In the sea area of the first half of the New World, the sea breeze blew powerfully.
A neatly painted medium sized Marine warship cleaved through the waves, sailing smoothly across the azure sea. The sails snapped in the wind, and the soldiers on board stood straight and disciplined, fully showcasing an elite demeanor.
In the spaciest spot on the deck, an exquisite white lounge chair sat quietly. Borsalino wore a crisp Vice Admiral uniform shirt, with her Justice cloak loosely draped over her shoulders, lazily lying on the sun lounger with her fingertips lightly resting on her forehead to block the glaring sunlight, looking completely relaxed and comfortable.
After being promoted to Vice Admiral of Headquarters, she successfully obtained her own dedicated warship and independent combat unit, officially taking charge of her own command.
According to Marine Headquarters regulations, each Vice Admiral could be assigned up to three field grade officers to serve as dedicated adjutants. When news first broke that Borsalino needed adjutants, the entire Marineford Headquarters instantly boiled over with excitement. Numerous officers stepped forward to recommend themselves, among whom were many veteran Captains. After all, Borsalino was the strongest Vice Admiral aside from Garp; with her formidable power, probably only the likes of Garp, Zephyr, and Sengoku could rival her. Following such a superior officer with a boundless future meant prioritized resources, a steady stream of military achievements, and shortcuts to promotion well within reach.
Right then, an unexpected figure took the initiative to stand before Borsalino: Momonga.
Ranked second in the current Elite Training Camp, second only to Sakazuki, he was now a newly promoted Headquarters Captain and an undeniable leader among the younger generation. In the original storyline, Momonga was already a Vice Admiral holding real authority at the start, a veteran grand swordsman with a calm demeanor. Reasonably speaking, a high potential officer like him would usually spend a few years on an Admiral's ship, get promoted to Rear Admiral, and then build his own team, with an extremely bright future ahead, having no need whatsoever to serve as an adjutant to a Vice Admiral.
Yet he chose Borsalino.
He was a mastermind type officer whose analytical ability regarding battle situations surpassed Sakazuki's, and he was also the only one who avoided being beaten up by Borsalino on the recruit camp's first day. In the original plot from her past life, to pick up the Empress to attend the Summit War, Momonga went to Amazon Lily; facing the Empress's invincible Mero Mero no Mi, all the soldiers succumbed to her charm, and only Momonga stabbed his own palm to forcibly immune himself from the charm petrification, a display of willpower and decisiveness top tier even within Headquarters.
Without much hesitation, Borsalino directly finalized her choice and selected Momonga as her adjutant. Afterward, she picked fifty elites with outstanding physical strength and resilient mindsets from the Headquarters recruits, assembling her first direct unit.
As for the remaining two adjutant slots permitted by Headquarters regulations, she was in no rush to fill them, leaving them vacant for the time being and letting nature take its course.
The weather in the New World was treacherous and variable, truly unpredictable. During the month they spent drifting at sea, everyone truly witnessed the bizarre nature of this ocean region. Clear sunny skies turned into violent storms in an instant, foggy waters connected seamlessly with magnetic storm thunderclouds, and the temperature difference between day and night was extreme. In just thirty days, they encountered more than ten different extreme weather conditions.
Sailing along, they encountered quite a few scattered minor pirate crews, but basically, Momonga handled all of them.
Meanwhile, as the superior officer, Borsalino's sole daily routine was lying on the deck's sun lounger, basking in the sun, catching the sea breeze, and resting with her eyes closed. At her current level of strength, to make further breakthroughs, she had to engage in life or death battles with true top tier powerhouses to break her limits.
Standing to the side, Momonga watched his superior's relaxed demeanor, feeling not the slightest resentment in his heart. The earth shattering duel on the gathering island and those apocalyptic scenes were still deeply branded in his mind to this day.
Momonga could not help but rub the space between his brows. His superior's appearance was simply too deceptive, and the contrast was so stark that watching her for a long time made one feel immune to certain things.
"Sigh..."
Looking out at the distant sea surface, he recalled the first few days after setting sail. Back then, when Borsalino had nothing to do, she would take the initiative to spar with him to hone their swordsmanship. Initially, neither used Haki, competing purely in sword techniques; relying on his solid fundamentals, he could barely manage a fifty fifty split. But after just ten days, the situation changed. Still without using Haki, he could no longer hold out for twenty moves against Borsalino. Even when restrictions were lifted later to allow him to use Observation Haki, he only managed to hold out for another five days. He was overtaken yet again by his superior, who was not even using Haki.
But this cozy and relaxed daily routine at sea quietly changed tone over the past week.
In past voyages, every two days they would encounter several roving small pirate crews. But for seven whole days, the entire sea was empty, calm, and quiet, not even half a pirate ship was spotted, so deadly silent that it was eerie.
Experienced as he was, Momonga felt a strong sense of vigilance rising in his heart. He knew very well that the New World was never a tranquil place. There were only two possibilities for such a situation. First, they had inadvertently entered the territory of a top tier Sea King, where all weak pirates and merchant vessels dared not pass. Second, they had barged into the exclusive domain of a great pirate.
To purge an entire sea area to such an extent was by no means something ordinary pirates could accomplish. In the New World, only great pirates with bounties over 1 billion Berries possessed such deterrent power.
With a heavy heart, Momonga raised his hand to signal all crew members to be on high alert.
Sure enough, within just half an hour, at the far end of the sea horizon directly ahead of the warship, three massive dark silhouettes slowly emerged.
Three giant pirate ships approached menacingly, their hulls enormous and heavy, far exceeding ordinary pirate vessels. Their masts towered into the clouds, and their hulls were covered with mottled blade marks and bullet holes left by years of battle, fiercely ancient and battle worn.
As the sea breeze blew, three pitch black pirate flags fluttered violently, flying high. The background of the flags was as black as ink, with a pale, gruesome skull printed in the center. Slanted at the skull's lower jaw was an engraved wine bottle, its patterns crisp and clear, replacing the traditional crossed bones and making it highly recognizable.
The moment he saw this flag, Momonga's pupils shrank, and he murmured under his breath, "It is a remnant of the former Rocks Pirates: the Great Pirate, John!"
Great Pirate John. Paramecia Type, Sake-Sake Fruit User. Bounty: 1.6 Billion Berries!