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Figures like Redfield and Rayleigh—if they wanted to reveal their identities, no one could suppress their brilliant light.
The new era was nearly two years old. The pinnacle figures of the old era had truly become legends. The only one still active was the World's Strongest Man—Whitebeard.
And the Red Count, who had roamed the seas without relying on any Devil Fruit, had reached the pinnacle solely through his supreme physical skills and Haki, standing above all other pirates by his own strength.
A lone wolf, without partners, with only the thin umbrella-weapon in his hand that had followed him for decades.
"Redfield. Rayleigh." Arthur looked at the white hair scattered over their heads and felt a sense of a hero in their twilight years.
Unable to resist the passage of time. No matter how strong you were, you would inevitably grow old.
That was why the World Government had coveted Pure Gold for centuries and had continuously sent people to search for the Op-Op Fruit, all for the faint and perhaps non-existent promise of immortality.
At this moment, the bar was empty. Even the owner had been frightened away by the reputation of these three, fleeing this hornet's nest.
Arthur, carrying his wine, slowly walked towards the two of them and sat down in the seat opposite them.
They were silent for a while. No one spoke first. They all just drank quietly.
After a full few minutes, it was Redfield who broke the deadlock. He looked at Arthur's young face, his tone a mix of lament and envy.
"'Thunder Emperor' Arthur. We meet again... You look so young."
"Hahahaha! You can't be envious of that, Redfield," Rayleigh laughed heartily, as if he had never cared about growing old.
"For old-timers like us to witness a new generation rising with our own eyes—isn't that something pretty amazing?"
"Perhaps I will stay young forever," Arthur said nonchalantly. He then lifted his head and looked directly into the Red Count's sinister eyes, his tone changing.
"Redfield, I heard you crushed the Army in search of a coveted Devil Fruit. I wonder if this news is true or false?"
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Sabaody Archipelago, Groves 60 to 69, the station for the Marines and the World Government.
"Has the information been confirmed? Is it true or false?" Fleet Admiral Kong asked in a low voice, his arms crossed.
Just a moment ago, a shocking piece of intelligence had come from the lawless area of Groves 1 to 29. The whereabouts of Patrick Redfield had been discovered. And with him were the right hand of the Pirate King, who had not been seen for a long time—the "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh—and the "Thunder Emperor" Arthur.
Three top-tier great pirates were actually meeting, and the most crucial thing was—they hadn't started fighting?
Since when did people like this have such good tempers?
"Reporting to the Fleet Admiral, the information is confirmed," a cold-faced officer said, taking out three long-sealed wanted posters for comparison.
"We've already asked. The pirate who was just arrested, Edith, with a bounty of 80 million Berries, saw it with his own eyes. These three heinous great pirates met in a bar."
After waiting for two months, after preparing for so long, they had finally obtained concrete intelligence. Kong took a deep breath.
"Go down and evacuate the innocent crowds and civilians. All Marines, on standby immediately! Surround them for me!"
"SIR!"
"No..." Kong pondered for a moment. "Wait. Evacuate the civilians first. All Marines, do not act rashly, to avoid disaster. Wait until I, Sengoku, and Garp arrive before making a move."
"Yes, Fleet Admiral Kong!"
The officer slowly retreated, leaving only the three of them in the office.
"If Redfield's bold enough to show his face, he must be ready for a fight. The three of them meeting like this—are they planning to team up against the Marines?" Sengoku wondered, his brow furrowed.
"Bwahahahaha! Sengoku, you're overthinking it!"
Garp grinned widely, completely unbothered. "Forget about Redfield and Rayleigh for a second—you know Arthur's way too arrogant and stubborn to team up with anyone. And Redfield's always been a loner. If he was the type to form alliances, would he have spent all these years flying solo?"
Garp's was a case of great wisdom appearing as foolishness. He was usually carefree, but he could see the essence of a matter with a single glance.
"People change. What Sengoku said is not without reason..." Kong thought calmly, recalling the changes of the past two months. "What if Arthur has changed his objective? He can fight Whitebeard anytime, anywhere. But an opportunity to strike at the authority of the Marines is hard to come by."
"Fleet Admiral Kong, have you discovered something?" Sengoku and Garp asked at the same time.
"In the past two months, the World Government's spies within the Thunder God Pirates have reported that 'Big News' Morgans has officially joined them, completely siding with the pirates. Recently, on the Sabaody Archipelago, the number of News Coos raised by Morgans has increased several times over. His purpose is to broadcast the Marines' capture of Redfield to the world."
"Is he so sure the Marines will be defeated?" Garp asked.
"The three of us are ambushing Redfield. There is no possibility of failure..."
"So, the only thing I can think of is that the bastard Arthur plans to throw a wrench in the works, to intercept one or two of us... One-on-one, who in the entire world can guarantee a victory against the 'Red Count' Redfield?" Kong's face was grim to the extreme.
This operation to arrest Redfield was a direct order from the World Government. It could not be refused, and there was no possibility of even delaying it. This was a loss the Marines had to swallow. Even knowing there was a trap, they had to act.
"BWAHAHAHAHA! Then... we'll just have to arrest that brat Arthur along with him!" Garp suddenly threw his Justice coat back and stood up from his chair, his tone extremely firm.
"MOVE OUT! THIS TIME, FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE! REDFIELD MUST BE SENT TO IMPEL DOWN!" Kong roared, his face dark.
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"Redfield, I heard you crushed the Army in search of a coveted Devil Fruit. I wonder if this news is true or false?" Arthur asked with a strange smile.
"What if it's true, and what if it's false?" Redfield asked elegantly, swirling the wine in his glass, his demeanor very much that of a nobleman.
"Don't tell me you're going to command the Thunder God Pirates to help me find it?"
"When we first met, I told you that the greatest taboo for a pirate on the sea is to be a lone wolf. Do you remember?" Arthur's smile faded. "As long as one is human, they will grow old, and their condition will decline. Just like you, right now."
"You're not unaware of the Marines' actions outside, are you?"
"So what?"
"On the sea, there are many ways to stay young," Arthur said calmly.
"The Return-Return Fruit, the Age-Age Fruit, and the Op-Op Fruit with its immortality surgery. And in my hands, I have something called 'Pure Gold,' which can greatly slow or even halt one's life force. If you're interested, I can give it all to you."
Arthur said, his words dripping with the meaning of recruitment. "How about it, Redfield? Join my Thunder God Pirates, and I will fulfill your dream."
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