Enslavement and Invitation

"Oh? I didn't expect the first people I ran into to be familiar faces." Vidal stood on the hillside, looking down at the two men locked in a fierce battle below.

Behind him, criminals in prison uniforms emerged one after another, their number growing from eight to ten!

"Lord Vidal, should we go down and capture them?" One of the pirates approached with his head lowered and asked respectfully.

"No rush. Let's watch first."

Vidal paid no attention to the fearful and other looks directed at him, casually keeping his back to them.

The terrain below resembled a small valley. The two men fighting were Comil and Strawberry from the South Blue, both of whom he knew.

Strawberry was the captain whose hair stood so high that his Marine cap looked less like it was being worn and more like it had been placed on top.

Although both men held the rank of captain, one was a captain directly under the G-8 Branch, while the other was merely a captain of the South Blue 13th Branch.

Their grades were actually three levels apart, but rank didn't matter in the special training camp. Interestingly, both were Swordsmen, and both used Two-Sword Style!

At that moment, four or five pirates lay dying around them, wailing nonstop, but no one cared whether they lived or died.

The two Swordsmen fought a fierce, high-speed battle in the small valley!

Two figures flashed through the air amid bright gleams of steel. Four long swords, polished until their edges shone like autumn frost, crossed and reflected the Swordsmen's cold gazes.

Metal clanged and clashed as sparks flew between the rising and falling blades. Neither man would give an inch.

"Soru!"

"Rankyaku!"

"Geppo!"

The two displayed a Swordsman's high agility and attack power to the fullest, combining techniques from the Six Powers with their swords in a relentless exchange of attacks.

They fought from the ground into the air, then traded slashes as they descended again, leaving the pirates lying on the ground staring in amazement through their wails.

"Splendid swordsmanship!" Comil swung both swords in a cross. Though the blow was blocked again, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Navarone Fortress had no shortage of Swordsmen stronger than him, but there were very few who were evenly matched with him.

"You're impressive too, to fight me like this." Though Strawberry was three grades below him, his pride was undiminished.

It had been a long time since he'd enjoyed a fight this much!

"I have a feeling that if I defeat you here, my swordsmanship will improve another notch!" Comil said with a smile.

"Same here!" Strawberry's eyes shone.

But just as they began their next round, dark figures appeared one after another on the surrounding slopes.

The two Swordsmen stopped fighting without a word, standing back to back as they faced the newly arrived enemies.

"So many criminals have gathered here," Comil said grimly.

Although they had just defeated the four on the ground, neither he nor Strawberry had any intention of underestimating them.

The men Zephyr had chosen might not have been particularly strong, but even the weakest weren't all that weak.

They were essentially all pirates from the first half of the Grand Line, including some Zoan ability users.

One or two might not have been too difficult to handle, but they couldn't be dealt with in a slash or two either. After all, these pirates were veterans who had been through countless fights.

If their number rose to three or four, though, even Comil would find them troublesome.

Earlier, however, he and Strawberry had joined forces to deal with the pirates before fighting each other.

"Ten of them. This is trouble." Strawberry kept scanning the criminals gradually closing in around them.

"Who brought them together?"

Comil was puzzled, because none of the ten seemed particularly exceptional. Just then, a familiar voice rang out from above.

"Sorry to interrupt your duel, but I really didn't want to wait around any longer. Shall we talk?"

Vidal looked down at them from above, his usual smile on his face.

"Vidal!!"

Comil and Strawberry looked up at the same time. The former's expression changed. This is bad. How did I run into him so soon?

"Are you the one who brought them together?" The latter felt no particular awe toward Vidal and questioned him outright.

"That's right."

"Don't you think you're throwing in your lot with them?" Strawberry raised the sword in his right hand and pointed it at him. "You're a Marine, yet you're keeping company with a bunch of criminals!"

Seeing how rude he was, Comil pursed his lips, his eye twitching rapidly, but he said nothing.

He too thought Vidal's behavior was highly inappropriate.

"They're just dogs I grabbed along the way," Vidal replied casually.

His words showed no regard for the dignity or self-respect of the pirates fighting for him.

Even when he saw the embarrassment, anger, and resentment on their faces after hearing him, he continued to ignore them.

Strawberry and Comil were also taken aback. If that was the case, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it.

Just then, vines suddenly burst from the ground and wrapped around the four pirates they had cut down earlier. After a faint green light passed over them, the pirates sprang to their feet, full of life.

"You four too. Either fight for me or die right now. Choose." Vidal glanced at the four.

The four exchanged looks and replied in unison, "We're willing to be your hounds, my lord!" With that, they picked up their weapons and joined the other ten.

The two Swordsmen's expressions grew even uglier. They hadn't expected a trick like this!

Healing injured pirates, then enslaving them as dogs to bite people?

They had thought Borsalino's earlier stunt was shameless enough, but who would have thought Vidal was every bit his equal!

"Now, you two make a choice as well."

Just when everyone thought the battle was about to begin, Vidal spoke again with a smile. "One: face all of us together and be knocked straight out of this battle royale."

"Two: I'll take on both of you alone. If I win, you'll become my companions and continue heading farther in with me."

Strawberry's expression changed drastically. Seemingly furious to the extreme, he roared, "You want us to be your dogs too?!"

Comil's gaze toward Vidal also turned hostile. If that was really what he meant, then even if he couldn't win, he would still have to fight, and their relationship would be ruined for good.

"No!"

Vidal naturally denied it outright. He had never had that idea. "I said you'd be my partners, my subordinates, enslaving and keeping watch over this trash with me."

"As Marines, isn't it only natural for you to help me guard criminals?"

"The thing is, I don't really like killing people, but I don't want to let them go either. That's why I came up with this way to use whatever value they have left."

Strawberry and Comil looked at each other in silence and could only keep listening to Vidal.

"Besides, if the two of you lose to me, that alone proves you aren't capable of being among the final three."

"In that case, if you keep going with me, won't you still get to see me fight Sakazuki, Borsalino, and the others?"

"Don't tell me you don't want to see that?"

To the friend Huangmeixian: did you delete your comment yourself, or did the site swallow it? Why was it gone so soon after you posted it? The same thing happened to some other people's long comments too. It's really frustrating.