monster with a sky-high ego, born with the disposition of a ruler—wielders of Conqueror's Haki.
The only person who could force those monsters to behave was Rocks himself, and even then, only because time, place, and circumstance aligned.
Change any one of those variables—and everything would fall apart instantly.
"Jihahahaha!"
Shiki's grin twisted.
"As expected! You still won't behave, Arthur! Fine then—if you won't serve me, I'll just destroy you!"
"Lion's Threat: Sea Surge!"
He struck without warning. At his command, the ocean roared, as if he intended to hurl the entire Britannia sea region into chaos.
But—
Arthur simply stood there.
"…"
And then, the bizarre happened.
Shiki failed.
Completely and utterly.
The seawater did not move.
It didn't even tremble.
"Huh?"
"Lion's Threat: Earth Roll!"
"Lion's Threat: Sky Roll!"
Shiki repeatedly activated his powers, but within Britannia's waters, nothing responded.
Not a single pebble budged.
"Hohoho…"
Arthur's smile deepened.
"Don't waste your strength, Shiki. If even your Devil Fruit powers worked here, I wouldn't be standing."
"Jihahahahaha!"
"Arthur, you really do amuse me—more and more! In that case…"
"Lion's Threat: Sea Surge!"
Shiki stretched out his hand toward the distant open sea.
Massive waves rose, twisting into roaring lion heads that charged straight toward the Britannia Islands.
Shiki sneered:
"Just as I suspected—this region might be under your control, but the farther ocean isn't!"
"Wind King's Hammer!"
Arthur leapt high—the howling gale struck down like an iron mallet, smashing Shiki's lion-shaped waves to pieces.
He landed atop the Volcano Island, speaking calmly:
"I'm right here. If you want a fight, go ahead."
"Jihahahahaha!"
"Arrogant brat!"
Shiki cackled wildly.
"So one month was enough to give you a big head, huh? Fine! Let's see if you really got stronger!"
Shing!
Both of Shiki's famous swords flew from their sheaths, coated in jet-black Armament Haki, hacking toward Arthur.
Arthur drew his sword from below, meeting the strike head-on.
CLANG!
The vicious clash exploded with dark-violet lightning, blasting the island and sea with waves of pressure.
Next moment—
BOOM!
A pillar of magma erupted from the ground where Shiki had been standing, catching him off guard.
More pillars followed—dozens—erupting wildly, engulfing the Golden Lion in a chaotic storm of molten rock.
Arthur moved in, closing distance in a blink.
Excalibur danced—elegant swordsmanship pressing Shiki down with overwhelming technique.
"Wave Slash!"
"Wind King's Sword!"
Endless cuts collided with Shiki's slashes and the storm subsided.
The island fell quiet once more.
Shiki reappeared in the sky, hovering far above, staring down with a sharp expression.
The Volcano Island returned to its normal state—no more eruptions, no more damage. Everything healed on its own.
"Huh?"
Shiki's eyes narrowed.
"This island… repaired itself? And those magma pillars were clearly targeting me—not Arthur."
"So that means…"
A chilling possibility flashed in his mind.
Is this island… alive?
"Jihahahahaha!"
"Arthur! This Britannia place of yours just keeps getting more interesting!"
"In that case—"
"—this island belongs to me!"
Shiki stretched out his hand, activating the full power of the Float-Float Fruit, intending to lift the entire Volcano Island into the sky.
To note:
Shiki's Devil Fruit works in two ways:
1. Direct Touch: Anything he touches with his hands—so long as it has no life—can be made to float.
2. Elemental Influence: For non-living environmental masses (water, earth, etc.), he can manipulate them without direct touch.
But—
"…"
Nothing happened.
The island didn't move.
At all.
Shiki froze, expression twisting.
This was not something he had ever encountered.
"Hahaha."
Arthur broke the silence with a teasing laugh.
"Shiki, give it up. Britannia's islands aren't something your Fruit can manipulate."
"If you don't believe me, have your ships sail forward. See what happens."
Arthur smiled playfully—he knew exactly what Shiki was like.
"Jihahahaha!"
"Nice try, brat!"
"You think I'd fall for such a childish provocation?"
Shiki snorted.
"These islands are weapons—volcanoes, glaciers, forests, plains, deserts, lakes, mountains. I can see it clearly."
"One wrong move and my ships would be wiped out."
Shiki looked insane most of the time, but he was no fool.
He didn't become one of the future Three Legendary Pirates by being an idiot.
Arthur shrugged lightly.
"Shame. Would've been fun to watch."
Shiki stared at Arthur deeply.
"Honestly, kid, I didn't expect you to prepare all this."
"But it doesn't matter."
"As long as I beat you and take you hostage, everything here belongs to me."
"In this sea—strength is everything."
Shing… shing…
His twin blades hummed, bloodthirsty and eager.
Arthur smiled back.
"That first round, yeah… the gap was still there."
"But now? It won't be a problem."
He released it.
The Island Blessing.
A torrent of Britannia's power surged into Arthur's body—strength, vitality, Haki, everything skyrocketing.
This intoxicating surge was exactly why he normally avoided using it.
"Hmm?"
Shiki raised an eyebrow.
"Where does your confidence come from, brat?"
"Lion's Threat: Sea Surge!"
"Wave Slash!"
Shiki attacked instantly.
A tidal wave of lion heads fused with Armament Haki roared down at Arthur, accompanied by a barrage of slashes far stronger than before.
"What a terrifying attack…"
"Wind King's Shield!"
Arthur calmly extended his hand.
A colossal shield of compressed wind formed, covering the entire Britannia region like a dome.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The impact shook the sky and sea alike—an explosion that could split an island.
Yet Arthur blocked it completely.
Shiki's eyes widened.
No change in Arthur's expression.
No strain.
No sweat.
"…Impossible."
"This kid got stronger."
"How!? In such a short time? Using some special technique?"
Shiki knew forbidden methods—burning life force, sacrificial power-ups, etc.
But Arthur's state was nothing like those.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
"Strange… how is he doing this…?"
Still, Shiki pressed the attack.
CLANG!
CRACKLE!
They clashed again—pure swordsmanship.
Shiki, a true Great Swordsman—possibly a contender for the title of World's Strongest Swordsman—was overwhelming by nature.
But Arthur was no less skilled.
Clash after clash, dozens within seconds.
Each time, Shiki felt it:
Arthur Pendragon—this brat who was once nothing more than a trainee—now possessed strength equal to his own.
It defied reason.
It defied logic.
How could he evolve this fast?
But the battlefield offered no time to question it.
"Lion's Song: Thousand Valley Cutter!"
"Lion's Song: Falling Sakura!"
Countless cherry blossom-like slashes descended—beautiful, yet deadly enough to shred life to pieces.
Arthur slipped through all of them with calm precision.
BOOM! BOOM!
In a flash, Arthur shot upward, unleashing an immense sweeping attack.
"Wind King's Scythe!"
A massive crescent of howling wind tore toward Shiki.
The Golden Lion blocked it, the two locking eyes midair, both smiling.
But before either could move again—
They both suddenly looked up.
A familiar presence.
A monstrous aura.
Arthur whispered:
"Knew it. That guy would never miss a chance to cause trouble."
And sure enough—
From the clouds above…
A gigantic Azure Dragon emerged.
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