The i old man was lifted into the air by Arthur, a sp sending several teeth flying. Only two remained, dangling precariously in his mouth.

  Meeting Arthur's icy gaze, the old man's bravado evaporated. He—almost pissed himself in fear.

  "Speak! Where on Birka do they carry out the executions—the Cloud Drifting? Tell me everything, and you might live!"

  "P-please—Mercy!" The old man stammered, his body trembling untrolbly. "Cloud Drifting is usually performed on this beach. The vilge chief gives the order, and the whole vilge votes—"

  He was desperate to reveal everything he knew. He even fessed to peeking at the vilge chief's wife bathing when he was a boy. He spilled his guts, fearing another beating.

  "Oh? You're being cooperative." A cold smile touched Arthur's lips.

  Some people were like this. Polite words were wasted on them. Only when they were truly terrified would they reveal everything they knew.

  In this world where might makes right and ws were ent, violence couldn't solve every problem. But without violeno problem could be solved.

  "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare your pathetic life. But if you dare to reveal that I asked you about this—you know the sequences." Arthur sneered.

  Arthur is in a good mood today. He didn't want to jinx it by killing. So he spared the old man.

  If he found the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on this trip, everyone would be happy. If he didn't? He would need lives to quell his fury.

  "Yes, yes, yes!" The old man nodded repeatedly. He scrambled away, running faster than many young men could manage.

  Ign the fleeing old man, who wished he had ara pair of legs, Arthur moved like a phantom, returning from the edge of Birka to where he had stored the Waver.

  This wasn't a search of the shallows. He was heading into the depths of the White-White Sea. He needed something to serve his stamina.

  ...

  B the Waver—Arthur immediately pushed it to maximum speed, heading deep into the White-White Sea.

  His heart pounded intensely at that moment. It was a strange premonition, making him feel that something signifit would happen on this trip.

  His—Observation Haki was growing stronger, arusted his instincts.

  "My dedu 't be wrong. Enel destroyed Birka befoing to Angel Isnd. That means he must have found the—Rumble-Rumble Fruit in the White-White Sea!"

  Arthur narrowed his eyes, letting the sea breeze buffet him. The Waver cut through the waves, leaving Birka further and further behind.

  "Enel is only about seven years old now. If I wait for him to go out to sea himself et punished for some transgression, who knows how long that will take? I don't have that much time to waste here."

  His heart raced. His blood felt like it was boiling. Arthur's premonitioronger.

  Away from Birka, the Waver's speed began to decrease. He sed his surroundings. Although it was misty and visibility wasn't great, he could see that there were no ships in sight.

  Arthur wasn't disced. He took off his shirt, took a deep breath, and jumped directly into the White-White Sea.

  If it wasn't on the surface, it had to be below, or hidden in the mist where his eyes couldn't reach.

  Arthur searched meticulously, almost inch by inot letting any pce go unexamined. If he missed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit due to a moment of carelessness, he would regret it forever.

  Individual power was insignifit. Moreover, Observation Haki couldn't be used to its full potential uer. In the past year, he had sciously trained his ability to dis uer currents. The results weren't remarkable, but they were better than nothing.

  Whehe seawater flowed past an obstacle, Arthur would notice, then take a look, cheg if it was the fruit.

  When immersed in a task, time often flew by.

  The su, and night fell.

  Arthur had been searg all day and still found nothing. But he wasn't disced. He was certain the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was, as he had deduced, hidden in some er of the White-White Sea, waiting for him.

  Because the more he searched, the faster his heart beat. He sidered this a—rudimentary form of Observation Haki's ability to foresee the future.

  One day, the seed would sprout, and his Observation Haki would reach its peak.

  ...

  Further away from Birka, the Sea Beasts in the White-White Sea grew rger, parable in size to the Sea Kings of the Blue Sea. But Arthur wasn't fazed. He didn't even bother with them.

  A year ago, when Arthur was training in the sea, their sudden appearance had startled him. Later, he discovered that these Sea Beasts were all bark and no bite.

  They were like balloons, easily popped with a little force. Their actual bodies were only the size of a palm, not even enough for a mouthful.

  Ign the fierce roars of the Sea Beasts, Arthur y on the Waver, resting for three hours. Then he tinued his search for the fruit.

  One day, two days, three days! Three days in a row, aill came up empty-handed.

  At noon ohird day, the sun hung directly overhead. Sunlight pierced the mist rising from the cloudy sea.

  After three fruitless days of searg, Arthur suddenly noticed something. In the sea about a thousand yards ahead, a huge—multi-story ship had appeared without warning.

  This ship was enormous—with several levels, stretg hundreds of yards long. It was bigger than any ship Arthur had ever seen.

  He couldn't imagine how such a great feat of shipbuilding could be achieved in this world, especially sidering it was made of wood.

  The sudden appearance of the ship was dipidated, filled with a deg aura, etched with the marks of time, and covered in green moss.

  It was silent, like a ghost ship.

  Arthur's breathing quied instantly. His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest. His blood rushed to his head.

  "It has to be here, it has to be here—"

  He roared in his mind. A possessiveness he couldn't expin rose within him. His almost crazed desire for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit made him nearly lose his senses.

  His thirst for power had transformed him from a oner into a—Calg schemer.

  Eagerly, he jumped from the Waver onto the deck of the thirty-foot-tall ship. Pushing open the deg wooden door, Arthur quickly ehe ship's interior.

  ...

  The inside of the ship was, as expected, enormous. It could hold thousands of people, like a cruise ship from his—past life.

  With the door open, light flooded in, revealing a se of utter age. Skeletons littered the floor, making it difficult to find a pce to step.

  The clothes and fine jewelry that hadn't turo dust indicated that these dead people were wealthy and powerful when they were alive.

  Arthur couldn't care less. His eyes were drawn to the chests of gold and jewels at the far end of the hold.

  It wasn't greed that attracted him. It was the half-opened small wooden box in the ter of the gold and jewels. It emitted a dazzling blue light that captivated his soul, like the glow of—lightning itself!