~ Support & Read 13 Advanced Chapters on Patreon!
❁❁❁❁
In the three months that Arthur and Shiryu were gone from the world, the seas were thrown into an uproar.
A major event had captured the globe's attention, and everyone—pirate and Marine alike—seemed to have forgotten all about the missing Thunder Emperor.
The sea, after all, is a fickle beast. No single event can hold its attention forever.
——————————————
In the great turning point between the old era and the new, the Supernovas had finally made their move, launching challenges against the great emperors of the past and present.
Following the humiliating defeat of Gecko Moria and Mad Treasure at the hands of the Thunder God Pirates three months prior, their contemporaries, Mihawk and Crocodile had set their sights on the Golden Lion and Whitebeard, respectively.
The results were predictable.
Both suffered the first crushing defeats of their lives, swatted aside as if they were nothing.
Even with the Golden Lion's power in severe decline and Whitebeard's body beginning to show its age, they were not men who could be defeated so easily.
Some men learn from failure. They see their own shortcomings and use the humiliation to forge themselves into something stronger, vowing to one day avenge their pride. Others are broken by a single defeat, their ambition extinguished, and they fade into a lifetime of mediocrity.
No one knew if these two "arrogant fools," as the world was now calling them, would ever recover.
The gap between them and the men at the top was a chasm of pure despair. Only those who had stood at the edge of that abyss and stared into it could truly understand how soul-crushing it was. It was a gap that could not be bridged by effort alone.
It was like staring up at an impossible peak.
In contrast, the other two Supernovas, Donquixote Doflamingo and Bartholomew Kuma, had been completely silent. They seemed to have vanished from the world stage.
Mihawk and Crocodile at least had the guts to challenge the emperors. What right do these two have to call themselves the shining stars of the new era if they don't even dare to make a move?
Only a select few knew the truth.
In the three years since the war at Sabaody, Doflamingo had not been idle. He had been consolidating his underworld connections, finally weaving together the resources and contacts from his time in the North Blue and Paradise into a New World empire.
The moment his broker network was complete, he had begun a relentless hunt for Devil Fruits to sell to the Thunder God Pirates.
As for Bartholomew Kuma—a man known for his ruthless slaughter of other pirates, a man many considered a kindred spirit to Shiryu—his actions had shocked everyone.
At some point, the cold-blooded killer had started carrying a Bible, and then, slowly, he had faded from the public eye.
Perhaps, if Arthur had heard this news, he would have understood.
Monkey D. Dragon, the former Admiral candidate, had finally realized that the World Government was irredeemably corrupt. To build the ideal nation he envisioned, he had begun to gather like-minded companions, to found the "Revolutionary Army," and to betray the Marines.
Kuma's strange behavior… perhaps he had met with Dragon in secret. Perhaps he had been swayed by his ideals.
The only reason Kuma was called the "Tyrant," the only reason a pirate would so brutally hunt other pirates, was because his hometown had been wiped out by them before he set sail.
He was a quiet man. He rarely spoke. And only a man like that has the time to truly contemplate the essence of things.
Why were there so many pirates on the seas? Some were chasing freedom, dreams, adventure. But most… were simply trying to survive.
The Celestial Dragons, who produced nothing, exploited the common people, taking what they wanted, killing whom they pleased. And the World Government was nothing more than their lapdog, powerless to stop them.
It was because Kuma had seen through this that he had grown so disillusioned with the world. And it was because of this that, when he met Dragon, they had seen eye to eye.
——————————————
Drum Kingdom.
At the peak of the highest, eternally snow-covered mountain, in the castle of Dr. Kureha.
The underground operating room.
No one had ever heard of a surgery that took three months. For three long months, the procedure had continued, and now, it had finally reached its last step.
In truth, the "atypical body" modification had been completed in the first two months. With no outside interference, the process had gone smoothly.
The final month had been spent with Arthur submerged in a nutrient fluid, allowing his body to adapt to its new form.
The modification itself had been a horrifying sight. To be fully conscious, to watch as Kureha's scalpel cut his own body open, to see her manipulating his internal organs…
At the final stage, he had even felt his skull being cut open. Arthur didn't know how he had survived it without going mad. His willpower alone had carried him through.
The last step was a delicate, microscopic procedure, like a complex scientific experiment. One wrong move, and it would all end in death.
But Kureha, for all her age, was no fool. Her hands were steady. She had made no mistakes.
The surgery was a success.
——————————————
Inside a massive glass container filled with a translucent, pale green nutrient fluid, Arthur floated, his body curled into a fetal position. Tubes snaked from his body, and an oxygen mask covered his face. His eyes were tightly closed.
Kureha, Shiryu, and Hiriluk all stood by, watching the final step.
This "atypical body" surgery was nothing short of a miracle. How many people had dreamed of eating a second Devil Fruit, only to find it impossible?
If this procedure were ever revealed to the world, the resulting uproar would be even greater than when Pure Gold was discovered two hundred years ago.
Pure Gold only offered something close to eternal life. And countless men on the seas scoffed at the idea of immortality. Only those who were already in positions of great power, or those who were terrified of death, cared for such a thing.
But the atypical body modification?
A terrifying surgery that could grant a man immense power—that was something that would drive every ambitious man in the world into a frenzy.
With power, everything else—wealth, influence, fame—would follow. And those were the things that pirates truly chased when they set out to sea.
"Tap, tap, tap."
Kureha knocked on the glass, waking Arthur from his slumber. "How does your body feel? Any discomfort?"
Arthur slowly opened his eyes. A dazzling light shot out from them. He shook his head, indicating that everything was normal.
"And your abilities?" Kureha asked, a faint smile on her lips. "Can you still use your Devil Fruit?"
"Zzt!"
A flicker of purple lightning flashed and then vanished. Arthur gave a slight nod from within the container, a look of excitement on his face.
Everything was normal. His abilities were still there. And his body, far from being weakened, felt even stronger than it had before.
It felt as if it could now contain even more power.
"Congratulations," Kureha said, her voice a low, triumphant declaration. "You have successfully become… Atypical."
❁❁❁❁
~ 13 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)