One Piece: The Arm of Fate

"These are the exact words Sengoku asked me to pass on."

Garp pinched his chin. "Oh wait, no, I think those were the Five Elders' original words, and Sengoku just passed them on."

"Then it looks like they've made a mistake."

Shano said calmly, "When have I ever sailed this sea in secret?"

The boy pointed at the End behind him, the white flag fluttering in the wind.

"See that, old man?"

"What?" Garp laughed. "So it turns out you never even flew a pirate flag!"

"Why are you pretending to be stupid?"

Shano grinned. "If I really did something pirate-like, would you still be talking to me like this? But if I signed the Seven Warlords of the Sea agreement, I'd be loud and proud—I'd truly become one of those so-called 'big pirates.'"

Shichibukai?

What benefit was there in being a Shichibukai?

Was it just to remove the bounty, or to gain that 'legal right to plunder' that so many pirates dreamed of?

Screw that!

To become a lapdog of the World Government for that stinking golden plaque in the sky?

To take orders, spill blood, maybe even sacrifice himself for them?

He might as well have gone with Garp back to Mt. Korpo and joined the Navy!

He'd probably be at least a Vice Admiral by now!

"Speaking of which, old man."

The young man lifted his eyes and stared into Garp's:

"Do Sengoku and the other senior officers at Navy Headquarters actually know that I'm not a pirate at all?"

Garp was silent for a moment, then sighed:

"To the higher-ups… sometimes, saving face matters more than the truth."

"Is that so?"

Shano laughed and threw the document right back at him. "Then take this piece of trash with you. Also, pass along a message: if they want to take away my right to 'sail freely' on this sea—then go ahead and try!"

"Ohh…"

Garp took the document and rubbed his face. "This is a real headache. How am I supposed to report this when I get back? Although, I kind of expected you'd say that..."

Still, he glanced at Shano again, unwilling to give up:

"You really don't want to sign?"

"No."

"I brought a few bags of top-quality tea. What if I give you two bags?"

"..." Three black lines appeared on Shano's forehead.

"I know, I know, just kidding, hahahaha!"

Garp stood up laughing and tore the document into pieces. The snowflake-like scraps fluttered in the sea breeze.

"Then keep sailing this sea, boy! Let me see just how far you can go on this path!"

He strode toward the dog-head warship. Bogart immediately came over and draped a fresh cloak of justice over him.

Shano still sat there, watching Garp's back through the drifting pieces of paper.

"Oh, right."

Garp suddenly turned around, scratching his head. "Almost forgot—Sengoku's order was, if the negotiation failed, I was to arrest you on the spot."

"I don't have any strength left."

Shano spread his hands. "But if you still want to go another round, I'll stick with you till the end."

"Hahahahaha!!!"

Garp laughed heartily and waved his hand. "Don't joke. I even used the Tyrant's power just now and still couldn't take you down, could I?"

He turned and walked back to the warship, waving with his back to Shano:

"That's it! I'll just say I didn't find anyone! The sea's so big anyway—getting lost is normal!"

The dog-head warship slowly sailed away. On the deck, Navy soldiers still looked at the shattered ice field in shock and fear.

Bogart stood next to Garp, looking worried. He whispered:

"Mr. Garp… is it really okay to leave just like this?"

"What could go wrong?"

Garp took out a bag of senbei and spoke casually, "The kid's right—he's not a pirate. Why should he sign some dumb Shichibukai agreement?"

"But the Five Elders..."

"Who cares about them?"

Garp shoved senbei into his mouth and mumbled, "I don't have what it takes anyway. If those old geezers really want to do something, they can come catch him themselves!"

Huh?

Wait a second.

Garp suddenly realized something felt off. He reached up and touched his bald head.

Where was his dog-head hat?

Looking confused, he searched around. He clearly remembered that earlier in the fight, he'd pulled the hat off because it blocked his vision, and stuffed it in his trouser pocket.

This scene felt familiar…

Bogart's heart tightened. He quickly reached up to touch his own head.

Phew—fortunately.

His hat was still there.

...

Meanwhile, aboard the End—

Nojiko looked at the departing warship and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, what should we do next?"

Even though she expected it, seeing her brother reject the Shichibukai invitation so firmly—it was still so cool!

That was a position countless people would kill to have!

Looking across the entire Grand Line, how many people could do that?

You really are my brother!

But of course, the World Government won't take being humiliated like this lightly. The future retaliation will be fiercer than ever...

However, her question wasn't answered.

Because at this moment, Shano—who appeared to be changing clothes with Nami's help—was actually staring intently at the system panel in front of him.

[You sacrificed Garp's dog-head hat and received 3,800 points]

[Remaining points: 27,000]

How much was the dog-head hat he sacrificed back in Goa Kingdom worth again?

If he remembered correctly… wasn't it 4,000?

So why was this one worth 200 less?

Thinking it over, the only explanation was—Garp must have had a deeper emotional bond with the previous hat.

Yeah, that made sense.

Shano shrugged and closed the system panel, completely forgetting there was another person he could fleece—Bogart.

But there was nothing he could do.

Back when they first met on Mt. Korpo, the faint sword aura coming off Bogart was sharp as a blade. Shano didn't dare underestimate him. He'd even borrowed Bogart's hat to check its value.

But now?

Time had passed. Their strength was no longer on the same level.

Though Shano had used his Observation Haki to scan the ship, Bogart—who rarely made an appearance—had already been classified as 'not a threat.'

So Shano completely forgot the guy existed.

"Brother? Brother!" Nojiko raised her voice.

"Huh?"

Shano snapped out of it and looked at her.

"What should we do? Obviously, we eat. I'm starving."

He touched his flat stomach and smiled. "After lunch, we'll do what we always do—continue our adventure!"

He led the way toward the dining room. The rest of the crew smiled and followed behind.

"Why do I get the feeling you're extra happy, Nami?" Smoker asked, walking behind with a cigar in his mouth.

"Obviously!"

Nami rolled her eyes and stretched lazily, clearly relieved.

"I was most scared my brother would actually agree to sign that contract. If he became a Shichibukai, wouldn't my bounty be stuck at 80,000 Baileys?"

"That's not guaranteed. Just because it didn't work out doesn't mean your bounty goes up," Smoker said calmly.

Nami instantly froze in anger:

"Waaaaah! Smoker, you jerk! I'm gonna kill you!"

"Good luck. You don't even know Armament Haki. You can't touch me."

"I don't need Haki! I'll burn you to death with fire!"

"I've never heard of that. Smoke suppresses fire, doesn't it?"

"Nonsense! Fire beats smoke!"

"Nope. Smoke beats fire."

Their argument filled the corridor with laughter and noise, dispelling the earlier tension in an instant.

Only Nuomizi trailed behind them, jumping again and again, trying to get everyone's attention—

Hey! Look at me, look at me!

Because I want to become stronger and protect my master sooner, I've completed my first evolution!

Now I'm Meowth!

Unfortunately, its height was too short.

Even after evolving, it was still only 30 to 40 centimeters tall—barely past Nami's knees when it jumped.

No one noticed it at all.

———

Holy Land, Mariejois.

In Pangaea Castle, a CP0 agent in a white coat knelt on one knee, sweating as he reported.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was heavy.

"He rejected it?"

The blond-haired Five Elder, Shepard, crushed the teacup in his hand with a grim face:

"This is the Seven Warlords invitation that so many pirates crave. And we even offered better terms than usual. Even then, he refuses to sign?"

"Does he look down on the title of Shichibukai?"

Nasu Juro, holding a demon sword, said coldly: "It seems we underestimated this boy's ambition."

"Where's Garp?" asked Marcus Maz, the white-haired elder with a long beard. "If the agreement failed, why didn't he take the kid down?"

"We fought," the CP0 agent answered quickly. "But in the end, the kid escaped. According to intel, Garp chased him for a whole day and night, but got lost in the sea and let him slip away."

The Five Elders frowned.

"Useless old man."

Satan sneered. "He used to chase Roger across heaven and earth. Now he can't even catch an 18-year-old?"

"Even if Garp's strength has faded with age, it's still formidable. This just means the boy is stronger than expected."

Nasu Juro narrowed his eyes. "Or like Sengoku said, Garp has an old bond with the boy and let him go on purpose."

"That old man..."

Satan's face darkened further. Thinking about Garp's refusal to become an Admiral made him angrier.

He turned to the CP0 agent:

"What's Shano's bounty now?"

"Five hundred and forty million Baileys," the agent replied.

"Not enough! He killed two Shichibukai in a row and escaped both Akainu and Garp."

"This bounty doesn't match his threat level at all!"

Satan stood up and ordered coldly:

"Notify Navy HQ—immediately raise the bounty! And submit new candidates to replace the two vacant Shichibukai seats. We must not upset the balance of the sea."

"Yes, Saint Satan!"

———

Navy Headquarters.

Heavy rain poured down, dark clouds smothering Marineford.

Since the news came in that Shano rejected the Shichibukai contract, the whole fortress had been gloomy.

"Yes, Marshal, I understand. Please rest assured."

Senior Staff Officer Brannew put down the Den Den Mushi and tapped his desk.

He looked around. The other officers had stopped working and were watching him.

"The situation is worse than expected. The top dogs at Mariejois are furious. They've ordered us to revise the bounty list immediately."

Brannew stood and said firmly:

"Call the rest of the staff. We're holding a meeting now! I want a full combat power report within the hour. And a new bounty list within two!"

———

In the New World, on an unknown island.

Morgans was pacing behind his desk, annoyed, sipping coffee.

"The results are in, President!"

The door slammed open. A suited deputy burst in, panting:

"Shano rejected the Shichibukai offer! The Navy higher-ups are furious! A new wanted poster's out!"

"Rejected?!"

Morgans snatched the file. "Let me see!"

As he read, his eyes locked on the new bounty.

Clang!

His coffee cup fell, splashing brown across his snowy feathers.

But the World Economic News president didn't even notice—his beak stretched wide in a delighted grin.

"Yihahaha! Now this is what I call big news! Front page headline, enough to shake the Grand Line!"

The article practically wrote itself.

Murdering Hanafuda… rejecting the Shichibukai… escaping from Garp…

And finally—Shano's new bounty.

Morgans grabbed his Den Den Mushi and called the printing factory:

"It's me! President Morgans! What? Tomorrow's newspaper is already printing? Stop it now! Throw the current ones away! I'm personally writing tomorrow's front page!"

He returned to his desk, humming excitedly, dipped his feather pen, and without thinking wrote the first two words of the headline:

[Shock—]

———

The next morning.

Morgans was passed out on his desk, ink-stained feathers scattered around him.

Next to his claws sat a freshly dipped pen.

The final front page had already been taken to the printing factory.

The smell of ink filled the air.

Brand new newspapers shot from the presses like snowflakes, bundled up, and loaded into news bird mailbags.

"The first batch is ready!"

"Release the birds! Release them all!"

Countless news birds flapped into the sky, spreading this explosive headline to every corner of the world...

———

The New World.

A grand banquet was underway aboard the Moby Dick.

Celebrating victory over the Beasts Pirates.

Though the Four Emperors usually kept balance, clashes still happened.

This battle was a small-scale example—cadres on both sides clashed.

The Whitebeard Pirates won, cutting off Kaido's claws reaching from Wano, and expanded their turf.

On deck, barrels piled high, fires roared.

Marco raised his glass atop the mast.

"Everyone! For our victory—cheers!"

"OOOHHHH!!!"

Laughter and clinking glasses echoed.

"Gurarara!"

Whitebeard's thunderous laugh rang out as he chugged an entire barrel.

"Kaido's brats are still green! How can they compare to my sons?"

"Dad! You're cheating, drinking a whole barrel alone!" Thatch appeared, snatching the barrel.

"For your health, drink less!"

"Thatch! You killjoy! Give it back!"

"No way!"

Laughter broke out again.

Then—a news bird landed.

"Hey Teach!" Thatch called. "I'm busy—go grab the paper!"

"No problem, Captain!"

Teach grinned, showing missing teeth.

"Hahaha! Little bird, you came just in time. I bet the paper's covering our win!"

He grabbed it, tossed some coins, and patted the bird's head.

But when he opened the paper, his smile froze.

No Whitebeard. No Kaido.

The front page was just a massive wanted poster.

A black-haired boy with a sword, laughing wildly.

And the bold black headline:

"Shocking the Grand Line! Killing Two Shichibukai in a Row! The Most Arrogant Pirate—Sword Master Shano! Rejects Shichibukai Offer, Infuriates World Government, Bounty Skyrockets!"

"Hahahaha… this really is…" Teach muttered, eyes gleaming strangely.

"Hey, Teach!" Marco jumped down. "What's wrong?"

When he saw it, his pupils shrank.

"A billion?! Ten hundred million Baileys?! His bounty doubled overnight?!"