It Seemed Like You'd Played Me

The clear, sparkling wine in the glass gave off a fresh fruit aroma, and Kizaru couldn't help raising his glass.

There was no problem with having a drink, right?

It wasn't as if the World Government and the Navy had spies stationed ten thousand meters up in the sky.

"If the World Government hadn't issued a warrant for your arrest, I think we might have become friends."

Seven feigned surprise. "Friends with a Marine?"

"Like Captain Roger and the Hero of the Marines, Garp? Mr. Borsalino, could someone like me really be friends with you?"

Click! Click!

Gan Fall quickly pressed the Image Shell, taking pictures and starting a video recording, while also recording audio with a Tone Dial.

Once he'd finished, he turned and walked away with a flourish.

At the sight of this, Kizaru's signature lecherous smile gradually froze on his face. He didn't know what those shells were, but he had a feeling something was wrong.

"Seems like you played me."

Seven didn't respond. Instead, he changed the subject.

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

At those words, Kizaru narrowed his eyes as information about Beelzebul flashed through his mind.

She'd joined the Roger Pirates at the age of nine.

Last year, when the crew disbanded, she had vanished along with Roger. After Roger turned himself in, Beelzebul's whereabouts were unknown. She didn't reappear until last month, in Loguetown, and soon afterward she rescued a World Government prisoner from the port at Lodestar Island.

How had the other party learned about Monkey D. Dragon?

Was there a traitor in the Navy?

Could it be that Beelzebul shared Dragon's ideals and wanted to use him as a go-between to arrange some kind of cooperation?

"What a hassle!"

Kizaru downed the wine in his glass. "I'm a Marine. It's my duty to arrest you."

"Understood." Seven drew his sword.

"The Marines arresting pirates is only natural."

"Brother Borsalino, I hope this fight won't affect our friendship."

Kizaru's eye twitched. Friendship, my ass!

You're talking as though we've known each other for years. This is the first time we've ever met!

As soon as he heard the two had failed to reach an understanding, Mihawk slashed out with a Flying Slash before Seven could even make a move, sword aimed at Kizaru.

It was rare to encounter someone with the strength of a Marine Admiral. Black Blade Night had long been itching for a fight.

Mihawk had planned to bid Seven farewell after the banquet, return to the sea to challenge Great Swordsmen far and wide, and reunite with him two years later to set sail.

He hadn't expected such a formidable opponent to show up on their doorstep.

Now that he was here, Mihawk had no reason to let the opportunity pass.

Kizaru casually drew Ama no Murakumo and easily blocked Black Blade Night, his movements smooth and effortless.

At thirty-four, Kizaru was in the prime of his life.

Even without eating 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 once wielded Ama no Murakumo to spar with the elderly Rayleigh using his leisurely, health-preserving sword style.

Out of respect for Mihawk, Seven didn't join the fight immediately. Instead, he took the photos Gan Fall had just snapped.

In the pictures, Seven sat at the head of the table, with Kizaru and Mihawk on either side of him. All three were raising their glasses in a toast.

He had to admit, it was easy to get the wrong idea.

"Old Gan, where's the Doctor?"

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

Seven rubbed his temples. "It's fine now."

That Doctor really did treasure his life...

Forget it. They weren't cut from the same cloth. Seven decided to respect his choices and let go of his urge to help.

The sea was teeming with excellent pirates. Finding a few like-minded crewmates would be a piece of cake.

As for immortality...

It wasn't something Seven, who wasn't even fifteen yet, should be thinking about. Immortality seemed like a blessing, but to him, it was an eternal prison.

The meaning of life lay in the unknown.

What Seven enjoyed were all the thrilling moments along the way: setting sail, finding treasure, matching wits with enemies, and sharing drinks with his companions.

If life were infinite,

then all the thrills of adventure, the joy of success, and even the relief of narrowly escaping death would be diluted.

Eternity would drain the value from every moment, making everything dull and tasteless.

All right, Seven couldn't keep this up.

The main thing was that he was only fifteen. He could wait until his body had finished growing before he considered immortality.

Otherwise, wouldn't he end up a little short in the wrong places?

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

He was a very fortunate man, after all.

"Lord Thunder God, we can fight too."

Gan Fall volunteered to join the fray. Seven was quite pleased. "You'll have your chance to fight later."

Sending a group of warriors with no Haki to fight a Marine Admiral wasn't bravery.

It was suicide.

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

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

At this point in time, Kizaru hadn't yet been promoted to Marine Admiral, and Mihawk hadn't yet been crowned the World's Greatest Swordsman. But at their level of strength, the shockwaves from their battle could kill Skypieans.

The Hero of the Marines, Zephyr, had once commented on Kizaru: he relied too much on his Devil Fruit ability.

Kizaru's weakness really was his overreliance on his fruit. The upside was that the Glint-Glint Fruit had almost no weaknesses.

In essence, Seven should also be able to develop and imitate the moves Kizaru used with his fruit. Lightning and light had far too many similarities.

On the field, Mihawk grew more and more spirited as the fight went on.

The blazing fighting spirit Kizaru showed made Seven suddenly feel as though he were looking at a stranger—

Had the slacker actually caught fire?

If his teammate had been anyone other than Mihawk, Seven would definitely have taken the chance to launch a sneak attack. Whether it landed or not was beside the point; the whole idea was to gang up on the enemy.

But Mihawk was different.

Mihawk was too proud.

Knowing Mihawk's nature was precisely why Seven respected his choice: a one-on-one duel.

Of the future Three Admirals,

Aokiji would face Garp on Hachinosu Island, while Akainu would fight desperately during the Summit War. Later, the two would battle for ten days and ten nights over the position of Admiral.

And then there was Kizaru...

During the Summit War, Akainu was badly injured, Aokiji was slightly injured, and Kizaru's coat was only a little dirty.

At the Sabaody Archipelago, he kept saying, "How scary," while kicking one Supernova after another.

It seemed as though Kizaru had never truly fought for his life. That was probably why people joked, "Once the paycheck comes in, even the Yonko get wiped out."

Of course, the same went for Mihawk.

But at nineteen, Mihawk probably wasn't Kizaru's match.

When Mihawk was sent flying for the third time,

Seven raised Dream One Heart, wreathed in Conqueror's Haki, and clashed with Ama no Murakumo.

He put everything he had into that strike.

Thanks to that Iron Dummy from the Teyvat Continent, Seven had gotten the chance to face the divine radiance head-on, allowing his Conqueror's Haki to evolve again at a speed far beyond all reason.

In the Pirate World, Conqueror's Haki Infusion was the first step toward becoming a top-tier powerhouse.

Kaido, the future master teacher, had said it himself—only Haki could transcend everything.

The tremendous force surging from Ama no Murakumo, and the purple sword wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, both challenged everything Kizaru thought he knew.

"Conqueror's Haki Infusion?"

Kizaru even forgot to use his catchphrase. He wanted nothing more than to kill the intelligence departments of the Navy and the World Government.

What was the Meeting King doing?!

How could someone with monstrous strength, Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and top-tier Logia abilities have a bounty of less than 100 million?

Kizaru: *******

Seven grinned brightly.

"Brother, how about we sit down and talk?"

Aside from Dream One Heart, Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and Innate Divine Strength, Seven really didn't have much else to bring to the table against someone at the level of a Marine Admiral.

He might as well try to quit while he was ahead.

If his opponent noticed something was off, another fierce battle would be inevitable.

Mihawk and Seven working together could probably keep fighting Kizaru for a while, but they shouldn't be fighting on Skypiea's territory.

Skypiea already had very little land. If the shockwaves severed one of its islands, the damage would be severe.

For now, Seven just wanted to develop in peace. There was no need to fight the Navy to the death.

If Kizaru was determined to keep fighting, then Seven would just have to risk his life. In his fifteen years, he'd had plenty of ups and downs—this wouldn't be the first time he'd risked everything.

If he died, that was that. If he survived, he'd live on for countless years.

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

Seven understood what he meant. "That's easy."

Red-and-black Haki rippled outward in layers, spreading across the entire island in an instant. Everyone on it was knocked unconscious except for Mihawk and Kizaru.

Seeing this, Kizaru pushed off and leaped back into the air.

They were only two criminals. Capturing them wasn't a mission he absolutely had to complete. No one knew he'd run into Beelzebul, and he'd already reported the situation to Admiral Sengoku.

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