Otherwise, even overshooting by a single millisecond would be enough to veer all the way from the New World to the Red Line.
After all, light travels at three hundred thousand kilometers per second. Without the super-speed cognition granted by the Speed Force, moving at light speed was nothing but asking for trouble.
In less than a second, Borsalino's figure appeared high above Marineford, the Marine Headquarters.
He blinked at the towering complex below—and in the next instant, he was already outside the window of his office.
Inside the room, Nami was seated on Borsalino's chair.
More precisely, she was perched on the armrest after rotating the chair ninety degrees to the left, tirelessly processing documents.
There was no helping it—the height difference between her and Borsalino was a bit much. Still, her own seat was right there, yet she insisted on using his chair anyway. There was clearly a hint of spite mixed in.
"Yo. Working hard, Little Nami."
Standing outside the window on Geppo, Borsalino greeted her with a smile.
Nami, who had been muttering curses under her breath, nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice. She sprang up and rushed to the window—
Only to find nothing there.
"…What was that?"
"I swear I just heard that bastard's voice…"
She frowned, momentarily wondering if she'd finally overworked herself into hallucinating. Then it hit her—of all people, why did she hallucinate him?
For some reason, her cheeks felt a little warm.
She muttered a curse under her breath and yanked the curtains shut.
After teasing Nami to his heart's content, Borsalino was about to head back to his ship when he spotted a familiar figure near the harbor.
Vice Admiral Garp was strolling along with a huge bag of donuts, eating as he walked while chatting with his aide, Bogard.
Borsalino raised an eyebrow—and his body dissolved into light once more.
Garp took a big bite of his donut—
And bit into thin air.
"Huh?"
He stared at his hand.
The donut was gone.
Then he looked again.
The bag was gone too.
"…Eh?"
"Where'd my donuts go?!"
Garp froze in place. If there weren't still crumbs in his mouth, he'd have thought he was dreaming.
"Uh… did you eat the entire bag too…?"
Bogard glanced at Garp's empty hands, unsure how to even begin commenting.
That said, after following Garp for so many years, Bogard was already immune to most things.
"…That's weird. I just had lunch, I shouldn't be that hungry…"
Garp pondered for a long moment, utterly unable to figure out where the donuts had gone.
"…Guess I'll go buy more. No—two bags."
Having failed to find an explanation, he could only accept it.
"Finally, I can relax and be a proper slacker…"
"Mmm. Donuts stolen from Vice Admiral Garp really do taste better."
Back aboard his ship, Borsalino casually stuffed another donut into his mouth, holding the large bag he'd just acquired.
If it were anyone else, gaining power that could eventually surpass everything would surely inspire some bold ambitions.
Punch a Yonko here.
Kick the Five Elders there.
At the very least, maybe try touching Imu's… well.
Come to think of it, despite being a Marine Admiral for so many years, Borsalino had never once seen Imu—nor had the Five Elders ever even mentioned that being.
Which went to show that the World Government never truly considered him one of their own.
So if one day he really did raise a banner in rebellion, he wouldn't feel the slightest bit guilty.
Still, for now, lying low was the wiser choice.
Better to wait until Imu and the World Government reveal their true trump cards.
Borsalino had no intention of charging in full of confidence, only to discover that Imu was some kind of Super Saiyan or cosmic alien overlord.
Patience was something he had in abundance.
Even if he hadn't yet found pure gold to secure immortality, there were plenty of ways to extend his lifespan.
Speaking of staying alive…
The first person that came to Borsalino's mind was Orochimaru from the dimensional chat group.
Come to think of it, he still had an outstanding deal with that snake.
So, sprawled comfortably on the sofa, Borsalino adjusted himself into a lazier position and connected to the Dimensional Chat Group in his mind.
[WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh: I finally passed the assessment and became an intermediate trainee! Fireworks!]
[Haibara Ai: Congratulations. You've evolved from low-tier cannon fodder into mid-tier cannon fodder. Becoming qualified expendable material is just around the corner.]
[Kobayashi: Haibara-san, that's too harsh. He's really been trying hard!]
[WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh: What kind of devilish comment is that… I can't help having bad talent, okay?! Sorry for transmigrating into a background character!]
[Orochimaru: Heh. If you're willing, you could try human modification. I could make you stronger very quickly.]
[WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh: No thanks. I haven't finished being human yet—I don't want extra weird organs growing on me.]
[Borsalino: @Orochimaru The goods are already in hand. If you want to trade, I'm available anytime.]
[WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh: Whoa! Admiral Kizaru! Long time no see!]
[Kobayashi: Eh? Long time? Not really—didn't Borsalino-san speak just yesterday?]
[Haibara Ai: Probably because we're in different worlds. The flow of time isn't the same.]
[Kobayashi: I see! Haibara-san really is smart—no wonder you managed to develop a rejuvenation drug.]
[Haibara Ai: It's only a half-finished product. The probability of dying on the spot is far higher than turning into a child. Completely impractical.]
[Orochimaru: Heh. Even so, that's impressive. If there's a chance, I'd love to exchange research notes. @Borsalino Aside from the vampire tissue samples, I'm also interested in something from your world—Devil Fruits.]
Seeing Orochimaru's message, Borsalino raised an eyebrow, an as-expected smile forming on his face.
That guy calling himself WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh practically lived in the chat. Even accounting for different time flows, his enthusiasm was excessive.
Who knew how much information he'd spilled while Borsalino wasn't paying attention?
He probably wouldn't dare expose personal secrets—but something like Devil Fruits, a fundamental setting of the world?
There was no way he'd keep quiet about that.
Given Orochimaru's personality, learning about Devil Fruits and not being interested would be the real miracle.
As for whether to trade…
There wasn't really anything to hesitate over.
To ordinary people, Devil Fruits were priceless treasures.
But to someone like Borsalino, they weren't that rare.
Even someone like Spandam from CP9 had managed to procure two Devil Fruits for his subordinates.
Celestial Dragons even forced slaves to eat Devil Fruits purely for entertainment.
Calling them "treasures of the sea" was fine and all—but with a standard price of around 100 million Beli, they were hardly irreplaceable.
[Borsalino: That could work. But what are you offering in exchange? @WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh Little brother, mind giving me an overview of Orochimaru's world?]
Of course, Borsalino already knew Orochimaru's situation.
He might even know it better than the so-called "little brother."
But since he'd chosen to play dumb from the start, he naturally had to keep up the act.
[Kobayashi: Hehe, front-row seats for a big-shot trade~]
[WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh: Sure. Let's see where to start… Orochimaru's world is called the Ninja World. Its mainstream power system is chakra. You can think of it like your world's three types of Haki. With chakra, people can use ninjutsu, genjutsu, and secret techniques.]
[WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh: There are also bloodline limits. The former is like Devil Fruit abilities you can learn through effort, while the latter are more like innate Devil Fruit powers. That said, most ninjutsu and secret techniques don't reach the upper limits of top-tier Devil Fruits.]
[WantToClingToLuoFeng'sThigh: If Admiral Kizaru wants to trade with Orochimaru, I strongly recommend Edo Tensei and Flying Thunder God. He should've seen the Scroll of Seals, right? Eight Gates is also great—your physique could definitely handle it. Multi-Shadow Clones are amazing too. Oh, and Water Release is a must-have…]
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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