The next morning, the Athena unfurled all of her sails once again. The supplies they had purchased the day before were neatly stored inside the ship's cargo hold. The sun had only just risen when the vessel slowly departed from the small harbor and sailed back into the waters of the New World.
A strong sea breeze swept across the ocean. Massive waves occasionally slammed against Athena's hull, yet Arthur's masterpiece continued moving forward with remarkable stability. Day after day passed without any major incidents. The crew gradually returned to their usual routines.
Hancock devoted herself to mastering the powers of the Cloud-Cloud Fruit. Robin spent most of her time translating the copies of the Poneglyphs they had collected. Sugar divided nearly every hour between the laboratory and the deck, learning how to control three different Devil Fruit abilities at the same time. Meanwhile, Sabo and Law sparred almost every single day, leaving the deck covered with fresh sword marks and scorched craters from their relentless clashes.
More than a week later...
Bepo, who was standing at the helm, suddenly straightened.
Far in the distance...
The silhouette of an island finally emerged through the thin mist of the New World.
Bepo: "Island ahead!" Everyone immediately stepped onto the deck.
Sabo: "Finally!" A wide grin instantly spread across his face.
Law: "This voyage took much longer than the last one." Law let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Arthur took out his small compass. Its needle firm in the direction that island. His expression remained calm as he carefully observed the direction it pointed. However, As the Athena drew closer, The smiles on everyone's faces gradually disappeared. Thick black smoke rose high into the sky from the center of the island. Several buildings were still burning. Along the shoreline, More than one pirate ship was anchored near the beach. Their flags bore the emblem of a white tiger marked by two deep claw scars.
Monet: "The White Fang Pirates." Monet immediately opened one of her notebooks while Robin leaned over to look.
Robin: "I've read about them before." Monet nodded.
Monet: "Their captain is Garon. A Zoan user... the Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: White Tiger."
Law: "Finally..." A faint smile appeared on Law's face.
Monet: "His first mate is Drax. User of the Insect-Insect Fruit, Model: Praying Mantis." Monet flipped to the next page.
Sabo: "I've been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time." Sabo twirled his iron staff over one shoulder.
Arthur: "Then I'll leave this island to all of you." Everyone immediately turned toward him.
Arthur: "This is your chance to test the results of six months of training."
Arthur pointed toward Sabo, Law, Kuina, Koala, Sugar, and Bepo. Kuina immediately wrapped her hand around the hilt of Dojigiri. Sugar smiled confidently. Koala clenched both fists. Bepo nearly jumped with excitement.
Arthur: "I have something else to take care of."
Robin: "Searching for another Devil Fruit?" Robin smiled knowingly.
Arthur: "My compass has already found its direction." Arthur nodded.
Hancock simply smiled. She understood. As long as Arthur still held that compass... Nothing mattered more than reaching whatever it pointed toward. The Athena slowly docked near the beach. The moment the anchor touched the seabed... Sabo became the first to leap onto the shore. Law followed immediately behind him. Kuina, Koala, Sugar, and Bepo quickly joined them.
Not long afterward... The sound of explosions echoed from the direction of the village. Arthur, however, walked in the opposite direction. Farther and farther away from the battlefield... Toward the forests covering the mountain slopes. With every step, the sounds of clashing weapons became more distant. The compass needle continued pointing straight toward the northern part of the island.
Roughly twenty minutes later... Arthur arrived at a small village that had been almost completely destroyed. The houses had been burned to the ground. The earth was covered with broken timber and shattered stone. Several villagers could be seen nursing serious injuries.
Amid the silence... Arthur noticed a middle-aged man sitting beneath the charred remains of a tree.
In his arms... A young boy, no older than six, struggled to breathe. His face was pale. His small body was covered with wounds. The man gently held his son while desperately trying to comfort him.
Beside them... Lay a white-gray fruit covered with spiral patterns that resembled countless overlapping sheets of paper.
The moment Arthur saw it... He knew without the slightest doubt. This was exactly what he had been searching for. Arthur slowed his steps. The man immediately turned toward him.
His eyes were filled with caution.
Middle-aged Man: "Don't come any closer..." He tightly hugged both his son and the strange fruit.
Arthur stopped several meters away and His gaze shifted toward the child. It only took a single glance for him to understand the situation. The man looked back at his son. Tears slowly began running down his face.
Middle-aged Man: "From your appearance... I know you're not one of them. Who are you?"
Arthur: "I'm looking for the fruit you're holding." The man's expression immediately became even more anxious.
Middle-aged Man: "A friend I met during my travels told me... this fruit possesses miraculous power... If my son eats it... he'll surely recover." He quickly hid the Devil Fruit behind his back.
Arthur: "You have a good friend, but that's not medicine." Arthur quietly looked at the fruit for a few moments before slowly shaking his head.
Arthur: "It's a Devil Fruit. It can grant extraordinary power... but it cannot cure your son's illness." The man froze.
Middle-aged Man: "Have... have I been deceived? But... this is the only hope we have left." The man looked completely lost.
Arthur nodded gently. For a few moments... Neither of them spoke. Arthur slowly reached into his pocket. The man's eyes widened in fear. He thought Arthur was reaching for a weapon. Arthur merely smiled faintly before withdrawing his hand. Instead of a weapon... He pulled out a Den Den Mushi.
Arthur: "Monet, is Baby-5 with you? There's an injured child here... Yes. Bring enough food and water for two people to survive for three days... That'll be enough. Also bring one million Belly in cash... and portable valuables worth one billion Belly that an ordinary man can carry... Don't take too long." Arthur calmly ended the call.
The middle-aged man became even more confused. Silence filled the ruined village once again. He couldn't understand any of it. Who exactly was Arthur? What did that strange conversation mean? And more importantly... What would become of him and his son, whose condition continued growing weaker in his arms?
Less than a minute later...Monet and Baby-5 appeared. Monet carried a large backpack filled with cash and valuables across her back. In one hand, she held a bag full of food.
Middle-aged Man: "W-What...?"
Having already learned the situation from Arthur, Baby-5 immediately walked toward the injured child. She knelt beside him and gently placed her hand against the boy's forehead. The middle-aged man instinctively wanted to stop her... But the words caught in his throat.Beautiful emerald-green wings slowly unfolded behind Baby-5's back. Countless sparkling particles drifted from her wings before gently surrounding the child's entire body. A brilliant emerald light illuminated the ruined village for only a few brief moments.
Then...The light disappeared. Baby-5 quietly stood up and returned to Arthur's side. The middle-aged man stared in disbelief. Every wound covering his son's body had vanished before his eyes. A few moments later... The little boy slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his father, whose face was covered with tears, dust, and soot from fleeing the pirates.
Without hesitation...The man embraced his son as tightly as he could.
The Devil Fruit slipped from his trembling hands and Rolling across the ground... Until it stopped beside Arthur's feet. Arthur bent down and picked it up.
Arthur: "I'll take this." He looked at the man.
Arthur: "In exchange... take all of this. Use this money and these valuables to build a happy life with your son."
Middle-aged Man: "Thank you... Thank you... Thank you so much..." The middle-aged man collapsed to his knees.
Tears streamed endlessly down his face as he bowed repeatedly toward Arthur. The little boy simply looked back and forth between them, unable to understand what was happening. Arthur merely nodded. Without another word, He turned around and walked away. His eyes settled upon the Devil Fruit resting quietly in his hand. This search... Had finally come to an end. Arthur gazed at the white-gray fruit once more. A Logia... The Paper-Paper Fruit. A faint smile slowly appeared across his face.
Meanwhile... Far in the distance... One explosion after another continued echoing across the island. The battle fought by the members of the Art Pirates... Had only just begun.