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***
"What are you doing, Tashigi?"
Smoker crushed the spyglass in his hand and shot out from his hiding place. He knew he wasn't Arton's match, but he could no longer hold back. Even if Tashigi was acting under duress, once she took part in a public execution of a World Noble, the Navy and the World Government would hunt her down, no matter her reasons— and by then he would be powerless to help her.
…
"Hey, look! Someone's climbed the Pirate King Roger's scaffold!"
"What?! Right up on Roger's scaffold? Aren't they afraid Captain Smoker will string them up?"
"Hah, must be some cocky rookie who doesn't know how strong Captain Smoker is and wants to provoke him."
"Give it a minute—Smoker will haul him off in cuffs."
"C'mon, break it up, break it up. Let the Navy handle pirate business."
"Wait—look again. Doesn't that man look familiar?"
"Familiar? Now that you mention it… I swear I've seen him somewhere… Strange, can't place it."
"A bounty poster? No, maybe the papers. Hold on—that's Arton, the pirate who defeated Hawk Eyes Mihawk!"
"What?! The man who took down Shiki and Mihawk is here?!"
"He's from the East Blue too—great, he showed up in Loguetown. Even Captain Smoker can't beat him."
"And that woman next to him—isn't that Tashigi? Why is she at his side? What are they up to?!"
…
In the vast plaza of Loguetown, people who would've walked right by froze when they realized it was Arton. Some already had Den‑Den Mushi out, calling the Navy, fear tightening their throats. Unlike the townsfolk, reporters shouldering long cameras rushed out, thrilled for an on‑the‑scene scoop. Among them was Ellie from the World Economic News, who had once met Arton briefly.
"Fantastic—President Morgans' analysis was spot‑on," Ellie whispered, eyes bright behind her camera. "Arton really might appear in Loguetown, and I happened to be stationed here. This time I will land that interview." Her last failure to reach Arton had nagged at her ever since; danger or not, she intended to speak with him face‑to‑face.
…
[Photo: The view beneath the scaffold!]
[Haha, gawking really is human nature—didn't think a crowd would form this fast.]
[This scene reminds me of the one that should have happened here—the Clown‑Emperor Buggy executing Straw‑Hat Luffy.]
[Back then the base of the scaffold must've looked just like this.]
[If Dragon hadn't intervened, Buggy would've chopped Luffy's head off.]
[Still, smiling at death—that kid Luffy's got character.]
Uta: "Huh?! Luffy was going to be executed by that red‑nosed Buggy? Arton must be joking!"
Domino: "Buggy executing Luffy? How? A Warlord killing the Fifth Emperor?"
Sadi: "Wait, isn't Buggy Shanks's brother? Why execute the pirate Shanks guided?"
Black Maria: "Maybe because Luffy became Kaido's disciple and joined the Beasts Pirates, so Buggy couldn't stand it and attacked?"
Doll: "Dragon really would rescue him—no way the Revolutionary chief lets his own son die."
Belo Betty: "Seems Dragon does care after all."
Gion: "Buggy's no simple clown if he can threaten the Fifth Emperor. Even if the Warlord system gets scrapped, the Navy can still use his strength while it lasts. Facing execution with a smile… just like Roger. Are Luffy's achievements really limited to becoming a mere Fifth Emperor?"
The thought of Luffy's potential—his strength, and ties spanning Navy, pirates, and revolution—flashed through Gion's mind: Is this man the real protagonist? She dismissed it and focused entirely on the World Noble standing between Arton and Tashigi.
[Shame—most people under the scaffold are ordinary.]
[The reporters with cameras are a nice touch, but there aren't any real powerhouses watching. A pity.]
[If, while dealing with this World Noble, I could also defeat a Marine Admiral or something, everyone would take my stance on World Nobles even more seriously.]
Gion: "…"
Kalifa: "Total maniac."
Stussy: "My, Arton, how manly."
Doll: "Picking fights with the Navy again? And after showing me like that in his drawings!"
Kujaku: "So he really isn't going to run through those… scenarios… with us?"
[Then again, maybe I shouldn't think that way.]
[These people look ordinary now, but in a few years some might blossom.]
[At Roger's execution the onlookers included still‑green Moria, Crocodile, Mihawk, Doflamingo, Smoker, Buggy, Shanks…]
[Who would've guessed that crowd produced the entire future Shichibukai—and later even an old and two new Yonko.]
[Maybe a few future big shots are watching right now.]
Perona: "Lord Moria watched the Pirate King's execution?!"
Monet: "Even Young Master attended?"
Nico Robin: "Moria, Crocodile, Mihawk, Doflamingo, Buggy—yes, the future Seven Warlords all together. But why did Arton mention two Yonko?"
Whitey Bay: "One's obviously Shanks. The other new Emperor—someone who'll replace one of the current four?"
Gion: "So another future Yonko witnessed Roger's death? Who?!"
Belo Betty: "Did Arton leave the name out, or has he already said it?"
Hibari: "Out of Moria, Crocodile, Mihawk, Doflamingo, Smoker, Buggy—could one of them become a Yonko?"
Doll: "Not impossible! When the Warlord system ends, a powerhouse like Mihawk won't go quietly. He can duel Red‑Hair—becoming an Emperor isn't far‑fetched."
Stussy: "Interesting. Will the Navy and World Government create their own new Yonko?"
[No, no—Roger was a legend; great figures hiding under his scaffold made sense. A World Noble's trash—having no big names under his scaffold is only natural.]
Arton grumbled and slid his system panel aside.
…
Tashigi had just propped a long pole into the platform, ready to hoist the World Noble's corpse, when a man‑shaped cloud of smoke streaked through the air. Arton noticed immediately.
"Smoker, huh? Need me to handle it, Tashigi?" he asked, glancing at the onrushing cloud.
"I'll take care of him, Captain." Tashigi jammed the pole's butt into the boards, let the World Noble's body hang, and turned to face Smoker. She absolutely couldn't let Arton attack—his overwhelming Conqueror's Haki might seriously injure her former superior.
"Sorry, Captain Smoker," she whispered, drawing her treasured blade Shigure.
Shing! One slash—an air‑compressed, razor‑sharp flying cut shot at Smoker. Logia or not, the violent gust hurled him downward, dumping him at the base of the scaffold.
...
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