"Jihahahahaha!"
Shiki let out an excited, wild laugh.
"Arthur, brat! This isn't the end of it! I'm honestly looking forward to what comes next—I never expected you to become this strong!"
With that vicious grin, Shiki shot into the sky.
His figure streaked upward in a trail of shimmering light, then vanished completely.
As the saying goes—
Shiki.
When that man wants to leave, the power of the Float-Float Fruit makes him nearly impossible to stop. As for why he later insisted on fighting Sengoku and Garp to the bitter end and ended up in Impel Down…
Arthur could only say:
"That guy clearly has something wrong in his head."
Otherwise, how could anyone commit such unbelievably stupid actions?
It was pure, unfiltered recklessness—no sane person would do that.
Anyway—
Shiki was gone.
And the war…
was won.
Strange as it was.
It had started more like a set of one-on-one duels—so why did it escalate into a full war?
Simple.
If Arthur had lost…
If Gawain had lost…
If Galahad had lost…
Then Britannia would have been completely destroyed.
Never doubt it for a moment—Shiki and Kaido were absolutely the type who would leave nothing alive.
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!"
Gawain, Galahad, and the others rushed to Arthur's side.
"Hehehe…"
Arthur smiled calmly.
"It seems the victory belongs to us."
Everything had finally fallen back on track.
A wide grin formed on Arthur's lips.
As long as they had endured Shiki's assault, everything from this point onward would be much easier.
"But…"
"Shiki."
"Kaido."
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
Since you two chose to strike while we were vulnerable…
Once this is over, I won't let either of you walk away unscathed.
Did you really think you could do whatever you wanted and no one would take revenge?
Impossible.
"Alright."
Arthur continued with a soft smile,
"Let's return to business. Hugh—send more people to purchase supplies. Looking at things now, Britannia Island is still far from being self-sufficient. Until then, we'll need constant resupply."
Hugh pounded his chest.
"Leave it to me, Your Majesty!"
Then Arthur looked toward Max.
"Max, I'm entrusting this next task to you. Go bring back the shipwright Tom. We'll hire him directly. I'll pay twice the standard rate."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Max bowed deeply.
This was the first task their king had entrusted to him—and a mission representing his entire tribe.
Failing wasn't an option.
Not when Arthur had saved his life.
And although he had joined Britannia only a few days ago, Max already felt something indescribably different from his past.
Perhaps, if he continued walking this path, he would see a future he had never dared to imagine.
Golden Lion Shiki.
One of the most infamous pirates in the world.
Yet his attack had been driven off—and that alone proved enough.
Soon after—
Hugh and Max began their assigned preparations.
As for Wei and other one, their jobs were simple: keep watch and guard the area.
More importantly…
Arthur intended to gather warriors from various races and train them.
Not as future Knights of the Round Table—they weren't qualified for that yet.
But they could become knights.
And Arthur was already considering where to find craftsmen capable of forging armor for all these different races.
This wasn't a joke.
If Britannia intended to become an empire, knight armor was standard equipment.
Now that Shiki's attack had been repelled, Britannia had entered a state of rapid reconstruction—like a nation rising from ruins, preparing silently for the future.
---
Meanwhile — Shiki's Ship
Swoosh!
"Boss Shiki!"
"What are you thinking?"
The pirates following him couldn't help asking in confusion.
They couldn't understand it.
How had Shiki ended in a draw with Arthur?
And why hadn't he allowed them to attack?
With their strength, they were confident they could wipe Britannia off the map.
Shiki replied coldly:
"That entire sea region is strange. The islands feel like they're alive. If you charge in recklessly, the consequences will be troublesome."
"What…?"
The pirates stared in disbelief.
Shiki continued,
"And most importantly—Arthur's brat… he's not weaker than me. I've fought him long enough to know that for sure."
"I can guarantee—his strength is no less than mine."
"And…"
"I can also guarantee he used some method to boost his strength in a very short time."
"However…"
Shiki narrowed his eyes sharply.
"What I don't understand is—how he did it. What kind of method could give him that kind of power?"
The pirates looked completely baffled.
Shiki, however, suddenly burst into manic laughter.
"Jihahahahaha! Prepare yourselves! If Arthur can grow to that level, then if we fall behind, wouldn't that be embarrassing?!"
"ROAR!"
The pirates were fired up, eyes shining with excitement and ferocity.
Shiki lifted his gaze toward the horizon.
If he were the Shiki of later years—the one tempered by countless events—he would probably join forces with Kaido to eliminate Arthur.
But the Shiki of today?
He was still a proud, ambitious "Golden Lion."
In his eyes, Arthur's victory was merely circumstantial.
Next time, the victory would surely be his.
"Jihahahahaha~!"
"Men!"
"Set sail!"
"We'll grow stronger!"
"The Flying Pirates—"
"WILL BECOME THE STRONGEST PIRATE CREW IN THE WORLD!"
"Boss is right!"
"Uooohhh!"
His crew howled like madmen as their ship ascended once more.
---
Elsewhere...
Meanwhile, Kaido's furious roar echoed across the skies like a dragon cry.
Being nearly defeated by Arthur's two knights?
Unacceptable.
Absolutely unacceptable.
---
On the Oro Jackson...
"Hoh?"
Roger blinked at the newspaper in his hand.
"Well I'll be damned… Arthur Pendragon actually stopped Shiki's attack? And the Britannia Isles… are that powerful?"
The rest of his crew gathered around.
A month had passed.
During that month, the Roger Pirates had risen to prominence in the New World.
With their overwhelming strength and the former Rocks Pirates members among them—their reputation had exploded overnight.
Reading the article, Rayleigh mused,
"This really is unexpected… Arthur Pendragon. Has he really grown this strong?"
They had seen each other briefly at God Valley.
At that time, Arthur had been strong—but nowhere near the level of Shiki, Roger, or Rayleigh.
And after just one month?
He had reached this level?
Hard to believe.
Roger laughed loudly.
"Hahahaha! Whatever the case, it sounds fun! Men, get ready—we're heading to the Britannia Sea! I want to see what that place looks like!"
"Roger!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Rayleigh stopped him.
"We need to calm down. We don't have the time or stability for that right now. Picking a fight with Britannia—and Arthur—is pointless."
"Che!"
Roger pouted like a sulking child.
They weren't afraid of Arthur—but barging into another nation's territory for no reason?
That would cause trouble.
"Fine, fine," Roger sighed.
"But where's our next destination?"
Rayleigh grinned.
"We're broke. Let's go plunder a random kingdom."
"No problem!"
"Men! SET SAIL!"
"UOOOOHHH!"
Their wild roars filled the ship as they headed off.
---
Across the World...
The news spread like wildfire.
Arthur Pendragon.
Once, he had been merely an apprentice aboard the Rocks Pirates.
Nobody expected much from him.
But now?
He had conquered God Valley.
Renamed it the Britannia Sea.
Unified various non-human races under his banner—an unbelievable feat, considering the ancient enmity between humans and non-humans.
And then—
He repelled Golden Lion Shiki.
This single event—
catapulted Britannia into global fame.
Arthur's strength…
His influence…
His terrifying potential…
Everyone now knew his name.
After all—
The fastest way to rise to prominence
is to step on the legends who came before you.
Roger did it.
And now, Arthur had done it too.
---
Holy Land of Mariejois
Inside a quiet chamber, the Five Elders read the report.
None of them showed the slightest reaction.
"Knight of the Sun—Gawain."
"Knight of the Grail—Galahad."
"Keep an eye on those two," one said lightly.
"They seem competent."
"As for the others?"
"No need to worry."
"Everything is progressing exactly the way we planned."
They all smiled faintly.
Since Arthur had once defeated Genar, the outcome against Shiki had never concerned them.
In fact—
They were encouraging Britannia's rise.
The stronger Arthur's reputation became—
The more useful he was to them.
---------------------------///
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