~ Support & Read 15 Advanced Chapters on Patreon!
❁❁❁❁
The second half of Sea Circle Calendar 1509!
Over the course of a month, the Thunder Emperor Arthur single-handedly moved Amazon Lily, home of the warrior race, from the Calm Belt in the first half of the Grand Line to the Thunder God's territory!
The Kuja Pirates, led by the world's most beautiful woman, "Pirate Empress" Boa Hancock, officially announced their integration into the Thunder God Pirates, becoming the 9th Division!
The Thunder God Pirates were gradually recovering from the losses of the civil war, but they remained the strongest pirate crew. News of the Thunder Emperor's return had spread across the seas. With his immense power guarding the base, no one dared to provoke them.
With Arthur's tacit permission, Acting Vice Captain Stussy revealed her deduction of how Arthur could consume two Devil Fruits to the intelligence agency CP0, formally cutting ties with the World Government.
CP0 reported this intelligence to the World Government. Unwilling to give up, they began frantically recruiting famous doctors from across the seas, gradually deducing the truth and starting research into the so-called "Atypical Body" surgery.
Perhaps in the future, a doctor of immense talent might figure out this surgery, but such research cannot be completed overnight. Thus, it does not mean anyone else can consume a second Devil Fruit yet.
Meanwhile, Arthur's "Devil Fruit Tree" plan began its implementation, as the Thunder God Pirates were already going all out to collect every accessible Devil Fruit.
——————
At Navy Headquarters, divides were growing wider. The catalyst was that Garp did not receive the treatment a Marine Hero deserved after his death!
He had dedicated his life to the sea, always on the front lines against pirates. His merits warranted a direct promotion to Fleet Admiral, yet after his death, his heroic deeds—and even his very existence—were chosen to be "downplayed" by certain factions!
Just because of the laughable reasoning that "a Hero cannot die at the hands of a pirate," Garp was slowly being erased from the eyes of the Navy and the world. Over time, given human forgetfulness, this man would be forgotten.
This way, the incident of a pirate defeating the Marine Hero would effectively cease to exist!
Every Marine strictly executed orders from the World Government and adhered to discipline, yet some began to doubt the "Justice" the Navy currently upheld!
Admiral "Aokiji" Kuzan, an admirer of Mr. Garp, was one of the few questioning whether the Navy's justice remained correct!
Once, about a dozen years ago on the Sabaody Archipelago, he was asked a question by Arthur, who had just appeared on the seas and had not yet dominated the New World.
"If one day, the Justice persisted by the Navy leaves you lost and confused, where will you go?"
Back when he was still a Vice Admiral, he had seriously pondered this. After some hesitation, he firmly answered, "If I feel lost regarding the Navy's Justice, I should go find my own Justice!"
Aokiji wasn't joking. He requested an indefinite leave of absence from Sengoku. Carrying a knapsack, riding a bicycle, and accompanied by a chubby penguin, he traveled the seas in search of an answer.
Another who doubted the Navy's Justice was the former Admiral and current Chief Instructor, Zephyr!
To him, the Warlord system—though a method to make pirates fight amongst themselves—was a compromise with evil. Garp's death shook his faith in the Navy, and the idea of establishing a "Neo Navy" even crossed his mind.
Of course, the thought was fleeting, but it had taken root in his heart.
——————
In the New World, the Red Hair Pirates' prestige was growing. After defeating "Red," they advanced to Totto Land to face Big Mom, and were now seeking out Kaido!
One doesn't need the acknowledgment of the apex overlords; as long as one is strong enough, they can carve out territory in this paradise of the strong and establish a firm foothold!
The supreme hegemony of the New World, the title of "Four Emperors and One Sovereign," was becoming deeply ingrained in people's minds!
——————
Raijin Island!
Arthur emerged from the underground laboratory, which reeked of blood, making no attempt to hide the excitement on his face.
Devil Fruit souls are all different, resulting in bizarre and all-encompassing abilities, so naturally, the surgeries differed as well.
Just now, he successfully used the Op-Op Fruit to modify the Mirror-Mirror Fruit and the Castle-Castle Fruit (which he had separated from the pure gold storage bracelet), and then consumed them himself!
He became an unprecedented user of six Devil Fruit abilities: Op-Op Fruit, Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Float-Float Fruit, More-More Fruit, Castle-Castle Fruit, and Mirror-Mirror Fruit!
The internal space of the Castle-Castle Fruit was successfully transferred to his own body, and the items stored within were moved into his internal castle.
As for the Mirror-Mirror Fruit, it possessed Mirror Barrier, Mirror Projection, Mirror Imitation, Mirror Reflection, and a spatial ability—the Mirror World!
The reason the Mirror World is called a "world" is that its vastness is dozens of times greater than the castle of the Castle-Castle Fruit!
As his proficiency improves in the future, he could even make that world even vaster!
Arthur's ambition certainly didn't stop there. He even thought... if he one day collected all Devil Fruits with spatial abilities, overcame the difficulty of unmerged devil souls, and fused the abilities themselves!
Then, after developing the gathered spatial abilities, could he create a true "Inner World"?
Filling it with Logia elements to create natural phenomena within the Inner World—light and darkness, wind, rain, thunder and lightning, cold and heat, sky and earth, and eventually flora.
Then, an environment capable of sustaining human life would be successfully created.
This space would be called—the Inner World, or perhaps, the Kingdom of God?
Of course, achieving such an ambitious wish wouldn't happen in a day or two; it would be a protracted battle. But that didn't stop Arthur from fantasizing and deducing a feasible plan!
A meal must be eaten one bite at a time, a road walked one step at a time. With the motivation to move forward and a clear path, one can dedicate seriousness and effort, constantly climbing toward this idea.
Arthur lacked nothing in terms of time. The hardships, obstacles, and unknown dangers encountered along the way were just fuel for his passion.
——————
Under Arthur's orders, the Thunder God Pirates began a comprehensive collection of Devil Fruits.
Arthur didn't force everyone who found a fruit to hand it over, nor did he ask them to do so voluntarily; he simply let the word out.
Because there are thousands of Devil Fruits in the sea, impossible to count, and not all are marked in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.
Plus, he already had enough stock to research for a long time. The collection would just happen naturally. As long as he lived, he would eventually collect them all.
As soon as the news was released, five Devil Fruits were immediately delivered to him: the Stitch-Stitch Fruit, Paste-Paste Fruit, Pet-Pet Fruit, Net-Net Fruit, and Roll-Roll Fruit!
All were Paramecia types of little significance.
❁❁❁❁
~ 15 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)