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"Hahahaha! My journey…ends here. Too bad I didn't get to say goodbye to Jessica. This Isolation Field came too late." Arthur laughed inwardly, closing his eyes, resigned to his fate.
He had faced too many powerful opponents simultaneously, exhausting his stamina. Against a single foe, he could have fought for days. But against this overwhelming force, his body and spirit were broken.
The Electromagnetic Field Garp had shattered wasn't his usual Electromagnetic Field, but a new technique—[Isolation Field]—he'd developed just moments before, as he fell into the sea.
As he sank into the sea—a desperate idea struck him. He'd made a breakthrough, developing a new application—an Isolation Field, similar to Magneto's, capable of repelling all external forces.
With it, Arthur could survive even the vacuum of space—or the depths of the Ocean.
If he hadn't been so exhausted, unable to maintain the field, Garp's Seastone cuffs wouldn't have worked.
It wasn't that he'd overcome his Devil Fruit weakness, but that the Isolation Field had protected his wrist, preventing the cuffs from making direct contact.
Life-or-death battles were the fastest way to improve—a truth he now understood, but it was too late.
If he'd developed the Isolation Field earlier, they wouldn't have captured him, not even Garp.
The field—like the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, was practically an absolute defense—as long as he had the stamina to maintain it.
"Cough…cough…" Admiral Andre, coughing, slowly deactivated the barrier. His body, wracked with pain, was hunched over.
He'd contained the battle within his barrier, absorbing the devastating shockwaves of attacks capable of destroying islands. Confined within that small, two-hundred-yard space, the strain had been too much.
Blood trickled from his lips. He wouldn't last much longer.
"Admiral Andre…" Tsuru rushed to his side, her face etched with concern, offering support, but he waved her away.
Kuzan and Kizaru, badly injured but mobile, slowly got to their feet.
——
"Wahahaha! Garp, the Marines and the Army joining forces, all for one rookie? That's not like you."
Roger and Rayleigh, who'd been observing the battle from behind a Yarukiman Mangrove, emerged.
Roger, his crimson coat billowing, grinned, revealing a flash of white teeth.
Such a spectacle was sure to draw attention.
And not just from Roger and Rayleigh. Many others, hidden in the distance, had been watching.
"Roger?"
Garp jumped to his feet, his body tensing, Armament Haki flowing, joining Sengoku, Zephyr, and the others in a defensive formation.
"Roger, do we need your permission to arrest pirates?" Tsuru asked coldly.
Everyone was on high alert, their bodies tense. Roger—a long-time enemy of the Marines, was a formidable opponent. If he tried to rescue Arthur, even if he failed, he would inflict heavy casualties.
"Roger, what are you doing here?"
Sengoku's body shimmered with Golden light, ready to transform into his Buddha form. If Roger tried to interfere, he would attack without hesitation.
Roger's mustache twitched.
He ignored Sengoku, turning his attention to Arthur, who lay on the ground, seemingly resigned to his fate. "Kid, want a hand?"
Arthur opened his eyes, his gaze calm, unfazed by his capture. "A hand? And what do I owe you in return?"
There was no such thing as a free lunch.
Arthur didn't believe Roger would risk facing the Marines' strongest forces just out of the goodness of his heart.
Roger grinned—his tone casual. "My crew and I accidentally stumbled onto your territory. One of them, a bit of a kleptomaniac, almost damaged some of the gold plating on your ship."
Arthur laughed, his voice laced with amusement. "A prisoner has no possessions. I might not even See that ship again. So, no thanks. The price is too high."
He refused without hesitation.
He and Roger weren't the same. He wouldn't accept charity, even if it meant his freedom. He'd rather die. As for Buggy damaging his ship? If he survived this, he wouldn't mind testing his lightning against Buggy's "Luck."
Roger, surprised by Arthur's blunt refusal, shrugged. "Suit yourself. Rayleigh, Let's Go."
They vanished without another word, heading back to the coating docks.
"He's actually gone…" The Marines, their Observation Haki confirming Roger's departure, relaxed, the tension easing.
They didn't want to linger.
Garp grabbed Arthur.
Sengoku, Zephyr, Tsuru, Kuzan, Kizaru, and Admiral Andre surrounded him, escorting him back to the Marine base and onto a waiting warship.
——
Out on the sea, a warship carrying some of Marine Headquarters' strongest fighters sailed towards Impel Down.
Arthur, his legs shackled with Seastone cuffs, lay silently in a cage below deck, his expression unreadable.
Garp, Tsuru, and Zephyr stood guard, a clear indication of how seriously they took him.
"Arthur, wouldn't serving the World Government be better than being a ruthless pirate?" Zephyr asked, his voice laced with regret.
Arthur's eyes snapped open. "Hahahaha! Admiral Zephyr, still clinging to your delusions? Death is the only certainty in this world. I lost today because I wasn't strong enough. I accepted that risk when I set sail. I can handle the consequences."
"Surrender? Are you kidding? Kill me or torture me—do whatever you want. Just get it over with." His eyes snapped open, his laughter echoing through the cell.
Surrender wasn't an option.
Arthur would rather die fighting than live on his knees. If he was going to surrender, he would have accepted Roger's offer.
"You're the one who's delusional, Arthur! You have no sense of responsibility! You only seek strength for your own selfish desires."
"You crave thrills, excitement. Your strength is hollow. You don't feel the satisfaction of achievement, only the release of your own chaotic impulses…"
"You've misused your power. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit gave you immense strength. but it robbed you of your respect for the sea."
Zephyr, despite his hatred for pirates, cherished talent.
He poured his grief and frustration into training the next generation of Marines, hoping to guide them away from the path Arthur had chosen.
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