After a full day of testing Iron Body (Tekkai), both Arthur and Cooper passed with flying colors.
They had already built a solid foundation beforehand, and thanks to their exceptional aptitude, it had been less than a week since they enlisted in the Marines after setting sail.
Of the Six Powers, they had already mastered five.
Only Paper Art (Kami-e) and Life Return remained.
Once Arthur became proficient with those techniques, he would be ready to leave the Marines.
New World – Punk Hazard
An explosion erupted inside one of the island’s laboratories.
The buildings at the center of the island were engulfed in flames that lit up the sky.
Cooper circled overhead with a Den Den Mushi headset strapped to his head, scouting the situation below.
Along the coast, Dragon’s Marine warship had just docked.
“The two experimental subjects designated as top priority by the Government have escaped!
Requesting reinforcements!
Requesting reinforcements!”
“How many escapees are there?”
“AAAH—!”
Dragon held an emergency Den Den Mushi in his hand.
After only a few seconds of frantic voices coming through the receiver, the transmission was abruptly cut off.
“So the mission just became even more difficult…”
He looked at the Den Den Mushi, seemingly accustomed to unexpected developments like this.
Arthur stared toward the blazing laboratory.
Black-and-red lightning crackled intermittently through the smoke.
“That’s the lightning produced by Conqueror’s Haki…
Not good.
There’s someone terrifying on this island.”
He recognized it instantly.
At the same time, he could feel an overwhelming pressure steadily drawing closer, as though an invisible force itself was approaching.
“Karasu, your injuries are too severe,” Dragon ordered after a brief moment of thought.
“Leave one hundred soldiers behind to guard the ship.
The remaining two thousand seven hundred and ten will follow me inland to investigate.”
“Understood, Colonel.”
Karasu nodded.
His physique wasn’t particularly strong, and recovering from such serious injuries in only two days was nearly impossible.
The Marines quickly armed themselves and rushed toward the island’s interior.
Arthur had an increasingly bad feeling about this mission.
It hadn’t even been a week.
In that short time, he’d gone from the East Blue, to the Grand Line, and now all the way to the New World.
He had even been promoted to Sergeant.
“Cooper, what’s the situation on the island?” Arthur asked through the Den Den Mushi connected to his eagle.
“Cooper…”
(My head…
it hurts, Arthur…
That black-and-red lightning appeared in front of me…
I almost blacked out…)
Cooper’s voice sounded incredibly weak, as though he had suffered a tremendous mental shock.
“Don’t force yourself, Cooper.
If you’re not feeling well, come back to me immediately.”
Arthur had never seen him in such a condition.
“Cooper…”
(Two humans are heading toward your side, Arthur…
My head…
I can’t hold on anymore…)
The moment Cooper finished speaking, he lost the ability to stay airborne and plummeted from the sky, crashing onto the road leading into the island. This chapter is updated first at novelping dot com.
“Cooper…”
(I’m…
scared…
What exactly is on this island…?)
His body trembled uncontrollably.
Driven by instinct, he struggled to push himself up with his wings, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stand.
The invisible pressure from earlier had spread throughout his body, leaving him limp and powerless.
The sharpness and pride inherent to an eagle had completely disappeared from his eyes.
He looked like prey awaiting slaughter.
“Stay where you are, Cooper!
I’m coming!”
Hearing Cooper’s condition, Arthur immediately broke away from the Marine formation and sprinted toward the island.
Without this eagle by his side over the past ten years…
Arthur felt he might have lost his mind long ago in this world.
He was deeply worried—not only for Cooper’s safety, but also because he’d never heard such fear in his companion’s voice.
The other Marines couldn’t even keep up with him.
Within three seconds, his figure had completely disappeared from their sight.
“Sergeant!”
“My God…
How are we supposed to reach that kind of speed?”
Dragon watched Arthur burst forward in a blur and couldn’t hide his shock.
“Has that guy been deliberately holding back his true strength all this time?”
Even he had struggled to follow Arthur’s movements.
That light, wind-like footwork was astonishing.
Inside Punk Hazard, Cooper lay collapsed on the ground, struggling to remain conscious.
The island was in ruins.
Flames spread everywhere.
Gunfire and exploding shells had all fallen silent beneath the oppressive crackle of black-and-red lightning.
Soon, two figures emerged from the island.
One was exceptionally tall and powerfully built, carrying an enormous kanabo over his shoulder.
Two demon-like horns protruded from his head, giving him the appearance of a monstrous giant.
The aura he radiated surpassed any beast Cooper had ever encountered in the wild.
The other was shorter, with white hair, a strange tattoo on his forehead, and a pair of black wings on his back.
The two walked out of Punk Hazard at a leisurely pace, as though strolling through their own backyard, before stopping in front of Cooper.
“I’m impressed, Alber.”
Kaido grinned.
“I’ve never seen an animal withstand my Conqueror’s Haki before.
Yet this old eagle wearing a Marine cap actually managed it.”
“It’s already been weakened so much by your Haki that it can’t even move, Kaido-san,” Alber replied.
His eyes then fell upon the Den Den Mushi attached to Cooper’s head.
“It seems to understand human language.”
That only made Kaido more interested.
Judging by Cooper’s facial expressions, it truly did seem capable of understanding them.
Animals able to withstand Conqueror’s Haki were extraordinarily rare.
Across the entire world, they were almost impossible to find.
Faced with the two towering men, Cooper became even more terrified.
Despair and suffocating fear spread throughout his body.
“Hey.”
Kaido crouched down and extended a hand toward the eagle, who was barely over a meter tall.
“Want to become my pet…
“Cooper…?”
He froze.
His trembling body instinctively nodded.
But the very next moment, Arthur’s face flashed through his mind.
He immediately shook his head with all his strength.
Refusal.
“I see.”
Kaido’s smile vanished.
“Then die.”
He slowly lowered the kanabo from his shoulder.
Had it been a wild bird of prey, Kaido might have let it go—or captured it and tamed it over time.
The Marine cap on his head made one thing obvious.
He belonged to a Marine.
If it couldn’t be his…
Then it wasn’t worth letting live.
“Kaido-san, watch out!”
Just as Kaido raised his kanabo to strike, his expression changed.
A figure had already leapt into the air, a fist hurtling toward him at incredible speed.
“So fast!”
Even Kaido’s nerves tensed.
“HAAAH!”
With a powerful roar, Arthur’s punch slammed into Kaido’s kanabo, forcing the enormous pirate several yards backward and away from Cooper.
Kaido quickly regained his footing.
Instead of anger, excitement spread across his face.
“Interesting…”
“A Marine wearing sandals?”
“Cooper!”
“Arthur!”
Seeing Arthur arrive, Cooper cried out in delight.
His life had been saved.
“Good thing I made it in time.”
Arthur scooped Cooper into his left arm.
“Damn it!
If you dare die before I get here, I’ll kill you myself, Cooper!”
The eagle, who had nearly been killed moments earlier, broke down crying.
Tears streamed down both sides of his face as he clung tightly to Arthur.
“So that eagle belongs to you, Marine brat?”
Kaido looked at Arthur with genuine interest.
“How much?”
“Sell it to me.”
“I’ve never seen such a human-like animal.”
Arthur was inwardly shaken.
He had never imagined that the people sent to transport the test subjects from PH-006 Laboratory would be none other than the young Kaido…
…and the future Lead Performer, King the Wildfire—Alber.
After calming Cooper enough for him to regain the ability to fly, Arthur released him back into the air.
Then he turned to face the two familiar figures alone.
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he smiled.
“He’s priceless.”
“Not for sale.”