The Next Day.
Splash...
Gurarara...
Edward sat on a small boat, chuckling with amusement.
"Kid, heading out somewhere?"
Arthur glanced at Edward with a puzzled look.
"You again? Why are you tagging along?"
"Well, well..."
Edward replied casually, "I've got some business to take care of too. After everything that happened, there are loose ends to tie up. It's not that surprising, is it?"
Arthur didn't press further. He knew Edward had gained an enormous amount of treasure from their recent escapade.
Obviously...
Even though Arthur had no idea where Edward had hidden his hoard, it was likely stashed away in some obscure location—and he didn't bother asking more.
The two small boats slowly sailed into the distance.
In this Red Line operation, both of them had earned a fortune. The others at most looted some wealth from World Government affiliate nations, but compared to the haul Arthur and Edward made, the gap was massive.
"Suit yourself," Arthur shrugged and resumed his brutal training regimen.
Watching Arthur's intense, almost hellish training, Edward started to contemplate.
Moments later, he returned to his own boat and began training as well. Clearly, the events on the Red Line had made him realize something important.
He was still too weak.
If he stayed the way he was, he'd never achieve his dream of a peaceful home and family.
And to protect that dream—he needed overwhelming strength.
Watching Arthur's unrelenting dedication, Edward knew he couldn't afford to be left behind.
Arthur and Kaido... both of those brats were monsters. They were chasing after him and the others—and at this rate, they'd catch up in no time.
---
[Arthur Pendragon]
[Holy Sword: Excalibur (13 Seals)]
[Holy Spear: Locked]
[Red Dragon Bloodline: 40% Awakened (Red Dragon's Scales, Claws, and Stomach)]
[Knights of the Round Table: Locked]
[Island of Britannia: Locked]
[Castle of White Chalk: Locked]
[Haki: Conqueror's Haki (Intermediate), Armament Haki (Intermediate), Observation Haki (Intermediate)]
Looking at the status panel in front of him, Arthur fell into thought.
Ultimately, he knew that to rapidly improve his strength and prepare for the impending God Valley War, his best bet was to enhance his Red Dragon Bloodline.
After consuming 50 Devil Fruits, he had finally raised it to 40%.
And with that, he awakened the Red Dragon's Stomach.
[Red Dragon's Stomach]
Effect:
An incredibly interesting ability—essentially like an internal storage space, similar to a space ring.
His massive draconic stomach now contained a special spatial dimension, allowing him to swallow and store all kinds of rare treasures and items.
Of course, the actual storage capacity depended on Arthur's magical power, which was linked to the percentage of his Red Dragon Bloodline.
At 40%, he could probably store an entire pirate ship without issue.
The main problem was that he had not yet fully unlocked the potential of the bloodline.
Arthur knew full well that pushing his bloodline like this came at a massive price.
If he wasn't careful, the Red Dragon Bloodline could overpower and consume his will.
So the best course of action was to keep training and raising his overall strength, thereby maintaining control.
His goal was to become like the legendary true Arthur(or Artoria)—a true humanoid Red Dragon—not someone with terrifying potential that he couldn't harness.
He also realized that raising the bloodline further would now require an astronomical amount of energy, making it near impossible in the short term.
Still, at 40%, he had what he needed. Now came the harder task—mastery.
---
Three Days Later.
Edward's boat finally left.
Where to? Arthur didn't know for sure.
But he could guess—it was likely Sphinx, the homeland Edward secretly protected. That place probably meant more to him than anything else.
As for Arthur?
He continued sailing toward the War Island near the Ferguson Empire.
That's where most of his treasure was stored.
He had been thinking about how to secure it, but now with the Red Dragon's Stomach awakened—it was simple.
Just eat it.
He still had 36 Devil Fruits left, and those reserves would definitely be useful later.
---
Splash... splash...
The boat gradually approached and docked at War Island.
Boom! Boom!
Explosions echoed in the distance. Arthur instantly sensed the aura he had left behind—his treasure was still intact.
Listening to the thunder of battle around him, he muttered quietly:
"What a terrifying nation of war. Even now, they're still fighting..."
Despite the internal chaos that had happened, the Ferguson Empire hadn't stopped warring.
In fact—it had only gotten worse.
Clearly, the empire wanted to reclaim its losses through plundering warfare.
Arthur wasn't surprised. After all, the Ferguson people were all lunatics anyway.
After docking the boat, Arthur turned to the pirates he'd brought along.
"As promised, 50 million Berries each. I'll pay you when I return."
"No problem, Boss Arthur!"
The dozen or so pirates responded obediently. They didn't dare step out of line.
Let's be real—none of them could take him in a fight.
Better to just behave.
Besides, 50 million Berries each? That was already a huge windfall.
Even if they knew Arthur was there to retrieve a far greater treasure, they lacked the strength to stop him anyway.
---------------------------///
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