Swoosh!
Leaping down from the ship, Gareth—unlike Gawain and Galahad—was lively and restless, her movements full of energy. She was, after all, still just a young girl; it was only natural that she behaved this way.
"Your Majesty!"
"Brother!"
Gareth stepped forward and knelt on one knee, performing a formal knight's salute.
Arthur nodded slightly. Gawain corrected her seriously:
"Gareth! You must not act this casually. In the presence of the king, you must address me as Sir Gawain, or Lord Gawain. Understand?"
"Yes!"
Gareth nodded hard, clearly meaning it… though whether she'd remember next time was another question entirely.
Arthur did not intervene. A king could be kind, but some fundamental court etiquette must never be broken. If the Round Table Knights ignored propriety, the entire order would fall into disorder.
"Your Majesty!"
Gareth rose and announced respectfully, "All the goods have been delivered back safely. There were no issues at all!"
Arthur smiled. "Good work. No problems on the way? You didn't run into any pirates?"
"We did encounter some," Gareth replied honestly, "but we dealt with them."
"Hehehe…"
Arthur nodded. "Very well. Have the materials moved into Volcano City. Then distribute everything to their respective regions."
"Yes!"
Gawain and Gareth immediately got to work. The siblings were extremely familiar with logistics—in the past, Britain had been a cursed, barren region; importing supplies was normal. After doing something hundreds of times, even a fool would remember it.
The Round Table Knights were no exception—they had long mastered this kind of work.
Watching them handle the task, Arthur did not linger. He left—some responsibilities were better left to trusted subordinates.
If the king micromanaged everything, it would only hinder them.
Returning to the main island, Arthur saw Barrett—fresh out of training, yet still pushing himself through more drills.
Arthur stopped and said:
"Bullet, training is good. But you must control yourself. Hidden injuries at your age will only cause trouble later. Don't push your body past its limits."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Bullet bowed seriously. "I understand…"
He hesitated afterward, as though wanting to say something.
"He-he…"
Arthur saw through him easily. "You want to ask about Marco, correct?"
"Yes!"
Bullet's gaze hardened. "Your Majesty, may I know how Marco is doing now?"
Obviously—
Even though Bullet, Marco, and Katakuri had spent only a short time together as apprentices on the Rocks Pirates, the three rivals truly viewed each other as lifelong competitors. None wanted to fall behind the others.
"Marco, hmm…"
Arthur smiled at Bullet's earnest expression.
"In terms of pure strength, he can't defeat you. But Marco has a Mythical Zoan ability. Bullet, you cannot slack off."
"I understand!"
Bullet's eyes sharpened.
He no longer cared about the old companions who betrayed him—only Marco and Katakuri were worthy rivals now.
As for revenge on those who abandoned him?
If he someday had the chance, he would settle that score.
If not… it no longer mattered.
Arthur watched him resume training. Bullet knew his limits; he wasn't destroying his body recklessly.
After all—
Training that harms you in the long run is never good.
Just look at Edward Newgate—years of internal injuries and backlash from the Gura Gura no Mi had greatly weakened him by the time of Marineford.
Honestly…
The three legendary pirates were all tragic in their own ways:
Roger died of illness, Whitebeard suffered crippling internal damage, and Shiki… well, with a ship rudder in his head and both legs cut off, his tragedy needed no explanation.
A big, bold "misfortune" was practically written on all their foreheads.
...
With the Whitebeard Pirates gone, and Gareth returning with supplies, life in Britain settled back into peaceful routine. Other than training and strengthening themselves, little changed.
Arthur continued to refine his own power, waiting for Max to return with Tom.
"Hmm?"
After breakfast, Arthur calculated the time.
"By my estimate, Max should be back with Tom already. Why is he—"
"Your Majesty!"
A guard entered respectfully.
"Lord Max has returned."
Arthur stood. "I see."
The guard withdrew as Arthur walked out of the palace—just in time to see Max entering Chalk City alongside a towering fish-man with a massive physique, unmistakably of the Bull-Horn Fish-Man variety.
"Hahaha!"
Upon seeing Arthur, the bull-horn fish-man burst into hearty laughter.
"So you're the famous Lord Arthur? Thank you for saving Big Brother Max! If you ever need help, I'll give it without hesitation!"
He slammed a fist against his chest—Tom had no intention of refusing anything.
Clearly—
In this era, before Fisher Tiger rose to fame, Max already held a status among Fish-Men comparable to the Tiger of the future. Not identical, but close.
Tiger was respected not merely for strength, but because he climbed the Red Line, liberated slaves, and became a hero of his people.
If Tiger had lived, Arlong and Hody Jones would never have caused so much trouble. His influence on Fish-Man Island was unmatched.
Naturally—
At this point in time, Tiger had already been born—likely in his early twenties—but Max remained the respected leader of the older generation.
In fact, Tiger and the future Fish-Man figures were all raised and guided by Max.
"Your Majesty."
Max knelt on one knee respectfully.
"Tom and I have completed the assignment."
Arthur replied kindly:
"Well done, Max. This task truly troubled you."
"Yes…"
Max stood, wanting to say something—but held his tongue. Some matters… he felt better not mentioning to the king.
Arthur noticed but did not pry. Everything could be discussed later.
Arthur turned to Tom.
"Mr. Tom, you've seen the British waters for yourself. You understand our situation. Do you think it's possible to rebuild and improve these islands?"
"Hahaha!"
Tom grinned broadly.
"Arthur, you want to connect all the British Isles together, right?"
Arthur nodded. "Correct. I want every island in the region linked."
"After all…"
"You've seen how transportation suffers because everything is so fragmented."
"Mhm!"
"Mhm!"
Tom nodded repeatedly, thinking.
"Arthur!"
"Since the British Isles sit on islands above a waterfall, connecting them is simple. I can build massive bridges linking all of them."
He gave the answer quickly and confidently.
Arthur smiled. "Do you have confidence in doing so?"
"Absolutely!"
Tom thumped his chest.
"But…"
He grew serious.
"Such bridges require significant funding. I can construct them—but if materials run short, the project becomes nothing more than decoration."
Clearly—
Tom was saying: If there's no money, I can give you something that looks nice but doesn't work. If you DO have money? I can build anything.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"Mr. Tom, rest assured—funding will never be a problem. I can purchase anything necessary. And if something can't be bought…"
A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
"Then I'll obtain it the pirate way."
He might want to retire someday, but the World Government still had him listed at 550 million berries. He was still a pirate, whether he liked it or not.
As a pirate, certain actions were expected.
"In that case, no problem!"
Tom said confidently:
"I can build bridges that will satisfy even you, Arthur. As for linking the islands below the waterfall—the Glacier Island and Volcano Island—hmm…"
He fell into thought. Clearly, he'd considered it during his journey, but lacked a complete solution.
Arthur said, "There's no rush, Tom. It's not an urgent matter."
Tom shook his head.
"Arthur! I have two ideas.
First: build a massive elevator. Simple—just expensive.
Second: connect the islands through the two hidden mountain passages and create an underwater tunnel. But that will require extensive research."
Indeed—
Option one was straightforward; option two required engineering study and careful safety planning.
If someone attacked the passages, what then?
Of course—
Arthur wasn't concerned. Once the tunnels were built and the Island Spirits of Britannia awakened further, the entire sea region would eventually become unified and protected.
At that point, security would cease to be an issue.
"I see. Two plans."
Arthur narrowed his eyes, considering.
The first idea matched his own initial thoughts.
The second was far more complete—and he had long wondered whether those underwater entrances could be utilized.
"Very well."
Arthur smiled.
"Mr. Tom, we'll proceed with the second plan. No matter how long it takes or how costly it is, as long as you can complete it, that's enough."
"Hahaha!"
Tom slammed his chest again, full of pride.
"Since you've put your trust in me, Arthur, I'll unite every inch of these islands! In fact… I have even more ideas! If we can—"
Clearly, Tom had countless ambitions.
Arthur didn't mind. The more Tom created, the better. If Tom could replicate the Sea Train here—or even reinvent it into a water tunnel—Arthur would be thrilled.
In short—
As long as Tom succeeded, money would never be a problem.
Arthur had more than enough—the wealth plundered under Rocks was a treasure hoard beyond imagination.
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