Under Raizen’s control, the water currents on both sides of the blade moved at extreme speeds in opposite directions, emitting a sizzling sound.
Raizen glanced at the pirates desperately swimming away in the ocean and swung his sword.
The rapidly moving water detached from the blade, slicing into the sea with a sharp swoosh.
One of the pirates glanced back and happened to witness this scene.
“Ha, haha!
This Marine brat doesn’t know the first thing about swordsmanship!
We survived!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, a monstrous wave suddenly surged from the sea surface.
The massive swell launched the pirates high into the air before instantly morphing into a towering waterspout, swallowing their figures whole.
A terrifying suction force trapped the pirates helplessly within the vortex, rapidly tearing them to shreds!
Under the relentless, high-speed rotation of the water, the pirates were completely obliterated without leaving a single bone behind.
They vanished cleanly into the waterspout as if they had never existed.
‘Using the extreme speed and directional control of the currents to shred targets…
looks like it packs quite a punch.
Well then, I’ll call this move Sea Hunt!’
Raizen was highly satisfied with his sudden stroke of inspiration.
This technique was an absolute nightmare for Devil Fruit users.
Furthermore, as he continued to develop his fruit’s powers, this move would only grow stronger!
Perhaps he could even use this as a foundation to develop stronger sword techniques in the future.
For instance, he could take a page out of the Golden Lion’s book and create a seawater version of Lion’s Threat: Imperial Earth Bind?
Retracting his Armament Haki, Raizen was just about to return the longsword when a crisp crack suddenly echoed.
Right before the eyes of Raizen and the Marine, the blade shattered inch by inch, crumbling into dust.
“Ah, my bad.
I’ll compensate you with some Berries later.”
Raizen scratched his head, his desire to obtain a named sword deepening even further.
Without a named sword these days, he couldn’t even practice his sword techniques.
Practicing once meant ruining a sword entirely.
The main issue was that he differed from other great swordsmen; his techniques involved coating the blade with his Devil Fruit powers.
An ordinary longsword simply couldn’t withstand the might of a Mythical Zoan!
The Marine, however, shook his head vigorously.
“How could I accept that?
I haven’t even thanked you for saving my life, Mr.
Raizen.
If I took compensation for a mere sword, I’d die of shame!”
Raizen smiled faintly, not minding it too much.
“Speaking of which, where did this pirate crew come from?
How did you end up running into them?”
The Marine scratched his forehead.
“It’s like this.
We came over to clean up the battlefield according to your orders, Mr.
Raizen, but upon arriving, we noticed a pirate ship approaching.
They claimed they saw the fire and came to check if there was any treasure to loot.”
Raizen curled his lip and waved his hand.
“Then please search that pirate ship as well.
I’ve already scanned it with my Observation Haki; there’s no one on board.
Oh, and make sure to bring Jelaka’s corpse back.
That’s my hard-earned merit!”
“Yes, Mr.
Raizen!”
Transforming into a yellow dragon, Raizen took to the skies.
Moments later, he landed back on Garp’s dog-headed warship.
By now, Garp had woken up and was still munching on a rice cracker.
“You’re back?”
“Yeah.
It was a pirate named Jelaka.
They said he was one of this year’s Supernovas, but he was incredibly weak.
He couldn’t even take a single punch from me.”
Shrugging, Raizen plopped down onto the lounge chair next to Garp.
He casually grabbed a rice cracker and started crunching on it, his face full of frustration.
What he wanted was an opponent who could put him under immense pressure, forcing him to integrate everything he had learned and improve rapidly.
He didn’t want some overhyped weakling who couldn’t even withstand a serious punch.
For some reason, Raizen suddenly thought of Smoker.
Even a weakling like Jelaka knew Armament Haki, yet Smoker spent all day relying solely on his Smoke-Smoke Fruit.
If he could just develop his Devil Fruit abilities a bit deeper, Raizen wouldn’t say anything—it was a Logia, after all.
But Smoker just kept recycling the same few moves day in and day out.
It was truly frustrating to watch him waste his potential.
‘Yeah, Smoker really is a scrub.’
“Hahaha!
Don’t be so gloomy, Raizen boy!
There will be plenty of strong fighters for you to face coming up.
Or, I wouldn’t mind sparring with you myself.”
Garp patted Raizen’s shoulder, winking and making faces, which caused Raizen’s mouth to twitch.
‘Fight you?
Are you sure you aren’t just itching for an excuse to beat me up, Instructor Garp?’
‘This old geezer is an absolute stat monster.
His punches have absolutely no restraint.’
‘But that was before.
Now, I really do want to measure the gap between myself and the top powerhouses of the sea.’
The sun set and rose again; another day had passed.
The fleet led by Garp finally arrived just outside Totto Land, rendezvousing with Sakazuki’s fleet.
Wearing his signature red suit, Sakazuki took the initiative to approach, nodding at Garp in greeting.
His gaze then shifted to Raizen, his stiff expression contorting into what seemed to be a forced smile.
“Bordeaux Raizen.
I’ve heard about the Jelaka Pirates.
You did well.
Once you graduate from the training camp, would you be interested in becoming my adjutant?
With your strength and potential, I guarantee you’ll be promoted to Vice Admiral within two years.
A seventeen-year-old Vice Admiral!”
As soon as those words were spoken, the surrounding Marines involuntarily dropped their jaws.
Admiral Sakazuki was actually extending an invitation to a cadet who hadn’t even graduated from the Elite Training Camp?
And for the position of adjutant?
He was even promising a promotion to Vice Admiral within two years?
Were they still dreaming?
Sakazuki didn’t know what the others were thinking, nor did he care.
He had his own considerations.
According to the intelligence he had gathered, although this kid Bordeaux Raizen was only fifteen years old, he had Sengoku, Zephyr, and Garp standing behind him.
He was arguably the most well-connected individual in the entire Navy.
Combined with his personal strength and the immense potential of a Mythical Zoan, two years was merely a conservative estimate.
Even if he didn’t help, those three would ensure Raizen’s rapid advancement.
Most importantly, Sakazuki had seen Raizen’s attitude toward the Jelaka Pirates.
It was a cat-and-mouse game.
Killing Jelaka with a single punch was one thing—that pirate was simply too weak—but his subsequent act of letting the rest of the crew flee before slaughtering them perfectly aligned with Sakazuki’s ideals!
He had heard that Raizen manipulated seawater to form a waterspout, shredding those pirates alive.
Had he been present, he absolutely would have applauded Raizen’s actions.
When dealing with pirates, one should ask no questions and simply exterminate them all!
Taking everything into consideration, Sakazuki extended an olive branch to Raizen.
It was both for Raizen’s own strength and potential, as well as the powerful network standing behind him.
Seeing this, Garp remained silent, simply adopting the posture of someone enjoying a good show.
‘If the Raizen boy follows Sakazuki, that wouldn’t be bad either.
He’d be hunting pirates every single day; his strength would definitely skyrocket!’