Watching Arlong struggle, Borsalino pressed his foot down harder and said:
"Good grief~"
"Still had the nerve to come here, huh~"
Arlong's face twisted in pain, tears streaming as he roared:
"I'll kill every last human on this island who betrayed Tiger!"
"Every last one of them!!!!"
Borsalino took a slow drag on his cigarette:
"Oh~"
"So it's revenge~"
Arlong snarled with hatred:
"That's right!"
"Fisher Tiger is dead!!!"
"He was killed by you humans, you inferior race!!!"
"I'll slaughter them all!!!"
Borsalino looked unconcerned:
"Oh~"
"So he's already dead~"
"That saves us some trouble~"
"But~"
Golden light swirled at his fingertip as he aimed it at Arlong's forehead:
"You'll have to come with me~"
"Mr. Wanted Criminal."
Arlong felt an overwhelming killing intent lock onto him. His body froze, paralyzed by instinct, unable to move...
For the first time in his life, he truly experienced the terror of human strength...
...
A few days later.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Borsalino was lounging in his office, leisurely reading the newspaper.
Knock, knock, knock—
Borsalino set the paper aside.
"Come in."
Covered in bandages from head to toe—even his head wrapped—Strawberry stepped inside.
"Vice Admiral Borsalino."
Borsalino looked at him:
"Oh~"
"All healed up already, Strawberry~?"
Strawberry forced a bitter smile.
"Yes."
"But I suffered for it."
Borsalino tilted his head, curious:
"To think someone managed to injure you like that~?"
Strawberry's brows furrowed.
"The Arlong and the others we threw into prison days ago were just weaklings."
"The truly dangerous one is Jinbe…"
Just thinking of Jinbe's formidable physique still sent a chill through Strawberry.
Even as a Rear Admiral trained for years, when faced with Jinbe's terrifying martial arts, he was helpless.
If it hadn't been for Jinbe's desperation over Tiger's safety…
"His strength is far from ordinary."
"Letting him go just like that might be far too dangerous."
Borsalino mused aloud:
"Oh~?"
But his eyes drifted, unbidden, to the words framed on the wall:
"Ambiguous Justice."
He fell silent, lost in thought...
At the same time.
...
East Blue, Foosha Village.
Inside Makino's bar, Luffy sat in the chair beside Shanks.
Sweat beaded on his forehead from the pain, but he kept his lips tightly pressed together.
Pointing at the bandage under his left eye, he said:
"See, I'm not afraid of pain at all."
Shanks groaned in exasperation.
"Stop lying!"
"Don't do such stupid things again!!!"
Luffy puffed out his chest, forcing bravado.
"I'm not even afraid of getting hurt!"
"Next time you set sail, take me with you, Shanks!!!"
"I want to be a pirate too!"
Shanks teased him.
"You?"
"Not a chance, not a chance!"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
The surrounding crew joined in his laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
Luffy clenched his fists and stood on his chair.
"Damn it!!!"
"My fists are like pistols!"
"And I'm a great swimmer too!"
Shanks raised an eyebrow.
"Is that so~?"
Luffy whipped his head toward him.
"What's with that tone!!!"
Lucky Roux chuckled from the side.
"It means you're still just a kid, Luffy."
"Hahahaha."
Luffy shouted angrily.
"I'm not a kid anymore! I'm a grown-up!!!"
Shanks handed him a glass of juice.
"Alright, alright."
"Don't get so worked up."
"Here, have some juice."
Luffy grabbed the glass and downed it in one gulp.
"Arigatou!!!"
But the bar suddenly erupted in laughter, Shanks especially, pounding the table, tears streaming down his face.
"And you say you're not a kid!!!"
"Ahahahaha!!"
Luffy realized instantly.
"Damn it!"
"That's not fair, Shanks!!!"
"Stop laughing!!!"
BOOM—!!!
The tavern door exploded open!
A man in a brown coat with a longsword at his waist strode in, leading a group of underlings wearing white bandanas.
The man in the coat strolled casually inside.
"Sorry to intrude."
But there was no apology in his tone.
He glanced around and sneered at the sight of the Red-Haired Pirates.
"So these are pirates, huh."
"First time I've seen one. They all look pretty stupid."
He walked up to the counter, eyeing the young Makino.
"We're mountain bandits, but we're not here to rob you."
"Give me ten barrels of liquor."
"We'll pay."
Makino hesitated, flustered—the Red-Haired Pirates had just finished the last of the stock.
"I'm sorry… we just sold out…"
The mountain bandit leader's face darkened.
"Oh?"
"Then what were those freakish-looking pirates drinking?"
"Don't tell me it was water!!!"
Swish!
He drew his longsword and slammed it onto the table.
Makino's face went pale, but Shanks stepped forward.
"Sorry about that, truly."
"We already drank all the liquor."
"But if you don't mind, I've still got one bottle left."
He handed over the last bottle to the mountain bandit in the coat.
The bandit looked at the bottle—and suddenly smashed it with his fist.
CRASH—
The bottle Shanks had offered shattered instantly, its contents spilling across the floor.
The man in the coat snarled.
"What the hell do you take me for."
"Bastard."
"Who the hell could a single bottle be enough for."
Then he reached inside his coat and pulled out a wanted poster.
"Take a good look."
"I'm a wanted man with a bounty of eight million."
He placed the well-kept poster right in Shanks' face and said darkly:
"Self-righteous punks like you, who stick their noses where they don't belong—"
"I've already killed…"
"Fifty-six of them…"
The poster read:
"Mountain Bandit Higuma."
"Bounty: 8,000,000."
"Dead or Alive."
...
The New World, Punk Hazard.
Vegapunk was already waiting at the harbor.
The "material" described by Sakazuki—the ability and talent—had piqued his interest.
Sakazuki soon arrived as well. Nodding at the sight of Vegapunk after so many years, he couldn't help but notice… Vegapunk had changed.
The most obvious being…
"Dr. Vegapunk, your…"
Sakazuki gestured toward Vegapunk's thinning hair.
He remembered Vegapunk standing tall and sharp before, but now…
Vegapunk touched his scalp, then shook his head with a wry smile.
"Ah, I forgot my hat."
"It's nothing. Just age—and the work is taxing on the brain."
"This hair…"
He shrugged, as if it didn't matter.
But watching him nervously smooth it down… well...
---
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