Chapter 156: The Buster Call Operation to Capture Bullet

"Klaie Island... the island near the Goddess Islands that were destroyed ten years ago during the conflict between Captain John and Golden Lion Shiki?"

Standing beneath a signpost at Mock Town’s harbor, Arthur and Cooper discussed their route.

"Ku."

(It’s in the New World, Arthur. We’ll probably run into plenty of pirates—and challengers.)

This was the dawn of the Great Pirate Era.

Everyone dreamed of making a name for themselves, competing for the position of one of the Four Emperors, and ultimately claiming the One Piece.

Arthur was no different.

He, too, intended to carve his name into history.

Sword at his side, Arthur walked toward the dock.

"Let’s go."

"If Stussy already knows where Bullet is, then the Marines have probably begun moving as well."

Cooper folded up the chart and followed him.

(But we’ll need to coat the ship before we can return to the New World.)

Arthur shook his head.

"No."

"We’ll cross through the Calm Belt."

Cooper hurried after him.

The two boarded their small sailing ship together.

"If I weren’t strong enough now..."

Arthur lowered the sails.

"...I’d have to follow the normal route like everyone else."

The anchor was raised.

The ship set sail once more.

Meanwhile, inside the clinic at Mock Town...

Shanks still sat in silence.

Arthur’s overwhelming strength continued to weigh heavily on his mind.

"Ugh..."

Benn Beckman slowly opened his eyes.

"...Weren’t we in the middle of a duel?"

"Where am I?"

"A clinic."

Lucky Roux answered, his neck wrapped in a brace.

"Boss?"

Beckman looked toward Shanks.

"What’s wrong?"

"Observation Haki..."

Shanks murmured quietly.

"...is incredibly important."

During the duel, he’d discovered something terrifying.

He couldn’t perceive Arthur’s movements at all.

Every action he made had already been anticipated.

"Arthur..."

"...has mastered the same Observation Haki that Mr. Rayleigh and Captain Roger possessed."

"You can’t detect his presence."

Beckman sighed before lying back down.

"His mind is perfectly still."

"And his sword is unbelievably fast."

"There was no way to fight him."

On their very first day in Mock Town...

All three of them were left with an unforgettable psychological scar.

Not long after leaving Mock Town...

Out on the Grand Line...

Night had fallen.

Inside the tiny galley aboard the ship, Arthur enjoyed a meal he had cooked himself while reading newspapers from the past year.

"The Sorbet Kingdom..."

"So discrimination between the two regions has already begun..."

Then he stopped eating.

His eyes settled on another article.

"Dragon..."

The newspaper reported that Monkey D. Dragon, under the banner of the Freedom Army, had begun assisting peasant uprisings in non-member nations throughout the world.

He had openly declared his opposition to the World Government.

"Caw! "

(Arthur! Two pirate ships are approaching.)

Cooper’s voice came from the deck.

Arthur immediately set down the newspaper.

Picking up Ice Dragon, he stepped outside.

"So this is how it is..."

He stretched his shoulders.

"At the beginning of the Great Pirate Era..."

"Everyone’s become obsessed with chasing the One Piece."

"They’ve forgotten how terrifying the Grand Line really is."

Standing on deck...

He spotted two medium-sized pirate ships rapidly approaching beneath fluttering Jolly Rogers.

"Ku."

(There are quite a few of them. Want to have some fun, Arthur?)

From the crow’s nest, Cooper counted the pirates aboard.

Arthur answered calmly.

"Kill them."

He didn’t even bother drawing his sword.

Instead...

He simply raised his right hand.

The air immediately froze.

Several miniature Eastern dragons formed around him, circling silently.

Meanwhile...

Cooper had already spread his wings and taken flight.

In the blink of an eye, he reached one of the pirate ships.

Hovering above its bow...

He released an overwhelming killing intent.

"Tch..."

The pirate captain glared back.

His eyes widened.

A blade suddenly flashed through space toward Cooper’s head.

"Caw! "

Cooper cried out.

With one powerful flap of both wings—

A razor-sharp hurricane erupted.

The gale twisted into a colossal tornado that tore toward the ship.

"W-What?!"

The pirate captain’s face turned pale.

He instantly disappeared from the bow, using his Devil Fruit ability to leap elsewhere.

The tornado struck.

The pirate ship was shredded apart...

As effortlessly as slicing through cake.

The pirates who had been preparing for battle were swallowed whole.

BOOM!

Moments later...

The ship exploded into countless fragments.

"Caw! "

(Hawk King’s Blade Storm!)

Hovering proudly in the sky, Cooper admired his own handiwork.

A year’s worth of relentless training...

Had finally borne fruit.

During that year...

He had conquered every creature on Rusukaina.

Aside from Arthur...

He had become the undisputed king of the island.

His strength had advanced tremendously.

"One attack..."

The captain who had escaped aboard the remaining pirate ship stared in horror.

His face was soaked with sweat.

His own ship had vanished in an instant.

"What just happened, Ayat?!"

The other captain shouted.

"Since when are birds on the Grand Line this terrifying?!"

"Why didn’t you teleport the ship away?"

"How was I supposed to know that hawk could destroy it in one hit?"

Ayat looked toward Arthur in the distance.

"If the hawk is that strong..."

"...then how strong is its master?"

"We’re leaving!"

"Retreat, Kevins!"

"Forget that little ship!"

"We came here to find the One Piece!"

Kevins sneered.

"And you want to run because of something this small?"

"If we’re frightened off by the first obstacle we encounter..."

"How are we supposed to claim the One Piece?"

As he spoke...

Iron blades emerged from his body one after another, floating around him.

Nearby...

Cooper landed casually atop a floating plank.

He calmly sipped wine through a straw stuck into a bottle hanging around his neck.

"You don’t get it!"

Ayat shouted.

"Those two are monsters!"

"The hawk destroyed our ship in one attack!"

"And that man can create floating dragons made of ice!"

"We can’t beat them!"

A dragon’s roar echoed across the sea.

Arthur raised one hand.

The tiny dragons expanded rapidly during flight.

Within moments...

Each had grown large enough to swallow an entire pirate ship.

"That’s a dragon!"

"Captain!"

"We should abandon ship!"

"What kind of place is the Grand Line?!"

"We’ve barely arrived and we’re already facing monsters like this?!"

Crew members began diving overboard one after another.

Before the battle had even begun...

The crew had already collapsed.

Kevins pointed his flying swords—not at Arthur—

But at his own fleeing men.

"You pathetic cowards!"

"If you’re so afraid of dying..."

"I’ll kill you first!"

The ice dragons crashed into the ship.

The vessel exploded apart.

Both captains escaped into the air, standing atop flying swords.

"Stop, Kevins!"

Ayat shouted.

"They’re our comrades!"

"We don’t need cowards like them!"

"They’ll only become dead weight!"

Arthur watched the scene calmly from his own ship.

Without question...

Both were Devil Fruit users.

He quickly analyzed them.

One possessed instantaneous spatial movement.

The other created and controlled flying swords.

As the fleeing pirates tried desperately to escape...

Kevins’ blades slaughtered them one after another.

The sea slowly turned crimson.

Before Arthur had even attacked...

Corpses already floated everywhere.

"Scatter."

Arthur casually waved a hand.

The ice dragons shattered overhead.

Countless shards rained down like a frozen storm.

He couldn’t help smiling.

The situation amused him.

They had looked...

And sounded...

Like close brothers who had set sail together to chase the same dream.

One still clung to kindness.

The other had already embraced ruthless pragmatism.

How had such completely opposite people ended up traveling the same path?

Arthur found it rather entertaining.

While the two captains dodged the hail...

He calmly froze the ocean beneath them.

A frozen road spread across the sea.

Arthur walked forward.

He hadn’t even drawn his sword.

Simply creating a few ice dragons had been enough.

Already...

The two pirate captains were gasping for breath.

Standing atop their flying swords, they stared down at Arthur in disbelief.

"I heard..."

Ayat whispered.

"...there’s a Marine Vice Admiral who can freeze the air."

"They call him Kuzan."

"Could... could it be him?"

In the blink of an eye...

Two complete pirate crews had been reduced to just two survivors.

Their ships...

Were gone.

"I don’t know..."

Kevins swallowed hard.

"I really don’t know..."

He stared at Arthur below.

"It feels..."

"...like I’m being watched by a wild beast."

"That expressionless bastard..."

"...with that faint smile..."

"He’s a monster."

"It feels like a wild beast has its eyes on me..."

Kevins stared at Arthur, his voice trembling.

"That expressionless bastard with that faint smirk..."

"...he’s a monster."

"Then you control the flying swords, and I’ll give them my Jump-Jump power!"

Ayat shouted.

"Our combined Devil Fruit technique has never been defeated!"

"Don’t lose your nerve!"

The two immediately began coordinating.

Kevins split his flying blades into dozens of swords.

Ayat continuously imbued them with the power to instantly jump through space.

But...

The entire process was far too slow.

Arthur had already grown impatient.

He lowered his center of gravity.

His left hand rested on Ice Dragon’s scabbard at his waist.

His right hand gripped the hilt.

He quietly watched as more and more steel swords filled the sky.

"Quick Draw Style, Second Form—Returning Wind Slash Wave."

SHING!

Arthur drew his blade.

One slash.

A violent crescent of sword energy instantly pierced through both pirates.

The countless flying swords were thrown into complete disarray by the raging wind.

The two captains instinctively raised their arms to shield themselves.

After a few moments...

They cautiously opened their eyes.

Arthur had already sheathed his sword and was calmly walking back toward his little boat.

"What was that?"

Kevins frowned.

"Was he just bluffing?"

"The sky..."

Ayat’s voice trembled.

"What about the—"

He looked up.

His face instantly turned pale.

The violent slash that had passed through them hadn’t disappeared.

It had split apart...

Transforming into countless visible flying slash waves suspended overhead.

Arthur stepped aboard his boat without looking back.

"You’re frogs in a well who just set sail."

"Consider this a lesson paid for with your lives."

The instant Ice Dragon fully slid back into its sheath—

The sky collapsed.

Countless slashing waves rained down like a meteor shower.

Their screams lasted less than two seconds.

Blade after blade pierced their bodies.

They were carved into countless pieces before disappearing into the deep sea.

Arthur let out a slow breath after sheathing his sword.

Without turning around, he said,

"And one more thing..."

"I’m not Kuzan."

"I’m something far more terrifying."

A moment later, Cooper landed back on deck.

The two silently breathed in the thick scent of blood drifting across the sea.

"Ku?"

(Were they just too weak? We didn’t even use Haki, Arthur.)

"They were frogs in a well."

Arthur looked ahead.

"Let’s keep moving."

"If possible..."

"I’d like to save Bullet without putting ourselves at unnecessary risk."

The small boat continued sailing...

As though nothing had happened.

After a full year of training...

Arthur’s swordsmanship...

His techniques...

Even his physical strength...

Had all advanced dramatically.

Every attack he made was cleaner.

Every movement more decisive.

Combined with the power of absolute frost...

Against anyone of comparable strength—or weaker—

He had become extraordinarily difficult to defeat.

One Day Later — New World, Goddess Islands Waters

Across the vast sea...

Countless ships fled the surrounding islands.

Only a handful of Marine warships continued sailing toward one particular island.

"Damn those Marines!"

"They launched a Buster Call just because of one former Roger Pirate!"

"Stay away from Klaie Island!"

"Bullet’s already turned the whole place into ruins!"

BOOM!!

An explosion thundered across the sea.

A Marine warship flew through the air before crashing into the ocean.

"It’s starting again!"

"It’s all because he slaughtered too many Marines!"

"We finally found a decent place to settle down!"

After learning a Buster Call was underway...

The pirates living throughout the region fled as quickly as they could.

Then...

A small sailing ship suddenly descended from the sky.

Arthur stood steadily at the bow.

Looking down at the fleeing pirates below, he shouted dramatically,

"Time for a grand entrance!"

SPLASH!

The boat slammed into the sea.

Within seconds...

It completely sank beneath the waves.

"Caw! !"

(This was just an ordinary boat! Of course it couldn’t survive that! Arthur, you idiot!)

Cooper screeched angrily from Arthur’s shoulder.

Arthur scratched his head awkwardly.

"I thought it’d be like Garp’s dramatic entrances..."

Stepping into the air...

He used Geppo (Moonwalk) to sprint toward a nearby island.

The moment he landed...

All he saw was barren yellow earth.

BOOM!

A tremendous shockwave erupted from deeper inland.

A Marine officer was blasted clear off the island and sent flying out over the ocean.

"...That’s definitely him."

Arthur calmly walked inland.

Large numbers of Marines were charging toward the battlefield.

Even pirates seeking to challenge Bullet had joined the siege.

Everyone...

Was attacking the same man.

"Ku..."

(That officer flew really high...)

Cooper watched the Marine disappear into the distance before finally splashing into the sea.

Arthur surveyed the battlefield.

"So this isn’t the Buster Call force itself."

"These are just New World Marine units trying to stop him from escaping..."

"...plus a few pirate crews that don’t know their own limits."

Looking at the wreckage scattered across the coastline...

Arthur estimated the losses.

Assuming twenty billion Berries’ worth of warships...

The Marines had already lost well over a hundred billion.

Even pirate ships costing around one hundred million Berries each littered the shoreline.

The Marines really are willing to spend.

Entering farther inland...

Arthur and Cooper climbed onto the mast of a wrecked Marine battleship.

From hundreds of meters away...

They silently observed the battlefield.

There stood Douglas Bullet.

Wearing nothing more than a white tank top, black military trousers, combat boots, and leather gauntlets...

He smashed every Marine who rushed him aside with overwhelming force.

"We can’t let him continue slaughtering innocent lives!"

The Marines continuously threw more soldiers into the fight.

Their strategy was simple.

Wear Bullet down through sheer numbers.

But...

He resembled an unstoppable beast.

A killing machine that never tired.

Arthur sat cross-legged atop the mast.

The sea breeze rustled his black cloak.

No one noticed his presence.

"Listen carefully, Cooper."

"When the fighting starts..."

"Don’t get involved."

"Just destroy a few Marine warships."

"Ku."

(Got it...)

Arthur nodded.

"We trained for an entire year."

"Our return has to be overwhelming."

"We’ll crush challengers..."

"Pirate crews..."

"And the Super Rookies."

Cooper silently watched Bullet continue battering Marines through the ruins below.

Even after suffering enormous casualties...

The Marines kept advancing without fear.

Because Bullet’s crimes...

Were unprecedented.

He killed everyone he encountered.

He spared no one.

Even pirates...

Should possess at least some respect for life.

Everyone had their own code.

Their own principles.

But Bullet...

After losing Roger—the one man he sought to surpass—

Had transformed into nothing more than a monster.

Arthur rested Ice Dragon across his knees.

"Then..."

"The Four Emperors..."

He paused.

"No."

"Three Emperors."

"Roger is dead."

"I killed Captain John myself."

"Wang Zhi and Silver Axe never inherited the title..."

"So I suppose the Marines no longer consider them worthy."

Watching Bullet surrounded by endless Marines...

Arthur couldn’t help recalling his own past.

Back then...

He had struggled every day simply to survive.

Constantly evading Marine pursuit.

But now...

Things were different.

He looked down at Ice Dragon.

He hadn’t come here to stop Bullet’s massacre.

He had come...

To save him.

Perhaps...

Bullet might still prove useful in the future.

Though judging from his current state...

The man had clearly gone insane.

Trying to save him would probably end in a fight.

Bullet battled from daylight until dusk.

From the center of the island all the way to the shoreline.

Even after destroying countless warships...

His bloodlust remained unsatisfied.

"ROGER!!"

Standing on the coast...

Bullet roared toward the sea.

Far beyond the horizon...

More than a dozen gigantic battleships slowly approached.

The Buster Call fleet.

Led personally by Fleet Admiral Kong.

Without hesitation...

The fleet opened fire.

Countless shells rained down upon the island.

Explosions engulfed the battlefield.

Yet none of it disturbed Arthur.

He remained seated atop the ruined warship...

Watching the battle as though enjoying a play.

Off Klaie Island

The Buster Call fleet stopped roughly a hundred meters offshore.

Rather than land immediately...

They bombarded the island relentlessly.

"RAAAAH!!"

Bullet seized the wreck of a nearby ship with his bare hands.

He hurled it toward the fleet.

Before it could crash—

A figure leapt from one of the battleships.

BOOM!

One punch.

The massive wreck exploded into splinters.

Fleet Admiral Kong descended from the sky.

His eyes locked onto Bullet roaring from the shore.

"Soru."

Kong vanished.

His feet kicked through the air at incredible speed as he shot toward the island.

The tremendous shockwave from his approach swept across the battlefield.

Arthur’s black cloak fluttered violently.

He simply continued watching.

The Fleet Admiral himself...

Had entered the battle.

That could only mean one thing.

The true fight...

Was about to begin.

What did it mean for the Fleet Admiral of the Marines to personally lead the operation?

It meant this was more than a manhunt.

It was a battle to uphold the Marines’ image as the protectors of justice.

Douglas Bullet had spent the past two years slaughtering indiscriminately.

If the Marines failed to respond decisively...

Then countless civilians across the seas would begin to question whether justice truly existed.

For Fleet Admiral Kong to take the field himself demonstrated just how seriously the Marines regarded the Bullet Incident.

It was also a message to the world—

The Marines would deal with this threat.

On the shore of Klaie Island...

Fleet Admiral Kong stood face-to-face with Bullet.

The Justice coat draped over his shoulders billowed in the sea breeze as he glared at the giant pirate.

Though Kong stood nearly three meters tall...

He looked almost small before Bullet’s massive five-meter frame.

"Why?"

Kong demanded.

"Why slaughter innocent civilians?"

"What grudge could they possibly have against you, Douglas Bullet?"

"...Fleet Admiral."

Bullet recognized him immediately.

And he hated him.

The Kingdom of Galzburg had endured endless wars because of the World Government and the Marines.

In his eyes...

They were the source of everything.

"So Roger took you in..."

Kong said coldly.

"That only proves even Roger could misjudge someone’s character."

"I wonder why the Roger Pirates ever accepted a man like you."

"Enough!"

The instant Roger’s name was mentioned...

Rage exploded inside Bullet.

"You government lapdogs!"

He charged straight at Kong.

Their fists collided.

A brutal hand-to-hand battle erupted across the shoreline.

The island shook beneath the force of every exchange.

Hidden amid the bombardment...

Arthur silently watched every movement.

Every punch.

Every shift in footing.

Every breath.

Bullet and Kong were fighting on completely equal terms.

Even Arthur couldn’t hide his surprise.

Over the past two years...

Bullet had wandered the seas alone.

Training.

Fighting.

Testing himself against one powerful opponent after another.

To reach this level...

His talent truly bordered on the extraordinary.

Offshore...

Vice Admirals Gion and Tokikake ordered the Marine fleet to spread out and completely encircle the island.

Against Bullet...

The Marines had committed only their strongest forces.

The Fleet Admiral.

The Hero of the Marines.

Their greatest officers.

Because they had to show the world...

That the Marines possessed the strength to stop a monster like Douglas Bullet.

"So noisy..."

Arthur muttered.

He lazily plugged one ear with a finger while explosions echoed across the island.

Every cannonball that landed near him...

Instantly froze into solid spheres of ice before dropping harmlessly to the ground.

"Ku..."

(Arthur... I spotted that afro-haired guy who tied you to the execution platform.)

Cooper stared toward the distant fleet.

On one of the battleships stood Sengoku.

Dressed in a black suit beneath his Justice coat...

Standing beside the Hero of the Marines, Garp.

Seeing him...

Cooper couldn’t help feeling angry.

That was the man who had shattered the peaceful life he and Arthur once shared...

The man who had ultimately turned Arthur into what he was today.

Arthur quietly looked toward Sengoku.

His face remained expressionless.

There wasn’t even a trace of hostility.

"Stay calm."

"Our priority is keeping ourselves alive..."

"And raising this billion-Berry bounty a little higher."

As for whether he could actually rescue Bullet...

Even Arthur wasn’t confident.

Garp.

Sengoku.

Kong.

Any two of them together had once been capable of confronting the entire Roger Pirates.

To prevent Bullet from escaping...

The Marines had committed an unimaginable amount of manpower and resources.

No matter the cost...

They intended to throw him into prison.

To prove to the entire world that justice still prevailed.

Arthur knew the chances of successfully saving Bullet and recruiting him in the future were slim.

But surviving...

That, he had complete confidence in.

"Let’s move."

"They still haven’t noticed us."

"We’ll watch from that hillside."

Even facing the strongest Buster Call force imaginable...

Arthur remained completely at ease.

During the past year...

His physical strength had remained roughly the same.

But his swordsmanship...

His techniques...

His understanding of the sword...

Had all reached an entirely new realm.

His heart no longer wavered.

No matter the circumstances...

His mind remained as calm as still water.

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