Marine Headquarters Academy.
The vast training arena crackled with blue lightning and glimmered with golden lasers, each streak weaving and colliding within a carefully contained space. Along the perimeter, the elite class students watched in awe, eyes glued to the two figures at the center of the storm.
Zzzzt—!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Bolts of lightning and beams of laser clashed, sending sparks and energy scattering across the field.
Whoosh!
The swirling energies split and reformed into human shapes.
Borsalino cocked his mouth to the right, his tone as lazy as ever:
"Ooh, how scary~ Enel~
You're strong as a monster, you know~"
His words sounded serious, but the mocking drawl made it impossible to tell if he was praising or teasing.
Enel smirked.
"Tch. You don't sound very impressed."
He raised his arms.
"Electro-Forge!"
Crackling arcs of electricity danced around his wrists and ankles. The golden cuffs he wore melted and morphed, reshaping into twin short blades. Guided by the current, they snapped into his hands. He gripped both, settling into a menacing stance, a wicked grin spreading across his face.
In a flash of blue, Enel launched himself at Borsalino.
Zzzzt—!
A sharp crackle of electricity. Enel materialized at Borsalino's right, twin blades slashing down.
Borsalino pulled a comically exaggerated face of terror—mouth agape, eyes wide, pupils pinprick small.
Clang!
Somehow, he'd conjured a sword of pure light, nearly as tall as himself, just in time to block the twin blades.
He glanced at Enel, feigning resignation.
"Are you trying to kill me, Enel~?"
Enel grinned wider.
"Glad you noticed."
Borsalino sighed.
"So scary~
Kids these days~"
Before he could finish, twin bolts of lightning as thick as fingers shot from Enel's eyes, streaking toward him.
Borsalino yelped,
"Oooh~~!"
At the same time, lasers fired from his own eyes, colliding with the lightning in a blinding explosion.
A mushroom cloud blossomed over the field.
Whoosh!
Two figures flickered back into view.
Borsalino blinked exaggeratedly.
"Ooh, almost went blind~"
Enel snorted, coating his hands and blades with Armament Haki.
Zzzzt—!
He shot forward in a streak of lightning.
Clang clang clang clang...
Steel clashed with light again and again. The two separated.
Enel spun his blades, warning:
"Careful, Borsalino. This one's new—try not to die."
Borsalino looked troubled.
"So troublesome~"
Enel's lips curled, the current on his blades humming at a steady frequency.
Whoosh!
He vanished, reappearing right in front of Borsalino.
A blade came down—simple, almost unremarkable.
Borsalino raised his sword to block. The moment they touched—
His pupils shrank.
His Ama no Murakumo Sword was sliced clean in half!
No time to think—his body scattered into points of light, blinking away and reforming behind Enel.
He let out a long breath.
"Almost died there~
Way too dangerous, Enel."
Enel missed, sheathing his blades and turning with a shrug.
"Told you to be careful."
Zzzzt—
The golden short blades melted back into ornaments, wrapping around his wrists and ankles.
With their respective Devil Fruit powers, the fight was practically unwinnable for either side.
If one strike didn't land, there was no point in dragging it out.
Seeing Enel put away his weapons, Borsalino finally relaxed.
"Finally over~
You're growing fast, Enel~"
Enel grinned.
"Knowledge is power. Want to study with Dr. Vegapunk?"
Borsalino looked tempted, but the thought of all that science made his scalp tingle.
"So troublesome~
I'll pass~"
Enel didn't push.
"If you ever want to, you can tag along. Even just for a little advice."
Borsalino nodded.
At that moment, Zephyr strode over.
"All right, time to switch. Let the next group have the field."
Enel saluted,
"Understood, Teacher Zephyr!"
With a flash of lightning, he vanished from the arena.
Borsalino sighed,
"Hai~ hai~"
and strolled out at his own pace.
Watching Borsalino's lazy exit, veins bulged on Zephyr's forehead.
"Next group!"
—
At the edge of the field, Enel spotted two familiar faces waving from outside.
He zipped over in a flash.
"Big Bro Karol!"
Karol greeted him with a warm smile.
"Long time no see, Enel."
Enel grinned.
Sakazuki praised,
"That last move was impressive."
Enel scratched his head.
"Knowledge is power, right? You're the one who told me that."
Sakazuki nodded.
"Looks like you've learned a lot from Dr. Vegapunk lately."
Enel nodded enthusiastically.
Suddenly, he remembered something.
"Oh, right—Uncle Sakazuki. Yesterday, Dr. Vegapunk said he wanted your help with something."
Sakazuki's interest was piqued.
"Oh? What is it?"
Enel replied,
"Hold on~"
He flashed away as a bolt of lightning, returning seconds later with a newspaper in hand. He flipped to a page and handed it over.
Sakazuki took it, raising an eyebrow at the image of a soaring mythical beast.
"Does he want it alive or dead?"
Enel hesitated.
"Uh… preferably alive. It's a Devil Fruit user, right? Dr. Vegapunk wants to study the flesh and blood of a mythical creature. If it's dead, the fruit's power disappears."
Sakazuki nodded.
"Yeah, it's a Devil Fruit user. Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan—Azure Dragon model. Captain of the Beasts Pirates—Kaido."
Enel's eyes widened.
"Oh! You know him, Uncle?"
Sakazuki folded the paper and handed it to Karol.
"We've fought before."
Karol looked surprised.
"He actually managed to escape from you?"
Enel was also shocked. Was this pirate really that strong?
Sakazuki shook his head.
"That was a long time ago—back during the God Valley Incident. I tried to finish him off, but Charlotte Linlin intervened. I planted a magma bomb inside him, but she probably saved his life."
He turned to Karol.
"Go gather intel on Kaido."
—
New World, Scurin Island.
The beach at the port was littered with corpses.
One pirate ship sat unscathed on the shore; another lay broken in half, wreckage strewn across the sand.
Supplies and treasure were scattered everywhere.
Under the shadow of the shattered hull, a group gathered around a roaring bonfire.
A massive, horned man sat by the flames, lounging on a "chair" made of pirate corpses.
He tipped back a jug of wine—big enough for two heads—and drained it in one go.
"Phew—"
He exhaled, unsatisfied, and reached for another jug.
But a towering figure with black wings and jet-black armor blocked him.
"Big Bro Kaido, you can't drink anymore. That's five jugs already. Your body can't take it."
Kaido burst out laughing.
"Worororororo!"
"It's fine, King. Just one more sip."
He grinned and snatched the jug anyway.
"Hey—!"
Before King could protest, Kaido suddenly spat out the wine, coughing violently.
When he finally recovered, he wiped his mouth, his face darkening.
Crack!
He hurled the jug, shattering it on the ground.
His hand unconsciously drifted to his left side, over his lung.
"SA! KA! ZU! KI!"
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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