The Grand Line, first half.
A deserted island.
The island had beautiful and pleasant scenery.
But the Log Pose took an unusually long time to set.
In the blink of an eye, the Roger Pirates had already been stationed here for over a month.
That day—
Suddenly, a News Coo flew across the sky over the island.
The group in the center of the island, who were eating grilled meat, showed excited expressions.
Roger grinned widely and put down the meat in his hand.
A red glint flashed in his eyes.
With a blast of Conqueror's Haki shooting into the sky, he struck down the News Coo.
Roger laughed cheekily.
Rayleigh covered his forehead and sighed deeply, then his figure flashed.
He leapt out from the dense jungle.
Appeared mid-air.
Pulled out a hundred Belly and stuffed it into the unconscious News Coo's pouch.
Then placed the unconscious News Coo on the top of a tree branch.
Took a newspaper and jumped back down.
Rayleigh said helplessly:
"Don't go firing off your Conqueror's Haki randomly, Roger."
Roger laughed heartily:
"Won't happen again, won't happen again."
As he spoke, he took the newspaper and began flipping through it.
Rustle~ rustle~
Suddenly, Roger's eyes sharpened, and he shouted excitedly:
"Hey! Rayleigh!"
"Look at this!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"This is too interesting!"
"A samurai!"
"Let's make him one of our crewmates!"
Rayleigh took the newspaper.
On the cover was a dual-wielding swordsman holding two blades.
Behind him was a pile of slain pirates.
His attire was visibly different from sea fashion—very ancient-looking.
The headline on the cover read:
"Wandering Swordsman! A Samurai from the Legendary Country of Gold!"
Rayleigh pondered:
"Country of Gold... must be Wano Country."
(T/N: Hundreds of years ago, Wano was known as the Country of Gold)
Roger laughed loudly:
"Right? Very interesting, huh?"
"Let's go find him and make him my crewmate."
"Hahahaha cough cough..."
Rayleigh suddenly frowned:
"You can't keep putting off that cough."
"We set sail tomorrow for Drum Island."
"We must get it checked."
Roger scratched his head and chuckled:
"Yeah yeah."
...
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Today was a rare day off.
Enel headed toward Admiral Sengoku's residence.
Pushed open the door and entered.
In the courtyard, Sengoku was smiling warmly as he accompanied Rosinante.
If anyone saw this, they'd surely be stunned.
The usually stern and proper Admiral Sengoku was actually wearing such a kind and gentle smile...
It was like a little girl holding an ice cream cone bumped into Sakazuki.
And Sakazuki, smiling warmly, patted the girl's head and handed her 100 Belly, saying:
"Get a five-layer one."
Equally absurd...
But Enel was used to it and shouted:
"Admiral Sengoku! Rosinante!"
Sengoku looked up with a cheerful smile at Enel:
"Here to play with Rosinante again, Enel?"
Enel grinned:
"Yup."
Sengoku glanced at the time and said:
"Then play with Rosinante for a while."
"I've got to take care of some paperwork."
Enel gave Sengoku a reassuring look.
Sengoku smiled kindly at Rosinante and went back into the house.
Better finish work quickly... and buy Rosinante some new clothes tonight.
Seeing Enel, Rosinante excitedly ran over.
But not a sound came out.
Even when speaking, he just opened his mouth without a voice.
Enel was momentarily stunned:
"Rosinante?"
Rosinante nodded and mouthed something.
Then, as if remembering something, he waved both hands.
A translucent dome enclosed the two of them.
Enel frowned:
"A Devil Fruit, huh."
At that moment, Rosinante's voice came through:
"Yeah yeah."
Then he seemed to get a bit dejected:
"But it's kind of useless."
"It only blocks sound."
Enel raised his eyebrows... blocks sound?
That means you can't even shout out techniques—how cruel...
Then he comforted:
"It's okay, Rosinante."
"Fruit abilities are just support."
"The body is everything."
Rosinante nodded innocently:
"Mm!"
Enel smiled and said:
"Come on, let me show you the new move I've been practicing~"
Rosinante looked up to Enel with admiration:
"Okay~"
The transparent dome surrounded them as they walked toward the rear mountain of Headquarters.
Along the way—
Enel demonstrated his new move to Rosinante:
"Watch this!"
As he spoke, electricity sparked all over Enel's body.
A sharp bolt of lightning lit up in his hands.
A piercing sound like a thousand birds chirping filled the air.
The lightning in his hands shifted between forming a spear and a short blade.
Rosinante's eyes sparkled as he watched Enel.
Suddenly, Enel stopped walking.
He looked around the area in shock.
This...
This...
As if realizing something, he turned and looked at Rosinante like discovering treasure.
He dropped his ability and lifted Rosinante high:
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
"Rosinante! Your Fruit ability is amazing!!!"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
Rosinante, being held up, looked completely confused:
"Eh?!"
Enel said excitedly:
"This dome blocks all sound!"
"All sound!!!"
"Your ability! Combined with mine!"
"We're invincible!!!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"Come on come on! Let's test it out!!!"
Saying that, he impatiently pulled Rosinante toward the Naval Academy.
...
Marine Headquarters Academy, under a large tree.
Borsalino lay lazily on the grass.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, speckling his body.
Borsalino stretched with a yawn:
"Life, huh~"
His eyes half-closed, enjoying the peace of the moment.
At some point, he had dozed off.
When Enel and Rosinante arrived, this was the scene they saw.
Enel grinned like a demon.
He motioned for Rosinante to activate his ability.
If not for visible signs, you'd never know anyone was even there by presence alone.
The two of them quietly approached Borsalino.
Even when they were right in front of him, Borsalino didn't react.
Electric light flickered on Enel's right wrist.
The gold ornament on his wrist twisted and condensed.
Forming a golden spike over a meter long.
He slowly pressed it toward Borsalino's temple.
He signaled to Rosinante.
Rosinante nodded and released his ability.
Suddenly, Borsalino's eyes snapped open.
A sense of mortal danger jolted his brain.
No time to think.
On reflex alone, his body turned into a burst of light and flashed away.
Reappearing a hundred meters off.
Enel raised an eyebrow.
That speed... using Yasakani no Magatama to dodge in a nap—what a show-off...
Borsalino now noticed Enel and the spike in his hand.
He let out a long breath:
"Enel~"
"That's way too scary~"
"How could you point something so threatening at someone~"
Looking at the completely unaware Borsalino.
Enel's mouth twitched. Should've just stabbed him after all!
Electric light flickered again, and the golden spike reverted back into an ornament on his wrist:
"Don't mind it, just a little experiment."
"Thanks, Borsalino."
"Hahahahaha!"
With that, he dragged the excited Rosinante and hurried off again.
Borsalino stood there helplessly:
"Ah~ ah~"
"What a lovely nap~"
"But still..."
"How did I not sense a thing?"
Having not seen Rosinante release his ability, Borsalino...
Began to doubt his entire existence...
---
(For each review +1 additional chapter)
read +100 chapters on Patreon tambeerg