Stussy: "So it really is fighting through music."
Smoothie: "I've seen people fight with music before, but summoning lightning with music like this… that's my first time seeing it."
Gion: "That lightning… it's insanely fast!"
Kujaku: "Putting everything else aside, that girl's outfit is seriously cute. Maybe I should copy her style a little?"
Viola: "A Template that fights with music… I wonder if Arton will ever pull one that fights with dance. If he does, maybe he'll think of me."
Viola stared at the scene displayed on her diary copy, her eyes thick with envy.
Conis and Raki could stay put on Skypiea and Arton would come to them on his own.
But she—she was still stuck in the New World, able only to wait anxiously and pray someone would find Arton soon.
Only then might the kingdom of Dressrosa have a chance.
A moment later, Viola thought of Monet—who seemed to have sailed out to look for Arton—and her heart tightened with nervous dread.
"I really hope Monet doesn't actually find Arton…"
"If Arton ends up choosing to support Donquixote Doflamingo because of Monet, that would be an absolute disaster."
Viola muttered under her breath.
…
"Keep up with my rhythm!"
Serval whooped as her fingers danced across the strings.
The next instant, a massive bolt of lightning erupted from her electric guitar.
The monsters facing her vanished on the spot.
Even the ground was blasted open by the violent current, leaving a huge crater—more than enough to show just how terrifying Serval's lightning was.
Nami, who also wielded lightning, couldn't help clicking her tongue at the sight.
"I already knew Serval controls lightning through music… but seeing a method that's completely different from mine is still shocking."
"And this power… it's really special."
"You sensed something?" Nojiko asked, curious.
"Yeah," Nami nodded, keeping her eyes on Serval. "Serval's last attack looked pretty straightforward, but that's only because the enemy she's dealing with is too special."
"I've got a feeling that if those things appeared in our world… they'd be a nightmare to fight."
"So you're saying…" Carina propped her chin on her hand. "Even our Templates might not have enough of an advantage against monsters like that?"
Arton had heard their conversation.
He didn't disagree—because he felt the same way.
What Serval was facing were creatures from the Fragmentum rifts of the Star Rail world.
And Fragmentum rifts were born from a Stellaron—something capable of affecting an entire world.
Monsters created by that kind of phenomenon weren't going to be easy.
Just as Arton was thinking that, a Fragmentum creature shaped like a centaur stepped out of the void and appeared before Serval.
Arton looked up, and an odd sense of nostalgia hit him.
Stormbringer.
Back when he played the game, this bastard was one he ran into all the time in the Forgotten Hall.
And in terms of strength… it was absolutely in the ridiculously annoying tier.
Chapter 566: Discovering the Captain's Taste
Vmm!
Stormbringer lifted all four limbs, and a violent tornado instantly whipped up around it.
Even though everyone knew this was just an environment created by the demonstration, they still raised their arms on instinct, bracing themselves.
There was no helping it—Stormbringer's presence was way too intense. It felt so real you couldn't help believing the scene was actually happening.
That went double for Raki and Conis, who were seeing something like this for the first time.
And Stormbringer wasn't done.
It threw its head back and let out a shrill neigh—and immediately, a flock of wing-flapping green, birdlike creatures appeared around Serval, as if ready to coordinate with the tornado and swarm her at any moment.
"That's cheating! That thing's literally summoning more monsters!" Uta planted her hands on her hips, pouting.
"Those are Gale Constructs. They come with Stormbringer," Arton said, half-amused and half-exasperated. "And besides, this is just a skill demo. Do you really have to get this fired up, Uta?"
"Yeah, I do," Uta shot back with a grin. "Those monsters are ugly as sin. I want the big sister to win."
"That's fair," Arton nodded along seriously. "Serval is gorgeous—and she's got that cool, carefree vibe. And she's wearing black stockings too. Not bad. Not bad at all."
The moment Arton said that, the Flameblade Pirates—who'd been totally focused on the fight—almost all turned to look at him at once.
Nami narrowed her eyes. "Oh? From the way you're talking, if Serval showed up here, you'd want to get all cozy with her, wouldn't you?"
"I'm not denying it," Arton said proudly, puffing out his chest without a shred of shame.
"Wow. Straight to the point. That's our captain," Carina teased. "But seriously—black stockings? Since when are you into that? I've never heard you mention it."
"Just because I haven't said it doesn't mean I don't like it," Arton replied. "You're telling me black stockings aren't great? Sure, a stockingless lap pillow might feel better… but black stockings look ridiculously good."
As he spoke, Arton couldn't help sighing internally.
Oda did a lot of things right—especially drawing beautiful women in this wild, fantasy sea. Any young woman in that world was basically guaranteed to be curvy in all the right places, and a ton of them showed off long, pale legs.
Arton had to admit: yeah, long pale legs were amazing but if things had just a more variety, it'd be even better.
Like—every now and then—throw some black stockings on those legs.
If the women of the Grand Line dressed more like the women of Belobog—sleek outfits, sexy black stockings—Arton's imagination immediately started running.
Especially when he pictured Uta and Tashigi pulling on black stockings and sparring with him for three hundred rounds…
His blood heated up fast.
If Kaya, Uta, Raki, and the others hadn't already wrung him out earlier, he probably would've reacted a lot more obviously.
Uta and Tashigi exchanged a look.
Arton hadn't said anything else—he definitely hadn't written anything in the diary copies—but the two of them suddenly had the same thought:
The captain's probably hoping we'll wear those for him.
Chapter 567: Conis Is Deeply Moved
Stussy: "So that's it—Arton has that kind of taste, huh."
Kalifa: "If he likes stockings, then my fishnets should be pretty irresistible to him too, right?"
Smoothie: "I've never worn something like that. Would it even suit someone like me…? Or is it better to show off the Longleg Tribe's natural charm—bare-legged?"
Whitey Bay: "Rare to see a young man with good enough taste to appreciate black stockings. Maybe I should pull out an old pair."
Baccarat: "Decided. Before I meet Arton, I'm buying a bunch. Even styles I've never worn before."
The Diary Copy holders either mulled it over in silence or muttered to themselves.
But before long, Serval's display of power yanked everyone's attention right back where it belonged.
"Ready to let yourself loose?" Serval faced the tightening circle of monsters as the tornado around her grew more violent. "Whether you fight back, sway with it, or sink… it'll all—"
She didn't hesitate. Her fingers flew across the strings of her electric guitar.
A passionate, surging riff exploded into the air—then deep Viola lightning pillars slammed down from the sky, one after another, relentlessly hammering Stormbringer and the monsters around it.
The storm of lightning rained for over ten seconds before gradually fading out.
And when it ended… everything was gone.
Stormbringer. The summoned creatures. The raging winds. All of it vanished as if it had never existed in the first place.
"So Serval really does have power you can't underestimate," Arton said, impressed.
Kujaku: "That kind of large-scale lightning… it's basically on the level of what a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user can do."
Stussy: "I knew it. The moment you see what Serval's Template can do, you can't help wanting it for yourself."
Viola: "Too bad… I still haven't met Arton."
Baccarat: "Whatever. Even if I were next to him right now, I probably couldn't use Serval's Template anyway."
Monet: "Lightning driven by the Path… terrifying."
For that brief moment, the falling lightning was like a downpour.
It didn't last long—but none of the Diary Copy holders dared underestimate it.
If Conis truly mastered that power and brought it to a battlefield… the suppression it could create was honestly hard to imagine.
"Alright," Arton said. "That's the end of the demonstration."
He shut down the Template scene, then smiled at Conis, who was still frozen in shock.
"Any questions, Conis?"
"A-Arton-san…" Conis swallowed nervously. "Are you really going to give something that precious to me?"
She'd already prepared herself to accept the Template…
But after seeing Serval's power with her own eyes, she couldn't help worrying she wouldn't be able to control it properly.
"Of course," Arton said. "Besides you, the only ones here who could probably handle this Template are Uta and Carina—but they already have other Templates. So you're the one it goes to."
He nodded encouragement. "Come on. Don't hesitate. Fuse it into your body."
And honestly—Arton was already dying to see how Conis would change once she merged with Serval's Template.