Gurururu…
As the sound of bubbles rolled through the water, everyone's ears twitched almost at the sa ti. Sharp gazes snapped toward the distance—
And at the very front, Arthur's lips curled into a faint smile as he murmured softly:
"Ochoku… you're finally here."
—
[Arthur Pendragon]
[Holy Sword: Excalibur – Sword of Promised Victory (13 Seals)]
[Holy Spear: Locked]
[Bloodline of the Red Dragon: 40% Awakened (Red Dragon's Scale, Red Dragon's Claw, Red Dragon's Stomach, Red Dragon's Blood.)]
[Knights of the Round Table: Gawain (Knight of the Sun), Galahad (Knight of the Holy Grail), Gareth (Knight of the Wolf]
[Island of Britannia: 30% Synchronization]
[Castle of White Chalks: 4/150]
[Haki: Conqueror's Haki (Interdiate), Armant Haki (Interdiate), Observation Haki (Interdiate)]
---
Arthur stared at his status panel, feeling the scorching blood surging through his veins.
That's right.
In the end, Arthur chose to awaken the Red Dragon bloodline.
How do you increase strength in the shortest ti—fastest, most direct?
By awakening the Red Dragon bloodline.
Even if he hadn't fully mastered it yet, the mont it awakened, the power boost was massive.
Arthur had already been just one step away from that level.
Now, with the Red Dragon bloodline awakened, that final step was no longer "almost."
He had crossed it completely.
Of course—
If he had a choice, Arthur would rather not enter that half-man, half-beast Red Dragon form. The stamina cost wasn't the main problem.
It was the feeling of ferocity gradually trying to take control—sothing that irritated him to no end.
Arthur hated that state.
And besides, even at 40%, his Red Dragon bloodline wasn't fully developed yet.
But for this battle—
It was enough.
—
BOOM—!!
At that mont, a trendous force smashed through the bubble barrier surrounding Fish-Man Island.
Five massive pirate ships burst straight in, charging forward before slowly easing to a stop.
Tap.
Tap.
Slow, steady footsteps echoed.
Ochoku's tall figure erged step by step, stroking his beard as he spoke coolly:
"Arthur… you really chose to stand in my way?"
"Heh-heh-heh…"
Arthur smiled. "Ochoku. I didn't expect my opponent to be you, either."
Ochoku's mouth split into a savage grin.
"Arthur… you really think you're strong enough now that you can face without fear?"
Arthur shrugged lightly.
"Who knows? But if you haven't gotten stronger, then this victory should be mine."
"How arrogant."
"Isn't it?"
BOOM!
SHNK—!
Ochoku's massive greatsword slamd down in an instant, the terrifying slash carrying enough force to tear everything apart—
And Arthur raised his hand at the sa ti, sending a brilliant slash soaring upward, as if to pierce straight through the sky again.
It happened too fast.
Like everything erupted in a single heartbeat.
BOOOOM—!
The two slashes collided in midair and exploded, the shockwave blasting outward and carving deep craters into the ground.
"Hahahaha—!"
"Oy, Arthur!" Ochoku laughed. "With that level, you're not my match!"
Arthur smiled calmly.
"Well… whether I'm your match or not, we'll only know after we fight."
...
Silence fell.
The battlefield seed to hold its breath.
Every fighter's spirit tightened to the limit—no one dared relax.
They all understood:
War could explode completely in an instant.
Ochoku narrowed his eyes, beard bristling as he thought grimly:
That brat got stronger.
Just like I guessed.
In this short ti… he's already reached this level?
It's only been a little over a year! Is Arthur an alien?
That brief exchange had already told Ochoku everything.
Arthur wasn't just stronger—he'd improved across the board.
This wasn't a joke.
If Ochoku wasn't careful, he could overturn his ship in a shallow ditch.
But what shocked him most was how fast Arthur had grown.
A year ago, when Arthur and Kaido had just joined the Rocks Pirates, they were nothing but kids—trash not worth noticing.
Now?
Arthur could stand on the sa stage as him… and not fall behind.
That was insane.
Arthur, anwhile, was thinking as well:
Ochoku's stronger too.
Just as expected.
After leaving the Rocks Pirates, none of them stayed idle.
Honestly… it's only natural they grew stronger.
The Rocks Pirates had been terrifying—
But they'd also been a limitation.
They were so overwhelmingly powerful that hardly anyone even dared challenge them.
And if no one challenges you, how do you sharpen yourself further?
To grow stronger, you needed battle after battle—pressure after pressure.
After splitting off, each of them fought for their own ambitions.
And after countless clashes, growth beca inevitable.
Their thoughts churned.
The atmosphere grew stranger—heavier—more dangerous by the second.
Both n's eyes sharpened.
They knew this war wouldn't drag on.
Victory would be decided in a short window—perhaps in a single decisive mont.
Because even if there was a gap—
It wasn't a large one.
And in battles like that, one instant could determine everything.
Neither dared to gamble with their crew's lives.
They both understood how much it had cost to build up to this point.
This wasn't sothing created in three months after leaving Rocks.
It was the result of long, brutal accumulation.
No one wanted to be driven off the board in a single war.
...
A faint wind drifted through.
Then—
SHNK—!
Ochoku's slash ca down again, and he roared:
"Attack!!"
"ROOOAR—!!"
With that shout, the curtain finally lifted.
The battlefield erupted.
Everyone charged toward their opponents, eyes filled with killing intent.
No rcy.
Arthur calmly raised his sword in his hand.
Light flickered—
And the golden, radiant blade appeared.
He spoke evenly:
"Advance."
"Yes!"
Unlike the pirates' chaotic charge, Arthur's knights moved as one under Galahad's command.
Their formation was clean, structured—so complete it was like the battlefield itself had been carved into sections.
The warlines crashed together.
BOOM!
Arthur and Ochoku's slashes collided again, violently—
For one heartbeat, everything went quiet—
Then the next mont, deafening screams and roars ignited the battlefield into a boiling madness.
"Kill!!"
"Kill!!"
Ochoku's pirates surged fully into the fight, insanity blazing in their eyes.
And it wasn't only because Fish-n and rmaids were rare.
Fish-Man Island was packed with treasures.
It sat in the deep sea—aning the Ryugu Kingdom had amassed unimaginable wealth over generations.
Why did the World Governnt accept the Ryugu Kingdom as an allied nation?
Because that wealth mattered.
Even Big Mom's fury could be appeased with enough tribute.
That alone proved how enormous Fish-Man Island's fortune truly was.
And this—
This was exactly why the pirates were so crazed.
They wanted that wealth—so vast it made even hardened New World pirates tremble with excitent.
"Oho!!"
"Brothers!!"
"Kill!!"
But the roaring pirate was cut down in the next instant by a squad of knights moving in perfect coordination.
Individually, none of them were his match.
But their teamwork was terrifying.
Their formations were built around humans and non-humans working together.
No denying it—many non-human races had better natural physiques than humans.
So Galahad designed a five-man unit:
One non-human as the core
Four others arranged in a diamond formation
The fifth role focused on support and coverage
Even against opponents they couldn't defeat head-on, they could kill through attrition—draining, locking down, finishing.
And it didn't stop there.
Every four squads could link together again.
In just a short ti, the battlefield looked like it had been divided into blocks—each one trapped, controlled, and cleared systematically.
The Five Peaks Pirates—who should've had the advantage—
Were being suppressed instead.
---
"This… this…"
Neptune, king of the Ryugu Kingdom, was present at the battlefield—but he could only stare wide-eyed in disbelief.
What was happening?
They were being completely suppressed.
The Five Peaks Pirates—built in just three months, yet terrifying even by New World standards—
Were being held back by knights Arthur had recruited and trained for barely over a month?
It was unbelievable.
"Your Majesty Neptune," Tiger said seriously from beside him, "I can see sothing on those knights… a special power. It's strange—like it can block fatal wounds."
"Every killing blow is being stopped."
"Huh?"
Neptune was stunned, but as he watched closely…
It really was happening.
Unreal.
Since when could an army fight like this?
"And also," Tiger continued, eyes sharp, "that power matters—but what's more frightening is their skill and discipline. Their coordination is too perfect."
"Especially the teamwork between humans and non-humans…"
Neptune couldn't help but stare at the squads:
Four humans supporting one non-human core—
A formation like that should've been impossible on these seas.
The prejudice and conflict between humans and non-human races never disappeared.
And yet here they were.
Working together like gears in a single machine.
"Yes…" Neptune said quietly, full of awe. "I never imagined sothing like this."
He looked toward Arthur.
The king in shining armor stood calmly amid the chaos, sword in one hand—radiant, untouchable.
The battlefield seed to split around him.
No one could approach.
In Arthur's eyes was absolute confidence—
As if victory were the only natural outco.
Neptune had prepared troops too—fifty thousand Fish-Man soldiers.
But now?
They were stuck on the outskirts, unable to intervene.
They couldn't even find an opening to join the fight.
It was absurd.
And it proved sothing cruelly simple:
In front of true monsters…
Numbers ant nothing.
Trying to win through sheer headcount alone?
That was impossible.
---------------------------------///
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