Back in Apple Town.
Looking at the wreckage strewn before him,
Arthur knew that he and Alfred could no longer stay in Apple Town.
If they stayed any longer,
they would only bring disaster upon Apple Town.
Besides,
he had already told Diamante
that he would come looking for him next, so his next move was very simple: storm straight into Diamante's base!!!
The residents of Apple Town learned that Arthur and Alfred were leaving.
They breathed long sighs of relief.
The mayor of Apple Town also dug into his own savings
and gave Arthur and Alfred a small wooden boat.
At the very least, this little wooden boat could carry them to the next inhabited island.
Arthur was deeply grateful
for everything the mayor and residents of Apple Town had done for them.
He also knew
that he could not ask any more of Apple Town's residents.
At the same time, this journey was also to ensure Apple Town's safety in the future.
As long as he dealt with Diamante and his subordinates once and for all,
Apple Town would no longer be dragged into trouble because of him.
Arthur and Alfred set out on their voyage.
On this journey, they were going to kill!
While Arthur and Alfred were sailing,
what they did not know was that
Arthur's portraits and photographs
had already spread throughout the North Blue's Underworld!
The bounty calling for his death, issued by Diamante, a core executive of the Donquixote Family, immediately drew the attention of all the pirates and Underworld figures.
"Thirty million Beli for some brat??"
"Damn... just what did this brat do to the Donquixote Family?"
"Hahahaha, who cares what he did! Kill this brat and you get thirty million Beli. A job couldn't get any easier!"
"Shit, you're right! He's just a brat. Isn't that thirty million as good as ours?"
"Fuck!!! Don't you bastards try to steal this bounty from me!!"
"You assholes, this brat is mine!!!"
For a time!
The North Blue's Underworld was thrown into upheaval.
Everyone's attention was fixed on Arthur.
To them,
killing a brat would earn them thirty million Beli.
It was practically thirty million Beli just lying there for the taking.
Why turn down free money!
If they missed an opportunity like this, who knew when another would come along.
And more importantly,
if they killed this brat for the Donquixote Family, they might gain not only thirty million Beli, but the Donquixote Family's friendship as well.
Everyone knew
that in the Underworld,
the Donquixote Family was like an imperial organization.
As long as they could establish a connection with the Donquixote Family,
some of them
would willingly pay thirty million Beli themselves!
And apart from the pirates and assassins already on their way to hunt Arthur down,
the Navy and World Government naturally also had eyes watching the Underworld in secret, and they were different from those money-grubbing pirates and assassins.
They were intensely curious
why a mere brat would make someone like Diamante personally issue a bounty!
Just what had this brat named Arthur done to anger Diamante so much that he had issued a bounty himself?
Out of curiosity,
both the Navy and the World Government began investigating in secret.
Soon, through their respective powerful intelligence networks, they obtained a general picture of what had happened.
"Interesting. This brat actually wants to kill Diamante?"
"Hey, hey, isn't that brat overestimating himself a little too much???"
"That bastard Diamante may only have a bounty of ninety-nine million Beli..."
"But as a core executive of the Donquixote Family, his actual strength naturally goes far beyond what a bounty of under a hundred million Beli suggests..."
"Exactly. He's proficient in Armament Haki and Observation Haki, and he's developed his Devil Fruit abilities to an extraordinary degree. That brat is going to his death..."
Both the Navy and World Government personnel reached their conclusions.
The only possible reason this brat named Arthur dared to think about killing Diamante was that he had never seen the true sea.
He had no way of knowing
what the highest levels of power on these seas were really like.
However,
although both the Navy and the World Government thought this way,
at that moment,
the pirate "Red Flag" Drake, who was in the North Blue, suddenly received a special mission from his Navy superiors, ordering him to investigate Arthur.
As it turned out,
the pirate "Red Flag" Drake, who had recently made something of a name for himself in the North Blue,
was actually an undercover Navy operative.
He was known as the "fallen Navy rear admiral."
He had originally been a member of the Navy, but later, for some special reason, he had defected and become what he should have regarded as an enemy-a pirate.
But no one knew
that it was merely his disguise.
Drake had never left the Navy.
Now, after receiving the mission orders from his Navy superiors,
although he did not understand why the Navy wanted to contact this person named Arthur,
he naturally had no intention of disobeying orders.
"Men, find this person named Arthur!"
Drake told his subordinates,
who, of course, also knew about the bounty on Arthur.
His men grew excited, thinking Boss Drake wanted to claim the bounty.
They had no idea
that Drake was merely carrying out a Navy mission.
About two days later.
Arthur and Alfred were still sailing across the sea.
However, they had stopped at an island for a while the previous day to replenish their supplies and find out exactly which island Diamante was on.
The former, resupplying, had been easy.
As for the latter, Diamante's precise location,
to Arthur's surprise, that had also been easy to find.
Because here in the North Blue,
everyone knew the Donquixote Family's name.
Arthur and Alfred had only needed to ask around casually to learn the area where the Donquixote Family's North Blue base was located.
Of course, that was also because
the Donquixote Family wielded enough terrifying deterrent power
that everyone knew where their base was,
yet not a single person dared to strike it.
Still, presumably no one could have imagined that someone like Arthur would appear...
"Your Highness Arthur."
"If the old king could see you now, he would surely be very pleased..."
Alfred stood at the cabin doorway as he spoke, looking at Arthur on the deck ahead, his face filled with heartfelt pride.
Arthur did not turn around at his words.
He had transmigrated here
and had only memories of his original body's father.
But from those memories, he knew that although the old king had usually treated him sternly, it was only because he wanted to see his son succeed as soon as possible.
That was something every father wished for.
Arthur thought there was nothing wrong with it.
"Is that so, Alfred..." he murmured.
Before this,
he had never even known that Alfred and this secret guard unit existed.
And Alfred's strength
seemed to exceed the average level one would expect in the North Blue.
Of course, Arthur had also taken precautions.
He had secretly tested Alfred several times, confirming that Alfred really was one of the old king's men, rather than someone who had deliberately infiltrated his side with sinister intentions.
It seemed...
it was the old king's secret that had led to the kingdom's destruction.
Arthur did not know exactly what that secret was.
But he would definitely uncover the truth behind the kingdom's destruction!
And he would definitely take revenge on the World Government!
Before you continue