The Supernova's Rotten Luck / Arthur's Plan

"Hey... Robin, is that..."

Nami and Robin, who had just come out of a shop, stopped and backed up a few steps. Standing at the corner of the shop, they watched the procession slowly approach, and Nami spoke in a low voice.

"Yes... World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons," Robin said softly, wearing a veil.

"We... huh?!!"

Nami was about to say something when she suddenly broke off.

It wasn't just her. Even the onlookers hiding in various places, secretly watching the Celestial Dragon, widened their eyes.

"Whoosh—"

A blue-white light appeared in the sky and gathered into a ball of light, transforming into a pillar of lightning that wasn't particularly thick but was exceedingly sharp. It struck down.

Its target was none other than the Celestial Dragon.

"Boom!!"

The guards following the Celestial Dragon didn't even have a chance to react before the lightning that had appeared out of nowhere engulfed the Celestial Dragon and the slave beneath him.

The lightning pillar blasted a deep pit into the ground, its bottom nowhere in sight.

The Celestial Dragon and his slave had miraculously vanished.

"..."

For a moment, the scene was utterly silent, and the atmosphere was indescribably strange.

It was like the brief calm before a volcanic eruption or a torrential storm.

"R... R... Robin..."

Nami's voice trembled as she loosened her grip on the bubble storage bag in her hand.

"Shh..." A slender hand covered her mouth. Robin pulled her out of the shop and led her along the wall in one direction.

"Ahhh—"

"Ahhh—"

Almost the instant after Robin quietly led Nami away, panicked screams rang out across the entire civilian district.

"A... a Celestial Dragon is dead..."

"A Celestial Dragon was struck dead by lightning! Run—"

"An Admiral is coming! Get off this island now!!!"

"Hurry... hurry up..."

"..."

The scene descended into utter chaos, seemingly reversing the previous stillness. Everyone scattered as though they had heard that the world was ending.

The hysterical shouting was deafening, loud enough to be heard in other areas.

It seemed likely that before long, the entire Sabaody Archipelago would descend into unprecedented turmoil.

When the newly arrived pirates, merchants, bounty hunters, and Supernovas whose ships had yet to finish being coated heard the news, their faces all turned grim.

"Which idiot did it!!"

"Lightning? Could it have been an ability user?"

"Lightning striking in broad daylight? No question, it had to be an ability user. Could it have been that mysterious Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit? Or some other lightning ability?"

"Damn it, my ship hasn't been coated yet—"

"Let's go! I don't know which Admiral will come, but we have to leave this island immediately. If they can't find the killer, they'll definitely conduct a sweep of the island."

"..."

In less than a few minutes, the entire Sabaody Archipelago had erupted into chaos.

Even more bewildered and panicked than everyone else were the Celestial Dragon's guards. They still couldn't understand what had happened.

Before long, however, they could only report the incident to their superiors, their faces full of despair.

Amid the scattered crowd, Robin and Nami ran toward Area 41.

"Robin..." Nami looked deeply worried.

"Shh..." Robin once again gestured for silence.

Seeing that, Nami nodded repeatedly.

The two quickly ran through less crowded areas and came to a deserted patch of woods.

"Neigh—"

Just then, a horse neighed in their ears, and a magnificent white horse came running down from the sky.

"Dong Stallion, you're here." Nami looked at the King's Horse in delight and walked over, asking anxiously, "Where's Arthur?"

"Neigh—" The King's Horse raised his head and neighed, then turned around to show Nami a black case hanging from his saddle.

"Is this Beli?" Nami glanced at the black case in confusion, not understanding.

"Calm down, Nami." Robin, who had been looking around and checking their surroundings, suddenly placed a hand on Nami's shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Don't panic. A few days ago, the captain said not to panic no matter what we saw. I don't know why the captain attacked the Celestial Dragon, but he's never used his lightning ability in front of outsiders. If you panic, you could easily give us away."

"Mm-hmm..."

Hearing that, Nami covered her mouth and quickly nodded, looking as though she had just come to her senses.

"Dong Stallion, the captain sent you here for more than just protecting us, didn't he?" After reminding Nami, Robin turned to ask the King's Horse.

"Neigh—"

The King's Horse nodded slightly, then lowered himself to the ground, signaling for Nami and Robin to climb on.

Chapter 71: The Supernova's Rotten Luck

Ten minutes earlier, Area 66.

"Whoosh—"

In the woods not far from the Marine base, a faint sound of something cutting through the air rang out.

"Boom—rumble!!"

The air abruptly exploded, kicking up great waves of sand. An enormous mangrove crashed to the ground.

Golden light flared.

"Hey, hey... you've got to be kidding. It definitely wasn't that outrageous before."

A figure shot out of the dust at astonishing speed and darted aside. The fierce wind and sand blowing in his face forced him to shield his eyes with a hand. Watching the destruction continue to spread ahead, producing blasts more terrifying than cannon fire, Scratchmen Apoo clicked his tongue.

"Captain..."

A group of figures ran up from the distance, stopping behind Scratchmen Apoo.

"Boys, retreat—"

Without another word, Scratchmen Apoo turned his back on the spreading cloud of dust and led the On Air Pirates' crew toward a secluded area.

"You attacked me. I can't just let you leave so easily."

At that moment, Arthur, holding Excalibur, stepped out from behind a tree in front of Scratchmen Apoo and his crew as if he had teleported. Looking at Scratchmen Apoo, whose running posture was comical because he was a member of the Longarm Tribe, Arthur smiled as he spoke.

"Apapapapa~~~ Don't mind us. We just came to say hello, that's all. Now that we've said hello, we're leaving..." Scratchmen Apoo flicked his ponytail, revealing his piano-key-like teeth, and waved both hands at Arthur as he laughed awkwardly.

"In that case, let me say hello to you too." Holding Excalibur in one hand, Arthur raised the Seastone Handcuffs in the other and smiled at Scratchmen Apoo. "Will you put them on yourself? Or shall I put them on you personally?!"

After saying that, Arthur seemed to think the threat wasn't strong enough and added, "My next sword strike won't be as casual as the last one. This time, I'll aim at you."

"Apapapapa~~~ I surrender!"

After hearing Arthur's words, Scratchmen Apoo decisively raised both hands and walked toward him with a helpless look. "Your goal is to catch all the Supernovas in one fell swoop, right? Last time, you only took that Mad Monk fellow. Could I ask you to spare my crew this time too?"

"Captain—"

"Captain, don't do this! Let's fight him! We haven't even fought yet, so who's afraid of him?!"

"..."

"That's enough, boys. This is your captain's highest order." Scratchmen Apoo turned and spoke seriously to the crew behind him.

At the same time, he felt bitter. He hadn't expected that he had really courted death this time.

Could a person really unleash something as despair-inducing as a tsunami?

Was that really a swordsman's slash?!

"I was just thinking about whom to choose as my next target, and I didn't expect you to come to me." Arthur smiled as he put the Seastone Handcuffs on Scratchmen Apoo. "Well then, enjoy your life in Impel Down."

"Seastone, of all things... where did you get these?" Scratchmen Apoo asked weakly, looking dejected.

"I'm not a Marine..."

"I see. With you around... I'm afraid the whole sea will have to take another look at bounty hunters."

After exchanging a few words, one ambiguous and the other enlightened, Arthur brought Scratchmen Apoo to the Marine base.

"Move out! Place the Lawless Zone under surveillance immediately."

"A Celestial Dragon was killed in the Lawless Zone. Make the Supernovas your priority targets."

"Before the Admiral arrives, no one is to be allowed to leave the Sabaody Archipelago."

"..."

However, before Arthur could bring Scratchmen Apoo to the Marine base, a group of Marines charged out in orderly formation, carrying guns and shells.

Leading them was the man in charge of the base, a Marine colonel.

"Hey, hey... did I hear that right? Is that for real?"

Standing beside Arthur, Scratchmen Apoo waved his arms and legs with an exaggerated expression. "Apapapapa~~ Who would be bold enough to attack a Celestial Dragon? And actually kill a World Noble?!"

Hearing that, Arthur showed the faintest hint of a smile. Holding the chain of the handcuffs, he walked toward the stern-faced Marine colonel, who was directing his men.

"Sir Knight, have you caught another Supernova?" Before Arthur could speak, the Marine colonel had already spotted them. Looking at Scratchmen Apoo beside Arthur, he said in surprise, "The fifth-ranked Supernova, 'Roar of the Sea' Scratchmen, with a bounty of 190 million Beli?! Sir Knight, were you really that quick?"

"Ah... his luck was bad. I ran into this guy's ambush as soon as I left." Arthur pointed at Scratchmen Apoo and smiled. "It took a little time, but I just subdued him. What are you doing?"

"I'm very sorry, Sir Knight." Hearing that, the Marine colonel spoke gravely. "Just now, a World Noble was assassinated in Area 24 by an ability user who wielded lightning. We have to deploy all our forces to take control of the entire Sabaody Archipelago, so we can't pay your bounty for the time being."

"I see. That person was awfully bold." Arthur feigned surprise, then nodded. "In that case, I'll leave this prisoner with you for now. I can come back for the bounty later."

"Thank you for your understanding!" the Marine colonel said solemnly.

"Aah... I can't believe I got caught up in this. What rotten luck." Scratchmen Apoo held his head in both hands, his expression somewhere between despair and regret. "If I'd known a Celestial Dragon was going to be killed, I wouldn't have courted death by setting up that ambush."

"Impel Down is waiting for you. Enjoy your stay," Arthur said again, patting Scratchmen Apoo on the shoulder.

He also smiled to himself. With this guy as cover, he only had to plug a few more holes, and no one would suspect him of killing the Celestial Dragon.

Scratchmen Apoo really had bad luck, running into him at just this time.

Chapter 72: Arthur's Plan

Scratchmen Apoo really had bad luck. You could say it was rotten luck, running into him at just this time.

Using Observation Haki (A++), Future Sight, Arthur saw glimpses of both Scratchmen Apoo's and the Celestial Dragon's futures at the same time. If he had only seen the Celestial Dragon's future, Arthur might have had trouble deciding how to deal with it.

But he had also foreseen Scratchmen Apoo's ambush. With that, Arthur instantly thought of a plan and dealt with the Celestial Dragon swiftly and decisively.

Before acting, Arthur first gave the King's Horse an order in his mind, using an understanding that surpassed telepathy.

On the surface, he handed the black case to the King's Horse and took out the Seastone Handcuffs himself, having the King's Horse fly into the sky to avoid the battle.