Splash—
The roar of the waterfall echoed between heaven and earth.
From above, Arthur stood on the cliff.
From below, Admiral Gray Rat rose through the mist.
The two men faced each other silently, letting the sound of the falling water fill the void between them.
Then—
Whoosh!
Two figures shot forward at the same time—one descending, one ascending—like twin streaks of light, colliding in mid-air.
"Everyone—do not interfere."
Gray Rat raised a hand, stopping every soldier behind him. He intended to face Arthur alone.
"Bullet,"
Galahad said calmly, blocking the excited boy.
"We will not act. Since the opponent has chosen not to escalate this into a full war, we have no reason to widen the battlefield."
"Yes, Sir Galahad!"
Bullet nodded firmly.
And indeed—Genar was exactly like his epithet: Gray Rat.
Though he held the title of Army Admiral, he was nothing like the hot-blooded Marine Admirals. He was calm. Calculating. Terrifyingly rational.
His mind worked faster than most men could draw their sword.
*Genar understood one thing perfectly:
*(Note: Will refer to him as Genar fron now on.)
Arthur would never appear without absolute confidence.
So he made a choice.
If Arthur behaved like a reckless brute—charge blindly, abandon tactics—he could order his whole force to crush them.
But if Arthur had prepared something—if this land itself was part of his plan—then forcing a full battle would accomplish nothing but needless casualties.
Reduce losses to the minimum.
That was Genar's decision.
Not "cowardice."
But the insight of a commander who carried the lives of thousands on his shoulders.
He refused to be ruled by pride or anger.
Those emotions clouded judgment—something Genar considered disgraceful.
—
BOOM!!!
Their fists collided in mid-air.
No Haki.
No Devil Fruit abilities.
Just raw power.
Shockwaves erupted outward, whipping the sea into violent ripples. The two exchanged a second blow—then a third—without a single wasted movement.
Bam! Bam!
They clashed again and again until finally both pushed off each other, descending toward their respective islands.
Arthur landed atop the icy island.
Genar landed on the volcanic island.
And then—
RUMBLE!!!
A pillar of molten lava erupted beneath Genar's feet, nearly swallowing him whole. If he hadn't reacted instantly, it would've been fatal.
"Hm?!"
Genar darted across the volcanic island, leaving flickering afterimages.
Every spot he stepped on erupted into a lava geyser an instant later, as if the island itself was trying to kill him.
Meanwhile Arthur simply stood on the ice island, smiling quietly, doing nothing.
Tap—tap—
Genar soared upward on Geppo, the eruption sequence stopping the moment he left the island.
Even the damage from the lava quickly healed, as if the island itself were restoring its own wounds.
"Heh… so that's it."
Arthur chuckled.
"It seems, Admiral Genar, that the Britannia does not welcome you."
Genar narrowed his eyes mid-air.
"As expected… all of this is connected to you."
His analytical gaze scanned the volcanic island, the ice island, and the Britannia Sea beyond. The former God Valley had been completely transformed.
Arthur smiled gently.
"This isn't an ability."
"Britannia is like a gentle mother—her children receive her protection, and her enemies… her wrath."
Yes.
Britannia—the last sanctuary of myth—was not a simple island.
Its internal chaos was "family business," which the mother would not interfere with.
But when outsiders tried to harm her children…
The entire archipelago would rise against them.
The seven surrounding islets and the main island were all alive.
Literally alive.
That was the true horror of the Britannia Archipelago.
...
Genar descended onto his flagship.
"No one is to attack without orders," he commanded sharply.
"Under no circumstances is anyone to step onto those two islands. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir!"
The soldiers' faces were grim; they had witnessed enough to understand.
"Jeremy."
"At your service, sir!"
"Record everything. Every detail."
Jeremy nodded. He already understood how crucial this information was.
Right now, Britannia had existed in the world for only seven days.
What would happen in three years?
Five years?
A decade?
Britannia would evolve into a complete, self-contained domain—unstoppable, impenetrable, unassailable.
Even if every outer island was destroyed, they would regenerate.
Even if the main island was shattered, as long as the Blessed Child of the Island lived, it would return.
Even if the Blessed Child died—
As long as the Heir of the Island's Power lived, Britannia would still regenerate.
Its immortality was absolute.
This was the final sanctuary of ancient myth—a place that had fought for survival even against the will of the world itself.
—
"Heh… Admiral Genar," Arthur smiled.
"Shall we continue?"
"Of course," Genar replied calmly.
"If we've begun, then I will learn everything I came here to discover."
CRACK—!!
He kicked off the deck and shot into the sky, charging toward the ice island.
Immediately—
CRASH!!
Glaciers shattered, sending ice spikes lancing toward him. They couldn't kill him—but one moment of distraction in battle could.
Arthur stepped forward fearlessly.
Crackle—!
Fist met fist again—this time coated in Armament Haki.
"Bomb Fist!"
"Wind King's Hammer!"
The two clashed again, this time equally matched in power.
Impossible.
Half a month ago, Arthur was nowhere near an Admiral's level.
Even training non-stop should not have closed that gap.
But the results were undeniable.
Strength. Speed. Haki. All equal.
Genar's calculations could not explain it.
---
On the other side...
"Why…?" Bullet muttered.
"Sir Galahad, how is the King matching an Admiral?"
Galahad answered gently.
"The Island's Blessing."
He could see what others could not—
a woman's phantom hovering behind Arthur, her seven-colored light pouring into him.
Britannia's blessing.
Arthur had not yet inherited the Island's Authority, but Britannia had acknowledged him.
"As you recover faster on Britannia," Galahad explained,
"so too does our King receive her blessing. Remember, Bullet—respect Britannia as you would your own mother."
"Yes!"
Bullet bowed earnestly.
Britannia truly was like a mother—watching over her children, protecting them, nurturing them… and punishing those who threatened them.
---
"Wind King's Sword!"
Arthur clenched his fists, and torrents of magic compressed into countless iron-like blades raining down from the sky.
"Infinite Detonation!"
Genar's fists exploded outward in rapid succession, detonating the frozen battlefield.
Ice, wind, magma, and shockwaves clashed violently as the two powerhouses fought at full force—completely evenly matched.
----------------------------///
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