The Incident Erupts / The World Shaken

A warship sailed slowly across the blue sea.

"Three Supernovas arrested in a single day. You certainly live up to your title as the 'Knight of Knights' who defeated Crocodile."

On deck, Kizaru lay in a beach chair with his legs lazily crossed. Looking at Arthur, who was sorting Seastone Handcuffs a short distance away, he said slowly, "So, what made you let the other Supernovas go?"

"I'm not interested in money. I just need opponents on my path of swordsmanship," Arthur said without looking up. "But I need fair, one-on-one fights. I wouldn't stoop to stealing prey from those cyborgs who look so much like 'Tyrant' Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Shichibukai, even if they have no emotions."

"I see... So it's that knightly spirit?" Kizaru said, pursing his lips and folding his hands behind his head.

Kizaru didn't care that Arthur had chosen not to go after the other Supernovas. He was merely asking.

Hadn't he come to pass the time himself, while also carrying out the task Fleet Admiral Sengoku had given him?

Although he had suffered a slight setback in the process.

But after learning that the Celestial Dragon's killer was a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, Kizaru felt the trip had been worthwhile.

Compared with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, Arthur, a top swordsman, was at most the most dazzling rising star. In Kizaru's eyes, however, he was still only a rising star, not yet a match for that lightning man.

If Kizaru knew that the young man beside him was the lightning man who had fought him on equal terms earlier, who knew what he would think?

Marine Headquarters, Marineford Island.

"Is that so? The Rumble-Rumble Fruit, of all things. So our worst suspicion has come true~!"

In the Fleet Admiral's Office, Sengoku was unexpectedly not in a rage. Sitting at his desk, he covered his forehead and frowned deeply. "He hid his identity, yet killed a Celestial Dragon in public. Is he an avenger biding his time, or a move by the Revolutionary Army?!"

"I don't know about that. I took the initiative to probe him, but he was very cautious. He was clearly disguising his voice by holding something in his mouth, but his fruit development and stamina were astonishing. He fought me fiercely for a long time without his breathing growing ragged, so I'd guess he's at his peak, somewhere between thirty and forty." Kizaru spread his hands as he sat on a soft golden sofa. "If he's with the Revolutionary Army, he must be one of its highest-ranking figures. I wonder if he's a new recruit or an important figure they've kept hidden. How terrifying."

"A cloak, a mask, a disguised voice, and an age we can't pin down. You're saying we can't put out a bounty?" Sengoku rubbed his brow in frustration. "Then we can only publish a bounty in the papers. After all, a Celestial Dragon was killed in public. There's no covering it up."

"We've lost contact with all the surveillance ships near the waters controlled by the Whitebeard Pirates. We can't spare any forces right now, so we can only report it to the Five Elders. Let Cipher Pol handle this." That was what Sengoku said. It would have been fine at any other time, but with war imminent, the Marines couldn't spare their own forces for the Celestial Dragons.

"But... Borsalino, you let the Celestial Dragon's killer escape this time. You're bound to face punishment afterward, so prepare yourself," Sengoku said to Kizaru with a serious expression.

"That's not fair~~ Fleet Admiral Sengoku." An exaggerated look of alarm appeared on Kizaru's face as he pursed his lips. "He's a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, a lightning man whose ability surpasses mine in both versatility and practicality. That instantaneous movement of his especially made me jealous. If he wanted to leave, there was nothing I could do."

"The Celestial Dragons will be the ones coming after you afterward. I have no authority to pardon you either." Sengoku shook his head, looking as though he could do nothing to help. "But you don't need to worry. The Five Elders will surely understand. At most, you'll probably be kept busy running around from now on. It might do you good to lose that lazy habit of not taking your work seriously."

"How heartless~~ Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I did finish the task you gave me. You should at least put in a good word for me!" Kizaru teased, putting on a frightened look. Though he spoke as if he were afraid, he didn't actually care.

Kizaru had sound reasons, and as one of the Marines' highest combat powers, he enjoyed considerable privileges.

Even if the Celestial Dragons went after him, the Five Elders couldn't possibly dismiss an Admiral.

The punishment Kizaru faced would hardly affect him.

"Oh? That 'knight' is here? Where is he?!"

Sengoku's eyes lit up at Kizaru's words, and he asked with some anticipation.

"He's at the finance department. Before I arrived, he helped the Marine base on the Sabaody Archipelago arrest three Supernovas. He still hasn't been paid in full for two of them." As usual, Kizaru didn't forget his catchphrase. "Young people these days are so terrifying."

"Only three?" Sengoku frowned slightly, a puzzled look in his eyes.

"His only flaw is that his personality is a little strange." Kizaru seemed to see what Sengoku was thinking. He spread his hands and continued, "Given a choice between money and a fair fight, he chose the latter. He seems committed to that knightly spirit and wasn't willing to team up with the Pacifistas against the other Supernovas."

"Is that so?" Understanding dawned on Sengoku, and he said sympathetically, "Swordsmen are all eccentric, just like Mihawk. This 'Knight of Knights' is strong! Not only did he have the strength to defeat Crocodile, he also has astonishing potential."

"He agreed to the deal, but his condition is that he gets the Devil Fruit now," Kizaru reminded him, as if recalling something.

"A verbal promise really isn't enough to secure someone's loyalty. His demand is understandable."

Sengoku nodded slightly, then asked, "Is he a Devil Fruit user, then?"

"It seems he follows a pure path of swordsmanship, like Mihawk..." Kizaru said, unable to keep from recalling Arthur sorting the Seastone Handcuffs.

"Never mind. It's just an unidentified fruit. We've given it to him, and that's that!" Sengoku said, his gaze firm. "Let fate decide whether it's a loss or a gain. We must win this war."

Chapter 80: The Incident Erupts

Click—

The sound of a clasp snapping open was especially sharp in the narrow, quiet space.

Arthur, who had been assigned a simply furnished room, sat at a table and opened the box before him. Inside was none other than the "unknown Devil Fruit" Sengoku had promised him.

There had been no elaborate selection process, nor had Arthur been taken to the Marines' treasure vault.

They had simply placed a box and a copy of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia in front of him.

Arthur opened the clasp and got a clear look at the "unknown Devil Fruit" inside.

It was a strangely shaped Devil Fruit, as small as an apple and silver-white all over. It was covered in spiral patterns that all looked alike, but a careful examination revealed that each pattern was different.

Arthur picked up the "unknown Devil Fruit" and examined it closely.

Then he put it back and opened the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia beside it.

The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia—

Through the appearance and deaths of generations of ability users, and the regeneration of the same fruits, the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia had eventually come into being.

The encyclopedia recorded the names and abilities of various fruits, but it did not contain every Devil Fruit.

For example, a fruit user might appear and become known for his ability. After he died, the fruit's power would regenerate somewhere, and someone would eat it and become its second user. That person might then deliberately or accidentally reveal its ability and appearance, which the encyclopedia's compilers would collect and record. Over time, this process had produced the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia as it existed today.

The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia made it easy for people to learn what type of Devil Fruit they had and what ability it possessed.

Without the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, or if a Devil Fruit was not recorded in it, eating one was unquestionably a gamble.

It might be powerful.

It might be weak.

Or it might be ordinary.

Anything was possible. It was the decisive moment for testing one's luck.

Arthur leafed carefully through the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, seeing many strangely shaped Devil Fruits. Some abilities were described in great detail, while others received only a passing mention. He didn't know whether their details had been deliberately omitted or whether their appearance was known but the extent of their abilities was not.

Arthur also saw the fruit abilities of the Three Admirals in it.

Unfortunately, the information on those fruits was only touched upon briefly.

Arthur even suspected that the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia Sengoku had given him was an abridged version.

But Arthur also understood that Sengoku could have fooled him by giving him some random Zoan fruit whose shape happened not to be a banana.

If Sengoku really wanted to trick him, there was no need to go to such lengths.

Arthur closed the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and stared thoughtfully at the "unknown Devil Fruit" in the box.

He wasn't considering whether to eat it!

Even if the Devil Fruit before him were very powerful, Arthur wouldn't eat it.

The regeneration of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had been an accident, and it happened to be one of the fruits Arthur wanted. Even then, he had resisted the temptation.

It was Arthur's good fortune that the Holy Lance had eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Besides, the Holy Lance had resonated with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit last time because both possessed extremely powerful piercing capabilities, making them a perfect match.

This time, even if Excalibur could eat a Devil Fruit, Arthur wouldn't do it.

"This was an unexpected gain..."

Arthur locked the box again and put it in his backpack, then picked up the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia and returned it to the Marine waiting outside the door.

Obtaining the Devil Fruit really had been an accident.

(cdfh)

In fact, even if Sengoku hadn't offered a Devil Fruit as payment, Arthur would have accepted a hire for a substantial sum.

The Paramount War!

What a wonderful map this was.

The enemy was one of the four emperors who ruled the New World, the man known as the World's Strongest Man. How many world-famous pirates did the Whitebeard Pirates have?

Every division commander was a person of considerable renown, astonishingly well known.

If he defeated them, he would not only gain Victory Index points, but the strengthening would also be tremendous, on a scale the Supernovas could never match.

It was also a chance to make a name for himself.

To complete [Achievement Quest—Ever Victorious], a reputation that drew the world's attention was a basic requirement.

For any of those reasons, Arthur would not have turned down Sengoku's offer of employment.

While Arthur obtained the "unknown Devil Fruit" and temporarily stayed at Marine Headquarters, the killing of a Celestial Dragon on the Sabaody Archipelago erupted like a long-dormant volcano.

The killing of a Celestial Dragon in the street couldn't be covered up, and the killer couldn't be left at large.

Almost as soon as Kizaru brought back the information and Sengoku used a Den Den Mushi to report it to the Five Elders, newspaper organizations around the world began to stir.

The World Economy News Paper was the most active among them. Its president, "Big News Morgans," was notified by the government at once that he could report the Celestial Dragon's death, but that he also had to publish a bounty notice for the World Government.

Morgans readily agreed to such a small matter.

And so, after a day spent rushing to prepare the story, they were ready.

Early the next morning, News Coos filled the sky above an island in the New World, carrying pouches stuffed with newspapers as they flew to every corner of the world.

With them, they spread the sensation from the Sabaody Archipelago across the world.

Without a doubt, the uproar this time was no less than when the Fish-Man Fisher Tiger had climbed the Holy Land Mary Geoise and freed the Celestial Dragons' slaves.

A descendant of the creators, a Celestial Dragon, had been killed. Nothing like it had happened in the eight hundred years since the government's founding.

This news would surely set the seas boiling.

As the News Coos delivered the papers, more and more people learned of the Celestial Dragon's death.

Apart from the Calm Belt, the news gradually spread to every corner of the seas: the four Blues, the Grand Line, and the New World.

As expected, the world was shaken at that moment.

Chapter 81: The World Shaken

(Here's the third update! Traffic was terrible today, and it took me nine hours to get home. I've made it back to my hometown. Tomorrow, I guarantee at least three updates and will try for a burst of releases (*￣︶￣)!)

"Y-y-y-you've got to be k-kidding me!!!"

"A Celestial Dragon died? Was that descendant of the creators really killed?!!"

"Unbelievable. Has a 'hero' really appeared on the seas?!"

"No way?!"

"..."

"Hahahaha... This is wonderful! Has someone finally made a move against those pigs?"

"Good news, wonderful news! Boys, it's time for a banquet..."

"'The culprit in the Celestial Dragon's murder is a Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit user. If you discover anyone using lightning, please be sure to provide the government with information. A generous reward will be given afterward'... Hahaha, interesting. One of the strongest Devil Fruits, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, said to be the most versatile and practical of the Logia types, has finally appeared?"

"..."

The world was shaken, and the uproar spread rapidly like a virus, at a speed that was almost unbelievable.

It began in the New World. Then News Coos filled the sky as they flew over the Red Line, spreading the news through the Grand Line and the four Blues.

At that moment, all kinds of discussions broke out across the world.

Some were shocked, some were stunned, some were excited, some couldn't believe it, and some put themselves in the killer's place and felt a surge of excitement.