The Den Den Mushi on the desk opened its sleepy eyes, then jolted upright, mimicking panic."Admiral Kizaru, sir! Emergency transmission!"
Borsalino sighed.He'd just been halfway through his tea — green, perfectly steeped. "Mmm… you guys sure know how to ruin a quiet afternoon," he drawled, setting the cup down with deliberate slowness. "What's the problem this time? Another group of pirate upstarts?"
The voice on the other end crackled.
"Negative, sir. A Celestial Dragon… has been killed."
Silence.
Even the Den Den Mushi seemed to hold its breath.
Borsalino's lazy eyes lifted a fraction. "Killed? Haa… that's quite the crime, you know~."
"Witnesses say the attacker used… some kind of ability. A strange gravity ability. The bodies were—flattened, sir."
He leaned back in his chair, lips curving faintly. "Gravity, huh? Sounds troublesome." He rose, dusting off his pristine white coat, the word Justice glinting gold under the sunlight streaming through the window.
The snail blinked nervously.
"Orders from Fleet Admiral Sengoku: you are to intercept immediately. Buster Call authority has been granted."
"Buster Call, eh?" He chuckled softly. "They don't waste time, do they? What's the island?"
"Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 33."
At that, the room filled with light. Borsalino's body fragmented into photons, dissolving into a sunbeam that streaked through the open window.
His voice echoed faintly as he vanished:
"I wonder, now… what kind of fool attacks a Celestial Dragon?"
The tea still steamed on the desk, untouched.
Far across the sky, a column of golden light split the clouds — moving faster than sound, faster than thought — cutting straight toward Sabaody.
Below, the citizens still screamed and fled.And at the center of it all, Nagato looked up, eyes rippling with the Rinnegan's rings.
"Light…" he murmured. His gaze following as Borsalino lands on the island.
Golden light crashed onto the plaza, scattering dust and heat.
When it cleared, Admiral Borsalino stood amidst the ruin, hands in his pockets, a lazy smirk stretching across his face. The air shimmered faintly around him, particles of light still drifting off his coat.
"Haa… what a mess~," he said, his drawl cutting through the distant screams. His gaze slid over the crushed bodies, the cratered stone, the trembling onlookers too afraid to breathe. "You went and made quite the scene, didn't you?"
Nagato regarded him silently, his cloak rustling in the sea breeze. "You must be one of this world's protectors," he said finally.
Kizaru tilted his head, amused. "This worlds? You speak as if you're from another one." He took a slow step forward, boots crunching over shattered tile. "But killing a Celestial Dragon… that's not very polite, you know~."
"The man you call a dragon was no more than a worm who believed himself divine," Nagato replied, voice calm but heavy. "His life was meaningless, his existence… poisonous. I did this world a favor."
Kizaru chuckled softly, light flickering in his eyes. "Mmm, maybe so. But you see… the world government doesn't pay me to judge, only to punish. And you, my friend, have broken one of the biggest taboos there is."
Nagato's gaze didn't waver. "Then you too are just another instrument of their hypocrisy."
For a moment, neither moved. The wind carried smoke between them, Kizaru's coat fluttering lazily as Nagato's Akatsuki cloak billowed in answer, both people sizing the other up.
Borsalino exhaled through his nose, half sigh, half laugh. "You know," he said, "it's been a long time since someone made me leave my chair in a hurry. Let's see if you're worth the effort~."
Nagato's eyes darkened, eyes widening slightly, "Show me your justice, 'Admiral.' I will show you pain."
The light in Borsalino's body brightened, crossing his arms he said "Yasakani no Magatama,"
A blinding storm of golden lights burst forth in a relentless cascade, tearing through the air like divine bullets towards Nagato.