After successfully dumping the workload, Borsalino made a clean getaway.
He vanished with astonishing speed—worthy of the Marines' fastest man—leaving Nami standing there, clutching a thick stack of schedules as the sea breeze tousled her hair.
Escaping from being buried under work was certainly a blessing, but summoning the Seven Warlords of the Sea was hardly an easy assignment.
Pirates were an unruly bunch to begin with, and the Warlords—pirates specifically authorized to hunt pirates—were even worse. In terms of sheer willfulness, they were often more troublesome than ordinary pirates.
Even if Borsalino could suppress them with overwhelming strength, the fact that he couldn't simply kill them meant he'd likely end up covered in trouble.
Just as he was nursing a headache over the matter, a familiar figure came into view not far away—someone directing Marines as they loaded supplies onto a warship.
"Strawberry!"
The moment Borsalino spotted that distinctive tall hat, his eyes lit up.
Strawberry was a core member of the Hawk faction among the higher-ups. Back when he was stationed at G-1, he had also served under Borsalino.
The two were on good terms—and it was worth mentioning that beneath Strawberry's hat lay a truly impressive skull.
"Admiral Kizaru?"
Spotting his former superior, Strawberry instinctively straightened up.
"Heading out somewhere?"
Borsalino patted Strawberry on the shoulder with a genial smile.
This Headquarters Vice Admiral wasn't exactly what most people would call a "good guy." Especially when dealing with pirates, he didn't shy away from methods that could be considered… unsavory.
That said, as a Marine who regarded the eradication of pirates as his sacred duty, Vice Admiral Strawberry was undeniably qualified. No wonder Sakazuki held him in such high regard.
"Under orders to eliminate the pirate 'Bloodfiend' Rock."
Strawberry straightforwardly produced a wanted poster—an eightieth-million-berri bounty adorned the image of a pirate captain.
Compared to the New World, where monsters were everywhere, pirates in the first half of the Grand Line were relentlessly suppressed by the Marines. Bounties exceeding a hundred million were exceedingly rare.
An 80 million berri bounty was already extremely high. Either this pirate possessed considerable strength and potential—or he was an outright monster with grave crimes to his name.
"This guy's been operating near waters close to the Calm Belt, huh?"
Borsalino casually skimmed the intelligence attached to the wanted poster, a cheerful smile spreading across his face.
"Yes. Bloodfiend Rock is extremely cunning. His ship was specially modified into an oared vessel. Whenever he encounters Marine warships, he flees into the Calm Belt. The 117th Branch attempted to capture him several times, but he slipped away every time."
Strawberry snorted.
No matter how crafty a pirate was, escape from the Marines was only temporary. This time, the Marines had deployed a main warship capable of traversing the Calm Belt—along with himself, a Headquarters Vice Admiral.
No matter how clever Bloodfiend Rock might be, death awaited him.
"Cough—let's put the pirate suppression mission on hold for now. I have another arrangement. There's a far more important task I need you to handle."
With that, Borsalino casually tucked Bloodfiend Rock's wanted poster into his coat and flashed Strawberry a friendly smile.
A Marine Admiral wasn't just a high-ranking enforcer at Headquarters. In theory, they had the authority to mobilize any Headquarters Vice Admiral—and even the main battle fleets stationed at Marineford.
Massive operations like the Buster Call were the clearest proof of the power held by Admirals.
And so, with Strawberry wearing a thoroughly bewildered expression, Borsalino successfully passed the task of summoning the Seven Warlords onto him.
The good news: Admiral Kizaru's conscience kicked in, and he decided to personally handle summoning Empress Boa Hancock, meaning Strawberry wouldn't have to make a trip to Amazon Lily.
The bad news: aside from Sir Crocodile, who had recently been defeated by the Straw Hat kid, there were still five Warlords left—each with a wildly different personality, united by a single shared trait:
They were all a pain in the ass.
To make matters worse, even the warship Strawberry had just finished supplying was commandeered by Admiral Kizaru under the excuse of "being in a hurry."
The Marines aboard the ship had no idea what was going on. Under Borsalino's orders, they set sail—leaving their Vice Admiral behind on the pier.
"Hmm… last time I went to Amazon Lily was a few months ago. I wonder if Hancock's on the island right now…"
Setting up his beloved beach chair on the deck, Borsalino dialed Amazon Lily using a Den Den Mushi.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku probably wished all senior officers were as hardworking as he was—unfortunately, there was also Sakazuki, that utterly unhinged workaholic who'd gladly go 007 if it meant outworking everyone else.
With the Summit War approaching, it wasn't hard to imagine how busy Marineford was about to become. If he stayed there, slacking off happily would be impossible.
Especially after dumping a mountain of work onto Nami—continuing to slack off in front of her would at least sting his conscience a little.
Better to lie low for a while. And Amazon Lily, with its beautiful scenery, was the perfect hideout.
"Borsalino-sama? Is that really you, Borsalino-sama?!"
An incredibly excited female voice came through the Den Den Mushi. Even through the receiver, her enthusiasm was overwhelming—so much so that even Borsalino felt a little pressured.
"Cough—it's me, Hancock. I'm currently departing from Headquarters and heading to Amazon Lily…"
Before he could finish, a shrill squeal of excitement erupted from the other end, followed by a burst of frantic commotion.
It took quite some time before someone picked up again—this time, it wasn't Hancock.
"Borsalino-sama, Elder Sister wanted to set sail to welcome you personally. We barely managed to stop her…"
The voice belonged to Hancock's sister, Sandersonia, and the helplessness in her tone was unmistakable.
"…Sister… clothes…"
If one listened carefully, they could also faintly hear the voice of the other sister, Marigold.
"Please help me persuade Hancock. I'll be at Amazon Lily very soon—there's no need to come out and greet me."
After hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Borsalino let out a sigh.
If being too charming was a sin, then he was probably guilty beyond redemption.
Turning the Pirate Empress into a lovestruck fool—this really was a crime against the world.
[Ding! Kujo Jotaro has issued a targeted mission, inviting @Borsalino to enter his world. Accept?]
[Accept / Decline]
Just as Borsalino was sighing to himself, the Dimensional Chat Group's notification rang out in his mind.
Time flowed differently across worlds.
Only a few hours had passed in the pirate world—but in Jotaro's JoJo world, the final battle against Dio Brando had already arrived.
Borsalino first returned to his cabin, instructing the Marines on duty not to disturb him.
Only then did he accept Kujo Jotaro's invitation.
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