The wind swept across the hilltop, carrying with it the scent of vineyards and aged wine.
Below, the city had fallen into an impossible silence. Thousands of citizens climbed the winding streets toward the overlook. They did not run. They did not shout. They did not brandish weapons or wear expressions of hatred.
They simply walked. Every step landed in perfect unison. Every smile remained warm. Every pair of eyes was fixed on Arthur. It was a sight far more unsettling than any battlefield.
"...Captain." Baccarat felt a chill crawl down her spine.
Arthur stood at the edge of the overlook, Komainu resting loosely in his right hand. His crimson eyes never left the countless figures ascending the hill.
"They're coming," she whispered.
"I know." His answer was calm. Almost too calm.
The synchronized footsteps echoed through the city like the slow beating of a single enormous heart.
Behind Vern, the afternoon breeze carried countless invisible particles of amber mist across the archipelago. To ordinary eyes, the wind appeared completely harmless.
Arthur's Observation Haki revealed otherwise. The vapor flowed through every street with deliberate precision, slipping unnoticed into every breath the citizens took.
"They're still breathing it," Arthur murmured.
"They've been breathing it for years." Vern smiled.
"They don't know fear."
"They don't know hatred."
"They don't know suffering."
" They're finally at peace." His golden eyes drifted toward the approaching crowd.
"No. They've forgotten how to be free." Arthur's expression remained unreadable.
Before Vern could answer, a familiar voice echoed from below.
"Captain!" Everyone turned.
Robin was the first to emerge from one of the stone stairways leading toward the overlook. Law followed close behind, his coat fluttering in the wind. Hancock landed gracefully atop the stone wall bordering the hill. One after another, the remaining members of the ART Pirates arrived. Within moments, the entire crew stood together once more. They had noticed the strange silence spreading across the city long before reaching the hill.
"...They're being controlled." Robin's eyes swept across the thousands of approaching citizens.
"Not their bodies. Their minds." Law's gaze narrowed.
"So that's his ability..." Monet silently observed the invisible mist drifting through the air, though she could sense only fragments of what Arthur had already perceived.
"There are... so many..." Bepo swallowed nervously.
"...They're all coming here." Sugar looked over the endless sea of smiling faces.
Nobody needed to ask why. The answer stood only a few steps away.
Vern.
For a long moment, neither side moved. The wind continued to stir the vineyards. The city remained silent. Then— the first citizen reached the overlook.
An elderly fisherman. His face still carried the same peaceful smile Arthur had seen earlier that day. Without hesitation, he stepped toward Arthur.
Sabo moved first.
His iron pipe swept across the old man's legs with practiced precision. The fisherman collapsed harmlessly onto the grass before Sabo caught him by the shoulder, lowering him gently to the ground.
"He isn't our enemy," Sabo reminded himself more than anyone else.
Another citizen arrived. Then another. Soon dozens reached the hill at once.
"Gigantesco Mano." Robin's hands crossed calmly.
Enormous arms erupted from the earth, gently blocking the advancing crowd without crushing anyone beneath their immense palms.
Law expanded a ROOM around the lower slope.
"Shambles."
Groups of citizens suddenly exchanged places, finding themselves several dozen meters farther down the hill.
Confused. Still smiling. Still climbing.
Kuina's wooden practice sword struck pressure points with flawless precision, knocking each attacker unconscious without drawing blood.
Koala redirected charging civilians with smooth circles of Fish-Man Karate, using only enough force to throw them safely aside.
Hancock formed broad walls of solid cloud between the crowd and the overlook, slowing the relentless advance.
Baby-5 transformed both arms into heavy shields rather than weapons, absorbing impacts while protecting the others.
Sugar darted through openings with surprising agility, tripping pursuers using nothing more than ropes and poles she found scattered across the hillside.
Even Bepo fought with remarkable restraint, catching citizens before they could tumble down the stone steps.
No one struck to kill. No one even struck to injure. Every member of the ART Pirates understood the same truth.
These people were victims. Not enemies.
"They're remarkable."
"They refuse to hurt innocent people." Vern watched the scene quietly.
Arthur offered no response.
Not a single word.
The citizens continued climbing. Every time one fell... another took their place. The hill gradually filled with smiling faces.
Endless. Relentless. Patient.
"We'll hold them here." Robin glanced toward Arthur.
"You deal with him." Law adjusted Kikoku across his shoulder.
Several members of the crew instinctively shifted their attention toward Vern.
Baccarat stood behind Arthur, her breathing uneven. Her trembling eyes remained fixed on Vern. Every instinct told her to stay where she was.
Behind Arthur. Behind the strongest person she knew. It had always been the safest place. Then she remembered Vern's words.
"Everything you have... belongs to someone else."
"Arthur."
"Your crew."
"Your luck."
"...Captain." Her fingers slowly tightened into trembling fists.
"Hm?" Arthur didn't turn around.
"I..." Baccarat lowered her head.
The words caught in her throat. She closed her eyes. Took one slow breath. Then another. When she opened them again... the fear was still there. But something else had appeared beside it.
Resolve.
Quiet.
Unshakable.
She stepped forward. One step. Then another. Until she stood beside Arthur. The entire crew looked at her in surprise.
"...Captain." This time, her voice was steady.
"Please..." She swallowed once before continuing.
"...let me fight him alone."
Silence. Even Vern's faint smile faltered for an instant. Robin's eyes widened.
"Baccarat... don't be reckless." Law frowned.
"He isn't someone you can handle alone."
Baccarat didn't look at either of them.
"I know." Her eyes remained on Arthur.
She knew exactly how powerful Vern was. She had witnessed an entire city surrender to his Devil Fruit. She knew she was afraid. She knew she could lose. She knew she might die. But she also knew something else. If Arthur fought this battle for her... nothing inside her would ever change.
"I've always hidden behind you." Her voice grew quieter.
"Behind the crew."
"...Behind my luck." She laughed softly at herself.
" I don't want to hide anymore."
The wind swept gently across the overlook. Arthur looked at her for several long seconds. Searching her eyes. He wasn't looking for confidence. Confidence could be learned. He was looking for resolve.
Finally... a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Very well." He took a single step backward. Then another.
"This fight belongs to you." His calm voice echoed across the silent hill. He rested Komainu across his shoulder.
"...Yes." Baccarat nodded.
"Go."
For the first time since joining the ART Pirates... she walked forward without following anyone else's footsteps. Baccarat stared at him. Surely... Arthur couldn't be serious.
Across from them, Vern slowly folded his arms. His golden eyes moved from Arthur to Baccarat.
"...Interesting." A faint smile appeared.
"Arthur." Robin stepped forward.
She rarely questioned his decisions. This time... she couldn't help it.
"She's not ready."
"I know."
"Then why—" Law frowned.
"Because she never will be..." Arthur interrupted without raising his voice.
"...if someone else keeps fighting her battles." His eyes remained on Baccarat.
No one answered. The only sound was the steady rhythm of thousands of synchronized footsteps climbing toward the hill.
Baccarat felt every heartbeat pounding against her ribs. She looked toward Vern. Then back at Arthur. Fear tightened her chest.
This wasn't an enemy she could defeat. This wasn't an opponent she could even understand. She took one hesitant step backward.
Arthur didn't stop her. He didn't encourage her either. He simply waited.
For the first time since joining the ART Pirates... there was no captain standing in front of her. Only the path she would have to walk herself.
For several long seconds... neither of them moved.
The wind carried the scent of grapes through the hillside, while the steady rhythm of synchronized footsteps echoed behind Baccarat. Her crew continued holding back the endless stream of citizens without taking a single life.
Yet none of those sounds reached her. All she could hear was the pounding of her own heart.
Across from her, Vern stood with one hand resting casually inside his coat pocket. He wasn't preparing for battle. He wasn't even taking a fighting stance. Instead... he studied her with quiet curiosity.
"I've heard quite a lot about you."
" The newspapers love telling stories." Vern nodded.
"Especially about extraordinary people." A faint smile touched his lips.
Baccarat remained silent.
"But your story..." Then Vern tilted his head ever so slightly.
"...was always my favorite."
Something about the way he said it made her chest tighten.
"Your favorite?" she repeated cautiously.
"The woman blessed by fortune."
"The pirate who never seems to lose."
"The lucky woman who survived every impossible situation."
"An amusing story." His smile remained calm.
Baccarat didn't answer. She had heard those descriptions countless times before. At first, they had sounded flattering. Now... for some reason... they felt painfully heavy.
"Tell me. How much of it is true?" Vern took another slow step forward.
"I don't understand." She frowned.
"You don't?" He looked at Arthur.
Then at the members of the ART Pirates.
Finally... his gaze returned to Baccarat.
"Every newspaper tells the same story."
"The woman favored by luck."
"The woman who always survives."
"The woman destiny itself protects."
"But whenever I looked deeper..." He paused.
"...someone else was always standing in front of you." His golden eyes narrowed.
Baccarat's breathing caught. Vern continued.
"Gran Tesoro. Arthur saved you. "
"Ohara. Arthur saved you. "
"The Marines. Arthur saved you. "
"The World Government. Arthur saved you. "
"Tell me... When did you ever save Arthur? "
Every word landed like another stone upon her chest. Even the other members of the ART Pirates had nothing to say.
"You survived because someone stronger protected you."
"So tell me..." His voice remained gentle.
"...what exactly have you accomplished on your own?"
Silence. Baccarat opened her mouth. No answer came.
"You travel aboard one of the strongest pirate ships in the world." Vern wasn't finished.
"You stand beside people destined to change history."
"You've been given opportunities countless others would die for."
"And yet..." He smiled sympathetically.
"...remove Arthur from your story..."
"...and what remains?" The question struck harder than any punch.
Memories flooded her mind.
Arthur reaching out his hand aboard the Gran Tesoro.
Arthur defeating enemies she couldn't overcome.
Arthur making every difficult decision.
Arthur finding Devil Fruits for the crew.
Arthur protecting everyone.
Again.
Again.
Again.
When had she ever protected him?
"...Stop." Her fingers trembled.
"Remove your crew."
"What remains?" Vern continued as though he hadn't heard her.
"...Stop." Her breathing became uneven.
"Remove your luck."
"What remains... of Baccarat?" His voice softened almost to a whisper.
"STOP!" The words burst from her before she realized she had shouted.
The hillside fell silent. Even the approaching citizens seemed strangely distant.
"You don't know anything about me." She glared at Vern, her eyes burning with anger.
"Then tell me."
"What makes you strong?" Vern's expression revealed nothing.
Baccarat froze.
"You know... I don't dislike you." He slowly turned away.
That surprised her more than another insult would have.
Without warning, Vern vanished. Baccarat's instincts screamed. She barely managed to twist aside. A hand brushed past her shoulder. The air exploded.
BOOM!
The stone pavement behind her shattered into countless fragments. The shockwave hurled her backward across the overlook. She rolled violently before crashing into the stone railing. Pain shot through her entire body. She forced herself back onto one knee.
"I thought so." Vern sighed quietly.
"You hesitated." Vern was already standing where she had landed.
He raised one finger. A thin stream of amber liquid formed around it before hardening into a razor-sharp spear. Baccarat fired.
Bang!
The bullet tore through Vern's chest. His body dissolved into shimmering bourbon before instantly reforming.
Of course. A Logia.
She fired again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Every bullet passed harmlessly through liquid. Vern didn't even bother dodging.
"You already knew that wouldn't work." His calm voice made her frustration boil over.
She lunged forward anyway. A spinning kick. A knife drawn from her boot. A feint. Another shot. Nothing. Every attack passed through alcohol as though he were nothing more than flowing liquid.
Moments later— a backhand strike caught her across the ribs.
She crashed onto the grass. Her breath disappeared. She coughed violently. The world spun.
"...Is this all?" Vern looked down at her.
"The newspapers made you sound far more impressive." Baccarat gritted her teeth.
She forced herself upright.
Again. She attacked.
Again. She failed.
Again. Another blow.
Again. The ground.
Again. Failure.
Minutes passed, her breathing grew heavier. Bruises spread across her arms. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. No matter what she tried... she couldn't touch him. Behind her, the battle against the controlled citizens continued.
Robin's giant arms blocked another wave.
Law teleported civilians away from the hill.
Kuina knocked attackers unconscious with precise strikes.
The crew was still fighting.
But no one came to help her.
No one.
Arthur still hadn't moved. Not a single step. He simply watched.
Vern observed the exchange quietly.
"He won't save you." Vern quietly shook his head.
"You still don't understand." He looked at Arthur.
"He's already helping you."
"What?" Baccarat stared at him in disbelief.
"He simply refuses to fight this battle..."
"...because it was never his to begin with."
She couldn't understand.
Not yet. All she knew... was that for the first time since joining the ART Pirates... she was completely alone.
The question struck harder than any punch.
The question echoed inside her mind long after the words themselves had faded.
What made her strong? Her Luck-Luck Fruit? The Mythical Zoan she had been entrusted with? Her fingers tightened.
Robin had studied history since childhood. Law had devoted his life to medicine and combat. Kuina had lived with a sword in her hands. Sabo had fought since he was a child. Koala had trained relentlessly. Even Sugar, despite her playful attitude, never stopped improving herself. Every one of them had spent years becoming stronger.
Baccarat... She had only recently begun. She had entered adulthood before she ever truly learned to fight. Could someone like her really catch up? Could hard work overcome years of experience?
Or... would she always remain the weakest among them? A burden.
Someone who survived only because Arthur always stood in front of her. Her thoughts drifted to every battle since joining the crew.
Whenever danger appeared... Arthur was there.
Whenever she hesitated... someone covered her.
Whenever luck wasn't enough... her family stepped forward.
Was that all she had become?
Someone protected by everyone else?
Someone who only happened to survive?
Her heart trembled. Then another thought surfaced. Arthur had never once called her weak. He never compared her to anyone else. He never asked her to become someone she wasn't. He simply trusted her. Entrusted her with powerful Devil Fruits. Brought her beside him. Believed she would grow.
A quiet breath escaped her lips.
Since joining the ART Pirates, she had received everything she never imagined she could have. A family. Friends. A place to belong. Even two extraordinary Devil Fruits. Enough power to make countless people envy her.
"I finally understand." Strength wasn't something Arthur had given her. He had only given her something she had never possessed before— The courage to believe in herself.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"I don't need to become someone else. I just need to keep walking beside them... by my own strength." A quiet smile appeared on Baccarat's face.
"I'll walk beside them... by my own strength." She slowly lifted her head.
"...Good." Vern studied her in silence.
The instant his voice faded— the underground lake exploded. Towering waves of amber alcohol surged toward Baccarat like a tidal wave.
She didn't retreat. She stepped forward. She stopped trying to predict Vern. She stopped searching for victory. She simply listened. The sound of the wind. The rhythm of her own heartbeat. The endless flow of liquid surrounding her.
Then... everything changed. It wasn't that the world had slowed. It was that her mind had finally become still.
Every ripple upon the bourbon.
Every subtle shift in the air.
Every tiny disturbance created by Vern's body.
They no longer appeared as separate movements. They became one continuous flow. For the first time... Baccarat wasn't reacting to Vern. She was moving with him.
Her Observation Haki had awakened.
The towering wave rushed toward her, yet every current already felt familiar. She slipped through the torrent with effortless precision, passing between impossible openings that hadn't existed a heartbeat before.
"You've awakened." Vern's eyes narrowed.
His right arm dissolved into bourbon before transforming into dozens of razor-sharp spears. They rained toward her from every direction. Baccarat closed her eyes for a heartbeat.
When they opened again— Her Armament Haki coated both hands in a deep black sheen.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Every spear shattered before reaching her.
"...Impossible."
"No. I simply stopped doubting myself."
Baccarat smiled calmly, activating her second devil fruit. She entered the hybrid form of her Mythical Zoan—Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Byakko. Golden sparks quietly danced around her body. The Luck-Luck Fruit responded. Fortune itself seemed to bend in her favor.
The stone beneath Vern's feet suddenly cracked. His stance shifted ever so slightly.
One attack missed.
Then another.
His timing grew subtly worse with every exchange.
"My luck..."
Baccarat took another step.
"...doesn't just protect me."
"It steals yours."
At the same moment, a faint white aura spread silently around her. It wasn't overwhelming. It wasn't oppressive. It simply made her presence... disappear.
"...What?" Vern frowned.
His Observation Haki... could no longer lock onto her. It wasn't that Baccarat had become faster. Her very presence seemed to fade from existence. Every attack landed a fraction too late. Every prediction failed. She moved like a phantom slipping between moments.
"A Mythical Zoan..."
Vern muttered.
"...that erases its own presence."
Baccarat appeared before him.
Too close.
Too suddenly.
His body instinctively transformed into alcohol— But a heartbeat too late. Her Haki-coated fist struck his shoulder.
BOOM!
Vern was blasted backward, crashing through the stone wall of the overlook.
Dust filled the air.
For the first time... the King of Wine had been overwhelmed. Baccarat lowered her fist.
"I don't need perfect luck." Her breathing remained steady.
She looked calmly toward the rising cloud of dust.
"I only need one chance."
"And I'll create it myself." Luck... was never the reason she stood.