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Under the guidance of the Revolutionary Army, the slaves formed a snaking line, descending the sheer face of the Red Line.
In the sea below, dozens of large ships waited in the shadows, ready to ferry the liberated souls away from hell.
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The line was orderly, a testament to Dragon's organizational skills.
But then, the air changed.
Dragon, Rayleigh, Shakky, and the Revolutionary commanders all whipped their heads around, looking up at the sky. A pulsating, violet-red light was descending, carrying with it a suffocating aura of destruction. It felt as if an ancient God of War was stepping down to judge the mortal world.
The oppressive weight of it slammed into the slaves still on the cliff, freezing them in their tracks. Their legs turned to jelly—they couldn't take another step.
From the heart of the lightning storm, a figure emerged. He was wrapped in arcs of violet electricity, a deity of destruction looking down on the ant-like humans below.
"Hhhk... What... what is that monster??"
Gild Tesoro's eyes were wide, a strangled noise escaping his throat.
He was a man who knew how to navigate power. Even as a slave, he'd learned to survive among the Celestial Dragons by reading the room. He'd seen powerful men. But he swore, in his entire life, he had never seen anyone who could nearly force him to his knees with presence alone.
He'd been enslaved as a teenager. He hadn't read the papers. He didn't even know if Arthur was famous when he was captured. He had no concept of the true monsters that roamed the seas.
"That... that is something you do not provoke!!"
Suppressing the terror clawing at his heart, Tesoro forced his legs to move, inching down the mountain. Just standing in the same zip code as that man made it hard to breathe.
The image of Arthur, wreathed in violet lightning, seared itself into the minds of every slave present. It was a memory of absolute dominance that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
Boa Hancock and her sisters, hearing Shakky's unfinished sentence, turned to look. The sight of that terrifying figure made them tremble violently. Hancock clutched Shakky's arm, her knuckles white, too terrified to let go.
This man was scarier than the Celestial Dragons who had burned the hoof mark into their backs.
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Arthur stepped out of the lightning, sneering at the formidable lineup arrayed against him—Rayleigh, Dragon, Kuma, Ivankov. He completely ignored the shivering, pitiful form of Hancock, whose beauty would have moved any other man to protect her.
"Your mouth has gotten sharper, Dragon," Arthur said, his voice cold. "But do you really think this little group is enough to stop me?"
"You invaded my home. You threatened my crew. The bill has come due."
He spoke with zero emotion, utterly immune to the supernatural allure of the Mero-Mero Fruit.
Devil Fruit powers were absolute, but they had conditions. Hancock's power relied on lust. Against someone like Luffy, who didn't understand romance, it was useless.
Or take the Celestial Dragons. They viewed everyone else as insects. Would a "God" find an ant attractive? Impossible. That was why Hancock's charm didn't work on them—to them, she was just livestock.
And Arthur?
He wasn't asexual, but his worldview had been warped beyond recognition by power. "Beauty" meant nothing to him.
To Arthur, "charm" was value. It was strength. It was the ability to give him a thrill.
Hancock, with her parlor tricks and lack of true power, was boring. In Arthur's eyes, she was less attractive than the mad dog Kaido.
Far away, in the main battlefield...
Kaido, currently trading blows with Zephyr and Garp, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He shook his head, confused, knocking the strange feeling away before throwing another punch.
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The experts gathered on the cliff were all monsters who treated Mary Geoise like their backyard.
"Thunder Emperor!!"
Dragon's face darkened. He had been so focused on the logistics of the rescue that he hadn't watched the broadcast. He hadn't realized Shiki had developed a death wish and rejected Arthur's help, leaving Arthur free to hunt them.
"Run! Get them out of here!" Dragon shouted to his commanders. "Rayleigh-san, Kuma, Ivankov—take the slaves and go! I'll hold him off!"
He was confident he could survive a clash with Arthur, but he couldn't protect his subordinates at the same time. If they stayed, Ivankov and Inazuma were dead meat.
"Running away without a fight? Not really my style," Rayleigh chuckled dryly, looking at Arthur with a resigned smile. "I sailed with Roger through hell and high water. I never picked up the habit of fleeing."
"Hee-haw! If we form a Revolution, we face the fire together, Dragon!" Ivankov stabbed a finger into his own neck, injecting hormones that transformed him into a tall, buxom woman. She winked at Dragon.
Kuma said nothing, simply clutching his Bible. Inazuma's hands transformed into massive scissors. They weren't leaving.
"Perfect," Fisher Tiger growled, cracking his knuckles. His eyes burned with the resolve of a martyr. "I can pay you back for the humiliation you brought to Fish-Man Island when you invaded Ryugu Palace!"
"Hack! You, Shakky, and the others—get the people to the ships!"
Shakky exhaled a plume of smoke and sighed. "Fighting and killing... always leaving the headaches to the women."
She didn't argue. She knew her role. Staying would only be a burden. She grabbed the Hancock sisters and led them swiftly down the cliff. She trusted Rayleigh.
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Arthur laughed, not caring about the fleeing non-combatants. His gaze swept over the warriors who remained, finally landing on the Dark King.
"Rayleigh. You want to die too? I spared you before, not because of your age, but because Roger gave me a few pointers back in the day."
For a man who had moved the era forward like Roger, Arthur had to show respect.
"Just a bag of old bones," Rayleigh sighed, "talking about retirement but always getting dragged back into the mess."
He slowly raised his head. The look in his eyes sharpened, the years melting away to reveal the legendary pirate beneath.
He drew his sword. The blade hummed, and a terrifying aura exploded from the old man's body.
"Alright, kid. Let's see how much you've grown in ten years."
"Then you can die here with these revolutionaries," Arthur said indifferently.
Violent, violet-red lightning erupted, flooding the sky above Mary Geoise. The current was frenzied, rushing towards Arthur like a whirlpool, etching glowing, tribal patterns onto his skin.
"If you want to be the test subjects for my new power... I'll oblige you."
"ONE BILLION VOLTS: THUNDER GOD DESCENDS!!!"
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