The "Ink Sea" didn't behave like water. It was thick, viscous, and smelled of old parchment and charcoal. Every splash against the hull of Arthur's ship sounded like a word being scratched out.
In front of them, the Deleted Joy Boy stood on the prow of a ship that looked like a half-finished sketch. His silhouette flickered, his limbs lengthening and shortening as if a giant, invisible hand was constantly trying to redraw him.
"He's a 'Draft'..." Arthur whispered, his Eye of Calculation vibrating so hard it began to crack.
[Analysis: Prototype Joy Boy (Model 0.1)]
[Status: Discarded for being 'Too Chaotic']
[Power Level: N/A - Exists outside the Narrative]
"He isn't just a pirate, Arthur," the Older Luffy said, his hands igniting with a Haki that was no longer red or black, but a terrifying, void-like purple. "He's the original sin of the Author. The one who refused to follow the script, so he was thrown into the trash. Now, the Author has released him to delete us."
The Ink-Blot Joy Boy opened his mouth. No sound came out, but the sky itself began to tear. Suddenly, thousands of ink-tentacles erupted from the sea, reaching for Arthur.
"System!" Arthur roared, thrusting his hands forward. "Convert all stolen assets from Ren into a Sovereign Shield! If he's a draft, then I am the final Audit!"
[Asset Conversion: 80%...]
[Warning: Authority Level 10 is unstable in the 'Scrap Dimension'!]
The ink-tentacles slammed into Arthur's barrier. The impact wasn't physical—it was mental. Arthur felt his memories of the modern world, the Swiss bank, even his own name, being tugged at. The Joy Boy prototype wasn't trying to kill him; it was trying to Overwrite him.
"You want my identity?" Arthur grinned, despite the blood pouring from his eyes. "You can't afford it! Skill Activate: Debt Transfer!"
Arthur grabbed one of the ink-tentacles with his bare hand. Instead of pulling back, he pushed his own "Level 1" corruption—the darkness he started with—into the prototype.
"If you want to be part of the story again," Arthur hissed, "then you have to take the Debt of every soul I've liquidated! Take the bankruptcy of the New World!"
The Prototype Joy Boy froze. The ink-blots that served as his eyes began to swirl frantically. For the first time in 800 years, the "Forgotten One" felt a weight he couldn't carry. The sheer mathematical complexity of Arthur's greed was a virus to the chaotic draft.
"Now, Luffy!" Arthur screamed.
The Older Luffy vanished. He reappeared above the prototype, his leg coated in a Haki that seemed to warp the very dimensions of the room. "Gomu Gomu no... EXTINCTION RED!"
The kick connected, not with the prototype's body, but with its "Anchor" to the world. A massive explosion of white and black ink blinded everything.
Moments Later – The Fog Clears
Arthur fell to one knee, gasping for air. The Prototype Joy Boy was gone, but the Ink Sea remained. The Older Luffy stood a few feet away, his body becoming even more transparent.
"We didn't kill him," Luffy whispered. "We just sent him back to the 'Margins'. But Arthur... look."
Arthur looked at his hands. They were stained with a gold-and-black ink that wouldn't wash off.
[Notification: You have successfully 'Acquired' a portion of the Original Draft]
[New Status: Co-Author (Temporary)]
[Current Debt: Infinite]
Suddenly, a loud PING echoed across the entire dimension. It wasn't a System sound. It was the sound of a Notification from a smartphone.
Arthur looked down. In the middle of the Ink Sea, a modern, sleek black smartphone was floating. It was vibrating.
Arthur picked it up. The screen showed a single message from an "Unknown Caller":
"The Editor-in-Chief is displeased. The 'Final Edit' has been moved up. The first island to be deleted is... Egghead."
Arthur's heart stopped. If Egghead was deleted, the technology, the secrets of the Void Century, and Vegapunk would all vanish before the story even reached its climax.
But then, the phone buzzed again. A second message appeared.
"P.S. Imu has just sent you a Friend Request. He wants to 'Collaborate'."
Suddenly, the ship beneath Arthur began to turn into a giant, living Den Den Mushi, and the voice of the Five Elders boomed from the masts.
"Arthur... we have a business proposal that even a monster like you can't refuse."
Behind them, the sky began to peel back again, revealing not the Author's finger, but a massive, golden eye—The Eye of Imu, looking down from the real world into the "Scraps."
[TO BE CONTINUED]