Thirty-five thousand feet above the Grand Line, the floating continent of Merveille basked under the golden radiance of the upper atmosphere.
In the Great Citadel of Camelot, atop the central mountain plateau, the air thrummed with deep, rhythmic power.
Beneath the soil, the dismantled gold power grid—salvaged from the ruins of the Ark Maxim and integrated into the bedrock of Upper Yard—channeled ceaseless currents of clean electricity throughout the realm.
Ancient Shandorian irrigation channels flowed with crystal waters, while the prehistoric beasts in the southern valleys roared beneath a sky untainted by the World Government’s shadow.
Arthur Pendragon stood at the edge of the Grand Proving Grounds, his dark coat draped over broad shoulders, his golden eyes observing the arena below.
Beside him stood Nico Robin, holding a leather-bound military ledger, and Kalifa, whose appearance had already shifted from that of a mild-mannered secretary to that of a sharp, lethal imperial officer.
She had consumed the Tetsu Tetsu no Mi three hours prior.
Under the medicinal oversight of Dr.
Kureha, her lineage factor had fully synthesized with the Paramecia fruit.
Kalifa extended her right arm.
With a soft chime of metallic resonance, her porcelain skin hardened into polished, mirror-sheened Damascus steel from her fingertips to her elbow.
“A staggering increase in kinetic density,” Kalifa noted, her rimless glasses flashing in the sun.
“When combined with Tekkai, my defensive threshold matches heavy naval armor.
My Shigan can pierce tempered iron without relying on Haki.”
“That is merely the baseline, Kalifa,” Arthur said without turning his head.
“A Devil Fruit is limited only by the ambition and imagination of its wielder.
When you coat that steel in Busoshoku Haki, no blade short of a Meito will leave a scratch on your flesh.
Robin, begin the imperial military review.”
Robin opened the ledger, her fountain pen poised above the parchment.
“The Vanguard, the Giant Faction, and the Sky Guard have assembled at the southern proving arena.
The results of the last month of intensive conditioning are ready for your evaluation, Sovereign.”
Arthur descended into the arena.
As he walked, Arthur’s thoughts turned inward toward his own physical vessel—to the profound secret that separated him from every living being across the seas.
In this world, the law of Devil Fruits was absolute: consume a second fruit, and the soul’s conflicting lineage factors would tear the human vessel apart in a bloody explosion.
When Sengoku and Tsuru analyzed the reports in Marineford, their logic was impeccable by mortal standards.
They concluded a shadow syndicate must exist, because no single man could house a Mythical Zoan, the Float-Float Fruit, and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit simultaneously.
Yet Arthur did.
When he first transmigrated into this world, the entity that granted his crossing had offered him a single foundation.
Remembering the monstrous anomaly of Marshall D.
Teach—the strange body that never slept and could wield multiple devilish powers—Arthur had demanded Teach’s atypical physique.
But the entity had refined the wish: purifying the dark, chaotic mutation into a divine tri-core spiritual architecture.
His soul was forged with Three Cores.
One for the ancient sovereign dragon (Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Imperial Pendragon).
One for the sky-dominating gravity of Shiki (Fuwa Fuwa no Mi).
And one for the boundless heavenly lightning (Goro Goro no Mi).
Three cores was the absolute, inviolable limit.
If Arthur ever attempted to consume a Fourth Devil Fruit, the celestial harmony of his soul would shatter, inflicting an irreversible curse that would instantly disintegrate his body.
It was for this exact reason that Arthur hoarded the Awa Awa no Mi and the Ushi Ushi no Mi in his vault, and bestowed the Tetsu Tetsu no Mi onto Kalifa.
His throne was complete; his empire required sworn pillars to wield the rest.
The Southern Proving Arena was a massive colosseum carved from dense Shandorian bedrock, reinforced with gold-alloy shock-absorbers capable of withstanding siege-grade artillery.
At the center of the dust-swept field, two colossal figures were locked in a thunderous clash.
BOOM!
Brogy’s giant battleaxe slammed into Dorry’s longsword with an impact that blew away the surrounding dust clouds in a violent shockwave.
Both titans of Elbaf stood in their full, restored physical primes.
The century of starvation, dull blades, and minor wounds from Little Garden had been completely eradicated by Dr.
Kureha’s revitalizing alchemy and Merveille’s abundant prehistoric meat reserves.
Their massive forearms were now wrapped in distinct, glossy sheens of black Armament Haki.
“Again, Brogy!” Dorry roared with a ferocious grin, his golden beard bristling.
“You swing like an unweaned calf from Elbaf!”
“Watch your tongue, Dorry!” Brogy bellowed back, his axe glowing with dense kinetic force.
“I’ll carve your helm in two!”
Standing at the edge of the sparring circle, watching their chiefs with awe and reverence, were Oimo and Kashi.
The two newly liberated gatekeeper giants wore heavy plate armor forged from Merveille’s titanium-steel reserves.
In their hands, their traditional clubs and axes had been refitted with Skypiean Impact Dials and Flame Dials embedded into the striking heads by Shandorian craftsmen.
A single downward blow from Oimo’s club now triggered a localized explosive shockwave upon contact.
“Lord Arthur!” Dorry and Brogy immediately halted their spar, planting the tips of their weapons into the ground and dropping to one knee with a sound like shifting mountains.
Oimo and Kashi followed suit instantly, pressing their fists over their breastplates.
“Rise, warriors of Elbaf,” Arthur commanded smoothly.
He stepped into the center of the ring, assessing their vitality.
“Your Haki integration has stabilized.
The Imperial Hakoku requires mutual resonance—when your Armament coats your blades in full, your joint strike will possess the power to obliterate an entire naval blockade with a single swing.”
“Under your command, Sovereign!” Dorry rumbled proudly.
“Oimo and Kashi have begun mastering our clan’s ancient siege formations.
Our Giant Vanguard stands ready to crush any fleet that challenges your borders!”
Arthur nodded with satisfaction, his gaze shifting toward the western aerial range.
In the sky above the arena, a streak of crackling blue energy crisscrossed the clouds.
Wyper, the former Berserker of Shandora, descended through the air on custom Milky-Dial skates.
In his hands, he held his heavy Burn Bazooka—now re-engineered with an internal electromagnetic acceleration rail powered by Merveille’s lightning grid.
Crackle!
Wyper’s skin hummed with secondary electrical discharges.
Having consumed the Shock-Shock Fruit, his physical strikes carried concussive electrical trauma.
As he landed, his bazooka fired a compressed beam of superheated energy that vaporized a five-ton granite boulder a half-mile away into glowing slag.
“Lord Arthur,” Wyper greeted, dropping to a disciplined combat knee, his tribal tattoos taut over hardened muscle.
His eyes, once blinded by blind vengeance against Skypiea, now burned with the icy focus of an imperial commander.
“The Sky Guard has completed their transition.
Two hundred Shandorian commandos have mastered aerial dial combat and basic Observation Haki.
We stand ready to deploy across the Grand Line.”
Behind Wyper stepped Laki, Arthur’s personal bodyguard and leader of the Royal Shadows.
She moved without a whisper of sound, her dark eyes sharp and observant.
At her waist rested dual custom flintlocks with rifled barrels, loaded with condensed elemental dial ammunition.
Her Observation Haki—the ancient Mantra of the sky—had matured to the point where she could predict the trajectory of enemy fire seconds before triggers were pulled.
“No threats detected within three hundred miles of our sovereign airspace, My Lord,” Laki reported softly, bowing her head in deep reverence.
“The perimeter is secure.”
Arthur placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, acknowledging her vigilance.
“Well done, Laki.
Your senses sharpen by the day.”
At the eastern logistics and artillery depot, an entirely different kind of explosion rattled the windows.
KABOOM!
A brilliant, multicolored explosion erupted across the target range.
Red smoke cleared to reveal Buggy standing proudly atop a stack of iron munitions crates, his captain’s coat flapping wildly in the breeze.
“Gwahahaha!
Witness the absolute genius of the Great Buggy-sama!” the blue-haired pirate cackled, holding a newly polished, miniature red sphere between his fingers.
Buggy’s Bara Bara no Mi had undergone brutal, forced development under Arthur’s strict directives.
No longer was his power used merely to detach his limbs to run away; Buggy had learned to split his flesh at a microscopic level, allowing physical blades and incoming projectiles to pass harmlessly through his severed cellular gaps.
More importantly, Arthur had forced him to integrate basic Armament Haki into his floating limbs.
“Lord Arthur!” Buggy shrieked, instantly abandoning his arrogant pose and scrambling down the crates the moment he spotted the Sovereign.
He bowed so low his red nose nearly touched the dirt.
“I have completed the batch!
By combining Skypiean Flame Dials, sulfur from Drum Island, and the electromagnetic charges from your lightning grid, I present: the Super Electromagnetic Muggy Shell!
One shot has the blast yield of twenty standard naval cannons, and the casing splits mid-air into shrapnel!”
“A commendable achievement, Buggy,” Arthur said with a faint smirk.
“Your tactical mind for artillery remains one of Merveille’s greatest auxiliary assets.
Ensure our aerial vessels are retrofitted with these shells.”
“Y-Yes, Sovereign!
Consider it done!” Buggy stammered, his chest swelling with unearned pride.
Finally, Arthur arrived at the subterranean training dungeon, where the Ground Vanguard—the former elite officer agents of Baroque Works—were undergoing grueling martial conditioning under the oversight of Daz Bonez (Mr.
1).
The chamber rang with the harsh clash of steel on stone.
Daz Bonez stood shirtless, his broad torso covered in sweat, his forearms transformed into whirling, razor-sharp steel blades via the Supa Supa no Mi.
Facing him were Mr.
2 Bon Kurei, dancing with lethal, enhanced swan-kicks, and Mr.
3 Galdino, whose candle wax had been re-engineered with chemical additives from Dr.
Kureha to possess the hardness of tempered stone and extreme heat resistance.
When Arthur entered, Daz Bonez immediately sheathed his blades, standing at attention with iron discipline.
“Sovereign,” Daz Bonez grunted, inclining his head.
“My blade arts have broken through.
By coating my steel limbs in Busoshoku Haki, my edge can now cut through reinforced steel plating without dulling.
The Vanguard is ready for deployment.”
Arthur surveyed the ranks before him.
The military structure of Merveille was no longer a chaotic collection of recruits; it was now organized into clear, definitive tiers of combat authority.
The foundation was complete.
Nico Robin stepped to Arthur’s side, handing him the completed imperial dossier.
“The comprehensive military assessment of Merveille is compiled, Lord Arthur,” Robin said smoothly.
“Our combat readiness has exceeded every initial projection.”
Arthur took the ledger, his analytical gaze scanning the progression data of his empire.
Imperial Military Progression & Power Status Panel
[Sovereign Profile]
True Name: Arthur Pendragon
Sovereign Title: The Sky Sovereign
Combat Tier: 🔴 High Admiral Tier (Sovereign Apex)
World Government Classification: Unconfirmed Identity / Supreme Daikengou (Zero Bounty, Threat Level: Sovereign Syndicate)
Territory: The Floating Empire of Merveille (Upper Yard, Shandora, Angel Island, Prehistoric Reserve of Little Garden)
[Divine Tri-Core Lineage (3/3 Cores – Maximum Capacity)]
Core I: Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Imperial Pendragon (Mythical Zoan): Mastery 95%Status: Near-Awakened.Abilities: Sovereign Dragon Form, Calamity Flames, Continental Scale Armor, Draconic Vitality & Regeneration.
Core II: Fuwa Fuwa no Mi (Paramecia): Mastery 65% (+3%)Status: Mid-Stage Mastery.Abilities: Absolute Gravitational Negation, Mass Island Levitation, Acoustic/Vibrational Shroud.
Core III: Goro Goro no Mi (Logia): Mastery 30% (+5%)Status: Early-Stage Logia Mastery.Abilities: Elemental Intangibility, 200 Million Volts Output, Continental Electromagnetic Mantra (Observation Amplification), Biological Nervous System Shock.Limitation Rule: Vessel fully saturated (3/3).
Attempting to consume a 4th Devil Fruit will trigger a spiritual lineage collapse and fatal curse.
[Haki Mastery Metrics]
Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation): AdvancedMetrics: Future Sight (3–4 Seconds), Continental Electromagnetic Radar.
Busoshoku Haki (Armament): AdvancedMetrics: Internal Destruction, Ryuo Flow, Hardened Black Blade Infusion.
Haoshoku Haki (Conqueror’s): AdvancedMetrics: Sovereign Infusion, Sky-Splitting Pressure, Internal Nervous Shock.
[Swordsmanship & Secret Arts]
Rank: Daikengou (Supreme Grandmaster).
Meito: Oto and Kogarashi (Twin O-Wazamono Blades of Shiki).
Secret Arts: Twin Dragon Style: Sovereign Sky-Sever, Imperial Hakoku (Giant Clan Sovereignty), Silent Thunder Step.
[Imperial Command & Military Tier Stratification]
🟠 Tier I: Admiral-Level (The Great Pillars)
1st Seat: [Vacant – Reserved for Supreme Military Commander]
Future Seats (2nd–11th): [Open / Reserved for Admiral-Tier Global Recruits]
🟡 Tier II: Vice Admiral-Level (Division Commanders)
2nd Seat (Giant Faction Co-Leaders): Dorry & BrogyCombat Power: High Vice Admiral Tier (Peak Physical Prime Restored).Haki: Hardened Armament (Busoshoku), Basic Observation.Specialization: Imperial Hakoku, Ancient Elbaf Siege Tactics.
Sky Guard Division Commander: WyperCombat Power: Mid-Tier Vice Admiral.Fruit: Shock-Shock Fruit (Paramecia).Specialization: Electromagnetic Rail Burn Bazooka, Milky-Dial Aerial Mobility, High-Voltage Concussive Combat.
Director of Imperial Espionage: KalifaCombat Power: Vice Admiral Candidate.Fruit: Tetsu Tetsu no Mi (Iron-Iron Fruit – Paramecia).Specialization: Steel-Hardened Rokushiki, Black Market Infiltration, Counter-Intelligence.
🟢 Tier III: Elite Commander-Level (Vanguard Officers)
Ground Vanguard Commander: Daz Bonez (Mr.
1)Combat Power: High Rear Admiral Tier.Fruit: Supa Supa no Mi (Dice-Dice Fruit – Paramecia).Specialization: Armament Haki Infused Steel Slicing, Frontline Vanguard Command.
Commander of Royal Shadows: LakiCombat Power: High Rear Admiral Tier.Specialization: Advanced Mantra (Observation Haki), Elemental Dial Sniper Arts, Sovereign Close-Protection.
Gatekeeper Titans: Oimo & KashiCombat Power: Rear Admiral Tier (Heavy Siege Breakers).Equipment: Dial-Reinforced Flame/Impact Heavy Weapons, Titanium-Steel Armor.
🔵 Tier IV: Specialist & Auxiliary Tier (Strategic Support)
12th Seat (Auxiliary & Artillery Vanguard): Buggy the ClownCombat Power: High-Tier Auxiliary Specialist.Fruit: Bara Bara no Mi (Chop-Chop Fruit – Microscopic Splitting, Basic Armament).Specialization: Electromagnetic Super Muggy Shells, Underworld Logistics, Fleet Bombardment.
Tactical Fortress Engineer: Galdino (Mr.
3)Specialization: Chemically Hardened Wax Defense, Rapid Structural Engineering.
Infiltration Specialist: Bon Kurei (Mr.
2)Specialization: Mane Mane no Mi Identity Theft, Okama Kenpo Reconnaissance.
[Imperial Council & Civil Leadership]
Nico Robin: Chief Imperial Archaeologist (Ohara Scholar, Ancient Weapons Historian).
Princess Nefertari Vivi: Diplomatic Representative (Foreign Affairs, Royal Retinue).
Dr.
Kureha: Grand Chancellor of Medicine (Academy Director, Bio-Chemical Research).
[Imperial Treasury & Strategic Assets]
Ancient Weapons: Authentic Blueprints of the Battleship Pluton (Secured from Water 7).
Devil Fruit Vault: Awa Awa no Mi (Bubble-Bubble), Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Giraffe (Ox-Ox).
Treasury: Pure Shandorian Sky-Gold Reserves (150+ Billion Berries in bullion), Ark Maxim Gold Capacitors.
Ancient Relics: The Golden Bell of Shandora, Shandora Poneglyph (Poseidon).
Arthur closed the ledger, handing it back to Nico Robin.
Down in the proving arena, the clash of weapons and the roar of the warriors continued without pause.
Dorry and Brogy’s blades locked in thunderous sparks; Wyper’s rail-bazooka boomed across the target ranges; and Daz Bonez’s steel arms sheared through granite blocks.
They trained not out of routine, but with the relentless hunger of an army forging itself for global supremacy.
Arthur stood in silence, watching the sweat and blood of his men soak into the soil of Merveille.
Yet his thoughts were no longer bound to the plateau.
His golden eyes narrowed, looking past the cloud sea toward the distant ocean currents near Long Ring Long Land.
According to his calculations and the maritime trajectories of the lower seas, the Straw Hat Pirates would soon be crossing paths with the most dangerous obstacle of their early journey: Marine Admiral Aokiji.
A faint, predatory heat ignited in Arthur’s chest.
He was not heading to that frozen sea merely to watch over Luffy, nor was he going simply to shield his brother.
Arthur’s third core—the Goro Goro no Mi—was sitting at 30% mastery.
His Fuwa Fuwa no Mi was hovering at 65%.
To push past those plateaus, theoretical training and routine sparring against subordinates were utterly useless.
A sovereign’s breakthrough required a crucible of life-and-death extremity.
It required the unyielding, sub-zero absolute chill of a Marine Admiral.
“Train them well, Robin,” Arthur murmured softly, his hand settling firmly over the golden guard of Oto, his draconic blood beginning to simmer with anticipation.
“Let their steel temper in the heat.
For the storm I am about to bring upon this world will freeze the very ocean beneath our feet.”