The celebration in Alabasta became the talk of the world.
By the following afternoon, the news had already spread across the Grand Line. Reports of Crocodile's defeat reached Marine Headquarters alongside countless witness accounts from soldiers, merchants, and civilians who had escaped the civil war.
However...
There was another piece of information hidden among those reports.
One that sent shockwaves through Marine Headquarters.
Marine Branch G-2
A messenger rushed through the corridor carrying an emergency report before stopping outside the strategy room.
"Vice Admiral Hina!"
The doors swung open.
Inside, Hina, Smoker, Tashigi, and dozens of Marine officers were still reviewing documents regarding the Alabasta Incident.
"What is it?" Hina asked.
"The latest intelligence from Alabasta."
The young Marine swallowed nervously before continuing.
"It concerns the ART Pirates."
The room instantly became quiet.
Smoker slowly lowered the cigar from his mouth.
"...Go on."
"The Uncrowned Emperor Arthur entered Alubarna during the royal banquet."
The atmosphere grew still.
"He wasn't alone."
"The entire ART Pirates accompanied him."
Several officers immediately stood from their seats.
"What?!"
"They were in Alabasta?"
"When?"
"Why wasn't Headquarters informed sooner?"
The messenger hesitated before answering.
"According to eyewitnesses... they entered the royal palace peacefully."
"No battle occurred."
"They attended King Cobra's banquet..." Another silence followed.
"...and left without attacking anyone."
"They simply... attended a banquet?" Even Hina narrowed her eyes.
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
The officers exchanged uncertain glances.
No one knew what to make of it.
"So..." Smoker quietly exhaled a cloud of smoke before speaking. "The Straw Hat Pirates and the ART Pirates were in the same kingdom."
"...At the same time."
"Yes."
"And they never fought?"
"No."
"They never cooperated either?"
"No."
Only confusion remained.
One officer broke the silence.
"Sir... if the ART Pirates had decided to seize Alabasta..."
"...no one here could have stopped them."
Another nodded grimly.
"Two pirate crews."
"One led by a rookie who defeated a Warlord."
"The other led by one of the Five Emperors."
"They could have taken the entire kingdom overnight."
Smoker clenched his jaw.
"But they didn't."
His eyes drifted toward the report lying on the table.
Arthur had entered.
Met the king.
Attended the banquet.
Then silently departed.
No treasure stolen.
No territory claimed.
No bloodshed.
It made even less sense than if he had started a war.
"Hina doesn't like pirates..." She folded her arms. "...but Hina dislikes not understanding someone's intentions even more."
"Make sure Headquarters doesn't miss anything again. And request next order for us."
"If Arthur had sided with Crocodile..."
"...Alabasta would no longer exist."
No one answered.
The room fell silent once again.
Far away...
The Going Merry sailed peacefully beneath a cloudless sky.
The Kingdom of Alabasta had already disappeared beyond the horizon.
The wind filled the patched white sails as waves gently rocked the small pirate ship.
Luffy sat atop the Merry's figurehead with his straw hat tilted over his eyes, humming happily while enjoying the sea breeze.
"So..." He suddenly grinned. "We've got a new crewmate again!"
"I'm not exactly new here." Vivi laughed from the deck while Carue quacked proudly beside her.
"You've always been with us."
"Now you're officially one of us!" Usopp corrected.
"That's right!" Chopper nodded enthusiastically.
Sanji immediately appeared carrying a silver tray.
"Vivi-chan! Fresh juice for the beautiful princess!"
"Thank you, Sanji."
Nami laughed softly while leaning against the railing.
"It still feels strange."
"What does?" Vivi asked.
"Seeing you stay this time."
Vivi looked back toward the endless horizon behind them.
Only the sea remained.
No trace of Alabasta.
No palace.
No city.
No family.
Yet...
She didn't feel regret.
She gently raised her left arm.
The faded black X was still there.
Her smile widened.
"I think..."
"...this is exactly where I'm supposed to be."
"See?" Luffy burst into laughter. "I told you it'd work out!"
"You didn't explain anything."
"I didn't have to!"
Everyone laughed.
Even Zoro allowed himself a faint smile before returning to his nap beneath the mast.
High above them...
The Grand Line stretched endlessly forward.
Adventure awaited once again.
The Athena sailed steadily across the calm waters of the Grand Line, leaving Alabasta farther behind with each passing hour. For the first time in days, no urgent destination demanded their immediate attention. The sea was peaceful, and so were the people aboard the ship.
Hancock sat beneath the shade of the quarterdeck, leisurely sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee while gazing at the endless horizon. The gentle breeze carried strands of her dark hair across her shoulder, yet she made no effort to brush them away. Moments like these had become increasingly rare, and she intended to enjoy every second of them.
Near the main mast, Law crouched beside Bepo, carefully wrapping a fresh bandage around a shallow cut on the mink's forearm.
"You really didn't have to block that training slash," Law said without looking up.
Bepo scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"I thought I could dodge it..."
"You thought wrong."
"...Sorry."
Law sighed, though the faint smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed there was no real annoyance behind the words.
A few steps away, Sugar stretched both arms above her head before dropping dramatically onto a wooden crate.
"My whole body hurts..."
"You complained yesterday too," Koala replied with a laugh as she rolled her shoulders after finishing another round of Fish-Man Karate practice.
"Because I'm still sore today!"
"That's usually how training works."
"I hate when you're right."
Their playful exchange drew quiet chuckles from several crewmates.
Not far from them, Baby-5 had already surrendered to exhaustion. Curled comfortably beneath the warm afternoon sun with a folded coat serving as her pillow, she slept soundly despite the occasional sway of the ship. Every now and then, the gentle rocking of the Athena caused her to mumble something unintelligible before drifting right back into peaceful sleep.
Robin quietly turned another page of the ancient journal she had borrowed from Alabasta's royal archives, while Arthur stood alone near the bow, watching the Eternal Pose fixed firmly toward an island that had vanished from every ordinary route long ago.
No one rushed him.
No one questioned the destination.
The steady rhythm of the waves, the laughter of his crew, and the quiet peace surrounding the Athena reminded Arthur why he had chosen this life in the first place.
Sometimes...
The greatest treasure of a journey was simply having companions with whom he could enjoy the silence before the next adventure began.
The peaceful voyage continued for several more days...
The Athena continued sailing through calm waters under a brilliant afternoon sky. The Athena quietly altered its course.
Leaving behind every route marked on the Grand Line.
Sailing instead...
toward a destination almost no one remembered still existed.
Unlike the carefree laughter aboard the Going Merry, the Emperor's flagship moved with quiet purpose.
Arthur stood near the bow while an unfamiliar Eternal Pose rested in his hand.
Unlike an ordinary Log Pose...
Its needle never shifted.
It pointed toward only one destination.
"There really is an island beyond every known route," Koala murmured.
"King Cobra wasn't exaggerating." Robin smiled.
"The world always hides places history wishes to forget." Arthur looked toward the endless horizon.
"That's the Eternal Pose..." Robin stepped beside him.
"It points to no island marked by any Log Pose." Arthur nodded.
"No."
"Because this island was erased long before the Great Age of Pirates began." His gaze remained fixed upon the unwavering needle.
Robin's curiosity immediately grew.
"Erased?"
"It was once called..." Arthur looked toward the distant horizon. "...the Kingdom of Thalassia."
The name drew everyone's attention.
"I've never heard of it," Law admitted.
"Neither have I," Hancock added.
Arthur wasn't surprised.
"Almost no one has."
"It vanished from history centuries ago."
"Most maps no longer mark its existence."
"And no Log Pose has ever pointed toward it."
"So how did King Cobra know about it?" Koala asked.
Arthur smiled faintly.
"The Nefertari Family has preserved more than just World Creator's Bloodline."
"They also preserved memories."
No one asked further.
The answer was enough.
Hours passed as the Athena continued following the Eternal Pose.
Gradually...
The surrounding sea gradually grew quieter.
Even the currents changed.
The wind carried an unfamiliar scent.
Ancient.
Forgotten.
As the afternoon sun gradually descended toward the western horizon, a dark silhouette finally appeared in the distance.
At first...
It looked like an ordinary island.
Then the details at last emerged.
Towering white cliffs.
Collapsed watchtowers.
Broken harbor walls swallowed by the sea.
Ruined castles rising above forests that had reclaimed the land.
Nature had spent centuries burying the work of mankind.
Yet even from afar...
The island still radiated an indescribable sense of grandeur.
No one aboard the Athena spoke.
Their eyes remained fixed on the silent kingdom waiting beyond the waves.
Arthur finally broke the silence.
"We're here."
He folded the Eternal Pose and slipped it back inside his coat.
"The forgotten kingdom..."
"...Thalassia."
The Athena sailed steadily toward the abandoned harbor as the last light of evening bathed the ancient ruins in gold, revealing the first glimpse of a kingdom that history had tried to erase. The answers hidden there had slept undisturbed for centuries, waiting for someone willing to seek them without the guidance of a Log Pose.
No welcoming bells.
No merchant ships.
No fishermen.
Only the gentle sound of waves washing against weathered stone piers that had not known visitors for centuries.
Massive mooring pillars leaned at odd angles, their surfaces wrapped in thick vines and pale green moss. Wooden docks had long since rotted away, leaving only fragments scattered across the shallow water.
"It feels..." Koala looked around in silence. "...lonely."
"No." Arthur stepped onto the ancient harbor.
His boots echoed softly against the cracked stone.
"It feels remembered."
The others exchanged puzzled glances but followed him ashore.
The forgotten kingdom welcomed them with silence.
Ancient roads stretched inland beneath towering trees whose roots had broken apart streets once carefully crafted by master builders. Nature had woven itself into every corner of the city.
White marble buildings stood half buried beneath flowering vines.
Fountains had become ponds.
Stone bridges disappeared beneath hanging roots.
Birds nested inside the empty windows of noble estates.
Yet despite the centuries...
The elegance of the city remained unmistakable.
"It must've been beautiful," Baby-5 whispered.
"It still is," Hancock replied. "Just in a different way."
Robin gently ran her fingers along a weathered stone wall.
"The architecture is unlike anything I've seen."
"It isn't even similar to the Ancient Kingdom."
Arthur nodded.
"Thalassia developed in isolation."
"For hundreds of years."
"Long enough to create its own culture."
Law glanced toward the distant palace rising above the city.
"So where do we begin?"
Arthur smiled.
"Like every adventure."
"We start walking."
Hours passed peacefully.
For once...
There was no enemy waiting around the next corner.
No Marines.
No bounty hunters.
No secret conspiracies.
Only exploration.
Sugar raced ahead, laughing as she chased colorful birds darting through abandoned gardens.
"They're not afraid of people!"
"They've probably never seen one," Monet replied.
Bepo wandered into what had once been a bustling marketplace.
Rows of empty stone stalls still stood in neat lines beneath enormous cloth canopies that had somehow survived the centuries.
"I can almost imagine it..." He closed his eyes.
"People talking."
"Children running."
"Merchants shouting."
"...Like the city's still alive."
"It never truly disappeared."
Robin smiled gently.
"It simply became quiet."
Nearby, Koala discovered an intricate stone fountain carved with dolphins, whales, and creatures unlike any she had seen before.
"They loved the sea."
Arthur glanced toward the sculpture.
"They believed the ocean connected every civilization."
"A beautiful belief."
Farther uphill...
Law crouched beside the remains of an unfamiliar building.
"This wasn't a residence."
"No."
Robin examined several stone tables arranged in circles.
"It was a school."
Books had long since turned to dust.
Wooden shelves had collapsed centuries earlier.
Yet countless stone tablets remained carefully arranged beneath layers of dirt.
Robin carefully lifted one.
Ancient characters covered its surface.
"They carved lessons into stone..."
"So knowledge would survive time itself."
Arthur quietly smiled.
"And it did."
Beyond the academy...
The palace stood overlooking the entire kingdom.
Unlike the buildings below, much of its structure still remained intact.
Grand staircases climbed toward enormous white gates decorated with blooming flowers carved into polished stone.
"The symbol again," Hancock observed.
A single flower.
Elegant.
Simple.
Identical to the crest engraved upon Arthur's Eternal Pose.
"The Anemone Family." Arthur rested his hand against the gate. "They ruled here."
The heavy doors slowly groaned open.
Dust drifted through beams of afternoon sunlight.
Inside...
An enormous throne room stretched before them.
The ceiling had partially collapsed, allowing trees to grow through the ancient marble floor. Roots wrapped themselves around towering pillars, while vines climbed across faded murals that still decorated the walls.
Even after centuries...
The room retained an undeniable dignity.
No treasure filled the chamber.
No golden throne awaited at its center.
Only a single empty seat carved from flawless white stone.
Arthur stood before it in silence.
"What happened here?" Koala asked softly.
Arthur didn't answer immediately.
Instead...
He looked upward.
High above the throne, nearly hidden beneath vines, remained the kingdom's royal emblem.
A single blooming anemone surrounded by waves.
"It disappeared," After a long silence, Arthur finally spoke. "But not because time destroyed it."
Everyone looked toward him.
"It was erased."
Robin's expression changed.
"Deliberately?"
Arthur nodded once.
"Someone wanted this kingdom to be forgotten."
Silence settled over the throne room.
No one questioned him further.
They all understood what that implied.
History...
Could be killed just as easily as people.
As evening approached, the ART Pirates continued exploring the forgotten capital.
They found observatories overlooking the sea.
Quiet gardens where marble statues still stood untouched.
Underground canals carrying crystal-clear water despite the passing centuries.
Every place revealed another fragment of the civilization that had once flourished here.
Yet no explanation.
Only questions.
Robin eventually stopped beside Arthur as they overlooked the silent kingdom from the palace balcony.
"I understand now."
"What?"
"Why you wanted to come here."
Arthur looked across the endless ruins glowing beneath the setting sun.
"History doesn't only exist in books."
"It survives..." He gestured toward the abandoned city below. "...in places like this."
"So many stories..." Robin followed his gaze. "...and no one left to tell them."
"Then it's our job to listen." Arthur smiled faintly.
The evening breeze swept across the ancient kingdom as the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the western sea.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
The forgotten city seemed almost alive beneath the twilight, as though waiting for someone to remember its name once more.
At last, Arthur broke the silence.
"We've stayed long enough."
"We're leaving already?" Law turned toward him.
"Someone else is writing history today." Arthur nodded.
Robin immediately understood.
"You said, Monkey D. Luffy is writing history in the sky."
"The bell should ring soon." Arthur smiled. "If I interfere... that bell will never carry the same meaning."
Without another word, the crew descended from the ancient palace and returned toward the harbor.
Behind them...
The Kingdom of Thalassia remained exactly as they had found it.
Silent.
Forgotten.
Yet no longer unseen.
But Arthur had taken an item without telling anyone.
"Imu..."
As the Athena raised her anchor beneath the crimson glow of sunset, its bow slowly turned toward the open sea. Above the horizon, the clouds ahead stretched higher than mountains, and somewhere beyond them, an island hidden among the heavens quietly awaited the arrival of another Emperor.
Behind them, the forgotten Kingdom of Thalassia slowly disappeared beneath the evening horizon.
No one looked back.
They had found no treasure, claimed no victory, and uncovered no legendary weapon. Yet every member of the crew felt strangely fulfilled.
It had been a journey for its own sake.
A reminder that not every island existed to be conquered.
Some simply existed...
...to be remembered.
...
Meanwhile...
While the Athena wandered through the forgotten Kingdom of Thalassia, another adventure unfolded high above the White Sea.
Far beyond Arthur's sight...
The Straw Hat Pirates had already reached the legendary Upper Yard of Skypiea.
Days passed one after another.
High above the White Sea...
the conflict only grew larger.
The Upper Yard became a battlefield where priests, Shandians, and pirates collided without pause.
Their paths soon divided.
While Arthur explored forgotten ruins below...
Luffy and his crew continued climbing toward the heart of Skypiea.
Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp charged recklessly into the sacred forest aboard the Crow, eager to explore whatever lay ahead. Elsewhere, Zoro, Vivi, Carue, and Chopper entered the ancient jungle through another route, while Nami remained behind with Gan Fall, determined to learn more about the mysterious Sky Island.
Upper Yard welcomed them not with peace...
...but with trials.
The first obstacle appeared in the form of Satori, one of Enel's Priests. His mysterious Mantra allowed him to predict every movement before it happened, while strange Dials hidden throughout the forest transformed the battlefield into a deadly game. Even so, after a fierce struggle, Satori became the first Priest to fall.
As battles erupted across the sacred land, Vivi found herself drawn toward the countless ruins scattered beneath the giant trees.
Ancient roads.
Collapsed temples.
Weathered stone carvings.
Every step reminded her of the forgotten civilizations she had studied as a child.
The deeper she ventured...
...the clearer it became.
Upper Yard had once been a magnificent city.
Meanwhile, Gan Fall confronted another of Enel's Priests.
Shura.
The former God fought bravely alongside Pierre, but overwhelming speed and relentless attacks eventually brought both of them down.
Before long...
The skies exploded into war.
Led by Wyper, the Shandia launched their long-awaited assault to reclaim their ancestral homeland. At the same time, Enel calmly announced his cruel Survival Game.
Only five people...
...would remain alive.
The sacred forest instantly descended into chaos.
Priests.
Shandia warriors.
Sky Islanders.
The Straw Hat Pirates.
Every faction collided beneath the towering trees of Upper Yard.
One battlefield gave way to the next until the entire Upper Yard descended into chaos.
Gedatsu fell.
Shura was defeated.
Ohm, the strongest of Enel's Priests, was eventually overcome after an exhausting duel against Zoro. Chopper claimed his very first solo victory by defeating Gedatsu, while the battlefield grew increasingly desperate with every passing hour.
Amid the endless conflict...
Vivi eventually arrived at the heart of the ancient city.
Shandora.
While exploring the ancient ruins of Shandora, Vivi discovered a weathered stone tablet hidden beneath layers of moss and centuries of decay.
Carefully brushing away the dirt, she began deciphering the ancient inscription carved across its surface.
Robin had never taught her how to read it.
Yet years spent secretly studying the ancient language beneath Alubarna Palace allowed her to recognize the familiar characters.
At last...
She began reading aloud.
It spoke of the Sandora Light, a sacred radiance that once shone from the peak of the City of Gold, serving as a symbol of hope, prosperity, and the unity of the Shandorian people.
As long as the light continued to shine, they believed their ancestors would watch over them, guiding their path and protecting their sacred homeland from disaster.
But when the city vanished from the world, the light disappeared with it, leaving behind a promise that one day the Golden Bell would ring once more, and the Sandora Light would illuminate the heavens again.
...
Far above the ruins...
Enel finally made his move.
Disappointed by the failures of his Priests, he personally entered the battlefield. Lightning descended from the heavens without mercy. Shandia warriors fell one after another. Gan Fall was defeated once more. Even the surviving Priests were struck down for their incompetence.
Only Wyper managed to challenge him directly.
With a Reject Dial powerful enough to destroy his own body, the Shandia warrior struck Enel head-on.
For one impossible moment...
God fell.
Yet moments later...
Lightning crackled once again.
Enel calmly restarted his own heart.
Despair settled over Upper Yard once more.
One after another...
Every remaining fighter was defeated.
Zoro.
Vivi.
Gan Fall.
Nami.
Wyper.
The Shandia warriors.
None could stand before the self-proclaimed God.
Only one person remained absent.
Luffy.
Swallowed whole by the giant serpent Nola, he had unknowingly missed nearly the entire war.
While the battlefield sank into despair, Enel calmly completed the Ark Maxim and prepared to fulfill his dream of destroying Skypiea forever.
Then...
The impossible happened.
The giant serpent burst open.
Luffy emerged once again.
His journey carried him straight toward the Ark Maxim.
The final battle began high above the White Sea.
Lightning clashed against rubber.
The invincible God discovered, for the very first time in his life...
An enemy completely immune to his power.
The battle shook the heavens themselves.
Luffy tore apart the Ark Maxim piece by piece before chasing Enel across the collapsing vessel.
Moments later...
With every remaining ounce of strength...
He unleashed one last punch.
His fist crashed through Enel...
...before continuing onward into the legendary Golden Bell.
DOOOOOONG—!
The ancient bell rang across the heavens.
Its voice echoed through Upper Yard...
Across the White Sea...
Beyond Skypiea itself...
Even reaching the Blue Sea below.
Far away, Mont Blanc Cricket looked toward the sky in stunned silence.
The City of Gold...
...had truly existed.
Four hundred years of waiting had eventually come to an end.
When the echoes of the bell finally faded, the war itself came to a close.
Enel disappeared into the endless sky.
Gan Fall once again became the God of Skypiea.
The Shandia reclaimed the homeland their ancestors had protected for centuries.
The Golden Bell was found once more.
And among all the miracles witnessed that day...
Perhaps the greatest surprise came not from the bell...
But from Princess Vivi.
Standing before the Poneglyph, she quietly read the ancient words carved upon its surface...
...and the message left behind by the Pirate King himself.
By the time the echoes of the Golden Bell reached the farthest corners of the White Sea...
The Athena was already approaching the shores of Upper Yard.
History had already been written.
Arthur had arrived...
...just in time to witness what remained afterward.
...
Several hours earlier...
Only a few hours before the Golden Bell echoed across the heavens, fate had already begun weaving the threads that would lead everyone to the same destination.
Towering walls of white clouds stretched across the horizon.
They rose higher than mountains, piercing the endless blue sky.
"So that's it..." Koala stared upward. "The entrance to the White Sea."
"Prepare yourselves." Arthur nodded once. "The sea above the sea."
Before long...
The ocean itself began to roar.
Far ahead, an enormous column of water erupted toward the heavens.
The Knock Up Stream.
BOOOOOOM!!
The sea trembled violently as the colossal pillar burst from the depths below, carrying enough force to launch entire ships into the sky.
"...Every time I see that..." Bepo swallowed. "...it still doesn't feel real."
"It doesn't have to." Arthur smiled. "Adventure rarely does."
"Hold on!"
The Athena accelerated directly toward the raging current.
A heartbeat later—
BOOOOOOM!!
The entire ship shot upward.
The sea vanished beneath them.
Clouds rushed past in every direction.
The world turned white.
When the blinding mist finally cleared...
An endless ocean of clouds stretched beneath the ship.
The White Sea.
Sunlight reflected across the cloud surface like shimmering water.
Islands floated peacefully among the sky.
Gigantic cloud formations drifted silently overhead.
"It never gets old."
Robin smiled.
"No."
Arthur quietly admired the view.
"It doesn't."
The journey across the sky remained peaceful.
Villages rested upon clouds.
Strange creatures glided through the heavens.
Children laughed while riding Sky Fish across rivers of white mist.
Life continued here...
Completely unaware of the endless conflicts below.
Until—
DONG...
A distant bell echoed across the heavens.
The sound drifted gently through the clouds.
Everyone aboard the Athena stopped.
Another chime followed.
DONG...
Then another.
DONG...
Arthur stopped walking.
The sound echoed across the endless sky, lingering between the clouds as though time itself had paused to listen.
A quiet smile appeared on his face.
"He really did it."
"The Golden Bell..." Robin gently closed her eyes. "It rang."
Arthur looked toward the distant sky where the sound continued to resonate.
"So..."
"He still reached it in the end."
No one needed to ask who.
Far beyond their sight...
One young pirate had fulfilled a promise that had waited four hundred years.
The sound of the bell spread across the White Sea.
Across Skypiea.
Across Upper Yard.
Across the endless sky itself.
For a brief moment...
The heavens seemed to stand still.
Arthur's expression softened.
"The city of gold was real."
Robin opened her eyes.
"And history..."
"...was in the end heard again."
They continued sailing.
Hours later...
Signs of battle gradually appeared.
Entire forests had been flattened.
Cloud rivers had changed course.
Countless trees bore black scorch marks left by lightning.
Fragments of ruined shrines floated through the White Sea.
"Looks like we missed quite a fight."
Law examined the destruction quietly.
Arthur simply nodded.
"We were never meant to be part of it."
The Athena finally reached the edge of Upper Yard.
The once-sacred forest had become eerily quiet.
No voices.
No battle cries.
Only the wind whispered through broken branches.
Arthur stepped onto the island first.
The others followed.
No one spoke.
Something about the silence felt...
Heavy.
They walked only a short distance before Hancock suddenly stopped.
"...Captain."
Arthur had already seen him.
Beneath the enormous roots of a shattered Giant Jack...
A lone figure leaned against the trunk with his head lowered.
His body was covered with burns and blood.
The golden staff rested loosely beside his hand.
Long earlobes hung motionless against his shoulders.
His breathing was shallow.
But steady.
"...Enel."
Robin recognized him immediately from the descriptions recorded in Arthur's archives.
"The self-proclaimed God of Skypiea himself."
The man slowly opened his eyes.
For the first time since his defeat...
He looked up.
Not at ordinary pirates.
Not at another challenger.
But at a man whose presence alone eclipsed the throne he had once claimed.
Arthur stood silently before him.
Neither spoke.
The wind drifted quietly between them.
Enel's exhausted eyes narrowed.
"...Who..." His golden eyes met Arthur's.
"...are you?"
Arthur looked down at the fallen god for a long moment.
Then...
A faint smile appeared.
"So..."
"The man defeated by the future Pirate King."
Enel slowly laughed.
"...Interesting."
The clouds above Upper Yard rumbled once.
Not because of thunder.
But because two monsters...
had finally crossed paths.
Words became unnecessary.
Above them...
The clouds slowly parted.
Golden sunlight spilled through the opening, illuminating the ruined Upper Yard.
One was a god...
Who had just lost everything.
The other was an Emperor...
Who had come seeking nothing at all.
For Enel...
the defeat at Luffy's hands had ended one story.
Meeting Arthur...
would begin another.