"More or less." Seeing that Blackbeard didn't seem eager to make a move, Arton beat his wings and landed beside Nico Robin—on the back of the giant sea turtle.
"Arton." Robin dipped her head politely. In a sense, he had just helped her out. Had he not appeared, she would have been forced to go with Blackbeard against her will. Refusal? Even imagining it, she knew Blackbeard would never accept it; if nothing else, he'd take her by force.
"Nico Robin, I heard you say you wanted to join my Flameblade Pirates. Was that sincere?" Arton folded his arms, eyeing her with interest. As for how she knew him—he wasn't surprised. With the news machine in full swing, few on the seas hadn't heard his name; and Robin, of all people, kept excellent tabs on information. If she didn't recognize him, he'd suspect this Robin was a fake.
"Yes. I do wish to join your crew," Robin said with a smile.
Paula: "So among us, Robin will be the first to take the leap?"
Mikita: "As expected of Miss All Sunday. If she can become Arton's crewmate, there's hope for us to board his ship too."
Vivi: "Do your best, Robin. We're counting on you this time."
Though this didn't match their original plan, Vivi and the others could only pin their hopes on Robin now—she was the first to encounter Arton.
This time Robin wasn't lying. Even so, Arton didn't fully trust her yet. At the moment, her heart-knot remained unloosened. Having grown up amid darkness, betrayal, and being betrayed, her history spoke for itself.
Arton was more inclined to believe she wanted to leverage him to break free from Blackbeard here. Of course, he wasn't overly concerned for now.
Robin's face wore a light smile, but her heart was tight. She knew her situation—and likely Arton did too. As someone who had betrayed and been betrayed, it was hard to believe he would truly take her in.
That was why she'd hoped Vivi could join first, then she herself could board the Flameblade Pirates through Vivi's line. But now, she could only grit her teeth and move forward.
Fortunately, Arton gave a decent answer.
"All right. Since you say you want to join my crew… then I'll take you back to my ship to have a look." Arton nodded to her.
"Thank you, Arton." Robin's eyes brightened. He'd only said he'd bring her to the Sylvan to take a look, but it was still a good start.
"I intend to take her with me. You have no objections, Teach?"
Arton turned to Blackbeard.
"Arton, you really plan to take her?" Blackbeard frowned.
"Of course. With a beauty like her, why would I refuse?" Arton replied.
"But I found her first."
"So what? She doesn't want to go with you, does she, Teach?"
"Even if she won't go with me of her own will, I have ten thousand ways to make her leave."
"I don't care how many ways you've got. When I set my sights on someone, I don't hand them over."
Arton snorted and held out his hand to Nico Robin. "Shall we?"
"Of course." Robin inclined her head and laid her slender hand in his palm.
Arton's hand slipped to her waist. With a beat of his wings, he was about to depart—when Blackbeard finally couldn't hold himself back and made his move.
Chapter 346: Mirajane Template vs. the Yami-Yami Fruit—A Clash of Darkness!
"Zehahaha! As expected, I can't just watch Nico Robin get taken away."
"Arton, since we both set our sights on her, let's settle her fate the pirate way."
"Dark Water!"
Blackbeard laughed, thrusting out his hand to unleash the power of the Yami-Yami Fruit. Though wary of Arton's strength, he couldn't bear to let Robin slip away. As he moved, the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates slipped into fighting stances.
Whitey Bay: "He's making a move?! Go, Arton—take this bastard down!"
Hiyori Kozuki: "If Blackbeard dies here, that would be a good thing."
Baccarat: "How stupid—does he really think his current power can compare to Arton's?"
Monet: "Arton once said Blackbeard's Yami-Yami Fruit can suppress other Devil Fruit powers. If Arton had eaten a fruit, that might be dangerous. Too bad—he isn't a fruit user."
Makino: "The world misunderstands Arton. He's no Mythical Zoan user at all—he's a man with a system, the most special of all."
Stussy: "If Blackbeard really dies here… this world might change drastically."
Gion: "Will Arton alter that future—or spare Blackbeard for now?"
Doll: "If Blackbeard loses, I can't tell if that's good or bad for the Marines. When he became a Warlord, he at least brought the Marines and the World Government some benefits."
"Dark Water? Interesting." One look at the force gathering in Blackbeard's hand and Arton already understood—Teach wanted to use the convenience of the darkness to catch him off guard. Too bad for Teach; he was going to miscalculate.
"Going in, Nojiko. I'm about to use Mirajane's power at full output."
"Mm. Use my power as you please, Captain," Nojiko answered, eyes narrowing as she readied herself.
"Full-body Take Over!"
Arton's eyes sharpened. A massive pitch-black magic circle bloomed beneath his feet, and his entire body was sheathed in inky energy.
"What's going on?" Van Augur stared, question marks popping in his head.
"Captain, is your darkness not working on him?" Lafitte asked, puzzled.
"I don't know." Blackbeard shook his head, wariness deepening as he eyed the darkness-wreathed Arton. "But the aura on this man is dangerous. He's clad in darkness no weaker than mine."
As a user of the Yami-Yami Fruit, Blackbeard was acutely sensitive to darkness. He knew exactly how terrifying the darkness around Arton was. Could it be that because it's darkness against darkness, my Yami-Yami won't affect him right now?
Even now, he refused to believe Arton wasn't a Devil Fruit user, and he didn't want to accept that his power wouldn't work on a fellow fruit user.
He had paid dearly and waited years to obtain the Yami-Yami Fruit. If it was ineffective against any fruit, he'd be furious.
"Mirajane—Alegria!"
Vmm!
With a dull thrum, the black magic circle and the darkness coiling around Arton vanished in an instant. His hair remained white, but the deep-crimson formalwear was gone, replaced by a jet-black evening suit. Red-black mana surged around him, rippling the air. Then—terrifyingly—centered on Arton, the seawater across several kilometers flashed into steam under his mana. The seafloor dropped by more than ten meters in the blink of an eye.
And that scene appeared crystal clear in every holder's diary copy.
...
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