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Stepping out from the filth of his experiments, Arthur took a deep breath of the fresh outside air. His mind was racing with the blueprint for his "Kingdom of God."
The framework would be built by fusing all space-related Devil Fruit abilities to create a vast, boundless inner world. He would then fill this world using Logia abilities, ensuring wind, rain, thunder, and lightning were all present.
If he truly wanted to sever ties with the outside world—to make the inner and outer realms independent—he would also need to consume every Devil Fruit related to time.
Once space, time, and all natural elements were under his jurisdiction, he could create worlds with a single thought. That would be a true God.
However, before that, he had a pressing problem to solve.
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The Limit of the Flesh...
As he consumed more fruits—currently holding six: the Op-Op, Rumble-Rumble, Float-Float, More-More, Castle-Castle, and Mirror-Mirror—Arthur noticed a slight issue with his body.
After eating the Mirror and Castle fruits, he found his physique had jumped to a new level of strength. Yet, alongside this empowerment, he felt a strange sensation—a "fullness," as if he had overeaten.
No matter how powerful a human physique is, or how much it is enhanced, it has a limit to how many "Devil Souls" it can house.
"My body isn't strong enough to hold more souls," he realized instinctively.
Currently, he stood as an unprecedented user of six fruits. But his enhanced body was already "full." It could not host a seventh. This was his greatest obstacle: if he wanted to collect fruits indefinitely, he needed a body that could grow infinitely strong to sustain them.
"It seems I'll have to pay Kaido a visit and 'borrow' some of his flesh to study the secrets of his body," Arthur sighed. He thought of the "Beast," a true monster with a body like an iron wall.
For decades, the Navy had been helpless against Kaido's invincible muscles. They had captured him countless times but could never kill him. However, against Arthur's current Op-Op Fruit... Kaido would simply be research material on an operating table.
"Even Kaido's body only reaches a certain peak; it isn't infinite. If I want a vessel capable of carrying every fruit, I must cast aside my prejudices and start consuming Zoan (Animal) fruits."
Arthur pondered. No matter how strong a human gets naturally, there is a ceiling. To keep rising, he had to rely on Zoans. Zoan users are, without exception, masters of physical combat because the fruits permanently enhance the user's constitution upon development.
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The New Era: 1509
The year 1509 of the Sea Circle Calendar was an era of fragmented hegemonies.
The New World had shifted from a four-way split to a five-way divide, further squeezing the living space of smaller factions. The Thunder Emperor, Whitebeard, Beasts, Big Mom, and Red Hair had re-partitioned the New World, establishing their respective territories.
With the pie being divided further, friction was inevitable.
The first conflict erupted between the Beasts Pirates and the Red Hair Pirates. After Shanks emerged unscathed from Totto Land and shook the world, he turned his gaze toward Kaido.
But no one expected Kaido to wait around. The "Beast" took his crew of madmen and launched a preemptive strike, leaving the world stunned.
Sitting on the main throne of the Thunder God Temple, listening to Stussy's report, Arthur couldn't help but smile.
"Don't be surprised by anything that mad dog does..."
Among the Five Emperors, Arthur had dealt with Kaido the most. He understood the man's nature. When a new peer appears in the New World, Kaido will pick a fight just to see if they actually have the right to stand beside him.
"These are trifles," Arthur dismissed. "What else?"
"Also... some new faces have appeared in the Thunder God sea territory," a booming voice came from outside. It was Sanjuan Wolf, the protector of the seas.
Though the giants of Elbaf had moved to Arthur's territory, the stubborn elders hadn't officially joined the crew. However, they provided enough force to cooperate with the Giant Warrior Pirates in deterring small-time intruders.
"We interrogated them. These people seem to be searching for the Road Poneglyph."
"Oh?" This finally piqued Arthur's interest.
There are four Road Poneglyphs in total. Only when all four are gathered can one find the final island, Laugh Tale. Everyone in the New World knew this. Because the coordinates were scattered, one had to crush the holders to get them.
The one Arthur snatched from the giant elephant, Zunisha, was currently stored inside his internal "Castle" space. No one could take it.
This meant that anyone coveting the title of Pirate King would eventually have to face Arthur.
You could steal or sneak around to get the other Poneglyphs, but for Arthur's... you had to defeat him. You had to kill him.
He was the massive mountain looming over the heads of every dreaming pirate—unreachable and impassable. The only way forward was to tunnel through the mountain itself.
Arthur was effectively blocking the final step for every pirate seeking the "One Piece." He could already imagine the grand wars of the future, where Supernovas and contemporaries alike would team up to kill him. It would be thrilling.
"Captain..." Shiryu stood up, puffing on a cigar with a cold expression. He was in charge of external warfare and resource raiding.
"While you were gone, a group of fish-men calling themselves the Sun Pirates came to provoke us. They even joined the war a few months ago."
"Too many factions provoke us, so I didn't bother with them. But recently, this Sun Pirates crew has been hunting our members. When they encounter a Division Captain, they immediately dive into the sea to escape."
"I had Morgans look them up. The captain is Jinbe... one of the Seven Warlords, and also 'Whitebeard's son.'"
Shiryu bared a bloodthirsty, cruel grin. "The World Government is one thing—we're natural enemies. But Whitebeard... I believe this has his silent approval."
"This is a declaration of war against the Thunder God Pirates!!"
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