Under the cover of night, a small wooden table was set up on the deck of the Kirin, where a few bored men were playing cards.
Kuzan, Rorschach, and Hibari each held a hand of cards, taking turns.
The table in front of Kuzan and Rorschach was empty, with no sign of any Berries.
In contrast, the Berries in front of Hibari were piled high.
Hibari's face was flushed, and she could barely contain her smile.
I'm rich.
I'm going to be a little rich lady.
Rorschach shot a resentful look at Kuzan. His wallet was almost empty.
He was having terrible luck tonight.
Kuzan just wouldn't cooperate and give them an advantage, even when Rorschach asked him to.
Now all the Berries were going to Hibari.
If this kept up, he might have to use a sake bottle as collateral.
How much is an empty sake bottle worth, anyway?
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Hibari's smile widen uncontrollably after drawing a card. Rorschach glanced at his own terrible hand, and his heart sank.
Oh no, I'm going to lose more money.
Just then, the emergency communication Den Den Mushi hidden in the mast behind them began to ring urgently.
"Something's wrong! Prepare for battle!"
Rorschach's expression hardened. He threw his bad hand onto the table, quickly got up, and ran to the Den Den Mushi.
Kuzan silently put his own terrible hand and Rorschach's together.
"Huh? I just got a really good hand," Hibari pouted, reluctantly putting down her cards.
Kuzan glanced at the cards she had put down and breathed a sigh of relief.
If they had kept playing, he probably would have had to call Garp to borrow some money.
Rorschach answered the Den Den Mushi and heard a panicked voice on the other end.
"Requesting backup! Requesting backup! This is Marine Base 66 on Sabaody! There's a pirate causing trouble. They robbed our warehouse and stole over a billion Berries in tax money."
Rorschach's eyes narrowed.
Marine Base 66 on Sabaody—such a familiar name.
But hadn't Sabaody been under lockdown for a long time? How could a pirate dare to cause trouble there, let alone be so audacious as to openly rob a Marine base?
Also, was the new Sabaody Marine base's defense so poor?
"Hibari! Set the course! We're going to the Sabaody Archipelago to assist our comrades."
"Okay! Just a moment, I'll check the Log Pose."
Hibari quickly climbed the crow's nest, took out the Log Pose, and said, "Full rudder left, ninety degrees, full speed ahead!"
"Got it!" Pamela, at the helm, grabbed the rudder and turned it.
Bepo and the others skillfully deployed the side wings and sails. Rorschach raised his hands, conjuring a powerful storm that propelled the Kirin's massive hull forward, lifting it from the sea with a loud whoosh and sending it flying toward the dark Sabaody Archipelago.
Feeling the strain of using the wind to push the Kirin, Rorschach thought of the magnetism ability he had recently developed from his electricity.
He hadn't yet tested the weight limit of the metal he could control after converting electricity into magnetism.
But with hundreds of millions of volts of current, the resulting magnetic field wouldn't be weak.
Perhaps in the future, he wouldn't need to use wind power to make the Kirin fly.
What if he covered the hull in a harder metal and used magnetism to fly the warship? Wouldn't that be even cooler?
In an era where everyone sailed with wooden ships, launching an ironclad warship would be awesome.
He had already contacted Kizaru and told him about his desire to meet Vegapunk.
Kizaru had told him that Vegapunk had just arrived at headquarters from Egghead Island in the New World. Now, when he returned, he would finally be able to meet the great scientist whose technology was 500 years ahead of its time.
But now was not the time to think about that.
He wanted to see which pirate was audacious enough to cause trouble on Sabaody.
They must have a death wish.
Half an hour later, on the sea near the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Fire! Fire! Sink their ship! Don't let that scoundrel Drake get away! I'll tie that degenerate bastard up and bring him to Fleet Admiral Sengoku so that Teacher Zephyr, who once praised him, can see that he's nothing but a shameless pirate!"
On the large warship that had just left the naval port, Lacroix had a bandage wrapped loosely around his head. He held a rocket launcher, aimed it at the frantically fleeing pirate ship in front of him, and pulled the trigger.
The shell trailed a long fiery tail, arcing a brilliant trajectory across the dark night sky, shooting directly toward Drake's ship.
Drake's ship was a typical pirate ship that relied on wind and manpower. It had no steam engine, so if the sails were destroyed, they would become sitting ducks for Lacroix's warship.
Unfortunately, unless they were fired in a large volley, cannons were unlikely to pose a threat to a powerful individual.
Even pirates with bounties in the tens of millions could easily use their pure strength to launch attacks from a distance, let alone an expert in the Six Powers like Drake.
Facing the incoming rocket, he casually swung his sword, and a crescent-shaped slash flew through the air, cutting the shell in two. It exploded high above the sea, a dozen meters from the pirate ship. The force of the explosion not only failed to damage their ship but actually gave their sails a boost, pushing their vessel to flee even faster.
"Damn it! What are you dawdling for? Aim your cannons and fire!"
Lacroix reloaded his rocket launcher, roaring.
As soon as he said that, the warship's double-layered cannons finally began to unleash their power.
On Drake's pirate ship, the pirates saw a series of flashing lights on the pursuing warship in the distance, followed by an earth-shattering roar from the sea.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In just one volley, dozens of heavy cannonballs whizzed toward Drake's ship, causing the pirates' faces to fill with despair.
Drake's heart sank.
As a Rear Admiral at Marine Headquarters, no one knew better than him the overwhelming advantage the Marines' warships had over ordinary pirate ships.
The power of the cannonballs, the quality of the cannons, and the well-trained Marine soldiers could inflict devastating damage on any pirate ship they encountered at sea.
"I can't let this go on. I need to destroy Lacroix's warship, or we really might not get away. Ugh, what a mess."
Drake was groaning inwardly.
I'm just defecting, right?
Why is it so difficult?
Because it was a pitch-black night, most of the warship's first volley of cannonballs missed. Only three or four lucky shells flew toward Drake, and he shot them down with a few Rankyaku slashes.
Seeing that the second volley was about to be fired, Drake made a decision.
As the pirates frantically used their shoddy weapons and cannons to launch distracting attacks at the warship, Drake transformed into his hybrid form, drew his sword and axe from his waist, and leaped into the air. Like a phantom, he vanished into the darkness, using Geppo to zigzag and maneuver until he was on the side of Lacroix's warship.
"Vice Admiral Lacroix! He's on the port side! He's trying to board the warship!"
Before Drake could even land on the deck, the lookout in the crow's nest shouted. Drake cursed inwardly.
These damn Marines are too sharp.
Hearing the lookout's warning, Lacroix was not surprised but rather delighted. He turned with his sword and charged at Drake.
"Good! I'll catch you and take you back..."
"There's no time to dawdle here. If the main backup arrives, this whole defection mission will be a complete failure."
Drake gritted his teeth, his arm muscles bulging. His strength exploded, and the sword and axe in his hands sliced through the air, heading toward the charging Lacroix.
The ferocious and sharp slashes tore through the warship's sails, leaving deep gouges in the masts.
Two large slashes—one horizontal, one vertical—slammed down in front of a furious Lacroix.
"X! Hunting Grounds!"
Clang!
A deafening roar of metal on metal. Lacroix's thick arms went into a spasmodic numbness, and the giant sword he was wielding shattered into two pieces.
The air under Drake's feet exploded. His body moved like a blur, getting so close to Lacroix that he could ram into the Vice Admiral. He then turned his leg into a sword, kicking Lacroix in the chest.
Thud!
A dull explosion. Lacroix's face went pale, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His massive body staggered back two steps, his eyes bloodshot.
"Drake!"
He bit his bloodied teeth. Feeling deceived, his chest filled with anger and regret. He ignored the dull ache in his chest, clenched his giant fist, and punched at Drake in mid-air.
"My apologies! Vice Admiral Lacroix!"
Drake gritted his teeth, put his two weapons back at his waist, and covered his right hand in black Armament Haki. He punched back at Lacroix's giant fist.
"Armament Hardening! Crushing Explosion!"
Boom!
A chaotic blast of air erupted above the warship's deck. Lacroix's right arm cracked, and his massive body was sent flying backward, crashing through the bow's railing and falling into the sea.
Drake wasn't doing much better. His entire right arm felt like it was about to fall off. He was sent spinning five or six times in the air by the immense force of Lacroix's punch. He managed to dispel the force, drew his sword again, and slashed at the deck below.
The ten-meter-long slash easily tore through the deck. Drake charged into the hole, beat up the Marine soldiers who were loading the cannons, destroyed dozens of cannons, and then sliced a hole in the side of the hull, charging back toward his pirate ship.
Just then, he heard the Marine lookout in the crow's nest of the warship let out an excited roar.
"Hold on! Reinforcements are here! It's... it's Rear Admiral Rorschach, and Admiral Aokiji!"
Pfft!
Drake, who was still in mid-air, almost fell into the sea.
From the darkness in the distance, a roaring gale swept across the sky. Then, a massive, pale-blue warship with unfolded wings, like a giant dragon breaking through the darkness, flew toward Drake.
Drake's face twitched violently as he looked at the familiar faces on the bow of that warship, who were looking at him with surprise.
It was Rorschach, Law, and Kuzan!
On the Kirin, Rorschach was also a little dazed when he saw Drake.
He turned to Kuzan. "Uncle Kuzan, what's going on? So, the pirate who attacked the Marine warship is Drake?"
"Aralala, I didn't expect him to choose Sabaody as his starting point for defecting. This is a problem now. We received a distress call, so we have to do something."
Kuzan pressed a hand to his forehead with a look of a headache.
"Defecting? Rear Admiral Drake is defecting? Why?" Hibari blinked her bright eyes, not understanding what Kuzan was saying at all.
Law, on the other hand, seemed to understand and was also giving a weird look to Drake, who was trying to get away from the gust of wind kicked up by the Kirin.
That guy is so unlucky.
The one who came to his aid just happened to be Rorschach.
Oh, and an Admiral...
Just as the Kirin's hull was about to smash Drake like a fly, Rorschach waved his hand at the right moment, intensifying the wind and causing the Kirin to accelerate forward a little bit. It landed on the sea with a loud thud.
Drake, who had just escaped, finally made it back to his pirate ship, staring at them with a blank expression.
On Lacroix's warship, the Marines rushed to the deck with excited expressions. They looked at the impressive Kirin and its powerful-looking crew, and at Kuzan and Rorschach at the helm. They all raised their weapons and cheered loudly.
"It's Admiral Aokiji!"
"And Rear Admiral Rorschach!"
"This is so exciting! That silver-haired man is Rear Admiral Rorschach! He's amazing! So the rumors about a flying warship are true! This warship is our Marine's Storm Kirin! Rear Admiral Rorschach's warship!"
In the sea, Lacroix, holding his broken arm, emerged from the water. He looked up at the people on the Kirin and shouted, "Admiral Aokiji! Rear Admiral Rorschach! Capture Drake! That bastard Marine traitor publicly colluded with pirates to rob the base of a huge amount of tax money! Catch him!"
"Uh..." Rorschach turned to Kuzan. "Uncle Kuzan, you wanna take this one? Drake is your subordinate, after all. It wouldn't be right for me to step in."
"Do you want the mission that Sengoku-san arranged to fall through? Go on now." Kuzan was as calm as ever and didn't feel like moving at all.
Are you kidding? If he let Rorschach, a Rear Admiral, go, he could "lose" to Drake and "accidentally" let him get away.
But if he himself went, and Drake still managed to escape, it would not only be an embarrassment for him as a Marine Admiral but for the entire Marine Headquarters.
"So can I catch him?" Rorschach made a gesture of grabbing something.
"You can, as long as you're not afraid of being yelled at by Sengoku-san until you die." Kuzan rolled his eyes, not bothering with Rorschach.
"Sigh, this is a difficult situation. With this kind of lineup, how am I supposed to let him get away?"
Rorschach sighed, his body flickered, and he vanished from the Kirin.
The next moment, he appeared in the sky above Drake's pirate ship.
Drake's throat bobbed up and down as he watched Rorschach, who had appeared above his head as if by teleportation.
When did this kid's aura get so terrifying?
If he hadn't seen Rorschach's familiar face, Drake would have almost thought it was Kuzan himself.
"Drake! Prepare to die!"
Rorschach coughed dryly, raised his right hand, and a series of thick bolts of lightning that tore through the darkness erupted from his palm, creating a feast of lightning on the sea outside the Sabaody Archipelago.
The chaotic lightning shook the heavens, illuminating the sea and the sky.
"Rorschach, are you for real? I... I surrender! I won't defect anymore, okay?"
Drake's eyes were about to pop out of his head as he stood on the pirate ship's bow. He stared dumbfounded at the net of lightning that was a dozen times larger than his pirate ship, and he was completely stunned.
What did this kid eat to grow so big?
Is he even human anymore?
How did the moves he's using now, after just a few months, look like an apocalypse?
The pirates behind Drake had already pissed their pants.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of countless people, Rorschach, who was in mid-air, seemed to drag the lightning that filled half the sky and brought it crashing down on the sea where Drake's pirate ship was.
Rumble!
The sea for a few thousand meters was shattered by the bolts of lightning, and the sea for dozens of miles was illuminated in a brilliant white light.
The terrifying lightning filled the sky, making Lacroix and the Marine soldiers behind him, who had climbed back onto the warship, all stare in a daze.
After the rumbling thunder and explosions lasted for a good ten seconds, all that was left on the entire sea outside of Sabaody was Rorschach floating in the sky. Drake and his pirate ship were nowhere to be seen.
Lacroix's throat bobbed up and down. He swallowed hard.
Where's Drake?
Did he just vanish into thin air?
Watching Rorschach fly back to the Kirin, Lacroix couldn't help but ask him cautiously. "Rear Admiral Rorschach, where's Drake? Did he..."
Rorschach sighed and shook his head. "No, he got away."
"Huh? Got away? No way."
Lacroix was stunned.
The power of the attack Rorschach had just unleashed could have easily destroyed an island.
How could Drake have possibly gotten away?
"Yeah, I really didn't expect it, but there was a Devil Fruit user on his ship. They used a weird ability to get away with the entire ship. There's nothing we can do. We'll just have to have headquarters issue a bounty notice."
Rorschach said with a sigh. His right hand, which was behind his back, was making a grabbing motion.
Dozens of meters below the sea, Drake, who was inside an air bubble that enveloped his entire ship, looked completely drained. He flopped down on the deck.
Behind him, the bearded pirate, who had just narrowly escaped death, bit his lip, tears in his eyes, and came forward.
"Captain Drake, you're amazing! I'll follow you forever. No, I'll be your loyal subordinate forever."
"Uh, good." Drake felt like something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
(End of Chapter)
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