North Blue waters, where the flag of justice fluttered in the wind.
"Report! Pirates spotted on a small island outside the forward channel!"
The messenger shouted from the watchtower.
Raleigh, lying on his sun chair, looked utterly exasperated.
"Captain Cleveland, are there always this many pirates in the North Blue?"
Cleveland, standing nearby, looked embarrassed.
Just two days ago, when he first received Raleigh, he had boasted about how much the North Blue had improved under Vice Admiral Sakazuki's governance.
Yet in less than two days, they had already encountered four groups of pirates.
"Well, Rear Admiral Raleigh, perhaps this area hasn't been completely cleared..." Cleveland's voice grew softer, his head lowering.
Faced with the reality of four pirate encounters in two days, claiming good governance would be like slapping his own face.
"Fine," Raleigh said lazily. "Let's capture a few leaders this time and ask them what's really going on."
Meanwhile, Tokikake and Gion were unusually excited.
Their recent progress had been remarkably fast, far exceeding their training results at headquarters.
Both had now mastered the Marine Six Styles Raleigh taught them.
Tokikake had even begun to learn Armament Haki.
Although not yet proficient enough for combat, he had taken the first step.
Gion's progress was even faster.
Having comprehended flying slashes, she had officially stepped into the realm of a master swordsman.
Moreover, through repeatedly using Kami-e (Paper Art) in life-or-death situations, she successfully awakened Observation Haki.
Now, both of them were approaching Vice-Admiral level strength.
"Raleigh, we're going ahead!"
Eager to test their new strength, the two charged toward the pirate group using Geppo (Moon Walk).
"Alright, be careful." Raleigh waved his hand, too lazy to take action himself.
[Slacking off on battlefield. Slacking Value +200]
[Ding! Slacking Value has reached 10,000. Begin lottery?]
"Begin lottery."
[Ding! Congratulations host for obtaining Great Grade Sword - Mikazuki Munechika. Extract?]
Raleigh suddenly sat up from his sun chair, surprised.
In previous lottery draws, aside from Haki, he had only obtained useless items.
This time the reward was particularly excellent: a named blade.
"Extract."
A flash of white light, and a beautifully crafted tachi appeared in Raleigh's hand.
Everyone's attention was focused on the pirate ship, so no one noticed.
Otherwise, they would have been astonished by his ability to create something from thin air.
Raleigh gripped the tachi and slowly drew the blade.
The gleaming blade measured a full 80 cm, with a pronounced curvature made for slashing.
The blade was wide at the base and tapered sharply toward the tip—a unique structure known as the "tachi-gashira" style.
Moreover, the tempering pattern was markedly different from others.
While many blades featured common patterns like waves or straight lines, this Mikazuki Munechika displayed a crescent moon pattern, accompanied by two parallel lines.
Sunlight glinted off the blade, casting dazzling reflections.
Raleigh couldn't help but marvel, "Truly worthy of being one of the legendary Five Great Swords of Japan, hailed as the most beautiful among them."
The Mikazuki Munechika had garnered numerous accolades, with the highest praise being "the finest among masterpieces."
Though it lacked the mythological aura of the Dōjigiri Yasutsuna he had given to Momonga, its design and sharpness alone were enough to rank it above the Dōjigiri.
This blade ranked among the 21 Great Grade Swords (Ō Wazamono) and possessed the undeniable potential to compete for a place among the 12 Supreme Grade Swords.
"With such a beautiful sword, I ought to learn a few swordsmanship techniques. Ah, but for now, I'll just take it easy. The more I slack off, the more I'll learn."
Raleigh had initially thought to test the blade, but then he remembered his swordsmanship was far from proficient.
Rather than swinging it recklessly, it would be better to wait until he acquired some skills.
If Gion, who cherished fine swords, saw him mishandling it, she might fly into a rage.
He recalled how some swordsmen, like Zoro, reacted when prized blades were disrespected.
"Besides, it would be such a waste to use such a beautiful sword for reckless slashing."
After hanging the Mikazuki Munechika at his side, Raleigh used his Observation Haki to sense the battlefield and then paid it no further attention.
[Slacking off on the battlefield. Slacking Value +200]
Tokikake and Gion were in a rampage.
As two elite commanders, dealing with pirates with bounties under ten million Berries was a piece of cake.
Before long, the battlefield had quieted down.
By the time the warship approached, most of the pirates had been taken care of.
Only one, who appeared to be the captain, remained, bound with ropes and kneeling on the deck.
"Gion-san and Tokikake-san are incredibly strong."
"I've never seen such powerful commanders before. I bet they'll be promoted straight to commodores soon, right?"
The marines on the deck exclaimed in amazement.
They weren't inexperienced, having previously taken on pirate crews in the North Blue alongside Sakazuki.
However, aside from Sakazuki, they rarely encountered such young Marine experts.
In their hearts, they believed no one could compare to Sakazuki, and anyone whose strength even approached his was a rare genius.
"Rear Admiral Raleigh, the pirate crew has been eliminated. Commander Gion and Commander Tokikake have captured their captain," Cleveland approached and reported quietly.
There was no helping it—his current status on the ship was quite low.
In terms of rank, he outranked Gion and Tokikake, but in terms of strength, he couldn't defeat either of them.
He knew that for young headquarters commanders like them, the rank was just the beginning.
Aside from those two, the only one left was Raleigh, who outranked him and whose strength remained unknown.
According to Cleveland's speculation, Raleigh's strength far surpassed that of Gion and Tokikake.
Otherwise, there was no explaining why two proud headquarters genius commanders would act as obedient as students in front of a Headquarters Rear Admiral.
Well, of course, Gion mostly just behaved more like a young girl around Raleigh.
---------
Explanation for the swords, Dojigiri (which given by raleigh to momonga) and Mikazuki belong to Tenka Goken (Five [Greatest] Swords under Heaven) are a group of five Japanese swords.
Three are National Treasures of Japan, one an Imperial Property, and one a holy relic of Nichiren Buddhism.