"Fufufufu... Aren't you afraid this could spark a full-scale war between pirates and the Navy?" Doflamingo laughed sinisterly. "Hehehe… The Whitebeard Pirates are just roaming these waters, you know!"
Right now, Loguetown had become a powder keg, a gathering place for the world's top forces. Even the Whitebeard Pirates were lurking nearby. Although the Navy had concentrated its strength here, they didn't dare make a move too soon. Especially not before the execution of the Pirate King. Any misstep could ignite a war — not against one crew, but the entire pirate world. And while the Navy was strong, it wasn't invincible.
"The Fleet Admiral's orders were clear — don't stir trouble. I don't want any either," Borsalino said lazily, that oily smirk never leaving his face. "But if you guys are the ones asking for it… If I let you run wild here and the Navy just stands by watching, then where's our authority? So even if I arrest you all here and now, no one's going to question it."
"Damn it. Retreat!" Doflamingo's expression darkened, and he gave the order.
With that, the Donquixote Family began withdrawing. Doflamingo knew picking a fight with the Navy right now was unwise — not with so many top Navy brass present. Even Borsalino, just a Vice Admiral at the moment, already had power comparable to an Admiral. They didn't call him a "monster" for nothing.
"Trying to leave now? Too late! Yasakani no Magatama!" Borsalino's hands lit up with a blinding glow.
"Run!" Trebol shouted.
"Don't you dare hurt Doffy!" shrieked Pica, slamming his hands into the ground. Stone walls erupted from the earth, shielding the retreating Donquixote Family.
In the next moment, a barrage of laser lights exploded through the air. The battlefield was consumed by the relentless hail of Borsalino's light-based attacks, each beam causing a chain of deafening explosions.
"No wonder he's a future Admiral... what terrifying power," Rosinante muttered, slipping away in the opposite direction amidst the chaos. "But I'm not here to fight — time to vanish."
As the smoke cleared, Borsalino paused, his attack ceasing.
"They got away? Pretty impressive." He narrowed his eyes. "The Donquixote Family really is a pain… I can't take them all down alone. And Doflamingo's connections in the underworld make any move against him complicated."
He turned his attention toward Rosinante's retreating figure.
"But that guy — Rosinante — now he's a soft target. Might as well bag him and report some results."
Borsalino turned into a beam of light and disappeared.
"Hey, kid — ever been kicked at the speed of light?" Borsalino suddenly appeared beside Rosinante, his leg already swinging.
But Rosinante, as if expecting it, raised his arm in advance, cloaking it in Armament Haki — CLANG! He blocked the light-speed kick squarely.
"You're really going to ignore Doflamingo and chase me instead? Isn't that a little unfair?" Rosinante said coldly, holding off the Admiral's strike.
"Not bad… You've got solid Observation Haki. But what can I say — you're alone. Catching Doflamingo is way too much trouble. You, on the other hand? Easy catch." Borsalino sneered, his tone dripping with contempt.
Rosinante's eyes narrowed. "So… you really have underestimated me."
Suddenly, Rosinante looked up, locking eyes with Borsalino. "Tell me something — has anyone ever said you rely too much on your Devil Fruit?"
At those words, Borsalino's brow twitched, irritation flashing across his face.
But just then, Rosinante twisted his grip and grabbed Borsalino's leg with his hand.
"Stillness—Fruit of Silence!" Rosinante growled.
A strange, invisible force surged through his palm and into Borsalino's body. In that instant, Borsalino's expression changed dramatically. He instinctively tried to pull back — but his body didn't respond as expected. His Logia powers… had gone silent.
"What…?! My powers…?! They're dormant?!" he gasped. "You're the user of the Silence Fruit… but it can do this?!"
Indeed, it could. Through countless battles and near-death escapes from CP0, Rosinante had steadily grown stronger. With the fusion of two lifetimes' worth of soul, his Observation Haki had awakened early — and as his body matured, so too did his spiritual power. He realized that this powerful Haki had incredible synergy with the Silence Fruit.
Sound is just vibration. The Silence Fruit cancels sound — meaning it can still vibrations.
So he wondered… if it could silence vibrations, could it silence other things?
As his Observation Haki grew stronger, and with a little creative thinking, Rosinante had begun unlocking deeper layers of his fruit's potential. He discovered a terrifying truth — the Silence Fruit wasn't just a "gimmick." Properly developed, it could rival, or even counter, Whitebeard's so-called strongest Paramecia: the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
Of course, power lies in the user. Rosinante wasn't nearly strong enough to challenge Whitebeard — not yet.
But one technique he had just recently developed — Fruit Silence — allowed him to force a Devil Fruit into temporary dormancy, as if jamming a signal. It wasn't invincible. Against a powerful user like Borsalino, it should have only partially suppressed the powers. But Borsalino hadn't expected it — and let his guard down.
"Soul-Chasing Silence Blade!"
At the same time he silenced Borsalino's fruit, Rosinante's other hand flashed to his sword hilt.
Shing—!
A blade gleamed, drawn with absolute silence — not a whisper of steel.
He struck.
This wasn't the Silent Blade technique that had made him famous — this was something new. This slash made no sound, no aura, not even resistance. All friction and drag had been silenced. With no sound and no air resistance to slow it, the blade moved faster than sound.
A heartbeat later, blood exploded from Borsalino's chest. A massive gash ripped through his uniform. He hadn't even had time to coat himself in Armament Haki.
He stared at Rosinante in disbelief — and then, without another word, transformed into light and vanished into the horizon.
"He escaped?" Rosinante lowered his blade, slipping it silently back into its sheath.