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"Huh? Arthur is being awfully quiet today. Didn't say a word."
"Hahaha! Probably still reeling from the humiliation."
Arthur ignored their chatter, focusing inwardly. The pirates, realizing their jabs were ineffective, eventually shut up.
"Bararara! What was that? Someone used Conqueror's Haki?"
Byrnndi World, jolted awake by the burst of Haki, asked.
"Hahaha! You missed the show, World. Some World Government lapdogs came to humiliate Arthur. The kid's still sulking," the bald old man said lazily.
"World Government?" A flicker of hatred ignited in World's eyes.
He'd been betrayed by his own crew, manipulated by the World Government, and thrown into this hellhole. It was a grudge he would never forget.
If he ever escaped, he'd build a massive cannon, amplify its power with his More More Fruit—and level Mary Geoise—a fitting revenge.
"Arthur, what did you do to earn a visit from the World Government?" World's interest in Arthur, a fellow victim of their machinations, grew.
"Stole the Heavenly Tribute. Got ambushed by the Marines on Sabaody. Captured." Arthur glanced at the massive block of ice encasing World, his tone casual, then closed his eyes again.
World's eyes widened. "You stole the Heavenly Tribute? Are you crazy?"
Even at his peak, he wouldn't have dared to cross the World Government so blatantly. The power of that 800-year-old institution was terrifying—something only those who'd faced it truly understood.
Now—a prisoner with nothing to lose—he fantasized about revenge. But before, he wouldn't have been so reckless. Despite his moniker, "World Destroyer," his recklessness paled in comparison to Arthur's.
"You're lucky, kid. Crossing the Celestial Dragons and not getting executed…"
Arthur's eyes snapped open. "Making enemies of the strongest is the only way to live. You wouldn't understand."
"World, if you were still out there, I'd show you what a real thrill is…"
"The sea? Thrills? Bararara…" World's laughter shook his icy prison, the block of ice threatening to crack.
"If I ever get out of here, I'll have to experience these…thrills."
"It's an addiction. Once you taste it, you'll never want to let go." A smile touched Arthur's lips.
Time, in Eternal Hell, crawled by.
The jailers brought their daily rations, collecting the previous day's trays.
Arthur ate with a renewed sense of purpose. This might be his last meal in Infinite Hell.
Night fell, plunging the already dim prison into absolute darkness.
In the inky blackness, the snores of the prisoners echoed, punctuated by the faint, rhythmic scratching of metal against metal. Arthur, his eyes gleaming in the darkness, carefully worked the small saw against his Seastone cuff.
Scratch, scratch, scratch…
The sound, barely audible above the snores, grew faster as Arthur's excitement mounted.
This saw, made of some unknown material, cut through the Seastone with surprising ease.
Arthur wasn't surprised. Vegapunk, the man who'd pioneered Seastone technology, surely knew its weaknesses. He could create materials specifically designed to counteract it. The man was a genius, a polymath—researching Seastone, gigantification serums, lineage factors, and even advanced weaponry.
His reputation as a scientist 500 years ahead of his time wasn't just hype. It was an acknowledgment by the World Government, an institution that had stood for 800 years.
Less than ten minutes later—
One cuff snapped. Arthur rested for a few minutes, then started on the other.
Byrnndi World, awakened by boredom, had been observing with his Haki. He was ecstatic, his voice rising in excitement.
"Shut up!" Arthur hissed. He was so close. If he was interrupted now, he'd never escape.
Ten minutes to saw through a cuff. How long would it take for the guards to reach Level 6? A few minutes, at most, by lift.
"Alright! Alright!" World's voice trembled with excitement. He saw a glimmer of hope, a chance for freedom. Arthur's promise of a favor wasn't just empty words.
Scratch, scratch, scratch…
Time stretched, each second an eternity. Arthur, drenched in sweat, had never felt so exhausted, not even during the Sabaody ambush.
Ten minutes later—another click. The second cuff fell to the floor, followed by Arthur's triumphant laughter.
Suppressed lightning erupted, blue light illuminating Eternal Hell, turning the darkness into day.
"What's all that noise?!"
"Huh? Arthur? He overcame the Seastone?!"
The prisoners woke one by one, staring at Arthur, his body wreathed in lightning.
"Take me with you! Let me out!" The prisoners roared, their excitement uncontainable.
Arthur stretched, testing his limbs. He still felt the effects of the poison. He wasn't at full strength, but he could move. The poison would flush out of his system in a day or two, as long as he didn't ingest any more.
Eternal Hell was in chaos.
"SHUT UP!!" Arthur roared, his voice echoing through the prison, a wave of Conqueror's Haki, potent and undeniable, silencing the prisoners.
Two months in Eternal Hell, fueled by an unwavering belief in his eventual escape, his spirit unbroken, his will hardened—his Conqueror's Haki had finally awakened.
The force of it—like a hurricane, swept through Level 6, silencing the chaos.
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit…and Conqueror's Haki?"
Byrnndi World was impressed.
While such potential wasn't uncommon in the New World, the raw power of Arthur's newly awakened Haki was remarkable.
"Surveillance Den Den Mushi?"
Arthur looked up, spotting the surveillance snails in every corner of Eternal Hell.
Lightning danced on his fingertips. He slammed his hand down, an invisible electromagnetic pulse rippling outwards.
"Electromagnetic Pulse!"
Sparks flew from the surveillance snails. One by one, they went dark—fried by Arthur's improvised attack.
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