One Piece : Rise of Thunder King

You can read the advance chapters here : patreon.com/Vigilante04

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New World, the outer waters near the G-7 Marine branch.

A fierce battle is taking place.

High above the sea, the extreme heat distorted the air, making the sky ripple and shift continuously. The sudden rise in temperature caused the air to expand violently, creating powerful winds.

Rafi was flying in the sky, locked in combat with Katakuri. His spear burned with intense flames as he attacked. Despite having the upper hand in the air thanks to his wings, Rafi was clearly frustrated and struggling.

Katakuri, who could only stay airborne using Moonwalk-like techniques, was holding his own. This frustrated Rafi, who thought his aerial advantage would secure an easy victory. But Katakuri's skill was undeniable, and his movement rivaled Rafi's flight.

On top of that, Katakuri's Devil Fruit ability was strange. Like a Logia user, he could avoid physical attacks by turning into mochi.

Even with the odds slightly in his favor, Rafi couldn't relax. His wings gave him free movement, and his Heat-Heat Fruit abilities worked well against Katakuri's Mochi-Mochi Fruit powers. But Katakuri's strength was undeniable. He was a master of Conqueror's Haki and had developed his Devil Fruit to an insane degree, able to create mochi out of thin air.

The most terrifying part was Katakuri's Observation Haki, which let him see a short glimpse into the future. This ability canceled out Rafi's advantages and turned the fight into a stalemate.

Again and again, Rafi's attacks missed, and he paid the price. His ability to fly and counter Katakuri's powers meant nothing against someone who could predict his every move. This left Rafi feeling humiliated and frustrated.

Blazing strikes filled the air, distorting it with heat. Each time Rafi's attack missed and hit the ocean, it created massive explosions of steam. The thick mist forced both Marine warships and pirate ships, which had been five nautical miles apart, to retreat further to avoid danger.

The mist not only blocked visibility but also endangered weaker crew members. Every so often, a blazing slash from Rafi or a powerful strike from Katakuri would crash down, damaging ships and taking lives.

"High-Temperature Spike!" Rafi yelled, hurling his superheated spear at Katakuri. The tip glowed red-hot as it shot toward him, an advanced variation of a Finger Pistol technique.

But, as always, Katakuri saw it coming. He dodged with ease and countered, charging at Rafi with his trident coated in Armament Haki, aiming at the perfect moment when Rafi was off-balance.

"Damn it!" Rafi cursed as he quickly retreated.

He knew Katakuri's ability to see into the future was formidable, but experiencing it firsthand was another matter. His attacks kept failing, and Katakuri kept exploiting openings, turning the battle into a nightmare for Rafi.

"It seems there's no such thing as absolute strength. At the same level, this guy really is difficult to handle.

Not to mention, his strength is above mine."

Rafi thought to himself, finally admitting that he couldn't defeat Katakuri. He wasn't as strong, and the battle wasn't in his favor.

"Looks like, at best, I can avoid losing to this guy. Beating him or gaining any real advantage seems impossible."

Realizing he was outmatched, Rafi stopped thinking about victory or even turning the tide of the fight.

Instead, he decided to use this opportunity to test the various techniques and strategies he'd developed with his Heat-Heat Fruit over the past three months.

Since he could fly, retreating was always an option, and Katakuri wouldn't be able to stop him if he chose to escape.

Meanwhile, in the first half of the Grand Line, on the Calm Belt island of Edelweiss Luciana is a Vice Admiral of the Marines, half of the original ten towering stone mountains were now gone.

Only a small portion of the sixth mountain remained, standing just tens of meters tall. Within three or four days, even that would likely be destroyed.

Arthur, having spent the day training, sat on a throne floating in mid-air. His focus shifted to the New World as he listened to a report from a junior captain in the Flame Legion.

"Just as I predicted. After Raphael revealed his abilities, Katakuri was bound to find him," Arthur said calmly, his expression showing no surprise. He had expected this situation from the start.

Knowing that Raphael would be fine unless he faced someone of Big Mom's caliber, Arthur wasn't too concerned. He listened to the report but paid little attention beyond that.

Since beginning his training with the ten stone mountains, Arthur had grown stronger with each passing day. Matters below the level of an Admiral barely interested him anymore unless they aligned with his plans or involved people or events he found intriguing.

As long as no one discovered his secret ability to "hunt" Devil Fruits, nothing else truly mattered. That was why Arthur had ordered Raphael to hide his fruit powers for over a month.

Arthur picked up a special newspaper delivered from Sky Island. Flipping through it, he came across a thick stack of updated bounty posters. The farther back he looked, the higher the bounties climbed. Some posters featured new pirates or outlaws, while others showed updated bounties for familiar faces.

Arthur rarely cared about bounties, but this time, something caught his attention. He paused.

"By now, that guy Luffy must have set out to sea. Knowing his personality, he'll make a move soon."

Thinking of the world's protagonist, Arthur put the newspaper aside and began looking through the stack of bounties. Suddenly, he stopped.

"Huh?"

Arthur's gaze fixed on one bounty in particular.

Unlike in the anime, where characters were stylized, the real world was filled with more realistic, tangible details. While the features of certain individuals remained similar, there were distinct differences.

This bounty belonged to Monkey D. Luffy. If not for his signature straw hat, the scar beneath his eye, and his name, Arthur might not have recognized him. The Luffy on this poster had a serious, almost grim expression, far removed from the cheerful, bright smile Arthur remembered.

Because of Arthur's actions, the East Blue had changed significantly.

Nami was absent. The Arlong Pirates were nowhere to be found. Luffy's circumstances had clearly deviated from the original story.

What was once a smiling, carefree bounty poster now depicted a cold, intense face, signaling the difference in this world.

As Arthur studied Luffy's bounty poster, he set it aside and turned to the newspaper for more details.

The newspaper, designed for a wide audience, included separate sections for different regions, such as the Four Seas and the Grand Line. On the Four Seas page under the East Blue section, Arthur found a small article about Luffy.

Since Luffy was just a rookie pirate who had recently gone to sea, his bounty of 45 million berries wasn't enough to get a major write-up. The report was brief, summarizing Luffy's background and the events that led to his bounty.

The article mentioned that Luffy first defeated the pirate Don Krieg in the East Blue. Afterward, he clashed with the Marines several times with his crew, even severely injuring Admiral Nelson from the Eighth Branch, sending him into the sea.

In Loguetown, Luffy destroyed the execution platform of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, a symbol of Marine victory. Later, with the help of a mysterious figure, he was captured but managed to escape alongside his crew.

Now, his whereabouts were unknown, but it was suspected that he was heading to the Grand Line.

"There are some changes, but a lot of things are still similar to the original events. That Nelson guy... isn't he the ridiculously fat Marine who was obsessed with the Millennium Dragon and immortality?" Arthur thought, recalling the details.

Based on the pattern, Arthur predicted Luffy's next steps.

"Once he enters the Grand Line, he'll probably meet Laboon and make that promise. Then, it'll likely lead to Whiskey Peak, where he'll clash with Baroque Works. If things stay on course, Luffy will probably meet Vivi and, at her request, fight Crocodile."

At the thought of Crocodile, Arthur frowned in contemplation.

"Should I intervene? After all, Crocodile will end up arrested and sent to Impel Down anyway."

After thinking it over, Arthur decided to go to Alabasta, but without directly interfering with Luffy and his crew.

The Nefertari family intrigued him. They were descendants of one of the original Twenty Kings who founded the World Government but chose to remain in Alabasta instead of becoming Celestial Dragons.

"They might know some secrets about the Celestial Dragons," Arthur considered. "Though, it's possible they know nothing at all. The Five Elders and the Celestial Dragons see them as traitors, but they've never been eliminated. That's worth looking into."

Arthur decided to visit Alabasta under the guise of forming an alliance, using the opportunity to handle other matters in the North Blue as well.

There were many reasons Arthur found Alabasta compelling.

There was Nico Robin, who could read the ancient Poneglyphs. In the underground palace, the Poneglyph describing the location of Pluton was hidden. Another Poneglyph, buried in the desert, could hold more secrets. The Nefertari family itself might have information about the Celestial Dragons. And, of course, Crocodile was another factor.

Arthur was also curious about the changes caused by Nami's absence. He wondered who Luffy's new navigator might be and how their dynamic compared to the original crew.

In addition to his interest in Alabasta, Arthur had something important planned in the North Blue, making this journey even more significant.