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The waves slapped against the hull.
The endless vista of sea and sky stretched out before them—even a beautiful view can grow tiresome after a while.
Arthur watched as Shiryu vanished into the distance, then quietly lay back down to rest.
He had no doubt that Shiryu would bring Foxy back.
The Slow-Slow Fruit, and Foxy himself had obvious weaknesses.
A swordsman, above all else, is a master of exploiting such flaws. The ability to hear the 'Breath Of all Things' wasn't just for cutting steel.
As for whether the man could actually be subdued? Arthur wasn't too concerned. If he couldn't be subdued, he could simply be killed. The Devil Fruit would reappear somewhere else on the sea soon enough.
There was a reason he had ordered Doflamingo to collect all but the Normal Zoan-type Devil Fruits.
It wasn't due to any particular fondness for them, and it certainly wasn't some collector's quirk. It was related to the third step of his grand plan.
The journey to the Drum Kingdom was only the first.
However, in the past three years, Doflamingo, preoccupied with his preparations to take over Dressrosa, had clearly not taken Arthur's instructions to heart. He had yet to deliver a single Devil Fruit.
And after three full years, there was still no news of Dressrosa changing hands—the Riku family was still in power. Who knew what game he was playing?
After this trip, Arthur decided, he would send Shiryu to pay the Donquixote Family a visit—a little reminder of the price for slacking off, and of who had given them everything they had.
To gain a foothold in the New World, you did as the Four Emperors commanded. It was as simple as that.
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Before long, the sound of the air being torn apart announced Shiryu's return. Arthur opened his eyes, pulling himself from his thoughts.
He saw Shiryu descending from the sky, an unconscious body dangling from his hand.
Thud.
Shiryu unceremoniously dropped the man onto the deck.
"Captain," he said, turning to Arthur. "I've brought him."
"Good," Arthur nodded, his face expressionless. "Wake him up."
He had expected Foxy to be unconscious. A weak pirate like him, with a bounty that likely didn't even break thirty million, was nothing in the face of Shiryu.
Shiryu's terrifying killing intent alone was probably enough to scare him into a dead faint.
At Arthur's command, Shiryu bent down and slapped Foxy hard across the face—twice.
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Foxy, nicknamed the "Silver Fox," looked very much like his namesake. He had become a pirate after accidentally eating one of the sea's secret treasures, a Devil Fruit.
Once any man gains power, ambition is sure to follow.
The Devil Fruit had given him the means, and Foxy had formed a pirate crew on Long Ring Long Land.
His plan was to use a game of his own invention to absorb other pirate crews passing through the island.
Once he had enough men, he would set sail for the New World.
There wasn't a pirate alive who didn't dream of that sea.
Foxy was no exception.
But one day, five years ago, everything had changed. A terrifying existence, passing through Long Ring Long Land by chance, had shattered his dream.
That man was simply too powerful. So powerful that the mere release of his aura had robbed Foxy of the Will to even fight.
To this day, he could still remember the overwhelming presence of Arthur as he descended upon them, the wave of Conqueror's Haki that had knocked out every pirate on the island, leaving only a handful to struggle on their knees.
The supremely arrogant posture of the "Thunder Emperor" was seared into his memory, something he could never forget.
He had seen the power at the absolute pinnacle of the sea, a gulf as wide as the sky.
The moment Arthur had left, Foxy had thrown his dream away.
With such an unclimbable mountain looming over the world, there was no way he could ever make a name for himself.
And so, for five years, Foxy had languished. He spent his days in a decadent, drunken stupor with his crew.
Of course, he would occasionally read the news to see what was happening in the New World. And the news he followed most closely was that of the Thunder God Pirates.
Today, as he was resting on his ship—a man he had never dreamed he would see had burst in: the First Division Commander of the Thunder God Pirates, Shiryu.
The man said to be the most bloodthirsty on the seas, a man the Marines called an "extremely dangerous, traitorous head jailer," with a bounty of 800 million Berries.
The moment that man had unleashed his killing intent, Foxy's mind, unable to bear the strain, had decisively shut down.
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"Ugh… Hiss…" Foxy's eyes fluttered open. He rubbed his cheeks, which were throbbing for some reason, and slowly came to his senses.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw him—
The man who appeared so often in the newspapers, the ultimate fear that resided in the depths of his heart, the New World Emperor he had obsessed over for five long years.
He nearly fainted again.
"Th-Thunder Emperor!!!" Foxy was paralyzed with terror.
His usual cunning and slyness vanished. His entire body began to tremble. He couldn't imagine why a great figure like Arthur would appear in a small place like this.
The psychological trauma from five years ago had not faded.
It had only grown worse...
In his eyes, under the blue sky, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Arthur was as majestic as a god. The man who commanded pirates with bounties over a hundred million, the man who steered the most powerful crew on the seas—what could he possibly want with a nobody like him?
A clever man's greatest quality is knowing his own limits. The blow from five years ago had stripped Foxy of all his pride. He knew that in the eyes of a man like Arthur, he was worthless.
"Sir Thunder Emperor… what do you want with me…?" Foxy stammered, scrambling to his feet, barely able to get the words out.
"Don't be nervous… cough, cough," Arthur said calmly, after a brief coughing fit.
"Foxy. We met five years ago, didn't we? I'm surprised to find you still on this island. Are you too scared to even go to the New World, the land of a pirate's dreams?"
"That's…" Foxy was speechless. He didn't know how to answer. He finally understood how the ordinary residents of Long Ring Long Land felt when they faced him.
That feeling of powerlessness when you are facing an irresistible force, when your very life is not in your own hands—it was unbearable.
"Let's make this simple. I'm giving you two choices," Arthur said, a casual smile playing on his lips. "One: Join my Thunder God Pirates. Two: Refuse... Pick one."
Shnk.
The Seven Star Sword was slowly drawn from its sheath, letting out a sharp, piercing hiss.
Shiryu's face was cold. If Foxy refused, he would cut him down in the next second.
"What?" Foxy was stunned. He had never imagined this would be the outcome.
Then, an incredible excitement washed over him. He nodded his head vigorously, without a second thought.
"I choose to join!"
To join the Thunder God Pirates—could there be a better choice?
For five years, Foxy had daydreamed of entering the New World, of attaching himself to one of the emperors. He had never imagined it would happen in such a dramatic fashion.
"Excellent—" Arthur said with a satisfied nod. "Then set sail for the New World. Paint the flag of the Thunder God Pirates on your ship and report to Raijin Island. Shiryu, let's go."
Shiryu, without a word, slid the drawn sword back into its sheath. He walked to the bow, started the engine, and then, grabbing Foxy, tossed him into the sea.
The ship cut through the waves and disappeared in seconds, leaving Foxy to plunge into the depths with a look of complete shock on his face, until his crew rushed over and hauled him out of the water.
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