Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The deafening roar still wouldn't stop. The battle had lasted three days and three nights, and even now—on this battlefield—the fighting between the Knights and the pirates had long since reached its conclusion.
After all, the Knights held an overwhelming advantage in numbers, and they also had the Fish-Men lending support.
Most of the men Ochoku had brought with him had already been wiped out. Of his officers, only three remained—and each of them was sprawled on the ground, grievously wounded. You couldn't say they were dead… but they were barely hanging on.
Of course…
Not to mention anything else—this world's medical standards were honestly absurd. As long as you weren't completely dead, getting patched up was rarely a problem. Yet incurable diseases stayed incurable, and old hidden injuries never truly went away. It was bizarre—almost contradictory.
Maybe that was simply how this world worked. Either way, it felt strangely… off.
Now, only Arthur and Ochoku were still fighting.
And after a war that had dragged on for three days and three nights, their spirit and momentum had both been pushed to the extreme. You think they'd grown weaker?
No.
No.
Not at all.
To be exact—the opposite. They hadn't weakened. They'd become even more terrifying. Fighting a true powerhouse was the fastest path to growth.
Arthur.
Ochoku.
Both of them were the same.
At this moment, their attacks were sharper, harsher, more lethal than ever—so ruthless it made onlookers' blood run cold.
Slash!
Excalibur carved a razor arc through the air, leaving a fresh wound across Ochoku's body. Ochoku retreated a step, and at the same time his sword flashed out together, forcing Arthur back.
"Multiple Shockwaves!"
Ochoku spread his hands—and a torrent of shockwaves burst forth, twisting into strikes as agile as venomous serpents. They surged in from every direction, sealing Arthur inside a deadly net.
Rumble—
Their clash grew more violent by the second… more and more intense.
But anyone with eyes could see it:
Ochoku was gradually being pushed back.
To be fair, after three days, neither of them had truly burned through much stamina.
Because anyone at this level possessed monstrous endurance in every sense. But the most frightening part wasn't just their raw power—
It was the physique and stamina forged through relentless training and refinement. That foundation let them fight for terrifying lengths of time.
Whitebeard and Roger fought for three days and three nights.
Akainu and Aokiji fought for ten days and ten nights.
That alone proved it: once you reached this tier, you almost never lost simply because you "ran out of stamina."
Still… no matter how monstrous you were, there was always a limit.
Ten days?
Twenty?
A month?
There was a ceiling.
Ochoku had one too.
And while Arthur's foundation wasn't as deep, his ability was simply too special.
Trying to outlast an Awakened Zoan, and on top of that a Mythical Zoan, was practically a joke.
So if this kept going—if the fight continued to grind on with this intensity—there was only one outcome.
Ochoku would lose. No question.
Boom!
Boom!
The thunderous explosions still hammered the air.
Bang!
After a sudden collision, Ochoku shot backward. He swept his gaze across the battlefield, his expression darkening.
Two thousand men—gone.
That was everything he'd accumulated at enormous cost.
More importantly, of his eight officers, only three were left. That was the part he couldn't accept. Pirates were easy to recruit—officers weren't.
The only thing he could say was this:
The Round Table was stronger.
Their overwhelming strength had forced Ochoku into collapse.
"Damn it…"
Ochoku clenched his teeth.
He knew he'd lost this war.
And he had no confidence he could bring Arthur down in a battle of attrition. After all—Arthur's 'Devil Fruit' was Mythical Zoan. In a prolonged fight, that was terrifying beyond words.
At that moment, Ochoku understood:
This was the end.
If he dragged it out, it would become even worse. He'd burn his entire foundation to the ground—and if he died too…
That would be the ultimate humiliation.
"Hmph."
With a cold snort, Ochoku made his decision.
He had lost.
And if he kept forcing it, the price would be something he couldn't afford.
So he retreated—without hesitation.
"Heh-heh…"
Arthur, of course, saw it. The corner of his mouth lifted.
"Ochoku! You think retreating is that easy?"
If Arthur could, he wanted to keep Ochoku here.
Because this was Fish-Man Island.
In most places, a man like Ochoku escaping would be easy. At this level, defeating someone was already difficult—killing them was nearly impossible.
But here?
This was Fish-Man Island—ten thousand meters beneath the sea.
And Ochoku was a Devil Fruit user.
Trying to escape?
That should've been impossible.
Of course… Arthur also knew Ochoku's personality.
If Ochoku was retreating, then he'd definitely prepared a way out.
Stopping him would be almost impossible.
"Hah."
Just as expected, Ochoku snorted calmly.
"Arthur brat. You want to stop me? You can't."
"You don't think I planned for this, do you?"
Arthur immediately understood:
Ochoku was ready.
So he didn't rush in. He simply watched, quietly weighing what Ochoku was about to do.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Then—
From one of the pirate ships, a small figure stepped out.
It looked like a boy—maybe five or six years old.
But Arthur saw it at a glance: this wasn't a child. He was simply short. Age could fool the eye, but the body didn't lie.
This "boy" was probably in his twenties or thirties.
Unless… he'd eaten something like the Hobby-Hobby Fruit, which could freeze the body forever. But this didn't feel like that.
Arthur flicked his sword and watched the newcomer with calm indifference.
"Captain."
"Mm."
"Let's go."
"Yes."
At Ochoku's order, the short "boy" nodded respectfully and raised one hand.
Hummm—
A strange opening suddenly appeared in the air.
Ochoku scanned the battlefield. Seeing his defeated men, something painful flickered in his eyes—his preparations had failed, and the losses were catastrophic.
But Ochoku recovered quickly. He said evenly:
"Arthur brat. This isn't over."
"See ya."
Whoosh—
Ochoku stepped into the opening and vanished instantly.
At the same time, the three half-dead officers were pulled in as well—then disappeared without a trace.
In the next breath, everyone remaining from Ochoku's side was gone.
Just like that.
Arthur never tried to stop them.
There was no point.
At this level, if someone was determined to flee, catching them wasn't "hard"—it was brutally difficult.
From this alone, it was obvious: Ochoku had prepared for this from the start.
"Your Majesty," Gawain said softly at Arthur's side. "That ability…"
Arthur replied calmly, "The Warp-Warp Fruit. A very special Paramecia."
"The user can place a 'mark' at another location. Once the two points are linked, they can pass through directly."
"Of course, they can only maintain one marked location."
"But that's already enough."
Ochoku had clearly hidden that user the entire time—waiting for the critical moment. With one move, they could cleanly pull everyone out.
Even though Ochoku had believed he could win, he still prepared an escape route.
That was Ochoku's nature.
"I see," Gawain said seriously. "Devil Fruits really are unpredictable. One mistake, and you're finished."
He was right.
Devil Fruit powers were too strange—too variable. A moment of carelessness could be fatal.
Ghost-type abilities, body-altering abilities… there were plenty of "cheat-like" fruits in this world. If you got caught off guard, the consequences could be disastrous.
That was why—
Never underestimate Devil Fruits. Their abilities could take countless forms, and you never truly knew what you were facing.
And Arthur, having consumed so many, had noticed something unsettling:
It almost felt as if Devil Fruits were endless.
They were precious strategic resources across the seas, yes—but if you really thought about it…
They never seemed to run out.
No matter the era, Devil Fruits continued to exist.
That was the truly eerie part.
Arthur had noticed it—and he'd begun forming a bold guess.
"Enough," Arthur said, withdrawing his gaze. "No matter what… this war is ours."
"As for what comes next…"
He lifted his head. Through the crushing depths of the sea, it was as though he could see far beyond—toward the waters of Britannia.
What remained was no longer something he could control.
To be precise…
What remained was the hardest part.
Britannia…
Could it withstand the price Arthur would pay for leaving it behind?
"Ha…"
Arthur exhaled slowly, then murmured, "We can only trust her now… Sis."
A faint smile flickered across his lips—then vanished.
He returned to calm.
From here on out, all he could do was believe.
---
Elsewhere—
A breeze drifted past, and only then did Neptune and the others truly come back to themselves.
They had won.
"ROAR—!"
In an instant, everyone erupted into thunderous cheers, throwing their heads back and shouting until their voices cracked.
"We won!"
"This is amazing!"
"We won—!"
"We won!"
Excitement exploded across the field.
A thrilled grin spread across Neptune's face.
His hands were trembling.
Victory—at last.
He understood exactly what this meant for Fish-Man Island.
This victory was too important.
It meant Fish-Man Island now had a backer.
And the meaning of that… everyone here understood perfectly.
From now on, if anyone wanted to lay a hand on Fish-Man Island—
They'd better first ask themselves one question:
Are you stronger than Ochoku's Five Peaks Pirates?
"Hahaha—!"
The more Neptune thought about it, the more he laughed.
He was simply too happy.
---------------------------------///
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