Before long—
Shiki, Ochoku, Silver Axe, and Captain John all returned.
However, compared to Arthur and Edward, the four of them looked far more battered—wrapped in bandages from head to toe. There was no helping it. They didn't have the same broken-level physiques as Arthur and Kaido, so proper medical treatment was still necessary.
"OH-HAHAHAHAHA!"
Captain Rocks glanced at them, laughing boisterously.
"Not bad! The injuries are way lighter than I expected. Looks like you bastards actually did some solid prep this time."
No one said anything.
Because they all knew—
If they hadn't drawn out the top combatants from the six allied nations before the assault…
If the top fighters of God Valley hadn't been strictly forbidden from leaving their domain…
If it hadn't been Shiki who retrieved the Eternal Log Pose…
If even one thing had gone wrong…
This entire mission was a miracle of variables. That they succeeded at all was already extraordinary. As for whether they could pull it off a second time? No one dared guarantee it. The odds of death next time would be astronomically high.
Captain Rocks swept his gaze across the six of them.
"Where's the Eternal Pose?"
Smack!
Shiki tossed the Eternal Log Pose over. Rocks caught it, examined it, and grinned with satisfaction.
"Perfect. This is exactly the one I needed."
With that—
He turned and walked away, leaving behind a parting call:
"I've already left your cut of the treasure aboard your ships. Take the time to rest up properly for now."
Watching Captain Rocks walk away, the six of them quietly returned to their own vessels.
They were utterly spent. Rest was more than necessary.
---
"Arthur!"
Shakky called out to him with a wave.
"Hehehe..."
Arthur chuckled lightly. "Relax. I won't skimp on the payment I promised."
Shakky lit a cigarette and nodded. As long as he remembered, she had nothing to worry about.
As for Kaido—
He sat to the side, his face incredibly sour.
Clearly, something bad had happened during the mission. And indeed, Arthur could guess correctly—Kaido wasn't just defeated… he was saved by Big Mom.
At this point, Kaido owed two favors to Linlin.
For someone as prideful and stubborn as Kaido, that was unbearable.
But reality was cruel.
The world had once again slammed the truth into Kaido's face:
You're not as strong as you think you are.
Stop acting like you are.
Arthur, for his part, had always been confident—but never arrogant.
The reason was simple.
He knew full well: no matter what kind of future awaited him, right now, he was not strong enough.
And since that was the case—
The smart move was to remain calm and cautious. Arrogance would only lead to death.
Just like the Red Line operation—
It was nothing more than a chain of "what-ifs" that happened to align by chance.
That's the only reason it succeeded.
If even one variable had shifted?
Arthur was certain—
They would all be dead. Without question.
Which was why he was so solemn.
This "success" meant nothing—it only proved how fragile and underpowered they still were.
Whoosh—
Returning to his quarters, Arthur stared at the row of massive treasure chests before him and let out a long breath.
"...No surprise there. Captain Rocks really is the Bringer of Fortune. Look at this haul."
Though he hadn't opened the chests yet, Arthur knew Rocks far too well.
He never gave out mere scraps.
Even without checking, Arthur was certain that each chest was filled with riches beyond imagination.
"Now then..."
Arthur grinned and slowly began opening the chests one by one.
Creak...!
As the lids opened, Arthur drew a sharp breath.
The scale of it all was staggering.
There was no Berries—but that made sense.
In the seas, hard currency meant gold, silver, and jewels. Berries were only useful on islands, where you could exchange them at pawn shops.
But here?
Good lord.
Arthur only needed a glance to estimate that there were at least 4 billion Berries' worth of gold and silver in these chests.
Of course—
He didn't really care much about the treasure.
Between the looting of the Ferguson Empire and robbing the Three Superpowers and Four Dark Emperors, Arthur was already set for life.
Money wasn't the problem anymore.
What he lacked—
Was Devil Fruits.
And Captain Rocks had just casually given him thirty-five of them.
"Hsshhh...!"
Arthur's jaw tightened as he shook his head in amazement.
"...Truly incredible. That's Captain Rocks for you."
Thirty-five fruits in one go.
It was almost absurd.
No wonder—
Everyone in this mad pirate crew obeyed without question.
This was the reason.
Captain Rocks wasn't just powerful—
He was generous.
Mountains of treasure.
Clear-cut rewards.
As long as you finished the mission, you'd get a king's ransom.
No one could argue with that.
"Incredible..."
Arthur muttered, closing the treasure chests one by one, before sitting down to think.
"Hmm..."
Narrowing his eyes in thought, he began calculating.
Thirty-eight from before...
Plus forty-eight now...
That's a total of eighty-six Devil Fruits in his possession.
The conditions for awakening his bloodline should definitely be met now.
Still...
There were more factors to consider.
Arthur began contemplating his next moves carefully.
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