Toying with the Straw Hat Pirates / Blessing of the Lake Fairy

Hearing that, Nami noticed the odd wording. She smiled faintly and said no more.

The two leisurely enjoyed their respective portions of barbecue, drinking red wine and specialty beverages they had brought from the East Blue. The atmosphere was relaxed.

At the same time, Arthur occasionally used Observation Haki to sense what was happening behind the mountain.

The merry revelry, like an exuberant tune, would eventually come to an end.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but as the final note fell, Arthur felt the night grow quiet.

The silence was deeply eerie.

The air seemed to be filled with the aura of slaughter.

The hunt and the counter-hunt—the time belonged to the pirates.

The hunt and the counter-hunt—the time belonged to the pirates.

Rumble—

Time passed bit by bit, and the moon gradually moved across the sky.

In the early hours of the morning, an explosion suddenly thundered through Whiskey Peak.

Arthur took a blanket and wrapped it around the drunken Nami, who had fallen asleep against his chest, then carried her to the sailboat.

There was no need to think twice about the explosion. It had to be the work of Baroque Works senior agent Mr. 5 and his Bomb-Bomb Fruit.

Back in their cabin, Arthur laid Nami on the bed, then lay down on the bedding on the floor and fell asleep himself.

Arthur had no interest in getting involved. The two sides weren't remotely on the same level.

He slept until morning, when the first golden light appeared over the sea.

Arthur's frighteningly precise internal clock pulled him from his sleep.

He opened his eyes and rose from his bedding. On the bed, Nami had kicked the covers down to her navel. Sleeping on her side, she had inadvertently pushed aside the bra covering her twin peaks, revealing one fair snowball. That touch of pink was a feast for the eyes, and it made him want to take a bite.

The sight was a feast for the eyes. Arthur, who had just woken up and was in the prime of his youth, gritted his teeth, forcibly shook off the feeling, and hurried out of the room.

After a quick wash, Arthur put on his knight's clothes, left the cabin, and stepped onto the beach, heading straight for the town of Whiskey Peak.

Walking at an unhurried pace, Arthur held an apple in one hand and a small knife in the other, casually peeling it.

Meanwhile, at the docks of Whiskey Peak.

Because of their captain's reckless habit of helping others, the Straw Hat Pirates had unexpectedly ended up with the task of escorting a princess back to her country, even though they had originally been enemies.

And because of what had happened on their side, Mr. 13 had drawn portraits of every member of the Straw Hat Pirates. Igaram chose to entrust Princess Vivi to them, while he took the Eternal Pose found on Mr. 5, disguised himself as Princess Vivi, and departed ahead of them with several fake straw figures to serve as a decoy.

But not far from Whiskey Peak, the ship he was on suddenly exploded, spreading fiery light across the sea.

"Igaram..."

Having witnessed it with her own eyes, Princess Vivi burst into tears. Her teeth bit through her lip, leaving a trace of blood.

"Hurry, get back to the ship and leave. We can't let his efforts go to waste."

But this was no time to give vent to grief. At the urging of Lila, the Straw Hat Pirates' navigator and only woman, the Straw Hats returned to the Going Merry with Vivi.

"All right... raise the sails and anchor, we're setting off!" Luffy shouted from atop the sheep's head at the bow.

"Idiot, don't just stand there talking. Come help!"

"Nice ship..."

"Sorry, could you wait a little longer?"

Luffy's laziness naturally earned him a scolding from his companions, but mixed in with their voices were two different ones.

The voices of a man and a woman brought a brief silence to the Going Merry.

Chapter 24: Toying with the Straw Hat Pirates

"Who was that?!"

The two unfamiliar voices aboard the ship gave the Straw Hat Pirates quite a fright. Zoro and Sanji, in particular, the most intelligent and levelheaded of them, were already sweating, their expressions extremely tense.

Damn it, I didn't notice them at all!

They looked toward the voices and saw a man and a woman by the second-story cabin of the Going Merry.

The man leaned against the wall by the cabin door, while the woman sat on the cabin roof. One above the other, they looked like a pair.

At the sight of the two, every member of the Straw Hat Pirates except Luffy looked slightly taken aback.

Leaving their identities aside, the pair's looks and bearing alone were enough to catch the eye.

"A knight... and a woman. What kind of pair is that?" Usopp said, his lips trembling.

"Everyone, be careful! That woman is Miss All Sunday, the vice president of Baroque Works and Crocodile's partner," Vivi hurriedly warned, looking up at Nico Robin on the cabin roof with a wary, frightened gaze.

"What? We've run into the vice president already!" Vivi's words made Lila's expression change drastically, and she looked at Nico Robin with a trace of fear.

"Hmph, what's wrong with your eyes?"

Zoro rebuked them grimly. Holding Wado Ichimonji between his teeth and Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu in his hands, he warned them, "I don't care who that woman is. Right now, all of you focus on that man."

"Have you got the wrong person? That woman is the one we need to watch out for. Mr. Knight was only Baroque Works' original choice for Mr. 6. He's just a mid-level agent," Vivi urgently reminded him, seeing that Zoro was focused on the wrong person.

"Shut up!" Zoro snapped without mercy. More and more sweat appeared on his face, and his gaze grew grave as he looked at Arthur.

"Miss Vivi... much as I hate to agree with Moss Head, he's right. That man is dangerous." Sanji lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, making no attempt to hide the hostility in his eyes as he looked at Arthur. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Damn it, he looks more like a knight than I do. How infuriating!!"

"You two..." Vivi looked at their grave expressions, then at Arthur, who was leisurely eating an apple. Her eyes showed a trace of disbelief.

"Hey... who are you two?"

As the atmosphere fell silent, Luffy jumped down from the bow and walked to the front of the group, looking curiously at Arthur and Nico Robin.

"Oh my... this seems to be getting interesting." Robin sat cross-legged on the cabin roof, one hand propping up her cheek, smiling as she watched.

But her gaze rested mostly on Arthur, with a hint of deeply concealed surprise.

I didn't notice him at all!

Ever since she had boarded the ship, Robin had been completely unaware that someone was beneath her. It was simply unbelievable.

Moreover, his clothes and bearing, as well as the name Vivi had used, reminded Robin of an order Crocodile had told her to pass on a few months earlier.

Mr. 13 was to go to the Weakest Sea and invite the famous bounty hunter, the Wind Sword Knight.

Was it him?

With that thought, Robin was in no hurry to reveal why she had come and patiently watched.

At the second-story railing, Arthur bit into the sweet apple flesh while studying the Straw Hat Pirates below, his gaze falling mostly on Lila.

Having lost Nami, the Straw Hat Pirates had to find a navigator who knew how to sail. Otherwise, they would struggle to make any headway on the perilous seas.

Was this woman the one who had taken Nami's place?

Arthur gave Lila a brief look. She was a tall woman with long hair and a mole at the right corner of her mouth.

Compared with the youthful Luffy and the others, Lila exuded a mature air that would be absolutely devastating to Sanji.

After one look, Arthur withdrew his gaze, no longer interested.

After one look, Arthur withdrew his gaze, no longer interested.

"Don't worry. You aren't my targets this time," Arthur said softly, tossing the apple core into the sea.

"Coming aboard someone else's ship without a word makes that a little hard to believe," Zoro said with a trembling, savage grin, tightening his grip on Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu.

No one present understood how terrifying the man before them was better than Zoro, with his beastlike intuition.

Although Arthur stood right in front of him, he felt impossibly distant. Zoro had experienced that feeling before from Mihawk at the sea restaurant Baratie, so he knew exactly what it was.

It was despair!

This man was extremely dangerous.

Hearing Zoro's words, Arthur nodded in agreement. "You're right. That was rather rude."

"So, to express my apologies... I'll first let you experience the terror of the Grand Line."

Whoosh—

The moment he finished speaking, before anyone present could react, Arthur vanished from sight.

All they heard was the rush of a strong wind.

Thud—

A ground-shaking sound followed. When Arthur appeared again, he was already standing on Luffy's head.

The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates was under his foot, his head buried in the ship's deck.

"Damn you!!"

Seeing Luffy under Arthur's foot, Sanji reacted and moved.

Swish—

A blur flashed past, and Sanji appeared above Arthur. His black shoe swept down from beneath his suit trousers, kicking toward Arthur's head with a rush of air.

The corners of Arthur's mouth slowly lifted. He simply tilted his head back and easily dodged Sanji's kick.

Then, with lightning speed, he reached out and grabbed Sanji's leg. As Sanji stared in astonishment, Arthur swung him hard.

In an instant, Sanji flew off the Going Merry like a cannonball and fell into the sea.

"Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"

Only a few seconds had passed since Arthur had pinned Luffy underfoot and flung Sanji away.

With a forceful shout, a figure shot forward, sharp flashes of blades like tearing claws as they sought to cut Arthur in two.

Clang!!

What happened next made everyone present widen their eyes.

Facing Zoro's powerful attack, Arthur merely took the fruit-peeling knife from his pocket and gave a light thrust, blocking Zoro's crossed slashes.

Zoro's pupils contracted at the sight.

How familiar this was!

Chapter 25: Blessing of the Lake Fairy

"..."

Zoro felt his hands trembling. Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu had lost their balance in his grip, as though they might slip from his hands at any moment.

The tiny, unremarkable knife reminded him of when he had challenged Mihawk at Baratie some time ago and been utterly defeated by Mihawk using only a small knife.

This time, it was the same.

Sweat ran down from his brows and into his eyes, and his vision seemed to blur.

In Zoro's eyes, the images of Arthur and Mihawk gradually merged.

Damn it... this guy...

Was he on the same level as that man?

Was this the Grand Line?

The gap was... too great.

"As you are now, I don't have the slightest interest in you," Arthur said calmly. He lowered the knife that had blocked the attack, looked at Luffy struggling beneath him, and slowly moved his foot away.

"Bastard, so you are an enemy!" Luffy quickly pulled his head out of the deck, clenched his fist, and swung it at Arthur, his face full of anger.

Smack!

Arthur raised a hand and effortlessly caught the blow. Glancing at Sanji, who had already returned from the sea, he said, "Stop. We're not enemies."

"You attacked our captain without a word, and you call that not being enemies?" This time it was Sanji who spoke. Soaking wet, he looked at Arthur with anger and wariness, his expression extremely grave.