For a while, Arthur remained silent as the last traces of movement disappeared into the distance.
One by one, the people who had gathered around Whitebeard's grave were beginning to leave. Some carried wounded comrades. Others boarded ships without saying a word. The great battlefield that had once been filled with cannon fire, screams, and the clash of monsters was slowly becoming empty.
The war was over.
But the people who had survived it were already walking toward whatever came next.
Near the harbor, the Red Hair Pirates were preparing to depart.
The Red Force stood ready beside the battered coastline, its sails beginning to rise as the crew loaded the final supplies.
Rayleigh rested one hand against the railing of the Red Force.
"Rusukaina." The name drew a faint smile from Shanks. "You're really taking him there?"
Rayleigh glanced at him. "It's the right place."
"Then I suppose the old man still has some cruel ideas left." Shanks laughed quietly.
"Training him won't be easy." Rayleigh's smile widened.
Arthur approached as the preparations neared completion.
Rayleigh noticed him before Arthur said anything.
Their eyes met across the dock.
Arthur looked toward Luffy, who was visibly excited to be sailing with the Red Hair Pirates.
"Make sure he survives your training."
"I'll do my best." Rayleigh laughed.
Shanks stepped onto the deck of the Red Force and called down toward them.
"Rayleigh-san! We're leaving!"
Rayleigh raised a hand.
"Coming." He looked back at Arthur one last time. "Take care of yourself."
"You too." Arthur nodded.
Rayleigh turned and boarded the ship.
The Red Force slowly pulled away from the shore, leaving the Sunny Go safely behind in the harbor.
Arthur remained at the harbor until both ships had become little more than silhouettes against the horizon.
Another farewell.
Another road beginning.
Not far away, another departure was taking place.
Jinbe stood beside the ship that would carry him back toward Fish-Man Island. In his hands was a folded flag.
The emblem of the ART Pirates.
He looked at it for a long moment before carefully securing it among his belongings.
Arthur approached.
"Do you think they will accept the flag?"
Jinbe nodded.
"Queen Otohime believed that one day Fish-Man Island would no longer need to fear the surface world." His eyes lowered toward the flag. "We cannot make that dream come true alone."
Arthur said nothing.
Jinbe looked toward him.
"But I can make sure the people of Fish-Man Island know they are not alone."
"Then be careful." Arthur gave a small nod.
"I will." Jinbe bowed his head.
The ship departed soon afterward.
As it sailed away, the ART Pirates' flag remained secured where it could be seen clearly.
It was not a claim.
It was a promise.
A promise that if someone came looking for Fish-Man Island, they would have to think twice before raising their hand against it.
Elsewhere, Ace and Marco stood together near the remaining Whitebeard Pirates.
Their crew was smaller now.
Much smaller.
The silence among them carried the weight of every name that would never answer another call.
Marco looked toward the horizon.
"We need to get stronger."
"Yes, we can't protect them all yet." Ace clenched his fist.
Marco looked at him.
"No." He exhaled slowly. "But we don't have to abandon them."
A familiar voice came from behind.
"You don't."
Both men turned.
Arthur stood several steps away.
Ace's expression softened slightly.
"You're still here."
"I haven't left yet."
"What are you suggesting?" Marco folded his arms.
Arthur looked toward the distant sea.
"Train."
"That's your answer?" Ace raised an eyebrow.
"It's the only answer that matters right now."
Arthur's gaze moved between them.
"You need strength. I'll give you time. My flag will protect your territories until you can stand on your own again."
"Yes. We hope it works as we discussed last night, at least until we're strong enough to protect them ourselves." Marco nodded.
"That's all I'm asking." Arthur returned the nod.
Ace looked toward Arthur.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet." Arthur shook his head.
A faint grin appeared on Ace's face.
"Then you'll have hell to pay when I get stronger and take back the title of strongest Emperor."
Marco laughed.
For the first time since the war ended, the sound of laughter returned to the surviving crew.
It was small.
Fragile.
But it was alive.
The island had finally fallen silent.
One by one, the ships that had gathered for Whitebeard's funeral had departed.
The harbor that had once been filled with ships was now almost empty.
Only two vessels remained at the pier.
The Athena rested quietly beside the Sunny Go.
Luffy had entrusted the Sunny Go to Arthur, and until the Straw Hats returned, it would remain under ART protection.
Beyond the harbor, the funeral grounds were nearly deserted.
Arthur stood before Whitebeard's grave.
Behind him stood the members of his crew.
Arthur remained silent for several moments.
His eyes rested on the grave of the man who had shaken the world simply by dying.
Then Robin and Hancock stepped forward.
Hancock stopped beside Arthur, her gaze moving toward the grave before returning to him.
"Arthur."
He gave her a silent glance.
"Are you really sure about this?"
Arthur knew what she meant but remained silent.
"You're planning to activate the Valkyrie Legion." Hancock folded her arms.
"Yes."
Robin's expression became slightly more serious.
"There are already thousands of Angeloids." Her eyes shifted toward the distant sea. "And the number keeps increasing."
Arthur nodded.
"The factory beneath the Anemone family's hidden harbor is still operating," Hancock confirmed.
"I don't need all of them."
"If you activate the entire Valkyrie Legion, you'll have an army unlike anything you've deployed before." Her voice remained calm, but there was concern beneath it. "And you're planning to use that army to deal with the problem of the territories Whitebeard left behind."
Arthur finally turned toward the sea.
Surviving Marineford did not mean they still possessed the strength to protect everything their captain had protected.
Arthur understood that better than anyone.
Robin's expression became slightly more serious.
"You've never been interested in ruling territory."
"Yes."
"You've turned down opportunities to claim islands before."
"Yes."
"You don't even like being called an Emperor."
"Yes." Arthur's expression barely changed.
"So why now?" Robin studied him for a moment.
Before Arthur could answer, Hancock's voice came from beside them.
"I was wondering the same thing." Her arms were crossed, and her eyes remained fixed on Arthur. "You have never shown any desire to collect territory simply because it belonged to someone powerful."
She glanced toward the grave.
"But now you intend to place the ART flag alongside the Whitebeard flag." Hancock's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you realize what that will mean?"
Arthur remained silent.
"If the ART Pirates become the active force protecting those islands," Hancock continued, "the people will naturally begin to see you as their real protector, even though you won't manage the islands under your agreement with Marco."
She paused.
"And eventually, those territories may be known as Arthur's territories rather than Whitebeard's."
Robin looked toward Arthur.
"That is a legitimate concern."
Arthur's gaze remained on the grave.
"I know."
"And you're still going to do it?" Hancock raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
There was no hesitation in his answer.
Hancock studied him for several seconds.
"Then explain."
Arthur finally turned toward both women.
"We don't have much time left." His voice was calm. "I want to see what the Valkyrie Legion can do."
"So this is a test?" Robin's eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
Arthur looked toward the horizon.
"For years, the Angeloid factory has continued producing more units. I've had no reason to deploy the entire legion." He paused. "Until now."
"I designed and optimized every specialized Angeloid."
The wind moved gently through his coat.
"Hundreds of Armed Angeloids are waiting."
Arthur looked back toward Whitebeard's grave.
"And the chaos in the world has just given them a battlefield."
His voice became quieter.
"Because I need to know their limits."
"How quickly they can respond."
"How well they can protect civilians."
"How many enemies they can handle."
"How strong an opponent they can handle one-on-one."
"How much coordination they can maintain across multiple islands."
He paused.
"And whether the system I've built can actually function on the scale I intended."
Robin's eyes softened slightly.
"So you're testing more than their actual combat ability."
Arthur nodded.
"Fights are never just about stats, numbers, and physical specifications in this world."
A brief silence followed.
Then Monet stepped forward from behind the others.
"There is another problem."
Arthur turned toward her.
Monet's expression was calm, but her eyes were sharp.
"If you activate the Valkyrie Legion now, the world will notice."
The wind moved through her white hair.
"Even if you deploy only a small number—say, a hundred Angeloids appearing across Whitebeard's former territories—they won't remain a secret."
She glanced toward the empty harbor.
"The remaining Emperors will investigate. The underworld will investigate. The Marines will investigate. Eventually, the World Government will not remain silent."
Her gaze returned to Arthur.
"And every one of them will connect the Valkyrie Legion to you."
Robin's expression became more serious.
"She's right."
Monet continued.
"Until now, the world has known that the ART Pirates possess unusual technology when Ikaros, Nymph, Astrea and Chaos appear in public." She paused. "But deploying the entire legion will reveal something much more dangerous."
Hancock's eyes narrowed.
"Before, the world might have thought you possessed advanced technology with limited output." Her voice carried greater concern. "But now, the world will know that Arthur has the ability to continuously produce a highly advanced robotic army capable of challenging the balance of power."
Robin nodded. "Exactly."
She looked directly at Arthur.
"Are you prepared for the attention that will follow?"
Arthur remained silent.
The question was not whether the world would notice.
It was what he would do once it did.
After several moments, Arthur looked toward Whitebeard's grave.
"I've been hiding the Valkyrie Legion because I wanted time."
Monet watched him carefully.
"Time to build it."
Arthur nodded.
"Time to understand it."
His gaze shifted toward the horizon.
"And time to decide when the world would be ready to see it."
He paused.
"But as I said before, that time is over."
Monet's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What exactly comes next?"
Arthur folded his arms.
"I need you to understand why."
He looked at each member of his crew.
"Because from this point forward, I don't think we can afford to wait for the world to come to us."
The expression on his face made the others fall silent.
Arthur rarely looked worried.
This time, he did.
"We've spent years moving from island to island," he said. "Learning about the world. Building our strength. Gathering allies. Taking our time."
His eyes narrowed.
"Everything starts with Joy Boy."
Robin's eyes sharpened immediately.
The others listened.
"We know Joy Boy is connected to the Void Century. We know he made a promise to the people of Fish-Man Island. We know the Ancient Kingdom existed. And we know the World Government has spent eight hundred years making sure nobody learns the truth."
Robin nodded slowly.
"But you think Joy Boy's return is connected to the current era."
"I don't guess it." Arthur looked toward the sea. "I know enough to be afraid of the chaos this process will create."
Silence settled over the group.
"The old legends, the information we've gathered, the Poneglyphs, and the strange coincidences surrounding the people carrying the Will of D... they're all pointing toward the same conclusion."
Arthur's voice lowered.
"This era is approaching the moment Joy Boy was supposed to return."
Robin's eyes widened slightly.
"And if the stories are correct," Arthur continued, "that return won't happen quietly."
He looked toward the horizon.
"It will trigger the final movement of the world."
Sabo crossed his arms.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning the balance we've known for centuries may collapse."
Arthur paused.
"And when that happens, whoever possesses the greatest military power won't simply influence the world."
His eyes hardened.
"They'll decide its future."
Arthur continued before anyone could interrupt.
"And then there's Vegapunk."
That name immediately changed the atmosphere.
The crew knew how important Vegapunk's information had become.
Arthur had obtained knowledge that few people outside the World Government could even imagine.
"Vegapunk's information showed me enough to understand what the World Government has been building."
"The intelligence we obtained mentioned the Mother Flame and the Seraphim. But it didn't contain enough information to explain exactly what they were."
Monet was the first to uncover fragments of that intelligence through the ART Pirates' information network. She had passed everything she found to Arthur, but even their combined knowledge had left too many questions unanswered.
"Mother Flame." He looked toward Robin. "A source of energy powerful enough to operate an Ancient Weapon."
"Poseidon is the Mermaid Princess, and the blueprints for Pluton were destroyed by Franky. That leaves Uranus as the one we know the least about."Robin's expression became serious.
"Maybe they could complete it within two years," Arthur said. "And if the information we obtained is accurate, perhaps three more years would be enough to destroy the world, if they chose to."
"About Seraphim..." His gaze moved to the others. "The humanoid weapons based on the Lunarians."
He paused.
"The World Government no longer needs to depend entirely on the old generation of monsters. They are developing a new generation of weapons capable of reproducing the strength of some of the strongest people in the world."
Everyone's expression tightened, and nobody could process the implications quickly enough to respond.
He looked at them.
"The World Government is no longer satisfied with maintaining the balance of power."
"They're preparing to destroy it."
No one spoke.
Arthur continued.
"If they obtain enough power, they won't need the Seven Warlords. They won't even need the Marines' Admirals. They won't need to negotiate with pirates. They won't even need to fear the Emperors the way they do now."
His voice became colder.
"They'll be able to erase whatever stands in their way."
Arthur then looked toward the horizon where Shanks' ship had disappeared.
"There's another problem."
Robin followed his gaze. "Shanks."
"He stopped you from killing Teach. Didn't he know how dangerous Teach was?"
"Shanks isn't stupid." Arthur's expression became complicated. "He's probably one of the most cautious men on the sea."
"But he's waiting for the plan Roger left behind to unfold."
Arthur's gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon.
"Roger knew his era wasn't the right one. He reached Laugh Tale, learned the truth, and realized that he was too early."
Robin's expression became thoughtful.
"He was waiting for Joy Boy."
"Exactly."
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"And Shanks believes that the right moment will arrive when the person destined to inherit that role appears."
Luffy's name wasn't spoken.
Nobody needed him to say it.
Arthur looked toward the sea where Luffy had been standing moments earlier.
"Shanks has placed too much faith in Roger's conclusion."
Hancock frowned.
"You think Roger was wrong?"
"No." Arthur shook his head.
"I think Roger was right about the timing."
His expression hardened.
"But I think everyone who keeps waiting for that timing is making a dangerous mistake."
The crew remained silent.
"Roger could afford to wait."
Arthur's voice became firmer.
"We can't wait any longer, especially now that Whitebeard is dead."
They all understood the consequences of Whitebeard's death.
Behind him stood the members of the ART Pirates—Hancock, Robin, Monet, Baby-5, Sabo, Law, Bepo, Kuina, Sugar, Koala, Baccarat, and the four Angeloids who had followed Arthur through the Grand Line.
Arthur looked at them one by one.
"The world is changing faster than it ever has."
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"From this point forward, I don't want any of us treating an Admiral as the ceiling of what we might face."
That statement made several members of the crew straighten.
Arthur continued.
"I want us to reach the point where an Admiral is the minimum standard we prepare for."
Silence settled over the group.
Even Hancock's expression became serious.
Arthur looked toward the grave again.
"Whitebeard spent his entire life protecting his family."
His voice softened.
"We can't honor that by pretending the world has become safer because he's gone."
Arthur's eyes hardened.
"The opposite has happened. The sea has become more dangerous."
Sabo stepped forward slightly.
"And you want all of us to become more serious."
Arthur nodded.
"Yes."
His gaze hardened.
"I'm not asking everyone to abandon what makes them who they are."
A faint smile appeared.
"But if we're serious about changing this world, then we have to be strong enough to survive the world fighting back."
Arthur's words settled over the group with the weight of a declaration.
"Changing the world means dismantling the system that keeps it chained."
He looked toward the horizon.
"It means taking power away from those who use it to control nations, silence history, and decide which lives are worth protecting."
His hand tightened around the hilt of his weapon.
"And it means replacing that system with something better."
Arthur turned toward his crew.
"I am no longer talking about changing the world in theory."
His eyes were sharp.
"I am going to do it."
The crew stood together before Whitebeard's grave.
Their answers were different.
Their reasons were different.
But none of them stepped away.
Arthur looked at them in silence.
For years, they had followed him through battles, storms, islands, and impossible situations.
But this was different.
Until now, they had been pirates pursuing their own paths.
From this moment forward, they were declaring themselves enemies of the system that ruled the world.
Arthur lowered his head slightly.
"I won't promise that this will be easy."
His voice was quiet.
"I won't promise that everyone will survive."
The crew remained silent.
"But I will promise this."
Arthur raised his eyes.
"I will never ask you to fight for a world I don't believe in."
His gaze moved from one member to the next.
"If we change the world, we will change it so that people can live freely."
He looked toward Whitebeard's grave.
"So that no government can erase history simply because the truth threatens its power."
His hand tightened.
"So that no ruler can claim ownership over the lives of entire nations."
Arthur turned toward the sea.
"And so that the next generation will not have to inherit the same chains."
The ART flag above the Athena snapped loudly in the wind.
Arthur turned toward his crew.
"Prepare the Valkyrie Legion."
This time, nobody's eyes widened.
They were ready.
"Deploy them gradually across the selected territories."
He raised one hand.
"Protect the people."
His voice became firm.
"Destroy anyone who comes to take their homes."
Then Arthur looked toward the horizon.
"And find out exactly what our army is capable of."
Arthur looked once more at Whitebeard's grave.
"The old world is already beginning to collapse."
His voice carried across the empty funeral grounds.
"We will decide what rises from its ruins."
Nobody questioned him.
One by one, the members of the ART Pirates nodded.
The decision had been made.
Behind them, Whitebeard's grave remained silent beneath the morning sun.
The strongest man of the old era was gone.
His family had sailed away.
But the territories he had protected were about to become the first test of Arthur's new strategy.
And somewhere beneath the Red Line, deep inside the hidden harbor of the Anemone family, hundreds of Angeloids waited.
More were being built.
More were being awakened.
And for the first time, Arthur was preparing to unleash the Valkyrie Legion not merely as an experiment—
but as the first army of a revolution that would eventually challenge the World Government itself.
The world had not realized it yet.
But the revolution had already begun.
END OF VOLUME 6 - AD LIBITIUM.
That's all from the author until we meet again in VOLUME 7 - IN TUNE.