Looking at the struggling Arlong, Borsalino stomped down and said,
"Honestly~"
"Why did you have the nerve to come here~"
Arlong’s face contorted in pain, tears streaming down as he roared,
"I'll kill all the humans on this island who betrayed Big Brother Fisher Tiger!"
"All of them!!!!"
Borsalino took a puff of his cigarette,
"Oh~"
"So it's revenge~"
Arlong glared with hatred,
"That's right!"
"Fisher Tiger is dead!!!"
"Killed by you people, you inferior race humans!!!"
"I'll kill them all!!!"
Borsalino was unfazed,
"Oh~"
"Sogā, sogā~"
"He's already dead~"
"That saves some trouble~"
"However~"
His index finger, emanating a golden glow, pointed at Arlong's forehead,
"You'll have to come with me~"
"Mr. Wanted Criminal."
Arlong felt an infinite killing intent directed at him, and his body instinctively froze, unable to move...
For the first time in his life, he deeply understood the terrifying power of a human expert...
-----
Several days later.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Borsalino was leisurely reading a newspaper in his office.
*Knock knock knock—*
Borsalino put down his newspaper,
"Come in."
Stroberry, covered in bandages including his head, walked in,
"Vice Admiral Borsalino."
Borsalino looked at him,
"Oh~"
"Are you all better, Stroberry~"
Stroberry said with a bitter smile,
"Yes."
"But I've suffered greatly."
Borsalino asked curiously,
"Did Arlong manage to injure you this badly?"
Stroberry frowned deeply,
"Arlong and the others who were imprisoned a few days ago are mere pawns."
"The truly ferocious one is Jinbe....."
Thinking of Jinbe's powerful physique, Stroberry still felt lingering fear.
Even he, a Marine Rear Admiral trained for many years, was helpless against Jinbe's terrifying combat skills.
If it weren't for the urgency of Fisher Tiger's safety...
"His strength is extraordinary."
"Letting him go like this might be too dangerous."
Borsalino mused,
"Oh~?"
But his eyes involuntarily drifted to the "Ambiguous Justice" hanging on the wall.
Lost in thought...
------
Meanwhile.
East Blue, Foosha Village.
In Makino's bar, Luffy sat on a chair next to Shanks.
Sweating from pain, he bit his lip.
Pointing to the bandage below his left eye,
"See, I'm not afraid of pain at all."
Shanks was exasperated,
"Stop lying!"
"Don't do anything foolish again!!!"
Luffy said defiantly,
"I'm not even afraid of getting hurt!"
"Take me with you on your next voyage, Shanks!!!"
"I want to be a pirate too!"
Shanks said playfully,
"You?"
"No, no, no!"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
The surrounding crew members joined in laughter,
"Hahahaha!"
Luffy stood on his chair, clenching his fists,
"Damn it!!!"
"My fists are like guns!"
"And I'm a great swimmer too!"
Shanks doubted,
"Is that so~?"
Luffy turned to look at Shanks,
"What do you mean by that tone!!!"
Lucky Roo chuckled from the side,
"It means you're still a kid, Luffy."
"Hahahaha."
Luffy said angrily,
"I'm not a kid anymore! I'm an adult!!!"
Shanks handed him a glass of juice,
"There, there."
"Don't be so angry."
"Here, have some juice."
Luffy took the juice and downed it in one gulp,
"Arigato!!!"
But a burst of laughter erupted from the bar, especially Shanks, who was laughing so hard he was crying, slapping the table,
"You say you're not a kid!!!"
"Ahahahah!!"
Luffy instantly realized,
"Damn it!"
"That's cheating, Shanks!!!"
"You're not allowed to laugh!!!"
*BOOM—!!!*
The tavern door was shattered!
A man in a brown coat, with a long sword at his waist, led a group of subordinates with white headscarves as they entered.
The man in the brown coat walked in leisurely,
"Excuse us."
But his tone held no apology.
He glanced around and sneered at the Red-Haired Pirates,
"So this is what pirates look like."
"First time seeing them, they all look pretty stupid."
He walked to the counter and looked at the young Makino,
"We're mountain bandits, but we're not here to rob."
"Give me ten barrels of sake."
"We'll pay."
Makino was flustered, as the sake had just been drunk by the Red-Haired Pirates,
"Sorry... the sake has all been sold out..."
The mountain bandit leader in the brown coat's face turned cold,
"Oh?"
"What were those strangely shaped pirates drinking?"
"Was it water!!!"
*Swish!*
He drew the long sword at his waist and slammed it on the counter.
Makino looked panicked, and Shanks stepped forward,
"I'm so sorry, we truly apologize."
"We drank all the sake just now."
"If you don't mind, I have one bottle left here."
Saying so, he offered the last bottle of sake to the mountain bandit in the brown coat.
Looking at the offered bottle, the mountain bandit in the brown coat suddenly punched the bottle.
*Crash—*
The bottle offered by Shanks instantly shattered, and sake spilled all over the floor.
The man in the brown coat said,
"What do you take me for?"
"Bastard."
"How can one bottle be enough for anyone?"
He then reached inside his coat and pulled out a wanted poster,
"Take a good look."
"I'm a wanted criminal with a bounty of eight million."
He placed the well-preserved wanted poster before Shanks and said menacingly,
"There are people like you, who think they're so smart and step forward,"
"I've already killed."
"56 of them....."
The wanted poster clearly read:
"Mountain Bandit Higuma."
"Bounty, 8,000,000."
"Alive or dead."
------
New World, Punk Hazard.
Vegapunk had been waiting at the port for a long time.
The abilities and talent of the "material" described by Sakazuki had piqued his interest.
Sakazuki also emerged and nodded at Vegapunk, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
It had been several years since the "Triton Operation," and he had to admit... Vegapunk had changed quite a bit.
The most noticeable was...
"Mr. Vegapunk, you're..."
Sakazuki pointed at Vegapunk's thinning hair.
He remembered Vegapunk's hair being somewhat decent before, how had it become like this now...
Vegapunk touched his head and smiled wryly,
"Ah, I forgot my hat."
"It's nothing, I'm just getting older, and my work is quite taxing on the brain."
"This hair..."
He shrugged, indicating he didn't care.
However, observing his cautious movement to smooth down his hair... hmm...