"Oooh, how scary. So you lot are the pirates who attacked a Celestial Dragon on this island, huh?"
Borsalino's voice dragged lazily through the air.
"A slave girl, two young men… and the right hand of the Roger Pirates, the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh."
Borsalino had only recently graduated from Marine training and was currently interning under Admiral Sengoku aboard his ship. Seeing Rayleigh suddenly appear, a flicker of surprise flashed through his eyes, then vanished as he returned to that indifferent, careless look.
"So this whole Celestial Dragon incident was planned by the Roger Pirates, then?"
"Not really." Rayleigh smiled faintly, one hand resting on the hilt of the long sword at his waist. "I just happened to be with them."
He looked at the younger Marine in front of him.
"So, young Marine… will you let us go?"
"Of course not," Borsalino replied, tone mild. "If I let you stroll away that easily, I'll be the one getting punished."
A sharp whistle.
Without warning, a beam of yellow light fired from Borsalino's fingertip, faster than thought.
"Ambushes aren't a good habit, young Marine," Rayleigh said calmly.
He drew his sword in a smooth motion.
A crescent-shaped slash tore through the beam, cleaving it apart. The force didn't stop there. It continued on, cutting straight through Borsalino's body as if he were paper, then slicing through several massive trees in the distance before fading into the air.
Roy stared, eyes shining.
So this was a true master swordsman.
That was insanely cool.
He needed to learn that.
Right. Once they escaped, he was training swordsmanship harder.
The two halves of Borsalino's body shimmered with golden light and fused back together as if nothing had happened.
"Oooh… how scary," Borsalino said, completely unbothered. "I'm totally not your opponent."
Tesoro's face went white. He instinctively took two steps back, while Stella clutched his sleeve tightly.
Roy, on the other hand, didn't panic at all. He studied the future Marine Admiral with open interest.
So he'd already eaten the Glint-Glint Fruit this early?
A Logia really was troublesome.
Still, at Borsalino's current age, his ability clearly wasn't as terrifyingly refined as it would be later.
"Mr. Rayleigh," Roy asked quickly, "how far to your ship?"
"Oh?" Rayleigh glanced at him. "Still calm, huh, kid. It's not far. There's a cliff ahead."
"Got it."
Roy didn't waste time. His mental power surged, wrapping Tesoro and Stella, and he shot forward, carrying them toward the cliff at a sudden burst of speed.
"Boss, we're just leaving that old man behind?" Tesoro asked nervously.
"Relax. Rayleigh will be fine," Roy said. "We just have to get off this island before an Admiral shows up."
Stella bit her lip. She glanced back once at Rayleigh, then lowered her head.
"Roy… I'm sorry. This is all because of me…"
"Don't say something that stupid," Roy cut her off. "You're the navigator I picked."
His voice was firm.
"Since I rescued you, I'm not letting anyone drag you back."
As he spoke, a squad of Marines appeared ahead.
The leading Marine lieutenant colonel froze for a moment when he saw the three of them, then immediately drew his saber.
"It's them! Open fire!"
Roy's eyes narrowed.
A massive burst of mental force erupted.
Stones, planks, shattered scraps, broken debris of all kinds rose into the air, then rained down like a storm toward the Marines.
"Ah!"
"Dodge!"
The Marines scattered. Roy slipped through the opening and surged forward.
"Damn it! Don't let them get away!"
Shouts and pounding footsteps chased after them.
Roy gritted his teeth.
His power was strong, but prolonged use drained stamina fast. And he was still carrying two people through the air.
He couldn't keep this up for long.
He had to conserve strength and reach Rayleigh's ship as quickly as possible.
Because in Roy's Observation Haki, a terrifying presence was approaching at top speed.
"Damn… that fast?" Roy muttered.
Tesoro's face turned ashen. "Boss, what do we do?"
"Find the ship first," Roy said, forcing his breathing steady. "If it comes to it, I'll use my power to throw you onto the boat. You two leave first. I'll hold them off."
"But Boss you…"
"Shut it! This isn't the time to get sentimental!"
They reached the cliff.
Below, a small sailboat that could fit more than a dozen people was moored near the shore.
Roy didn't hesitate. He rushed them aboard.
They hauled up the anchor and pushed off, the boat beginning to slide away from the coast.
Then…
Boom!
A huge shockwave thundered from the shoreline. Roy's expression changed.
Rayleigh had already clashed with Sengoku.
Roy glanced at Tesoro and Stella as they worked the boat, then slowly floated upward.
"A powerful one's coming," he said. "You two sail away first. I'll catch up!"
He leapt back toward the shore.
The moment Roy landed, a yellow flash tore through the trees, condensing into a human shape in front of him.
Borsalino.
He'd slipped free of Rayleigh's pressure.
"Oooh, how scary," Borsalino said, voice lazy as ever. "You actually dared to stay behind alone."
Roy's patience snapped at that drawn-out tone.
"Rear Admiral Borsalino. A man who ate the Creepy-Creepy Fruit and became a light-man."
He pointed at him, eyes sharp.
"If you want to catch us, then come try."
Swish!
Roy lifted a finger. Pebbles on the ground shot forward like bullets, tearing through Borsalino's body and leaving holes.
But they passed through light. No blood. No real damage.
Logia really was a pain. Without Armament Haki, it was almost impossible to hit the true body.
He'd once planned to go after the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on Skypiea.
Lightning was absurdly strong no matter how you developed it.
But the Nen Nen Fruit suited him too perfectly.
"Oooh, kid," Borsalino said, unbothered. "That was almost a hit."
"Yata no Kagami."
Light flashed.
Borsalino's body relocated instantly, appearing at Roy's side. A foot swung in, moving at light speed, aiming straight for Roy's face.
Boom!
Before the kick could land, Roy swept his left hand.
Borsalino's tall figure was blasted backward, dissolving into glowing particles, then reforming several meters away.
Roy had already compressed his Observation Haki to its limit, focusing entirely on reading Borsalino's intent.
The instant he sensed the attack pattern, Roy released his power.
When Borsalino appeared, Roy's mental force condensed into an invisible shockwave and slammed him away before he could finish the strike.
Borsalino steadied himself, and a trace of seriousness finally surfaced on that creepy face.
"Kid… what kind of ability is that?"
"I don't have a habit of explaining my power to other people," Roy said. "Especially not to a light-man."
He clasped his hands together.
"Chibaku Tensei."
A technique shamelessly borrowed from another world.
Roy's mental force surged, crushing and wrapping around Borsalino, pulling debris and stone into a massive sphere that swallowed him up.
At the same moment, Rayleigh forced Sengoku back with a full-powered slash, then flashed toward the coastline.
He arrived beside Roy, glanced at the gigantic sphere, and chuckled.
"Didn't expect you to be this capable, kid."