A soft breeze rolled across the island, bowing the trees as it passed through.
Dragon strolled over, hands tucked in his pockets, his presence weighing heavy over the rapeseed field.
Looking down at Arthur, still sprawled on the ground from their bout, he said,
“You’ve got real strength.
But almost no actual combat experience to back it up.”
“Power and raw ability only go so far.
Without experience in real fights, you’ll eventually run into trouble.”
Arthur managed a faint smile.
“That’s exactly why I’m in such a good mood right now.”
“Feels like I’m finally about to break out of the rut I’ve been stuck in.”
Drifting through life.
He needed a change.
“Colonel,” Arthur went on, “the bandit business is wrapped up, right?
Then let’s set off tonight.”
“Tonight?” Dragon asked, caught off guard.
“Why not wait for morning?”
“Tonight.”
Arthur had no intention of sticking around long enough to owe another month’s rent.
“Cooper, give me a hand up.”
Outside of the rapeseed fields he’d spent ten years clearing and tending by hand…
there was nothing else on this island worth missing.
Ten years, and every day had looked the same.
Train.
Hunt.
Sell meat.
Barely any human contact.
Nothing new ever happened.
In a lot of ways, he still carried the same restless curiosity as the four-year-old who’d first woken up in this world, itching to see something past the edges of this tiny island.
Dragon, for his part, couldn’t linger in the East Blue much longer either.
The Grand Line was growing more unstable by the day.
Pirates needed putting down.
Particularly the Golden Lion Pirates, a name that had only recently surfaced.
Most of what remained of the Rocks Pirates had regrouped under their former division commander—
Golden Lion Shiki.
A man whose ambitions stretched as far as conquering the entire world.
“I wasn’t planning on staying in the East Blue long anyway.”
Dragon smiled.
“I only swung back to check on my hometown.”
“Glad I did, though.”
“Wouldn’t have stumbled onto someone with your kind of talent otherwise.”
Marines, drawn by the noise, came rushing in fully armed.
“Colonel!”
“What’s going on?”
“Were you in a fight?”
They scanned the area.
Apart from the flattened rapeseed field and the wrecked house…
nothing seemed out of place.
Dragon shook his head.
“Nothing serious.”
“Just running a combat evaluation on a new recruit.”
“A recruit?”
“He’s enlisting?!”
Dragon nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Get the ship ready.”
“We leave tonight.”
“Understood, sir!”
The Marines hurried back toward the harbor.
Supplies got checked over.
Fresh water loaded aboard.
The wind direction confirmed before setting off.
Arthur and Cooper followed Dragon down to the docks.
Staring up at the enormous Marine warship moored there, Arthur couldn’t help asking,
“That’s massive.”
“How many men does a ship like that carry?”
“Three hundred,” Dragon answered.
“For a major operation, closer to eight hundred.”
“But the East Blue stays fairly calm.”
“We don’t usually need that kind of number out here.”
Set against the technologically sharp North Blue, the fierce South Blue, or the mob-run West Blue…
the East Blue was practically a vacation spot.
It carried a reputation across the world as the weakest of the four seas.
“Eight hundred…”
Arthur was genuinely caught off guard.
Usually only a Vice Admiral commanded a force that size.
Yet here was Dragon, just a Headquarters Colonel, with access to numbers like that.
It said a lot about how tense things had become since the Rocks remnants resurfaced.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Dragon smiled, clapping a hand on Arthur’s shoulder.
“Whenever we’re not out on a mission, I’ll train you myself, every day.”
“I can tell you’ve got a strong sense of justice in you.”
Arthur nearly laughed out loud.
“You’ve got the wrong read on me.”
He wasn’t signing up out of any sense of justice.
He just wanted to get stronger.
Dragon’s eyes drifted toward the sword resting at Arthur’s hip.
“Speaking of which…”
“You a swordsman?”
“You’ve got that blade strapped on everywhere you go.”
“Why didn’t you draw it earlier?”
Arthur glanced down at the sheathed weapon.
A faint smile crossed his face.
“Discipline.”
Dragon raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
“So your swordsmanship outclasses your bare-handed fighting?”
“If you ever want a teacher, I know a formidable swordsman here in the East Blue.”
Arthur shook his head.
“Not necessary.”
“Right now, Rokushiki’s the only thing I want to learn.”
Just then—
Bzzzt…
bzzzt…
A Den Den Mushi started buzzing from inside Dragon’s coat.
Dragon pulled it out at once.
“Headquarters Colonel Monkey D.
Dragon, speaking.”
“What’s the order?”
The snail crackled back,
“Colonel Dragon.”
“You’re needed back at Marine Headquarters immediately.”
“Something major has broken out on the Grand Line.”
Dragon’s face hardened instantly.
“Tell me.”
“The Golden Lion Pirates have launched a coordinated offensive.”
“Several of Golden Lion Shiki’s pirate Colonels are seizing Marine bases across multiple Grand Line islands.”
“Shiki himself hasn’t been located.”
“Headquarters wants you deployed alongside Colonels Sakazuki and Borsalino.”
“Return immediately and rendezvous with them.”
Arthur listened quietly off to the side.
The moment that name registered—
Sakazuki.
His mood soured at once.
Dragon pocketed the Den Den Mushi and turned an apologetic look toward Arthur.
“Looks like the plan’s changed.”
“If you’re hoping to learn Rokushiki…”
“There won’t be much time to walk you through the theory during the trip.”
“Theory?”
Arthur looked almost insulted.
“Colonel.”
“Skip the theory.”
“Just let me actually train.”
“Doing beats listening, every time.”
Rokushiki demanded an exceptional physical base to start from.
Arthur had already spent ten years building exactly that.
Dragon sighed.
“You’re way too eager.”
“First, let’s get you registered.”
“You and your bird both.”
Inside Dragon’s office aboard the warship…
Arthur stared blankly at the enlistment paperwork.
Place of Birth:
He froze.
Dragon caught the hesitation.
“…You don’t even know where you were born?”
“Somewhere on the Grand Line?”
“One of the Four Blues?”
Arthur shook his head.
“No idea.”
Dragon rubbed at his temple.
“That’s…
more common than people think, actually.”
“I’ve come across plenty of orphans from the wars.”
“Kids who don’t even know where they’re from.”
“Or who their parents were.”
“For now…”
“Just write Goa Kingdom.”
“I’ll sort out the paperwork later.”
Having traveled at Vice Admiral Garp’s side since he was small, Dragon had seen enough death, war, and abandoned children to fill several lifetimes.
Without quite meaning to…
he’d already slotted Arthur into that same category.
Arthur thought it over for a moment.
“I’ll put down Loguetown instead.”
“Age: fourteen.”
“Birthday: October nineteenth.”
“Height: 189 centimeters.”
“Favorite food…”
“Rice balls.”
He filled out the rest quickly and handed it back.
A few fields requiring formal physical testing he left blank.
Dragon skimmed it over.
“Hm.”
“You really don’t have a clear sense of your own limits, do you.”
“We’ll get a proper assessment done after this mission.”
“Assuming we both make it back.”
“For now…”
“Go rest up.”
Beside him…
Cooper proudly scrawled out its own registration form using one of its own feathers.
Dragon blinked.
“…Your eagle can write?”
He leaned down, intrigued.
Then his expression sank.
Every single line read the exact same thing:
Cooper
Over and over.
Neatly written.
Before stepping out, Arthur asked once more,
“So when’s the Rokushiki lesson starting?”
Dragon sighed.
“Already told you.”
“Get some sleep first.”
“One thing at a time.”
Arthur nodded.
“…Where exactly am I sleeping, then?”
Dragon was already buried in paperwork.
Without lifting his head, he waved a hand vaguely.
Arthur waited a beat.
Got nothing back.
So he simply left, Cooper trailing after him.
…
Hours passed.
Dragon finally wrapped up his reports.
Still not looking up, he mumbled,
“Go find the quartermaster, get a room assigned…”
Then it dawned on him.
Arthur was long gone.
He glanced outside.
The ship had already left port a while back.
The sun hadn’t risen yet.
Closer to five in the morning.
Dragon sighed.
A whole night buried in paperwork had cost him all sense of time.
At five o’clock…
Arthur woke up out on the open deck.
Cooper had served as his pillow the entire night.
The two of them had simply crashed by the railing, letting the sea breeze do the rest.
“Come on, Cooper.”
“Let’s go find breakfast.”
Arthur grabbed the eagle by the neck and gave it a shake.
The drowsy bird snapped alert instantly.
One powerful beat of its wings, and Cooper vanished into the dark sky above the waves.
Arthur, meanwhile…
dropped straight down onto the deck and started training.
With no real knowledge of how training worked in the world of One Piece…
his routine boiled down to plain old calisthenics.
The Marines on watch stared, baffled.
“…What’s the deal with those two?”
“They’ve been up less than a minute.”
“And already split off in different directions.”
“What’s the eagle even doing?”
“Fishing?”
“No clue…”
“But take a look at that kid’s eyes.”
“That’s an unsettling amount of focus.”
One.
Two.
Ten.
In under a minute, Arthur had blown past three hundred explosive push-ups.
His pace only climbed from there.
Even the Headquarters-trained Marines couldn’t help staring.
The limits of the human body really work differently in this world…
But plain training isn’t going to cut it for much longer.
When’s Dragon actually going to start teaching me Rokushiki?
Once I’ve got it down…
Even Zoan users won’t faze me.
And it sounds like my very first job after joining will be going up against the Golden Lion Pirates…
I still don’t have real combat experience under me.
Arthur frowned.
He wasn’t the type to throw his life away for no reason in battle.
Right now…
he had no real reason to risk dying.
Except for one.
Getting stronger.
Dragon stepped out onto the deck, pushing the cabin door open—
only to find Arthur still locked into training with unsettling intensity.
“Arthur…”
Dragon started to wave him over.
Then quietly held back.
He didn’t want to break the focus.
It wasn’t until Cooper returned, hauling a fish that must have weighed close to twenty pounds, that Arthur finally let up.
Dawn was just starting to break.
By then, he’d already gotten through:
push-ups,
sit-ups,
shadowboxing,
sword drills.
“Cooper!”
The eagle cried out proudly, dropping the fish onto the deck.
It landed right beside Arthur.
Arthur drew his sword in one smooth motion.
Slash!
The fish split clean in two.
He sheathed the blade just as fast and handed the bigger half to Cooper.
“Eat up.”
“Protein.”
Dragon and the watching Marines just stared.
“…You’re eating that raw?”
“Breakfast is already being cooked!”
Arthur blinked, confused, holding a chunk of raw fish.
“I’m used to it.”
Three words.
But something clicked for Dragon in that moment.
Arthur’s strength had never been luck.
He felt a quiet pang of sympathy, suddenly.
According to the villagers, Arthur had been entirely on his own since the age of four.
Cooper, his only company through all of it.
Outside of the occasional meat sale…
the boy had spent practically every waking hour training.
“So…”
one Marine asked, curious.
“Were you raised by wild animals or something?”
Arthur answered calmly, mid-chew.
“No.”
“I raised myself.”
“Cooper and I, together.”
“No adults looking after you since you were four?!”
“…Seriously?”
The questions kept piling on.
Arthur simply stopped answering.
“That’s enough.”
Dragon cut in.
“Back to your posts.”
“Yes, sir!”
Watching the Marines scatter, Arthur looked a little puzzled.
To him, none of this felt unusual.
Back on the island, he and Cooper would already be deep in the misty mountains hunting by this hour.
After finishing off the fish, Arthur gave himself a sniff.
Then glanced at Cooper.
“Colonel.”
“Does this ship have somewhere to bathe?”
“Cooper!”
The eagle bolted instantly, trying to make a break for it.
Arthur caught it before it got airborne.
It despised baths.
Dragon chuckled.
“Follow me.”
He walked Arthur over to the quartermaster.
Arthur came away with a properly fitted Marine uniform.
Cooper…
ended up with a tiny jacket and a little Marine cap.
Then Dragon asked,
“So…”
“Which Rokushiki technique do you want to start with?”
Arthur clutched his new uniform, practically buzzing.
“Soru.”
“Once I’ve got Soru down…”
“Geppo and Rankyaku should follow naturally.”
“Three techniques for the effort of one.”
Dragon nodded, impressed.
“Good instinct.”
“Then your first task is simple enough.”
“Learn to step on the air.”
With that, Dragon waved over his shoulder and headed off.
“Bathhouse is on the middle deck.”
“I’m getting some sleep.”
Arthur and Cooper just stood there for a moment.
“…Step on the air?”
Back in his old world…
he’d have written off anyone saying that as out of their mind.
But this was the world of One Piece.
If that was really the foundation Rokushiki was built on…
then he’d just have to figure it out.
Inside the modest bathhouse on the middle deck…
Arthur had a towel knotted around his waist.
Meanwhile…
he scrubbed a thoroughly unhappy Cooper with real enthusiasm.
Water ran through the ship’s piping and back out into the sea.
“If you hate baths this much…”
“I’m just going to scrub harder.”
“You reek.”
Utterly against its will…
Cooper had no choice but to endure Arthur’s relentless washing in silence.