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A storm, born from nothing, began to howl, lashing Raijin Island. The massive, resilient trees of the island bent under the unnatural gale.
"Zzzzzzzzzzzzt!"
In an instant, Arthur was wreathed in a shroud of deep purple lightning, the sheer pressure of his released power silencing the wind.
"You dare show up at my home, after only just forming your little army?" His eyes were no longer human; they were pools of raw, electrical power. "You haven't even tasted a real defeat yet, have you? Vegapunk, Jessica, take the submarine and get out of here. Redfield… stay or go, I don't care."
He wouldn't be able to protect them in the fight to come. A battle on this scale would likely tear Raijin Island apart.
"Heh… A show like this? I wouldn't miss it for the world," Redfield drawled, downing the last of his wine. His face, which had been perfectly composed for a year, now held a flicker of genuine, eager anticipation.
He'd been young again for a full year, and he was bored. He was itching for a real fight.
"Arthur… be careful." Jessica gave him one last, worried look, but she didn't hesitate. She knew she'd be nothing but a liability. She turned and followed Vegapunk to the submarine dock.
"Don't worry about me, Jessica," Arthur called after her, his voice a low, confident thunder. "On these seas, there is no one left who can stop me."
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'Vegapunk is valuable enough to risk a war with the Thunder God Pirates before we even begin our war with the World Government.' Dragon thought, his eyes fixed on the scientist,
As Vegapunk's former bodyguard, Dragon knew, better than any man alive, the terrifying, world-breaking potential of the doctor's mind.
He had spent a full year weighing this decision.
Was one man worth starting a war with the most monstrous crew on the seas?
The answer was always yes.
With Vegapunk's genius, the Revolutionary Army could leapfrog the World Government's technology in a matter of years, making their eventual victory an inevitability.
The man who had Vegapunk, had the world. Toppling the Celestial Dragons wasn't just about finding the One Piece or shouting the truth from the rooftops. It required an army. It required power.
And "power" didn't just mean strong fighters. It meant superior technology.
Robotic armies to crush the government's grunts. Artificial Devil Fruits to bolster his commanders. Weapons of unimaginable destructive force.
This was the path to victory. And it all began with Vegapunk.
Dragon had made his choice.
"You really think you four are enough to take him from me?" Arthur's body began to lift off the ground, a god of lightning ascending to his throne in the sky.
"ROOOOAR!!"
The storm clouds above—his storm clouds—roared in answer.
"Against you? Of course not," Dragon said, his voice as calm as the eye of the storm. "Which is why I brought a gift for you."
A sound, like the breathing of a deep-sea leviathan, rumbled from the dark hold of the dragon ship.
"Kuma. Deliver the gift."
"Understood."
"Hhhhuuufff… hhhhuuufff…"
The sound grew louder. From the gaping, dark maw of the ship's hold, a single point of white light appeared. It was a massive, paw-shaped bubble of compressed air, and inside it… was a familiar, sleeping figure.
Kaido of the Beasts.
Arthur's expression darkened. Not just at the sight of the mad dog he'd just dealt with, but at a far more terrifying realization.
His Observation Haki, his new, all-seeing 'Image Manifestation,' couldn't detect the bubble. At all. He could only see it with his naked eyes.
The implications were catastrophic.
Kuma's power could bypass his senses completely. He could, at any time, from any distance, send anything he wanted to Raijin Island, and Arthur would be completely blind to it until it was too late.
If the Revolutionaries got their hands on the Navy's Dyna Stones…
That thought sent a genuine chill down his spine. Enough of those explosives, and they could blast him to smithereens, Rumble Fruit or not. Even Kaido's body probably couldn't withstand that.
"Are you satisfied with my gift, Thunder Emperor?" Dragon asked, a cold, calculating smile on his face. He was setting a wolf to eat a tiger.
He felt no pride in the tactic, only the cold necessity of his mission...
He knew what this act would unleash. He knew that Arthur's rage, once he dealt with this, would be turned on him. But it was a price he was willing to pay.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!"
The paw-shaped bubble shot from the ship, accelerating with impossible speed, and slammed into the sky right in front of Arthur.
"POP!"
The bubble burst. Kaido, awakened by the violent impact, tumbled through the air, his eyes wide and confused. He crashed onto the beach, shaking the entire island.
He shook his massive head, trying to clear the fog. And then, he sensed it. A familiar, infuriating aura.
He looked up.
"THUNDER EMPEROR, I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
"BOOM!!"
With a single, explosive leap, he launched himself at Arthur like a cannonball, his rage absolute. A year of humiliation, of being chained and dragged like an animal, erupted in a single, devastating punch.
The air itself exploded from the force. The very clouds behind Arthur were torn to shreds by the shockwave.
Kaido had grown stronger.
"Heh… hehehehe… HAHAHAHAHA!" Arthur, caught between two powerhouses, began to laugh. It was a furious, and utterly delighted sound. He was well and truly pissed off.
"Very good, Dragon. Very good..."
He turned his burning, electric gaze back to the beach.
"Redfield! The man with the Bible. Kill him."
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