As Arthur and his crew moved deeper into the city, he suddenly noticed dark figures darting at the edges of his vision—swift, low to the ground, and fast.
A ripple of Observation Haki swept out from him.
"Hmm? Four legs… The Judicial Hounds?"
Just as he suspected. From the shadows, black-clad troops began closing in, encircling them. The Judicial Hound Unit, dispatched by the Chief Judge himself.
"You've gone far enough, intruders," the leading officer said, voice dripping with arrogance, nose tilted skyward.
Arthur didn't even spare him a glance. He and his companions just kept walking straight ahead, chatting casually as though no one else was there.
The officer's face turned crimson with rage.
"You four—stop right there!"
Arthur frowned slightly.
"...Is there a problem?"
The man almost choked.
Is there a problem?!
They were trespassers!
He was here to arrest them!
The entire squad of hound riders was left speechless by the sheer audacity.
"Men! Attack! Let's show this cocky brat what happens when you mock the law!"
"Yes, sir!"
In an instant, the air filled with whirling chains, flying daggers, capture nets woven with Seastone threads, and even spinning blood-droplet blades.
Arthur sighed and issued orders as if assigning chores.
"Redfield, we'll take the ones using Seastone. The rest are yours."
"Understood," came the calm replies.
The Judicial Hound Unit was fast—faster than the average Marine squad. Against regular pirates, they'd have been terrifying.
But against Arthur's team? It was a massacre in motion.
Even Crocodile, the slowest among them, outpaced their movements by leagues.
Moments later, screams echoed through the alleys.
Humans cried. Dogs howled.
The so-called elite of the Judicial Hounds were shredded like paper.
From the corners, the few remaining soldiers trembled, peeking out from behind the rubble.
"T-thank God I didn't rush in…"
"Monsters… they're monsters… This isn't even the New World yet!"
"Don't move! Just play dead!"
"R-right! Play dead!"
The path ahead cleared almost instantly.
Before long, Arthur's group reached the massive Judicial Hall at the center of Enies Lobby.
He tilted his head upward, his Haki locking onto something.
"The check-in point's… up there?"
He started for the stairs.
"Intruders! You think you can ignore me?!"
A bellow rang out, followed by a massive thud as the Chief Judge himself leapt down from above, brandishing his enormous execution blade.
"If you want to proceed—you'll have to get through me first!"
Arthur didn't even break stride.
"Crocodile, deal with him. We're heading up."
Crocodile exhaled slowly, annoyed by the tone, but raised his hand nonetheless.
"Desert Spada."
A single sand blade later, the judge was hurled through a wall, unconscious.
Arthur nodded, satisfied.
"Let's go."
The trio ascended.
Soon, they reached the roof of the Judicial Hall.
Across the massive gorge separating Outer Island and Tower of Justice, Arthur realized—he'd forgotten something important.
"Right… the drawbridge. Should've brought Crocodile for this one."
As he was grumbling, movement flickered on the opposite building.
Inside the Tower of Justice, the agents of CP9 had already spotted him.
Rob Lucci's sharp eyes narrowed.
"It's him. The one from Impel Down."
Chief Spandam turned lazily, holding his Den Den Mushi.
"Who?"
"The man who came to rescue Nico Robin and Franky!"
"Oh? Someone suicidal enough to come here? Hah! Go deal with them then."
Kaku rolled his eyes. You go deal with them, then.
Lucci exhaled slowly, his expression darkening.
"Kaku, Kalifa—how's your mastery of the Devil Fruits?"
"Under control."
"Good. We let them slip once before. This time, we crush them. Show them what real power means."
"Yes, sir!"
"Spandam, take the prisoners to the Gates of Justice. Leave the fighting to us."
"Heh, my subordinates are so reliable. I'll leave in a bit—let me enjoy the show first."
Spandam strolled toward the bound Robin and Franky, kicking them repeatedly as he gloated. Then he dragged them toward the window, grinning as he looked across the gap.
He wanted to see who dared challenge the World Government.
Meanwhile, Arthur, whose Observation Haki easily picked up the CP9 signatures, didn't even glance their way.
Because his system pinged.
The check-in point was right above the opposite rooftop.
Without hesitation, he did what he always did best.
He raised one foot—
and kicked through the entire wall.
The slab of shattered masonry, easily several tons heavy, blasted free from the Judicial Hall and flew like a meteor toward the Tower of Justice.
He and his team leapt onto it as it sailed through the air.
BOOM!
They crashed down on the opposite rooftop in a cloud of debris. The sound rocked the entire island.
All across the battlefield, heads turned—including the Straw Hat crew, who had just reached the plaza below.
Through the hole Arthur had created, they could see it—CP9 and the captive Robin.
"There! That's where Robin is!" Luffy shouted, voice breaking with emotion. "Let's go!"
The crew sprinted up, fury blazing in their eyes.
They arrived just in time to see Robin—bruised, trembling, tears streaming—face her friends at last.
"Robin! Say it!" Luffy cried, his voice echoing across the rooftop.
"Say you want to live!"
Robin's heart broke open completely.
For the first time in her life, she stopped running—from fate, from guilt, from the world.
"If I could choose again…" she whispered through tears.
"I want to live! Take me out to sea, Luffy!"
"Touching," Spandam sneered from above. "Touching indeed. But do you fools realize what you've done? You've defied the World Government itself!"
"I don't care." Luffy's eyes hardened. "Sniper King—shoot down that flag!"
Usopp grinned, raising his new slingshot.
"Roger that—"
He never finished.
Because before the shot could even leave his weapon, a blur of violet light streaked past.
A young man with purple hair appeared beside the World Government flag, lightning dancing across his arm.
He didn't aim.
He didn't hesitate.
He just punched.
BOOM!
The flagpole exploded. The sacred emblem of the World Government—the symbol of "absolute justice"—was obliterated, reduced to smoking fragments.
Arthur lowered his arm, electricity fading from his fingers.
"That thing was in my way," he muttered. "Annoying."
The Straw Hats and Marines alike stared in stunned silence.
Usopp's jaw dropped.
Nami blinked.
Even Luffy's mouth hung open.
"...Heh." Arthur dusted off his coat, glancing at the faint golden glow forming beneath his feet.
"Finally."
A cheerful chime rang out in his mind.
Ding!
"Congratulations, Host. Enies Lobby Check-In Complete."
"Reward: Random S-Class Power — Processing..."
Arthur grinned, lightning crackling faintly at his fingertips.
"Check-in complete."
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