The wine in the cup was crystal clear and carried a fresh fruity aroma.
Kizaru could not help lifting it.
Having one drink should be fine, right?
Surely there were no World Government or Marine spies ten thousand meters up in the sky.
“If not for the World Government’s wanted order, I think we might have become friends.”
Seven deliberately looked surprised.
“Friends with a Marine?”
“Like Captain Roger and the Marine Hero Garp?
Mr.
Borsalino, can I really?”
Click.
Click.
Gan Fall quickly pressed the Vision Dial.
Not only did he take photos, he also started recording video, while using a Tone Dial to record audio.
After finishing all that, he turned and left with style.
Seeing this, Kizaru’s trademark sleazy smile slowly stiffened.
He did not know what those shells were, but he had a vague feeling that something was not right.
“Looks like you set me up.”
Seven did not respond to that.
Instead, he changed the subject.
“I heard you and Monkey D.
Dragon are good friends.
Could you introduce me to him?”
At those words, Kizaru narrowed his eyes.
Information about Beelzebub rapidly flashed through his mind.
He had joined the Roger Pirates at nine.
Last year, when the crew disbanded, he vanished along with Roger.
After Roger turned himself in, Beelzebub’s whereabouts were unknown.
Then, last month, he appeared in Loguetown and soon after abducted a World Government prisoner at the harbor on Sandy Island.
How did he know about Monkey D.
Dragon?
Was there a traitor in the Marines?
Could Beelzebub and Dragon share the same ideals, and he wanted to use Kizaru as an intermediary to establish some kind of cooperation?
“How troublesome.”
Kizaru drained the wine in his cup.
“I’m a Marine.
Arresting you is my duty.”
“I understand.”
Seven drew his blade.
“Marines capturing pirates is only natural.”
“Brother Borsalino, I hope the battle that follows won’t affect the friendship between us.”
The corner of Kizaru’s eye twitched.
Friendship, my ass!
You’re talking like we’ve known each other for years.
We only met today, all right?
The moment Mihawk heard negotiations had broken down, he unleashed a flying slash before Seven could make a move and charged at Kizaru with his blade.
It was rare to encounter someone with Admiral-level combat power.
Yoru had been thirsty for battle for quite some time.
Originally, Mihawk had planned to bid Seven farewell after the banquet, return to the sea, and continue challenging various great swordsmen.
Then they would regroup and set out again two years later.
He had not expected a master to deliver himself to their doorstep.
Since Kizaru had come, there was no reason to miss this chance.
At thirty-four, Kizaru was in the prime of his strength.
Even without the Glint-Glint Fruit, his swordsmanship had already reached the level of a great swordsman.
In the original timeline, during the Sabaody Archipelago incident, Kizaru had once used Ama no Murakumo to spar with the elderly Rayleigh through health-preserving swordplay.
Out of respect for Mihawk, Seven did not immediately join the battle.
Instead, he took the photos Gan Fall had just taken.
In the photo, Seven sat in the seat of honor, while Kizaru and Mihawk sat to his left and right.
The three of them were raising cups and drinking together.
Honestly, it really was easy to misunderstand.
“Old Gan, where’s the doctor?”
Gan Fall froze.
“Lord Thunder God, weren’t you the one who told him to get an Octopus Balloon from me and hide down in the Blue Sea?”
Seven rubbed his brow.
“Never mind.”
That doctor really did cherish his life.
Forget it.
Since they were not walking the same path, Seven decided to respect another person’s fate and let go of the urge to help.
There were plenty of excellent pirates on the sea.
Finding a few crewmates with shared ideals would be easy enough.
As for immortality.
That was not something fifteen-year-old Seven should be considering yet.
Immortality looked like a blessing, but to him, it was an eternal cage.
The weight of life lay in the unknown.
What Seven enjoyed were the dangerous and thrilling moments in the journey of life: setting sail, discovering treasure, matching wits with enemies, and drinking with companions.
If life became infinite, then the excitement of all those adventures, the joy of success, and even the relief of escaping death would all be diluted.
Eternity would dilute the value of every moment, making everything dull and tasteless.
Fine.
Seven could not keep making it sound noble.
The main reason was that he was only fifteen.
At the very least, he had to wait until his body finished developing before considering immortality.
Otherwise, wouldn’t he be a little short in certain dimensions?
Besides, who could say for sure that Seven would never obtain immortality in the future?
He was a noble cheater, after all.
“Lord Thunder God, we can fight as well.”
Gan Fall volunteered, and Seven was naturally very satisfied inside.
“There will be opportunities for you to fight in the future.”
Sending a group of warriors who did not even know Haki to deal with a Marine Admiral was not courage.
That was damn suicide.
It was better to let them broaden their horizons first and learn what true top-tier combat power on the sea looked like.
“Old Gan, take the people farther away.”
At this point in time, Kizaru had not yet been promoted to Admiral, and Mihawk had not yet been crowned the World’s Greatest Swordsman.
But at this level of strength, even the shockwaves from their battle could kill Sky Islanders.
Former Marine Admiral Zephyr had once commented that Kizaru relied too heavily on his Devil Fruit ability.
Kizaru’s flaw was indeed that he relied too much on his fruit.
His advantage was that the Glint-Glint Fruit had almost no flaws.
In essence, the fruit techniques Kizaru used should be something Seven could also develop and imitate.
Lightning and light were far too similar.
On the battlefield, Mihawk grew fiercer the longer he fought.
And the rising battle intent Kizaru displayed made Seven feel strangely unfamiliar.
The slacker is getting fired up?
If his teammate were anyone other than Mihawk, Seven would absolutely have taken the chance to launch a sneak attack.
Whether it landed or not was another matter. New chapters come out on g.com first.
The point was to win through numbers.
But Mihawk was different.
Mihawk was too proud.
Because he understood Mihawk’s personality, Seven respected his choice.
A one-on-one duel.
Among the future three Marine Admirals, Aokiji would duel Garp on Hachinosu, Akainu would fight desperately at Marineford, and the two would later battle for ten days and nights over the position of Fleet Admiral.
Only Kizaru…
At Marineford, Akainu was heavily injured, Aokiji was lightly injured, and Kizaru merely had a slightly dirty coat.
At the Sabaody Archipelago, he kept saying how scary everything was while kicking a Supernova with every step.
It seemed Kizaru had never truly risked his life, which was why people joked: if the pay was right, he could cripple a Four Emperor.
Of course, Mihawk was the same.
However, nineteen-year-old Mihawk was probably not Kizaru’s match yet.
When Mihawk was sent flying for the third time, Seven lifted Musou Isshin, wrapped in Conqueror’s Haki, and collided with Ama no Murakumo.
He put everything he had into this strike.
Thanks to that iron idiot from Teyvat, Seven had been given the chance to face a god’s radiance directly, allowing his Conqueror’s Haki to evolve again at a speed far beyond common sense.
In the world of One Piece, Conqueror’s Haki infusion was the entry ticket to becoming a top-tier powerhouse.
The future famous teacher Kaido once said that only Haki could transcend all.
The tremendous impact from Ama no Murakumo and the purple tachi wrapped in Conqueror’s Haki both struck hard against Kizaru’s understanding.
“Conqueror’s Haki infusion?”
Kizaru even forgot to say his catchphrase.
He was so frustrated he wanted to kill the intelligence departments of both the Marines and the World Government.
What the hell is the meeting king doing?!
A monster with monstrous strength, Conqueror’s Haki infusion, and a top-tier Logia ability had a bounty of less than one hundred million?
Kizaru: *******
Seven flashed a bright grin.
“Brother, shall we sit down and talk?”
Aside from Musou Isshin, Conqueror’s Haki infusion, and Innate Monstrous Strength, Seven truly had nothing presentable against an Admiral-level fighter.
It would be better to stop while things looked favorable.
If Kizaru discovered the truth, another battle would be unavoidable.
Mihawk and Seven together could more or less keep fighting Kizaru for a while, but they should not fight on Skypiea.
Land resources on Skypiea were already extremely scarce.
If the aftershocks of their battle sliced the island apart, the loss would be huge.
For now, Seven only wanted to develop steadily.
There was no need to fight the Marines to the death.
If Kizaru was determined to keep fighting, then they would simply risk their lives.
In the fifteen years since he was born, Seven had wandered and struggled enough.
It was not as if he had never fought for his life before.
When a man dies, his bird faces the sky.
If he survives, he lives ten thousand years.
Kizaru glanced into the distance, toward the direction where the Sky Islanders and Shandia warriors were gathered.
Seven understood his look.
“That’s easy.”
Red-black Haki spread out in layers of ripples, instantly covering the entire island and knocking out every living creature except Mihawk and Kizaru.
Seeing this, Kizaru used the force of the exchange to leap back into the air.
They were just two criminals.
It was not as if this was a mission he absolutely had to complete.
Besides, no one knew he had encountered Beelzebub, and he had already reported the situation to Admiral Sengoku.
“Beelzebub, what do you want to talk about?”
…