It Seems I've Been Tricked by You

The crystal-clear wine in the cup, exuding a fresh fruity aroma, made Kizaru unable to resist raising his glass.

A drink wouldn't hurt, right?

After all, there couldn't be World Government or Marine spies tens of thousands of meters up in the sky.

"If it weren't for the World Government's wanted poster, I think we might have become friends."

Seven feigned surprise: "Making friends with a Marine?"

"Like Captain Roger and the Hero of the Marines, Garp? Mr. Borsalino, can I really do that?"

Click~ Click~

Gan Fall rapidly pressed the Image Shell, not only taking photos but also starting a recording, while using a Sound Shell to capture audio.

After finishing all this, he turned and left with flair.

Seeing this, Kizaru's trademark lecherous grin slowly froze on his face. Though he didn't know what those shells were, he felt something was off.

"Looks like I've been played."

Seven didn't take the bait, instead shifting the topic.

"I heard you're good friends with Monkey D. Dragon. Could you introduce me?"

At this, Kizaru narrowed his eyes, his mind quickly scanning through information on Beelzebul.

Joined the Roger Pirates at age nine.

Last year, when the crew disbanded, he vanished with Roger. After Roger turned himself in, Beelzebul disappeared without a trace. He only resurfaced last month in Loguetown, then hijacked a World Government prisoner at Lodestar Island's port.

How did this guy know about Monkey D. Dragon?

Was there a traitor in the Marines?

Or did Beelzebul share the same ambitions as Dragon, hoping to use him as a middleman to strike some deal?

"What a pain!"

Kizaru downed his wine in one gulp: "I'm a Marine. Arresting you is my duty."

"Understood." Seven drew his Paired Saber.

"A Marine catching a pirate is only natural."

"Brother Borsalino, I hope this fight doesn't ruin our friendship."

Kizaru's eye twitched: Friendship my ass!

As if we've known each other for years—we just met today!

When the two reached an impasse, before Seven could act, Mihawk had already unleashed a Flying Slash, charging at Kizaru with his blade.

Rarely encountering a Marine Admiral-level fighter, Black Blade Night was already itching for action.

Originally, Mihawk planned to take his leave after the banquet, return to the sea, and continue challenging great swordsmen, reuniting with the crew in two years for their voyage.

But he never expected a worthy opponent to show up on his own.

Since he was here, there was no reason to let him slip by.

Kizaru casually drew Ama no Murakumo, effortlessly blocking Black Blade Night with fluid movements.

At thirty-four, Kizaru was in his prime.

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 wielded Ama no Murakumo against an elderly Rayleigh... in a leisurely spar.

Out of respect for Mihawk, Seven didn't jump into the fight immediately. Instead, he took the freshly taken photos from Gan Fall.

In the photo: Seven sat in the seat of honor, with Kizaru and Mihawk flanking him on left and right, the three raising their glasses together.

Say what you will, it was easy to misinterpret.

"Old Gan, where's the Doctor?"

Gan Fall was taken aback: "Lord Thunder God, didn't you tell him to take the Octopus Balloon from me and hide out in the Blue Sea?"

Seven rubbed his brow: "Never mind."

That Doctor... really values his life.

Forget it. Not my kind of people. Seven decided to respect others' fates and let go of his urge to help.

The sea was teeming with excellent pirates like silver carp in a river. Finding like-minded crewmates would be a breeze.

As for immortality.

That was something a boy not yet fifteen shouldn't be worrying about. Immortality seemed like a gift, but to him, it was an eternal cage.

The weight of life lies in the unknown.

What Seven enjoyed were the thrilling moments of life itself: setting sail, discovering treasure, outsmarting enemies, and drinking with comrades.

If life were infinite...

So all the thrill of adventure, the joy of success, even the relief of escaping death by a hair—all of it would be diluted.

Eternity would cheapen every single moment, turning everything bland and dull.

Alright, Seven can't keep bullshitting this.

Mainly because he was only fifteen—he'd at least need to wait until his body was fully developed before considering immortality.

Otherwise, wouldn't the proportions be off?

Besides, who could be sure that Seven wouldn't obtain immortality someday?

He was, after all, a privileged cheater.

"Lord Thunder God, we can fight too."

Gan Fall volunteered for battle, and Seven was naturally quite pleased with that. "There'll be chances for you to step in later."

Sending warriors who didn't even have Haki to fight a Marine Admiral—that wasn't bravery.

That was just suicide.

Better to let them broaden their horizons first and see what real top-tier combat power on the sea looked like.

"Old Gan, take your people and hide farther away."

At this point in time, Kizaru hadn't yet been promoted to Marine Admiral, and Mihawk hadn't been crowned the world's greatest swordsman, but at this level of combat power, even the shockwaves from their fight could kill Skypieans.

Marine Admiral Zephyr had once commented on Kizaru: too reliant on his Devil Fruit ability.

Kizaru's weakness was indeed being too dependent on his fruit; his strength was that the Glint-Glint Fruit had almost no weaknesses.

In essence, the fruit techniques Kizaru used should also be something Seven could develop and imitate—lightning and light had far too many similarities.

On the field, Mihawk was fighting harder and harder.

And the fierce fighting spirit Kizaru was showing made Seven suddenly feel extremely unfamiliar—

Was this slacker actually getting fired up?

If his teammate weren't Mihawk, Seven would definitely have taken the chance to sneak an attack—whether it hit or not was another matter, the point was to gang up on him.

But Mihawk was different.

Mihawk was far too proud.

Knowing Mihawk's personality, Seven respected his choice: a one-on-one duel.

Among the future Three Admirals of the Marines.

Aokiji had clashed with Garp at Hachinosu Island, Akainu had fought desperately in the Summit War, and the two had even battled for ten days and ten nights over the Admiral position.

But Kizaru...

During the Summit War, Akainu was gravely wounded, Aokiji was lightly injured, and Kizaru's clothes were barely dirty.

At Sabaody Archipelago, he kept saying "how terrifying" with every step, while kicking Supernovas away with every kick.

It seemed Kizaru had never truly gone all out, which was why people joked: pay enough, and even a Yonko gets taken down.

Of course, Mihawk was the same.

But at nineteen years old, Mihawk probably wasn't a match for Kizaru.

When Mihawk was knocked flying for the third time.

Seven raised Dream One Heart, wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, and clashed it against Ama no Murakumo.

This strike was with all his strength.

Thanks to that blockhead from the Teyvat Continent, Seven had the chance to face a god's divine radiance head-on, allowing his Conqueror's Haki to evolve again at a pace far beyond normal logic.

In the Pirate World, Conqueror's Haki Infusion was the stepping stone to becoming a top-tier powerhouse.

The future mentor Kaido had said—only Haki can transcend all.

The immense impact coming from Ama no Murakumo, along with the purple katana wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, was all crashing against Kizaru's understanding.

"Conqueror's Haki Infusion?"

Kizaru forgot even his catchphrase, wishing he could strangle the intelligence networks of the Marines and the World Government.

What the hell was that meeting king doing?!

A guy with monstrous strength, Conqueror's Haki Infusion, a top-tier Logia Type ability user, and his bounty was still under 100 million?!

Kizaru: *******

Seven grinned a bright smile.

"Old pal, how about we sit down and chat?"

Aside from Dream One Heart, Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and Innate Divine Strength, Seven really didn't have much to show off against a Marine Admiral-level combatant.

Better to try and quit while he was ahead.

If the other party caught on to his tricks, there'd be another big fight for sure.

Mihawk and Seven working together could probably keep fighting Kizaru for a while longer, but it shouldn't be on Skypiean turf.

Skypiea's land resources were already extremely scarce—if the island were severed by the aftershocks of battle, the losses would be severe.

For now, Seven only wanted to develop steadily; there was no need to fight the Navy to the death.

If Kizaru was dead set on continuing the fight, then he'd just have to go all out. In fifteen years of drifting, Seven had risked his life before.

A man dies with his boots on, or lives to see ten thousand years.

Kizaru glanced into the distance, toward where the Skypieans and Shandia Warriors were gathered.

Seven read the look in his eyes: "That's easy."

Red-and-black Haki rippled outward like layers of waves, instantly spreading across the entire island, knocking out every living thing except Mihawk and Kizaru.

Seeing this, Kizaru used the momentum to leap backward into the air.

They were just two criminals, not a mission he had to complete. No one knew he'd run into Beelzebul anyway, and he'd already reported the situation to Admiral Sengoku.

"Beelzebul, what do you want to talk about?"