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"You little minx," Arton grumbled as he pinched Uta's nose, "you're such a handful."
He then stole a glance toward Nami, who was at the helm controlling the ship. Seeing she hadn't heard what Uta just said, he let out a breath of relief. Mimicking Uta's gesture, Arton reached out and began tracing gentle circles on her chest.
"Well then, sing your heart out for me, Princess Uta," he said with a smirk. "But I think just singing isn't enough to show off your skills anymore. Only with increased difficulty can your talents truly shine."
"Arton, don't tell me… you want me to sing while we're doing that?" Uta raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? You guessed that?!"
"Of course!" she said proudly, lifting her chin. "I'm pretty sharp sometimes, you know."
In Arton's diary, there had once been a mention of having Viola dance while they did it—or rather, blending intimate techniques into her dancing. Applying the same logic, and considering her role as a songstress, Uta could easily infer what Arton was thinking. And that gave her a bit of secret joy. The fact that she could understand his inner thoughts while he remained unaware—it felt like a special kind of closeness.
"Pretty sharp, huh? Where'd you even learn to talk like that?" Arton blinked, genuinely surprised.
"Uh… is there something wrong with that, Arton?" Uta tilted her head, playing dumb. She definitely wasn't about to tell him she picked up the phrase from his own past works.
"It's just… unusual. That line's popular where I'm from," Arton said, gently stroking her hair, about to ask more when—
A sudden slicing noise ripped through the air above them. Arton looked up to see Tashigi descending rapidly from the sky. In just a few seconds, she landed beside him.
"Tashigi? You look flustered. Did something happen?" Uta asked, immediately noticing her tension. Her expression grew serious as she pulled away from Arton's embrace. She already had an idea of why Tashigi had flown up—whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
Sure enough, Tashigi quickly delivered the news.
"Captain, I spotted a Marine warship about ten kilometers off, diagonally to our right. It's currently heading straight toward the entrance to Reverse Mountain. At our current speeds, we'll both reach the entrance around the same time."
"A Marine warship?" Arton raised a brow. "And here I thought we wouldn't run into any trouble today."
He knew Marine warships had seastone embedded in their hulls. They weren't like pirate ships that could just ride up Reverse Mountain, so if they were here, they were probably trying to intercept them.
Arton was well aware of the consequences of what he had done back in Loguetown. Though some time had passed since then, he hadn't seen any newspapers or new bounty posters. Still, he was certain that the Marines and World Government wouldn't just let it slide. So even if it was a bit sooner than expected, he wasn't surprised they'd come to stop him.
"Tashigi, you used to be a Marine. Can you tell whose warship that is?"
He really wished he had Observation Haki by now. While the World of Transparency gave him sensing ability on par with mid-level Observation Haki, it only worked at close range. Long-distance scouting like this still required real Haki.
"I know it," Tashigi nodded. "Most Marine warships are standardized, but that one's special. It's part of the Marine Guerilla Unit."
Arton's eyes widened in surprise. "The Marine Guerilla Unit? Then that means… Zephyr himself is leading the charge to stop me?"
After hearing what Arton said, Tashigi nodded without hesitation.
The Marine Guerrilla Unit under Zephyr was a uniquely recognized force within the Navy—there was no way she could be mistaken.
She was certain the one commanding the warship on the other side was none other than the current Chief Instructor of the Navy and head of the Guerrilla Unit—Zephyr.
But if Zephyr is here," she thought, "then Ain is likely with him too. Ever since she learned about how the Navy and World Government would betray Zephyr, she's had serious doubts about the institution. If she runs into Arton… would she, like me, choose to join his crew?
Though Tashigi and Ain had once both been in the women's Navy group chat and were friends on it, the moment Tashigi decided to leave the Navy, she had exited that chat in front of Arton's crew and deleted all her contacts with female Marines.
So now, she had no way of confirming anything with Ain.
Still, remembering Ain's reaction upon learning of Zephyr's fate, Tashigi figured it was entirely possible Ain might also leave the Navy.
After all, to Ain, Zephyr was the most important person in the world.
"How interesting… So it really is Zephyr," Arton said with a curious smile, gazing out toward the distant sea.
Though he couldn't yet see the Marine ship with his naked eye, he trusted Tashigi completely—he had no reason to doubt her.
"Captain, what should we do next?" Tashigi asked, clearly concerned.
"Should we turn the ship around for now and delay heading toward Reverse Mountain?"
If Zephyr was here, there was a real chance other Marines were nearby too.
Even though there were no weaklings in the Flameblade Pirates, she was still worried about what might happen if they clashed.
Arton rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment before shaking his head.
"We've already lost quite a bit of time," he said. "If we delay entering the Grand Line any further, I'll be bored to death."
"If it's just Zephyr, I think we can handle him."
"Arton… are you planning to kill Zephyr?" Tashigi asked with concern.
Though she wasn't one of Zephyr's disciples, she still deeply admired him.
He wasn't like those corrupt Navy officers like Captain Nezumi—Zephyr had devoted his entire life to the Marines and was famously known as the "non-killing admiral."
He was a genuinely good person.
If possible, Tashigi didn't want to see him die.
Although Arton had mentioned in his diary that he respected Zephyr, he had also made it clear that he wouldn't hesitate to take out an enemy when needed.
So she was seriously worried that he might go all-out against Zephyr.
"What's this? You don't want me to kill Zephyr?" Arton smiled at her.
Tashigi said nothing, but nodded seriously and looked at him with pleading eyes.
Seeing this, Arton gently stroked her hair.
"Don't worry. Yes, I'm a pirate, and Zephyr is a Marine, but unless I absolutely have to, I'm not planning to kill him," he said. "I have a lot of respect for that man."
Tashigi finally looked relieved, and Arton continued.
"But if we've already run into him, he'll definitely try to stop me. If we have to fight in order to enter the first half of the Grand Line, then I don't mind testing the strength of the Navy's Chief Instructor."
"Tashigi, if you're still worried, then come with me and help deal with Zephyr.
We haven't fought side by side while fused yet, have we?"
"This will be the perfect opportunity to test out the power of Resurrection: Tier Harribel."
Tashigi's cheeks immediately flushed red. What do you mean we haven't fused…? she mumbled in her mind.
They'd done everything else already. But she quickly realized she had misunderstood.
What Arton meant was the actual fusion—the ability that allowed him to borrow Tashigi's power through Tier Harribel's abilities.
"I-I understand, Arton," she nodded resolutely. "I'm willing to lend you my strength."
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