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Arthur dropped a few final instructions to Hancock, then flickered out of existence, vanishing from the spot instantly.
Three months of training hadn't turned Hancock into the full-blown, narcissistic tyrant of the future just yet, but the seeds were definitely sprouting.
Perhaps Arthur's decree—"No matter what you do, the world will forgive you"—had etched itself too deeply into her soul. Hancock now looked at everyone else with her nose in the air, treating them like dirt. Only when facing Arthur did her gaze soften into pure adoration.
Arthur's unrivaled dominance had branded her heart.
And as her demeanor shifted, the Mero Mero no Mi began to wake up. Its terrifying power was leaking out inadvertently. If Arthur took her for a stroll downtown right now, her mere presence would probably turn the average pedestrian into a lawn ornament.
Though Arthur wasn't an expert on every Devil Fruit, his mastery of Haki and combat principles allowed him to connect the dots and give her targeted, lethal advice.
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"Sister!"
"Sister, where did Lord Arthur go?"
Sandersonia and Marigold, dripping with sweat from their own training, emerged from behind a massive mangrove root. They looked around curiously, their eyes darting to the countless ships filling the harbor.
Hundreds of vessels clogged the horizon. It was impossible to miss.
"Lord Arthur has gone to handle some business. He told us to wait here and not move." Hancock stared at the empty space where Arthur had been. She fell silent for a moment, wrestling with a thought, before lifting her head to look at her sisters with sudden resolve.
"Sandersonia. Marigold. Have you... ever thought about how we can help Lord Arthur?"
"Help him? How?" The two younger sisters blinked blankly. They were still immature, relying entirely on their big sister for guidance. The question was too deep for them.
"Lord Arthur is the strongest overlord in the New World. His pirate crew needs people—it needs us. And I haven't forgotten what he told me when we first met!" Hancock smiled, a breathtaking sight as the warm sea breeze played with her hair. She spoke slowly, emphasizing every word.
"Become the Empress of Amazon Lily!! And then, go to the New World to find him!"
"If we stay by his side now, we'll never grow. We'll just be baggage. Only by returning to Amazon Lily and becoming the captains of the Kuja Pirates can we be of any use to Lord Arthur!"
"Then we..." The Gorgon sisters flicked their tongues nervously.
"We leave now. When we have met Lord Arthur's expectations, we will go to the New World to see him!" Hancock declared.
"Let's go. We need to find Uncle Rayleigh and Aunt Shakky. They know Elder Nyon; they can arrange our passage back to Amazon Lily."
"The next time I see Lord Arthur... I will make him look at me with new eyes!"
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"Oh? Did I underestimate her?"
Arthur, whose Mantra had been monitoring Hancock the entire time, was genuinely surprised by her declaration.
"She has that kind of resolve? Interesting. Then let's see how long it takes for my teachings to bear fruit. Let's see how fast you can climb onto the throne of the Empress!"
The mentorship had started on a whim—a desire to see the future Pirate Empress in action, an investment in potential. But now, it seemed the investment might pay off sooner than expected.
Arthur chuckled, unconcerned by their departure. His form began to coalesce on the deck of a ship flying the flag of Dressrosa.
Perhaps due to its weak national power and natural poverty, Dressrosa couldn't afford a large army. Or maybe Doflamingo's coup had thinned the ranks. Regardless, the delegation attending the Reverie—the World Council—consisted of only a dozen soldiers patrolling the deck.
"Who goes there??"
A man dressed like a gladiator, wearing a red cape and carrying a greatsword on his back, reacted instantly. He drew his blade, pointing it at Arthur with a fierce, unwavering gaze.
The other soldiers swarmed, leveling their spears.
Behind the wall of steel stood a burly, bearded King and a woman dressed as a princess, who was holding the hand of a young girl about ten years old.
"Didn't Doflamingo usurp the throne? Why is King Riku attending the Reverie?" Arthur scanned the group, his eyes lingering on the little girl.
If he wasn't mistaken, the child was Viola, the original user of the Glare-Glare Fruit. The woman holding her hand was her sister, Scarlett. The King was Riku Dold III. And the gladiator with the sword... Kyros, the legend of the Corrida Colosseum with a record of three thousand undefeated battles.
"You... if I am not mistaken, you are the Captain of the Thunder God Pirates, the man who handed Dressrosa to Doflamingo on a silver platter—the Thunder Emperor, Arthur!" King Riku forced down his terror, his voice grave.
"What?? You are the heinous Thunder Emperor??" Kyros glared, fighting the urge to charge.
He was undefeated in the small pond of the Dressrosa arena, but he wasn't delusional. He knew he wouldn't last a second against an Overlord of the New World.
"I see. Maybe because I claimed Viola as a future crew member back then, Doflamingo didn't dare go too far? He kept Riku as a puppet king?" Arthur deduced the situation instantly and lost interest just as fast.
He already had the Glare-Glare Fruit, and Jessica had eaten it. Viola no longer held any value to him.
"The World Government's Reverie is held once every four years to announce major events!"
Seeing Arthur fall silent in thought after his initial question, King Riku steadied his chaotic emotions and asked coldly, "What business does the Thunder Emperor have on my ship? This vessel is too small to hold a hegemon who roams the New World!"
It wasn't just Riku. The princesses, Kyros, and the soldiers all looked at Arthur with a mixture of hatred and fear. There was zero respect.
It was understandable. Of the four Overlords in the New World, aside from Whitebeard, the other three were birds of a feather. Unless you worshipped strength above all else, they were nightmares.
Arthur had treated their homeland like a poker chip, tossing it to a psychopath with a single sentence. These people, who loved their poor country, hated him to the bone but were powerless to do anything about it.
Arthur sneered, ignoring their resentment. "Since Doflamingo took power but didn't kill you—and even let you attend the Reverie—you must have a way to contact him."
"Call him. Tell him I have a job for him."
With Doflamingo's connections and his grip on the underworld, he was the perfect hound for hunting Devil Fruits. The Donquixote Family had specialized channels for acquiring fruits through the black market.
Shiki was dead. That meant the Fuwa Fuwa no Mi (Float-Float Fruit) would be reborn somewhere in the sea.
The Float-Float Fruit could not be allowed to fall into the hands of trash. If some talentless nobody ate it, it would be the ultimate insult to the Golden Lion's legacy.
Even if he just kept it as a collector's item, Arthur refused to see Shiki's legendary power reappear in the hands of a weakling.
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