All at once, Arton's eyes narrowed and his brows drew tight.
"Captain, did you spot something?" Kaya, seeing his change in expression, asked uneasily. She'd recalled what the Marines had just pulled at Reverse Mountain and thought they might already be on their tail.
"I did notice some… interesting people," Arton murmured. "But don't worry, Kaya. They're not Marines. It's a historian—and a pirate crew led by a man called Teach. Huh. How did those two wind up together?"
"A historian? Could it be Nico Robin?" Kaya asked.
"You know her, Kaya." Arton sighed. "Looks like Robin's name is even bigger than I thought."
Kaya pressed her lips together—of course she knew Robin; Arton had written about her in the diary.
"Arton, do we need to go have a look?" Kaya asked. Since Robin was one of the heroines in Arton's diary, the odds of him sitting this out were low. But Blackbeard was dangerous. If they went, it might be a hard fight.
"Since we've run into them, we're going," Arton said. "But you all don't need to. I'll go bring Robin back myself; that's enough."
"But isn't that too dangerous? Let me go with you," Kaya urged, hand to her chest. "If we fuse, you'll have an undying body."
Arton's strength was great, but the Blackbeard described in his diary was impressive too. She truly worried that if he went alone, something might happen. And to keep Arton from blurting out "Enies Lobby" in the diary, someone needed to stay at his side; otherwise, even if they handled Blackbeard perfectly, the Enies Lobby situation could become a mess.
"Fusion, huh… That reminds me of an idea," Arton said, lips curling as he turned to Kaya. "Nojiko's power includes darkness. And that Blackbeard… as far as I know, he uses the Dark-Dark Fruit. I want to test whether Blackbeard's darkness is stronger—" his eyes gleamed, "—or if Mirajane's darkness in Nojiko is stronger."
He stepped close and patted Kaya's shoulder. "Relax. It'll be fine. Blackbeard's tough, but is he stronger than Mihawk? Stronger than Garp? I beat them back. Why would I fear Blackbeard?"
"Go tell everyone: I'm heading over to Blackbeard's side to pull someone out. I'll be back soon."
With that, Arton's figure flickered—and vanished from the lookout. The wind he left behind billowed upward, flipping the hem of Kaya's white coat and briefly revealing the breathtaking view beneath. Unfortunately, Arton's attention was already on Nojiko working at the stern; he didn't get to appreciate Kaya's current look.
"So he's taking Nojiko," Kaya murmured. "With Nojiko there, she can definitely keep Arton from saying we're heading to Enies Lobby."
"What I need to do now is let the others know." She took a step—then glanced down at her outfit. "Before I meet anyone… I should put something on underneath. Otherwise Carina and Nami will definitely tease me."
Blushing, Kaya muttered to herself. She'd dressed like this—and then they ran into Blackbeard and Nico Robin. For a moment, she didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.
Chapter 340: Fuse with Nojiko—Time to Pay Blackbeard a Visit
"Nojiko, come with me for a bit." Arton touched down beside Nojiko and spoke.
"Arton, what is it? Aren't you supposed to be in the lookout~ room?" Nojiko blinked at his sudden appearance, puzzled.
"Something popped up. Off our starboard side there are two people who caught my attention. I'm going to take a look. A fight might break out," Arton said. "I figured it's a good chance to try out some of your power. Last time we only tested the Command Spell. This time we can try something a little more… rough-and-tumble."
"I see. But you're sure you don't just want to see what I look like in the fusion space?" Nojiko's lips quirked; she smiled at him.
"Well, I won't deny that, haha. So—shall we, Nojiko?" Arton asked.
"Of course. Do we need to tell the others?" Nojiko glanced toward the bow, where Nami, Carina, Tashigi, and—of course—Ain were hard at work.
"Kaya will tell them. It won't take long anyway, and there's no need to change course," Arton replied.
"In that case, I have no objections. Please use my power, Captain." Nojiko extended her hand to him.
"Mm." Arton reached out as well and clasped her slender fingers. A flash of light—and Nojiko was already within the fusion space.
Arton's appearance shifted. His short jet-black hair turned, in an instant, into the signature white hair of the Mirajane family—now grown to waist length. His casual outfit morphed into a magenta formal suit—menswear, of course.
"Nojiko, your figure's gotten even better lately," Arton said, sinking his awareness into the fusion space to behold the radiant Nojiko.
"Has it? Want a better look, Captain?" she laughed, striking an elegant, captivating pose within the fusion bubble. "It's a shame you can't use a camera to capture me in here. Otherwise you could keep a memento."
"True, that is a shame," Arton chuckled. Prompted by her hint, he raised his hand and opened the diary's photo function, recording Nojiko's charm from every angle.
Noticing the new entries pop up in her own diary copy, Nojiko obligingly shifted through various poses for him—each perfectly proper and graceful. But right now Nojiko was in the most primal state; without fabric in the way, even "proper" poses brimmed with allure. If he hadn't been squeezed deeply with Tashigi earlier and then helped Uta train her song and dance, he might have gotten too excited right there.
Even so, after saving ten photos of Nojiko, Arton stopped.
"Let's go, Nojiko. We're heading over now." He refocused on the outside world and, with Take Over Magic, unfurled a pair of flying beast wings from his back. With rapid beats, Arton shot away from the Sylvan, angling toward where Nico Robin and the Blackbeard Pirates were.
Meanwhile, up at the bow, Nami, Tashigi, and the others paused their work—some peering in puzzlement at the direction Arton had flown, others staring at the diary copies where ten brand-new photos of Nojiko had appeared.
"Fusion form? And it's Nojiko?" Nami frowned at the images. "What in the world happened?"
...
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