Everyone turned toward the sudden voice.
And there he was — shimmering with golden light, hands in his pockets, a lazy smirk on his lips.
Admiral Kizaru.
"Damn! He got here fast!" Waldo spat.
Arthur didn't look surprised at all.
He met Kizaru's gaze calmly, his tone almost casual.
"Admiral Kizaru, long time no see.
What's this — come to see us off?"
Kizaru's smile faltered.
"Arthur…
Being too arrogant isn't a good look for a young man, you know~."
Arthur's lips curved faintly.
"Oh? Then tell me, Admiral — do you actually have the power to stop us?"
Kizaru froze for a second.
His expression stiffened as he scanned the faces before him — Arthur, Redfield, Crocodile, Waldo…
And he realized, with a sinking feeling, that he probably didn't.
He could stall them, sure. But win? Not a chance.
After a moment of silent internal panic, his brain switched to "plan B."
No need to fight head-on. I just need to delay them until reinforcements arrive.
With that comforting thought, his smirk returned.
"Well now, I may not be able to capture you all myself…
But keeping you from setting sail? Oh, that I can do~.
Once Headquarters arrives, your fun's over, hmm?"
Arthur knew exactly what Kizaru was doing.
The Admiral was the first to arrive — a vanguard, thanks to his Pika Pika no Mi light-speed ability.
After what Arthur had done — killing a Celestial Dragon — there was no way the Marines would just let him go.
A massive military response was inevitable.
And if they were surrounded, his crew would be in danger, no matter how strong he was.
He was still weighing his options when a calm, familiar voice drifted over from the shore.
"Kizaru. Long time no see."
The Admiral turned — and his pupils shrank.
"Oh my, oh my… Dark King Rayleigh!
Now that's terrifying. The Pirate King's right hand, showing up here of all places!"
Rayleigh stepped forward with an easy smile.
"I've been retired on this island for years.
Didn't expect to meet an Admiral in person.
How about it?
Care to test your strength against an old man?"
For a moment, Kizaru looked genuinely torn.
Behind his brown lenses, his eyes darted left and right, calculating the odds — and finding none of them good.
Are you kidding me?
One man with Flying Thunder God, one ancient monster like Redfield, and now the freakin' Dark King?
What kind of nightmare lineup is this?
Wasn't this supposed to be "three Admirals vs one fugitive"?
How'd it turn into "three legends vs one unlucky Admiral"?
Where the hell are Aokiji and Akainu when I need them?!
He swallowed his frustration, forcing a chuckle through clenched teeth.
"Fufu~… Buy two, get one free today, huh?
Well then, old man — why not?"
The two locked eyes.
The air went still.
Waves stopped crashing.
Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
They stood there, motionless, for minutes — pure tension, pure intimidation.
Carmen watched from the deck, wide-eyed.
"Wow… so this is what it looks like when masters clash!
They're not even moving, but you can feel the pressure!
Is this what they call an internal energy duel?"
Arthur almost tripped.
"Internal energy duel," my ass.
They're just stalling!
Just as he was about to facepalm, both men finally stirred — barely.
Rayleigh raised his hand, ready to make the first move—
—but Arthur suddenly appeared in front of him in a flash, blocking him.
"Rayleigh.
Appreciate the offer, but we'll handle our own mess.
You should focus on… getting out of here."
Rayleigh blinked.
"What? What are you—"
He frowned.
"You think I'm too old? You look down on me, boy? I'll have you kn—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Because Arthur gave him a very serious look and said:
"Didn't you say… Shakky still had soup cooking at home?
You forgot to turn off the stove."
Rayleigh froze.
Then his eyes widened.
"Ah! Right! Right, yes — the soup! The soup!"
He spun on his heel, grabbed Shakky by the wrist, and said briskly:
"Come on, dear, we'd better hurry back before the house burns down!"
Everyone just stared.
Redfield raised an eyebrow.
Even Kizaru blinked, momentarily breaking character.
Carmen looked completely lost.
"Wait… what just happened?"
"Did… did the Dark King just run away?"
Even Shakky herself looked puzzled as Rayleigh half-dragged her off the beach.
Arthur just sighed quietly, eyes fixed on the horizon.
The others followed his gaze—
—and what they saw made their hearts stop.
The entire sea ahead was filled—packed—with Marine warships.
Hundreds of them.
They stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, an endless armada so vast it turned the ocean itself into a sheet of steel.
"Holy hell…" Waldo whispered.
"That's… that's ridiculous."
Even a battle-hardened man like him had never seen anything like it.
"T-Tell me they're just passing by," Carmen stammered, her legs giving out as she sat down on the deck.
"Please tell me they're not here for us!"
Crocodile's jaw clenched.
"What the hell did you do?" he demanded.
"Even the Marines wouldn't mobilize this much for just a normal bounty…"
Then, realization struck him.
His eyes went wide.
"Wait… You didn't—
You didn't hit a Celestial Dragon, did you?!"
Before Arthur could answer, Waldo waved a hand dismissively.
"Of course not! We'd never do something so low-class."
Crocodile exhaled in relief.
"Thank god, I—"
"He killed one," Waldo added casually, grinning.
"Good, good, just— wait. WHAT?!"
Crocodile's face went pale.
He nearly choked on his own tongue.
"You… you killed a Celestial Dragon?!"
"What are you people—some kind of cosmic joke?!"
He clutched his head, half-laughing, half-screaming.
Meanwhile, Arthur simply shrugged.
"What? He was an idiot. I killed him.
End of story."
Crocodile stared blankly at him.
Words failed him.
He wanted to faint, but he was too angry to pass out.
"Unbelievable," he muttered.
"Absolutely unbelievable."
Arthur clapped his hands once, snapping everyone out of it.
"Alright, enough. What's done is done.
No use whining about it now."
He turned toward the vast Marine fleet, his expression unreadable.
"Once we reach the New World, the Marines can't touch us.
Killing one Celestial Dragon won't change that."
Crocodile's eye twitched.
"You say that like we can just walk away from this!"
He jabbed a finger toward the horizon.
"Look at that! That's not a fleet — that's a damn wall!
How the hell are we supposed to run from that?!"
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