After launching Dragon backward with an elbow strike, Finn rolled his shoulders and smiled. "Senior, get serious."
"Really?" Dragon's voice came from behind Finn.
Finn's eyes widened slightly in surprise. His Observation Haki was indeed constantly active, but wasn't Dragon's speed a bit too fast?
When he'd spoken just a moment ago, he could still sense that guy in the ruins. The instant he finished speaking, Dragon had already circled behind him?
Then again, if Dragon didn't possess this kind of elusive skill, he would have been hunted down by CP agency dogs over the next twenty years. But instead, he'd remain alive and well, constantly troubling the World Government.
These thoughts flashed through Finn's mind in an instant.
The moment Dragon spoke, Finn swung his fist backward.
"Dragon's Breath." Dragon growled.
Powerful wind pressure suddenly erupted from behind Finn. Before he could resist, the blast struck him and hurled him through the air.
Just as Dragon moved to pursue, the surrounding ruins suddenly surged. With Dragon at the epicenter, all debris, rubble, and soil began gathering at tremendous speed.
"What is this?" Dragon's eyes widened as he realized he was experiencing weightlessness.
The next second, massive quantities of earth and stone buried him completely. A solid sphere condensed in the air.
"Gravity Domain: Planetary Devastation!" Finn said as he slowly rose to his feet.
However, there was no satisfaction on his expression. He didn't even look at the sphere, instead focusing on empty ground not far away.
Sure enough, after a moment, Dragon's figure slowly materialized there, accompanied by a gentle breeze.
"That's quite a technique. But I told you, your ability has no effect on me." Dragon smiled.
Finn nodded. "Indeed."
Over the past two years, he'd also fought against Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino. He'd used the devastating Planetary Devastation technique on all of them.
However, aside from Kuzan being sealed for a brief moment, Borsalino and Sakazuki had been almost completely unaffected.
Borsalino's speed was extreme. Before the Planetary Devastation could fully form, he'd broken free from the gravitational pull and escaped the attack range.
Sakazuki had immediately transformed the Planetary Devastation into a magma fireball. Not only had he avoided being sealed, but he'd used the technique to launch a powerful counterattack.
Because of these experiences, Finn had realized a fundamental problem: his ability wasn't particularly effective at restraining Logia types.
Gravity did affect elemental matter to some extent, but not especially well.
It reminded him of when Fujitora fought Sabo in Dressrosa. Similar limitations.
Sure enough, no matter how powerful an ability, there would always be weaknesses.
Seeing Finn prepare to strike again, Dragon quickly said, "Hey, let's stop here. We've said our hellos. If you want to fight me seriously here, this city won't survive. You still have a mission, don't you?"
Finn frowned slightly. "I have another mission this time. To bring you back to headquarters..."
"You should also know you can't capture me. I can leave whenever I want. If you continue fighting, you'll only embarrass the Marines and cause your political mission to fail." Dragon spoke again.
Finn knew he was right. Regardless of whether Finn could suppress Dragon in pure strength, even if he could overpower him, there was virtually no possibility of actually capturing him. This guy had already proven with concrete actions that he could escape.
So, if they fought a major battle here, destroyed the town, and Dragon escaped anyway, once the matter was exposed and magnified, the Marines would be the ones left embarrassed.
Because until now, news of Dragon's defection hadn't been publicly revealed.
And if Vice Admiral Finn fought Dragon here with massive destruction, the matter would become impossible to conceal. Dragon was thick-skinned and didn't care about such things. The Marines' scandal would be exposed.
Though this would definitely come to light eventually, Finn didn't want it exploding in his own hands.
What's more... he'd only come to test Dragon anyway. Perhaps the Marines wanted to capture him, but Finn had no such intention.
Now that they'd exchanged blows, he'd given the Marines an explanation regarding the capture mission. He'd have an excuse when he returned.
Thinking this through, Finn slowly returned Sōzai to its sheath. The fighting spirit and momentum radiating from his body also restrained themselves.
Seeing Finn so readily accept the suggestion, Dragon looked mildly surprised. But this was good. He smiled. "It seems you have deep feelings for the Marines. Don't want them to suffer a blow to their reputation?"
"I'm just repaying a debt," Finn said, taking the easy out.
After a brief pause, Finn continued, "Let's get to the point, Dragon. You didn't come see me just to discuss your ideals and try persuading me to cooperate, did you? If that was all, you wouldn't have waited until now..."
Dragon fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Regarding Bartholomew Kuma... what will the Marines... no, should I say, what will the World Government do with him? If possible, I hope you can spare his life."
"This really surprises me," Finn said, genuinely taken aback. "When you say this to me, you're effectively telling me that Bartholomew Kuma is connected to you. This way, the relationship between you two will be exposed to Marine Intelligence... Is that really wise?"
He genuinely hadn't expected Dragon to reveal his relationship with Bartholomew Kuma here.
After all, in the future, Bartholomew Kuma was supposed to disguise himself as a pirate, become one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and potentially infiltrate operations related to the Marines.
If Dragon revealed this now, how would Kuma operate in the future? How could the Marines not be on guard against him?
"I didn't originally intend to reveal it," Dragon said calmly. "My initial plan was to meet you, preferably suppress you quickly, and make you focus all your attention on me. But after fighting, I discovered your strength improvement exceeded my expectations. So that plan naturally fell through..."
After a brief pause, Dragon continued, "But Bartholomew Kuma is very important to me... I couldn't avoid taking the risk. Moreover, although you say these things, I can sense you have no real intention of stopping or hindering me. Finn, perhaps you also want to see if I can change this world? You and I aren't enemies... I believe you'll help me."
Finn looked at Dragon in silence for a long time. Finally, he said, "Bartholomew Kuma is tremendously powerful. I myself am not absolutely certain I can defeat him. What makes you think I'll definiely win?"
Dragon smiled. Though Finn hadn't responded to his earlier words, this question already proved certain things.
He'd bet correctly!
In reality, Dragon hadn't anticipated the World Government creating the Seven Warlords system, and therefore had no intention of sending Bartholomew Kuma undercover. His words simply hoped Finn wouldn't expose their relationship.
That's why he'd been straightforward. If there really were plans for the Seven Warlords, Dragon probably wouldn't have revealed his connection to Bartholomew Kuma so easily.
"You will win," Dragon said softly. "Perhaps Kuma is very powerful, but this is his country, after all. He's a gentle man... From the moment you landed on this island, I could foresee his failure."
Finn understood what he meant.
Bartholomew Kuma was indeed formidable. But the Sorbet Kingdom was his country. Here, he had too many attachments, too many factors to consider.
Therefore, he couldn't win.
Even for the sake of his country, he couldn't win.
"Once people have attachments and concerns, no matter how strong they are, their weaknesses become obvious..." Finn sighed quietly.
This was the case with Zephyr. And now, Bartholomew Kuma was the same.
Even Dragon himself had appeared before Finn because of his bond with Kuma.
"Perhaps that's true," Dragon said with a smile. "But Finn, concerns and bonds... it's because we have people and things we want to protect in our hearts, because we still have hope for this world, that we can become stronger, isn't it?"
Finn remained silent for a moment before nodding seriously. "Thank you for the insight."
"Nothing special. As a senior, I'm just offering some inspiration." Dragon waved his hand dismissively.
After saying this, he looked up at the sky, grinning. "I wonder when we'll meet again. I hope we won't have to fight the first time. At the same time, I still have high hopes for you, Finn. Goodbye."
"I have a feeling it won't be too long," Finn smiled as he watched Dragon gradually disappear into the air.
It shouldn't be long at all. Because he'd come to the South Blue partly for Bartholomew Kuma's matter and Dragon's situation.
On the other hand, he was preparing to travel to Baterilla Island to "invite" Roger to the execution platform.
It was now Sea Circle Calendar year 1500. A new era should begin this year.
If nothing unexpected happened, Roger's body would completely fail him this year. He'd soon surrender to the Marines.
And the Great Pirate Era would begin because of it.
In Finn's opinion, it would be a waste for a Pirate King to surrender himself.
You might as well let me catch you instead.
With that achievement, when he competed with Kuzan, Sakazuki, and Borsalino for Admiral positions in the future, his advantage would be dramatically magnified.
Even if he competed for Fleet Admiral later, it would still prove helpful.
After all, this was the greatest credit the Marines could currently obtain!
Capturing Pirate King Roger and bringing him to justice!
It would definitely shock the world!
As for Dragon, he'd probably go to Loguetown to watch the spectacle. Finn himself didn't want to miss Roger's execution either. Who knew? They might meet again then.
The fight between the two hadn't lasted long, but even so, the entire street lay in ruins.
However, the town was currently depressed and sparsely populated. Moreover, this area was a dark slum that hadn't attracted much attention.
Finn composed himself, turned around, and left the devastation, preparing to return to his warship to rest.
As for the matter between Bartholomew Kuma and Dragon, he'd keep it to himself for now. This might prove useful leverage over Dragon in the future.