The warship descended from the sky and landed at the harbor.
Arthur carried a crate of supplies from one of the cargo ships toward Dragon’s warship.
As he walked, he saw the pirates they had defeated and captured the previous night being transferred onto a prison transport ship.
Dragon stood nearby with his arms crossed.
When Arthur passed him, Dragon gave him an encouraging nod—the kind of look a superior gave to a subordinate in whom he had great expectations.
“…”
Arthur returned the look with obvious disdain.
Dragon immediately snapped,
“Hey!
What’s with that expression?
I have high hopes for you!”
“Colonel ,” Arthur replied as he continued carrying the supplies, “everyone has their own path.
Survival belongs to those best suited to it.”
With that, he walked away.
Dragon’s expression stiffened.
“Arthur…
what exactly do you mean by that?”
Arthur’s way of thinking felt nothing like that of an ordinary fourteen-year-old.
“It’s nothing.”
“Let’s get moving.”
“We’ve still got another destination.”
Soon, the resupply was complete.
Dragon personally counted the troops who remained fit to continue the next mission.
Out of the original eight hundred Marines…
Only three hundred seventy-one remained, including himself.
Standing on the deck, Dragon studied the orders in his hand.
“That should still be enough manpower to escort the experimental subjects.”
“It’s only about a two-day trip.”
Nearby, Arthur had brought out the iron pot filled with iron sand and resumed stabbing his fingers into it over and over to train Finger Pistol (Shigan).
His wrists and fingers were already exceptionally strong.
But piercing straight through a person’s body with a single finger…
That was still beyond him.
The warship slowly departed Lionheart Island.
As Arthur continued striking the iron sand, he suddenly looked up.
In the distance lay a pitch-black island.
Its surface was covered in volcanic rock.
Pools of molten magma still bubbled across the ground.
Scattered among the ruins stood charred figures frozen forever in desperate poses as they had tried to flee.
“…This has nothing to do with me.”
“The only reason it bothers me is because I’m still clinging to the values I had before coming to this world.”
Lowering his head, Arthur forced himself to resume training.
The beautiful sunset no longer seemed beautiful.
“This world’s logic has never been normal.”
“I need to throw away the ideals and values I brought with me…”
“Once I’ve mastered the Six Powers…”
“I’ll leave the Marines peacefully.”
His five fingers stabbed into the iron sand faster and faster.
The setting sun gradually disappeared beneath the horizon.
Sweat poured from Arthur’s body, dripping onto the deck and into the basin.
Before long, the skin on his fingertips split open, exposing raw flesh.
His expression grew increasingly frustrated.
“Damn it!”
With a furious kick, he sent the iron basin flying.
“Why can’t I calm myself like I always do?!”
“Sergeant…”
“Sergeant Arthur…”
After learning that Arthur had been promoted five ranks in one go, the Marines had all begun addressing him by his new rank.
Arthur looked toward them through gritted teeth.
For a moment, he resembled a wild beast on the verge of losing control.
“Uh…”
“It’s nothing, Sergeant.”
“We were just wondering if something was wrong.”
“Are you still hurting after the battle?”
Their concern quickly pulled Arthur back to his senses.
Without saying a word, he cleaned up the spilled iron sand before taking Cooper with him to one of the ship’s simple bathing rooms.
“So…
in this era filled with monsters…”
“I really don’t amount to much, do I, Cooper?”
Arthur scrubbed Cooper’s feathers absentmindedly, still feeling restless.
Cooper lifted a soapy wing and pointed toward the sword Arthur never let out of his sight.
“Cooper.”
(You could always use that sword, Arthur.)
Cooper was a small bald eagle, ten years old.
He alone knew Arthur’s greatest secret.
The sword hanging at Arthur’s waist had come with him when he was transported into this world.
Because he didn’t want to kill…
He had sealed it away through his own self-imposed restraint.
“I don’t think it’s come to that yet.”
Arthur stopped grooming Cooper and slowly drew the blade.
It was just over a meter long.
The blade shimmered with a pale blue hue.
Snowflake-like patterns spread elegantly across It’s surface.
At a glance, anyone could tell it was no ordinary weapon.
Even Arthur had no idea what grade it belonged to.
He only knew that even striking the middle of the blade with several tons of force caused it to bend only slightly before instantly returning to shape.
It was astonishingly resilient.
In his hands…
It felt perfectly balanced.
As though it had been forged exclusively for him.
“It’s too sharp.”
“After that battle on Lionheart Island…”
“I don’t think even ordinary Armament Haki could withstand It’s edge.”
“And whenever I fight…”
“I get excited.”
“I lose myself.”
“I might end up killing someone by accident.”
Arthur had never wanted to kill.
Yet during his battle with Apollo…
He had genuinely intended to take his life.
The sword possessed a black guard.
Its hilt was wrapped in black-and-blue cord.
Its pale blue blade gleamed beneath intricate snowflake patterns.
Every detail marked it as an extraordinary treasure.
Arthur had a feeling that if he sold it…
The money would be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.
But that kind of empty existence…
Wasn’t why he had come to this world.
“Sergeant Arthur.”
A Marine called from the stairs outside the bathing room.
“The Colonel wants to see you in his office.”
“Got it.”
Arthur immediately sheathed the sword.
“Hurry.”
“It sounds like something urgent.”
After the Marine left, Arthur rested a hand on the sword once more.
“I still haven’t given you a name.”
“Most of my techniques are swordsmanship…”
“But I still feel like I can’t bring out your true power.”
Unable to unleash the sword’s true power…
Whenever Arthur opened with his lightning-fast movement technique…
His blade flashed.
The animals died before Cooper’s eagle eyes could even follow the strike.
That was only one of Arthur’s two sword styles.
The other…
Was unbelievably slow.
Fast and slow.
Attack and defense.
Remembering those scenes made Cooper shudder.
“C-Cooper…”
(Then…
maybe…
you should never use it…)
Arthur smacked him lightly on the head.
“Idiot.”
“If I’m about to die, of course I’ll use it.”
“What, am I supposed to let someone kill me?”
“From everything I’ve experienced so far…”
“My martial talent is honestly pretty average.”
“Ten years of training only got me this far.”
“I could barely handle the right-hand man of a pirate worth 300 million.”
Colonel ‘s Office
“Have we found the truth yet?”
“In early 1490, another non-member nation in the North Blue disappeared…”
“Just like God Valley in the West Blue.”
“And afterward…”
“Nothing.”
Dragon quietly reviewed the investigation with Major Karasu.
“Year 1484.”
“God Valley vanished.”
“After that mission, Vice Admiral Garp was hailed as the Hero of the Marines.”
At the time, Dragon had been seventeen.
No matter how many times he questioned his father about God Valley…
Garp never gave him a real answer.
“Year 1487.”
“A non-member nation in the South Blue disappeared the same way.”
“The newspapers never explained what happened.”
“And now…”
“Early 1490.”
“Another non-member nation in the North Blue has vanished under identical circumstances.”
Karasu laid out every piece of intelligence they had gathered over the years.
A single pattern connected every incident.
Whenever one of those non-member nations disappeared…
The Celestial Dragons always happened to leave together on what was publicly described as their annual excursion.
Dragon fell silent.
“Don’t you think that’s too much of a coincidence, Karasu?”
“I think the old man is hiding something from me.”
“But I want to know…”
“What really happened to those countries?”
Outside the office, Arthur stood quietly with his bandaged hands.
He had arrived several minutes earlier.
Without knocking, he listened to every word.
His eyes widened.
“So…”
“They’re talking about the Celestial Dragons’ hunting tournament…”
“The one where they wipe out an entire country every three years?”
Arthur’s heart pounded.
“Is this…”
“The beginning of Dragon losing faith in the Marines?”
“…The first step toward creating the Revolutionary Army…”
“And becoming the man who stands against the World Government?”