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"Take down Whitebeard?" The sudden words left Bullet momentarily stunned, falling into silence. After a long pause, a grin slowly crept across his lips.
"You can't be serious, can you?"Just who was Whitebeard? The strongest man in the world!
One of the three legendary pirates of the old era and the only remaining one among them. That was just his past reputation.
Now, he was one of the Four Emperors of the New World, the most respected and powerful of them.
His crew was filled with formidable warriors, and taking his head was no easy task.
"Do I look like someone who jokes around? Bullet!" Arashi's smile faded, and his tone turned ice-cold.
"Select all officers ranked Captain and above in the West Blue, as well as any elite strong enough to participate.Then, lead them to Marine Headquarters!"He paused briefly, his voice growing heavier.
"I have been silent for too long. It's time for the world to know that I have returned! and it's time for them to witness our strength!" Bullet listened quietly, the corner of his lips curling into a smirk.
He hung up the Den Den Mushi and then burst into laughter. Having served as the Commander of the West Blue for many years, he was accustomed to thinking from a Marine's perspective.
He immediately understood Arashi's intent. "Using Whitebeard as a stepping stone to seize control of the entire Marine force and finally achieve the plan we made long ago? What a long and tedious game of chess you've been playing!" Bullet laughed heartily.
"The strongest man in the world! The Whitebeard Pirates! This will be a battle for the throne of the world! Even though it hasn't begun, I can already feel the thrill coursing through my veins!"
Bullet walked to the window, overlooking the Marine base below, where the sounds of intense training echoed.
"I can't even remember how long it's been since I left this base! and I can't recall the last time I had a truly exhilarating battle! I can't wait!" Then, he abruptly turned around.
The upcoming battle would shake the very foundations of the world, and extensive preparations were necessary. Mobilizing the West Blue alone would take time.
"Arashi, you want to shake the world with your strength! And the West Blue Branch will shock the entire world in this war! Let them see the power we've been building in secret for nearly twenty years!" Bullet's eyes were deep, and his voice low.
After a moment, he met the gaze of Ifia, now in her middle years. Despite the passing years, she remained graceful, her face still strikingly delicate, showing little sign of time's wear.
Having served in the West Blue for many years, Ifia now held an important position.
"Bring those two swords. We're heading to Marine Headquarters!" Bullet said solemnly.
"Marineford?" Eveya was momentarily stunned, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "This is his order!" Bullet grinned.
"That man?! Commander Arashi?!" Eveya reacted instantly, her entire body trembling.
Joy, excitement, and deep emotion surged through her heart, tears streaming down her face.
"Commander, you've finally returned?" She murmured, her heart thrown into utter turmoil.
She had no idea how long she had waited for this moment. Countless nights had passed in fear that she might never see him again.
For a moment, Eveya felt as if she were dreaming. Only after Bullet had departed did she snap out of it, a joyful smile blooming on her face.
...
Meanwhile, aboard the Alabastar. Daz Bones was kneeling with both knees on the deck, his forehead pressed firmly against the wooden planks, completely silent.
Arashi turned to Crocodile with a puzzled look. "What is he doing?"
Crocodile shook his head. "Even though I'm technically his superior, I don't always know what's going through his mind."
After saying that, a faint smile played on his lips. "Not too foolish, I see! Having eaten the Slash-Slash Fruit, if he doesn't master swordsmanship, it would be the biggest waste imaginable."
The man before them had once fought the world's greatest swordsman to a standstill in direct combat. He was undoubtedly the best person to learn from.
"Admiral Arashi, please teach me swordsmanship." Daz Bones' voice was deep and firm.
He tried his best to maintain composure, but everyone could still hear the nervous tremor in his tone.
Kuzan's snoring remained steady and undisturbed. The ship was also utterly silent, with all eyes focused on this scene.
"You want to learn swordsmanship from me?"Arashi raised an eyebrow, looking down at the kneeling man with a slight smile.
"Yes!" Daz Bones replied. He was a simple, concise, and straightforward man who reminded Arashi of his younger self.
Arashi fell into deep thought, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of his chair. After a long pause, he suddenly smiled.
"I like your direct and decisive nature. From today onward, you will learn the way of the sword from me!"
Upon hearing this, Daz Bones trembled slightly. He bowed three times without a word, striking the deck so hard that dents formed in the wood.
This signified his acknowledgment of his master. Kuzan continued snoring as if nothing in the world could wake him.
Since Arashi had nothing urgent to attend to, he assessed Daz Bones' strength. Upon discovering that he relied heavily on his Devil Fruit powers, Arashi furrowed his brows.
"Your attacks are sharp, and your one-hit-kill style is effective—likely due to your background as an assassin. However, over-reliance on your Devil Fruit ability is your biggest weakness."
"From this moment on, start from scratch. Forget that you are a Devil Fruit user. Learn swordsmanship from zero."
Daz Bones was stunned for a moment before nodding firmly.
"A true swordsman—Even without a blade in hand, my body is my greatest weapon. Watch closely!"
As he spoke, Arashi brought his index and middle fingers together. There was no grand spectacle, no unnecessary movements. He simply made a swift yet controlled slash through the air.
"Vwoom!"
The fabric of space seemed to split apart, and a massive chasm appeared across the rolling sea, stretching far beyond the horizon.
"Gasp!"
Onboard the Marine battleship, the agents of Baroque Works collectively sucked in a sharp breath, their faces filled with shock as they stared at Arashi.
Daz Bones' pupils contracted, his entire body momentarily frozen in awe.
"Swordsmanship is not merely a reflection of physical power. It is also an understanding of the world, a comprehension of the laws that govern it, and an appreciation of its essence."
"Feel the breath of all things. Listen to their voices. Let your body attune to the rhythm of the world. See the veins of the world with your eyes. Follow those veins and strike."
"Only then will your blade move with mastery—able to cut through anything and also cut through nothing!" Arashi smiled as he spoke.
Daz Bones' eyes were filled with confusion. Kuina, on the other hand, listened intently, revisiting lessons she had long since learned but still found invaluable.
Arashi did not explain further. Instead, with a flick of his hand, an orange flew out from the ship's cabin.
Gripping the hilt of his sword at his waist, he swiftly unsheathed it and slashed at the airborne fruit.
"Swish!" The blade sliced precisely through the center of the orange. Arashi then sheathed his sword and smiled at Daz Bones.
"Take a closer look." Puzzled, the latter retrieved the orange from midair. In an instant, his pupils shrank.
The orange, which the sword had cut, showed no sign of damage—it remained perfectly whole. That slash just now felt like an illusion.
"Only when you can wield your sword with complete mastery and control,"
Arashi continued, "Can you be considered to have stepped onto the path of swordsmanship."
He smiled. "At the same time, your sword techniques will become much stronger."
Daz Bones fell into deep thought, recalling his battle with the Pirate Hunter Zoro not long ago—when his opponent had easily cut through his steel-like body. That man had likely already reached this level.
"I understand now!" he said, nodding slowly. Determined, he resolved to fully grasp this concept.
Under Arashi's guidance, Daz Bones began to train as if he had forgotten his Devil Fruit abilities, practicing like an ordinary swordsman—lifting weights daily and refining his sword swings.
When exhausted, he would sit cross-legged, meditating under Kuina's instruction to comprehend deeper realms of swordsmanship.
He longed to reach Arashi's level, where two fingers could cleave the ocean apart. Days passed in the blink of an eye.
"There it is," Kuzan murmured lazily as he suddenly sat up from his beach chair, stretching as he gazed ahead.
Arashi, arms crossed, smiled faintly while shifting his gaze to the other side.
In the far-off sea—beyond the reach of the naked eye—a pirate ship flying its flag was sailing toward the same uninhabited island as them.
Though their angles differed, both were headed for the same destination.
Such is the strange nature of navigating the vast sea—perhaps because the world beneath their feet is round.
"You guys don't need to go," Arashi remarked.
"I can handle this alone." Kuzan slung his bicycle over his shoulder and leaped off the ship. He was already riding it across the water in the blink of an eye.
Watching his old friend, Arashi couldn't help but smile. "You all go ahead. I'll catch up later!"
As his words fell, his figure turned into a lightning bolt, instantly closing the distance between him and the cycling Kuzan.
"Oi, oi! My bike isn't meant to carry two people!"
"Quit whining and just ride!"
Their voices rang out as the once-steady bicycle wobbled before resuming its slow, steady pace forward. "Adding your weight makes this a lot harder, you know!" Kuzan complained lazily.
"For a so-called 'two-bowls-of-rice-per-hundred-kilometers' mode of transport, you sure talk a lot." Arashi scoffed.
"Then you pedal!" Kuzan shot back.
"Just hurry up!" The two admirals bickered without restraint. A short while later, they arrived at the nameless island.
At the same time, a small ship with a sheep-headed figurehead also docked at the shore.
"Huh?" Kuzan slowly turned his head, eyes narrowing at the group disembarking from the ship. Meanwhile, Arashi grinned widely. The Straw Hat crew. At last, they met.
"Yo, Kuzan."
"We've run into a crew strong enough that we can't ignore them." Arashi smirked. Kuzan's lips twitched, but he gave no response.
"A kid who managed to defeat Crocodile can't be allowed to roam free so easily," Arashi added. "Letting a fearsome figure like him rampage across the world unchecked is the greatest insult to justice."
"Enough!" Kuzan glared at him before falling silent, seemingly contemplating how to deal with the approaching Straw Hats.
Arashi chuckled and casually sat on a nearby rock near Kuzan.
"So, how do you plan to handle them?" Arashi asked indifferently.
"What about you?" Kuzan retorted.
He grinned. "For me, this isn't a difficult question. When it comes to dealing with pirates, my views align quite closely with Sakazuki's."
Kuzan's expression darkened upon hearing that. He understood his old friend well—if Arashi decided to move, the Straw Hat crew's journey might end here.
"So, are you going to attack them? They're just a bunch of kids." Kuzan sighed.
"Showing sympathy for pirates? That's not like you, Kuzan." Arashi chuckled.
"Straw Hat Luffy is Garp-sensei's grandson." Kuzan added.
"So what? He also has a father, doesn't he? Seems like he's with the Revolutionary Army." Arashi smirked.
Kuzan fell silent. He turned and stared at his old friend, momentarily unable to discern his true intentions.
Just as he was about to speak, the Straw Hat crew had already arrived before them.
"Huh? There are two weird guys here!" Luffy exclaimed, grinning curiously.
They had faced PX-5 on Skypiea, struggling through a grueling battle to claim victory finally.
Yet, after that fight, they no longer dared venture deeper into that forbidden zone—especially after Robin revealed that a terrifying Marine was connected to it.
"The weird ones here are you lot!" Kuzan's expression darkened.
Sitting on the rock, Arashi watched the crew with keen interest.
"I recognize you," he said, flipping through a stack of wanted posters that seemed to appear from nowhere. He held up the first one.
"Straw Hat Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy. Bounty: 100 million Berries."
"A promising, energetic, and truly fearsome rookie." Arashi smiled in admiration.
Meanwhile, Kuzan's expression grew even darker. He realized that Arashi had likely known about the Straw Hats' arrival all along.
Was that insistence on riding his bike just an excuse to get here first?
"Hahahaha!" Luffy laughed, leaning in closer.
"Wait, Luffy! Stay away! That guy's a Marine!" Nami's face paled as she ran up from behind, instantly alarmed upon noticing Arashi's pristine white Marine uniform.
"A Marine?!" Luffy blinked, then observed the two before grinning again.
"Even if they're Marines, they don't seem hostile to us! They look like good guys."
Hearing that, Arashi chuckled. "As a pirate, you don't get to decide who the 'good guys' are, Straw Hat."
Then, his gaze shifted to a figure among their crew—a woman who had frozen in place, her face stricken with terror as if she had just seen the most horrifying thing in the world.
"Nico Robin, it's been a while," Arashi said casually. "I didn't expect you to become a pirate."
Those simple words made Robin tremble uncontrollably. "L-Luffy!! Get back!" Gritting her teeth, Robin shouted in alarm.
Hearing the fear in his crewmate's voice, Luffy immediately realized something was wrong.
He planted his feet firmly on the ground and leaped back, creating distance between himself and the two men before him.
"Robin, what's going on? Do you know them?" Sanji asked in surprise.
On the other hand, Zoro was already on high alert, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword as he studied the two figures before them.
"Marine Headquarters Admiral, Aokiji!" Robin took a deep breath and solemnly spoke the first name, locking eyes with Kuzan.
The latter remained calm, sitting there without any reaction. "Admiral?!" Nami, Usopp, and Chopper's faces instantly filled with terror as they instinctively shrank back.
"And also, Marine Headquarters Admiral Arashi!" Robin continued, her expression growing graver, a hint of despair showing on her face.
No pirate crew had ever survived an encounter with two Marine admirals. Especially not when one of them was Arashi!
Having been born in the West Blue and personally experiencing that war, she knew far too well what kind of man stood before them.
The rest of the Straw Hat crew were visibly shocked. "Two admirals?! What are you doing here?" Luffy, still oblivious to the severity of the situation, asked nonchalantly.
Arashi chuckled. "Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to see what kind of pirate could defeat someone under my command."
"I also heard that you're Garp-sensei's grandson?" Hearing the name Garp, Luffy's eyes briefly widened in shock.
"You know Gramps?" Arashi smiled and leaped off the rock. "Of course. He was my most respected teacher!"
Luffy froze momentarily before a serious, determined expression formed on his face.
"I remember now! Arashi! I've heard that name before! Gramps always told me to look up to you as a role model." Arashi chuckled.
"That's quite the honor coming from the old man." Though the conversation seemed amicable, Luffy's face had never been more serious.
"I heard you want to become the Pirate King?" Arashi asked with a grin.
"That's right! I'm going to be the Pirate King!" Luffy declared boldly.
When those words left his mouth, Robin's face turned pale, and Kuzan rubbed his forehead. To proclaim such a thing in front of this man was nothing short of suicidal.
"The last Pirate King—he was captured by me and sent to the execution platform." Arashi's voice remained lighthearted.
"So tell me, where do you get the courage to say something like that in front of me?"
"Wait, wait, he captured the Pirate King?! Is he talking about Roger?" Usopp exclaimed.
"Yes. He is the man who captured Roger and ended the last era!" Robin's voice trembled.
Instantly, tension filled the air. Zoro swiftly drew his sword, his eyes filled with caution.
"Since you're Garp-sensei's grandson, I suppose I should take good care of you."
"Monkey D. Luffy." Arashi slowly bent forward, gazing down at the group before him.
"How about this? Surrender now and come with me to Impel Down. How does that sound?"
Luffy was momentarily stunned before immediately rejecting the offer. "No way!"
"That makes things difficult," Arashi sighed, shaking his head before shifting his gaze toward Kuzan.
"Hey, Kuzan, are you just going to sit back and watch?" Kuzan didn't reply.
Instead, he lay back down, closing his eyes as if uninterested. "Letting them off easy like this isn't exactly what a Marine should do," Arashi muttered.
Then, his gaze returned to the Straw Hats. "Shouting something so ambitious...Straw Hat Luffy, you seem pretty confident in your strength."
Luffy shouted, "Even if you're an admiral, I'm not afraid!" But the moment he spoke, the man before him vanished.
At the same time, a flash of lightning flickered, and a towering figure loomed over him.
"Such spirit. Then let me test your resolve!" A soft murmur was heard before a fist suddenly entered Luffy's abdomen.
"Boom!" A deep, resounding impact rang out. Luffy's entire body bent forward from the blow, blood spurting from his mouth as his face turned pale.
His eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. A moment later, his body was sent flying like a cannonball.
"Luffy?!" Sanji's face changed drastically as he rushed forward to catch him.
But the sheer force of the punch sent him skidding back for several meters before he could stop.
"Such terrifying strength!" The entire Straw Hat crew was shaken.
"Be careful! He's said to be one of the strongest men in Marine history!" Robin warned, her voice trembling.
Zoro's pupils contracted as he noticed the sword at Arashi's waist. "Sorry, everyone." Arashi smiled.
"But your pirate journey might be ending here." As his words fell, he raised a single finger.
"Crackle!" A bolt of electricity shot out, instantly piercing Usopp's body and sending him flying backward, his body smoking as he crashed to the ground.
His eyes remained wide with disbelief. "He possesses the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the strongest of all Logia abilities!"
"He's hundreds—no, thousands—of times stronger than that robot we encountered on Skypiea!" Robin shouted.
Trembling, she activated her Devil Fruit ability. Several arms sprouted from Arashi's neck, attempting to snap it.
"Nico Robin, you've truly disappointed me!" Arashi's voice was calm.
With a sickening crack, his neck broke, and his massive body collapsed to the ground.
But in the next instant, lightning crackled across his body, and he stood up again.
"Swoosh!" He appeared behind her in the blink of an eye, their backs nearly touching.
"Once upon a time, I had high hopes for you." His voice whispered beside her ear. The next second, blue lightning erupted, engulfing her.
Robin's eyes rolled back as her body convulsed, black smoke rising from her as she collapsed.
Faintly, she could still hear the panicked shouts of her crewmates in the distance.
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