Arthur's Return (4)
This was not Zoro.
The mont his hand touched Arthur's shoulder, it began to lt, instantly transforming into liquid wax that rapidly enveloped him, spreading from his shoulders to the tips of his limbs. Arthur had been taken by surprise, leaving him no opportunity to resist… though in truth, he had no intention of resisting anyway.
He could breathe inside the wax, and he could have freed himself whenever he wished, but he chose to wait. He wanted to know the identity of the bastard who had dared to imprison him, so he left his body motionless and closed his eyes, pretending to be unconscious.
After a while, he felt movent.
The wax copy of Zoro was carrying him, his body completely covered from head to toe. At last, they stopped in an open place on the island—a wide, empty clearing wrapped in a heavy silence. Arthur did not open his eyes; he simply listened.
There were three voices…
Two n and a girl.
"Ohhh? Is this another mber of the stupid Straw Hat crew?"
"Hmmm… who is it? Who is it? Let see!"
"Stop it, you idiot."
Then ca a voice filled with smug satisfaction:
"Well then… let's put him in his place, on my beautiful work of art."
Arthur felt his body thrown aside roughly. Then he sensed the wax copy lting and rging with a man standing before him—a foolish-looking man with the number (3) marked prominently on his head.
Arthur finally opened his eyes.
The entire scene revealed itself around him.
Three other people were restrained by wax around their hands and feet… and he was the only one completely encased from head to toe.
He looked at them one by one.
Zoro…
Nami…
Vivi.
Vivi?
Wasn't she with Luffy just a little while ago? What happened?
Zoro stared at the wax-covered figure beside him, but he could not distinguish any features. Not a single part of a human body was visible.
Nami noticed his puzzled expression.
"What is it, Zoro?"
Zoro frowned.
"I don't know… but this person gives a strange feeling. Familiar… and unfamiliar at the sa ti. That bastard said he's one of our crew, but he's not Usopp… and he's not the curly-browed guy either."
"Then who is it?"
Vivi had recognized him.
At first she couldn't believe her eyes, but her instinct was unmistakable. She knew it was Arthur. Her mouth opened to tell Zoro and Nami, but suddenly she stopped.
The man with the number (3) moved again and began shaping wax once more, absorbed in what he called his "artwork."
A massive wax structure rose before them, composed of three wide, solid layers. Above the third layer stood a tall pillar pierced by a wax spear holding half a pumpkin, topped with several burning candles.
A strange… disgusting sight.
The wax beneath their feet suddenly moved, dragging them forcefully toward the structure before fixing them onto the first level. Their feet were buried deep within the wax, leaving them completely unable to move.
They were placed in order:
Nami… Zoro… Arthur… Vivi.
The wax around Arthur's body slowly began to lt.
His real body appeared.
Zoro and Nami's eyes widened in silent shock.
Nami shouted in disbelief:
"You… you're Arthur?!"
He smiled calmly.
"It's been a long ti, guys. How have you been?"
Zoro laughed—a genuine laugh that ca from the depths of his heart. He wanted to ask him everything: why he had left, why he had disappeared, why he hadn't said anything.
But the ti wasn't right.
He was simply happy… that his crewmate had returned.
As for Nami, she exploded at him:
"Why are you laughing, you idiot?! Arthur, tell ! Where were you? Why did you leave the crew? Why did you co back now? What happened?!"
Arthur smiled as he looked at her.
He knew she wasn't shouting out of anger… but worry.
Sadness… and fear for him.
He chuckled softly and said:
"I'll tell you everything later. For now… would you prefer getting out of here? Or staying until we die and turn into wax?"
The wax man and his companions burst into laughter, unable to believe his calm confidence. They mocked him as if his words were nothing but empty nonsense.
They didn't know…
that he truly could do exactly what he had said.
Before Arthur moved, an angry roar echoed from below.
He looked down.
The fat giant lay sprawled on the ground, completely pinned by wax. Wax spikes pierced his hands and feet, rings encircled his neck and waist, and his feet were embedded in the ground, leaving him utterly unable to move.
Vivi noticed Arthur's expression and spoke in a trembling, angry whisper, explaining what had happened.
How the tall giant had been deceived…
how he had been hindered in a mont of distraction…
and how the fat giant had taken advantage of that mont, delivering a trendous blow that split his comrade's chest from breast to waist.
Then…
how the wax man had taken advantage of the fat giant's emotional collapse and restrained him without resistance.
Vivi's eyes reddened with tears.
She was certain…
that the tall giant had died.
Arthur took a deep breath.
And he felt anger boiling inside his chest.
"If there is one type of person I hate with all my body and soul…
one kind of human I despise more than any villain or creature…
it is the deceiver."
The wax man laughed mockingly.
But Arthur…
smiled.
Then he burst into laughter.
A loud, hysterical, mad laugh.
A laugh that made Nami and Vivi tremble—and frightened even his enemies.
"Why are you laughing, you bastard?! Don't you see you're trapped here?! You'll turn into wax in just—"
Before he could finish his threat…
Arthur suddenly stopped laughing.
In the next instant, he released the aura of death and killing hidden within his body.
The dark aura surged outward like a black flood, covering that entire part of the island. The sensation was suffocating and dense, as if the very air itself had beco saturated with death.
This ti Arthur managed to control it partially.
He did not allow it to touch his companions…
instead pouring its full effect upon his enemies alone.
The wax man and his companions trembled violently, their teeth chattering with terror as they felt their souls being crushed before their bodies.
Zoro smiled calmly.
To him…
everything had already ended.
Arthur raised his right hand, and the Weapon King Bracelet smoothly transford into a black sword—relatively small, pulsing with a dark, bloody aura.
He lifted the sword and struck the wax beneath him.
The wax did not break…
it lted.
It lted as if burned by the fires of the seventh hell—a twisted fla unlike any natural fire. The wax corroded rapidly, retreating from beneath Arthur and his companions' feet and freeing them within monts.
The wax man and his companions trembled at the sight.
Fear filled their hearts.
The wax man tried to flee, but…
at that exact mont, Arthur's body vanished from before everyone's eyes.
They searched for him in vain.
Zoro slowly lifted his head and looked toward the sky.
Arthur was floating there, suspended in the air with terrifying calm—as though the entire world had fallen beneath him.
He pressed the Weapon King Bracelet, returning the sword to its original form before transforming it into a bow.
A dium-sized bow—black, bloodlike, with no arrows.
Arthur pulled the bowstring.
The bow was empty…
but the three fingers pulling the string spread apart, as if gripping three invisible arrows.
He drew his hand back, steadied his stance, and in a single instant—
released the string.
At that very mont, three transparent light arrows ford from the void itself and shot forward at unbelievable speeds.
The first arrow pierced the girl's head, ending her life instantly.
The second pierced the heart of the second man, dropping him silently.
As for the third…
it pierced the wax man's stomach, shattered it from within, and tore through his body from the front until it burst out of his back.
The wax man's body collapsed, mangled and lifeless.
Arthur smiled as if he had done nothing remarkable and returned the bow to the Weapon King Bracelet.
Then, quickly, he picked three nearby fruits and tossed them toward the three corpses.
With ti…
the ordinary fruits transford into Devil Fruits.
From Vivi's earlier explanation, Arthur already knew the details of their powers.
The girl possessed a fruit that allowed her to change her body's weight to anything she wished—even several tons.
The second man possessed one of the strangest and most ridiculous fruits: he could turn his mucus into explosives.
And the third…
was the wax man. There was no need to explain his fruit—its power was obvious to everyone.
While the rest of the crew was busy rescuing the fat giant, the transformation finished.
Arthur took the three Devil Fruits and placed them into storage.
He focused his eyes, trying to sense the remaining energy within the bodies, hoping to absorb it…
but unfortunately, he couldn't.
During the waiting period for the fruits' transformation, their energy had already vanished from their bodies and completely dissipated.
He could not absorb their power during the transformation process, and interfering might have negatively affected the result.
Arthur sighed in annoyance, then left the three corpses behind and walked toward his companions.
Nami stepped forward and stood before him.
"Arthur… there's sothing I want to ask you."
He looked at her calmly.
"Nami, I'll tell you everything later."
She shook her head.
"That's not it. You can forget about that for now. The important thing is that you ca back.
But what I want to ask… might be a little difficult."
Arthur smiled gently as he looked at her, his gaze sincere and free of hesitation.
"Ask for whatever you want.
Even if I can't do it, I'll try with all my strength.
You're my crewmate… and you can ask for anything."
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