Thoughtless Sword

A nameless deserted island.

Watching Seven poised midair, ready to strike, Rayleigh felt a long-dormant passion reignite within him—one he hadn't felt since the Roger Pirates disbanded.

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Rayleigh wanted to see for himself what kind of sword technique Barzeb Seven, the kid the entire crew had underestimated, would unleash.

What name could possibly be worthy of such a deliberate, weighty buildup of power?

In that moment, Rayleigh no longer saw Seven as a junior from the Roger Pirates, but as a true, worthy opponent.

Since their battle began, Seven's Devil Fruit ability—never used before—started to reveal its might.

Above the deserted island, the sky was filled with purple thunder and lightning, crackling and roaring, as if welcoming the descent of their god.

Seven's pupils tinged with violet, his body crackling with sizzling electricity, and the Dream One Heart gripped tightly in his hand seemed to cheer and dance.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

Rayleigh swallowed hard, unable to tell if it was his own heartbeat or Seven's.

Pushing the Three Types of Haki to their absolute limit, the black-red Haki coiling around Rayleigh nearly solidified into substance. He emptied his mind completely—

The wind in his ears, the roar of the waves—all faded away. His eyes saw only the surging Haki around Seven and the blade about to split the sky.

Finally, it moved!

Using Dream One Heart as a medium, Seven slashed down at the deserted island with his Sword Intent, honed to its peak.

"Crack—!"

It wasn't the clash of metal, but a crisp sound like the sky shattering, like glass exploding.

The radiance of that single slash burst forth, transforming into a purple torrent spanning heaven and earth, its light so blazing it was unbearable to look at.

Where it passed, space itself was torn apart.

Before it even touched the ground, the heat wave from the radiance had scorched the grass and trees along its path, and rocks instantly melted into red-hot magma.

"You little brat, you're trying to take my old life," Rayleigh muttered.

He stomped the ground, using the force to twist and leap into the air, narrowly dodging the slash's radiance.

The moment the radiance struck the ground, the entire island let out a earth-shaking wail. A massive fissure, several zhang wide, tore rapidly into the island's depths.

In just a few breaths.

The deserted island was split in two, with a colossal, bottomless canyon running through its middle. Seawater poured in, forming raging whirlpools.

Rayleigh sheathed his double-bladed sword and looked up at the figure hovering in midair. His eyes held confusion, relief, but mostly gratification.

The kid from the ship had grown up.

"Roger, we all misjudged him."

Of the three little ones on Roger's ship, the entire crew had the highest hopes for Shanks—his physique, his mind, his talent were unmatched in the Grand Line.

As for Seven and Buggy.

Maybe years later, Seven would become a renowned chef across the Four Seas, open a restaurant in his hometown, and live out his old age in peace.

Buggy was harder to judge.

Yet, just two years after Roger left, with the Great Pirate Era's curtain barely rising, Seven had already leaped over the dragon's gate and soared into the sky.

Two years. Only two years had passed.

Was this the new era?

Before Rayleigh could even praise him, Seven suddenly grabbed him and shot straight into the sky, vanishing in an instant.

The wind howled past them in midair.

Rayleigh's face fell into a look of utter despair. "Seven, what was that move called?"

"Thoughtless Sword."

"The charge time was a bit long."

"Yeah, there's room for improvement."

The fusion progress of Thoughtless Sword was only 26%. With more fusion, the charge time would greatly decrease, maybe even to the point of instant release.

Seven was only seventeen. He had plenty of room to grow.

By common logic, the bone and muscle density of male humans peaks around age twenty-five, then gradually stabilizes.

In the Pirate World, a strong person's prime usually falls between twenty-five and sixty. Before twenty-five, the body isn't fully developed; after sixty, physical limits hinder performance.

Of course, special races were an exception.

Compared to humans, the Giant Race could live for centuries, so they didn't fit this rule.

After his battle with Rayleigh, Seven had a clear grasp of his own strength: at least a Yonko Commander level. If he went all out, he could even contend with a Yonko-level powerhouse.

As long as he didn't court death by stepping into the Flower Room and touching Imu's reverse scale, he could roam the seas freely.

Sabaody Archipelago, Knockoff Bar.

Rayleigh pushed open the bar door and walked over to sit at the wooden counter. Even though it was late at night, quite a few customers were still gathered in small groups, drinking.

The best mindset for a pirate was to live each day as if it were your last.

That way, you'd end up living longer than you expected.

"Where's the kid?" Shakky poured a glass of wine.

"Headed to the Pleasure District." Rayleigh took the glass.

"Who won?"

It was just casual small talk, but to her surprise, Rayleigh replied with a gratified smile, "I lost."

"Oh?" Shakky frowned. "You didn't go easy on him?"

Rayleigh paused. "I didn't go all out, but I get the feeling Seven was holding back too."

His strength was unreasonable, his Conqueror's Haki nearly heaven-defying. His Armament Haki was only so-so, but his physique was so monstrous it vaguely reminded her of Charlotte Linlin.

Could this kid be Linlin's son, accidentally left behind somewhere?

Thinking about it, it was actually possible.

Linlin's husbands—she probably couldn't even remember them all herself. Having a son out there somewhere... made perfect sense!

Downing his drink in one gulp, Rayleigh sighed.

"What a freak. I can't even imagine how far he'll grow in a few years."

"He's just like Rocks back in the day."

Rocks? Shakky found it hard to believe Rayleigh would give such high praise.

Who was Rocks?

A beast who could kill a Marine Admiral with a single casual slash.

Legendary pirates like Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Linlin, and Kaido had all once been members of the Rocks Pirate Crew.

After downing three drinks in a row, Rayleigh finally remembered his real business and quickly asked, "How did the deal go?"

"I've already found a buyer. The transaction's tomorrow."

Meanwhile, at the Pleasure District.

Seven hadn't checked into the Pleasure District to hit the nightclubs or have a good time. He wanted to get in touch with Vegapunk through the Queen of Pleasure District, Stussy.

Vegapunk had something he was interested in.

It was the Artificial Devil Fruit that Momonosuke would later eat—the Dragon-Dragon Fruit.

Compared to the Fish-Fish Fruit, Mythical Zoan, Azure Dragon Model that Kaido had eaten, the Dragon-Dragon Fruit could also turn into a dragon and open a human-beast form.

The abilities were almost identical. The only reason Vegapunk called it a failure was because the color was different.

What the hell.

That was just ridiculous.

Truly the obsession of a scientist.

For this pointy-headed scientist, Seven was desperate to recruit him, wishing he could grab him right now and lock him up in Skypiea.

Unfortunately, the resources needed for all the experiments Vegapunk was running were astronomical.

Seven couldn't afford it.

At least not for now. Maybe after he took over more territory, he could reconsider.

Actually, he wasn't even sure if Vegapunk had successfully replicated the Dragon-Dragon Fruit yet, or if it was still in the experimental stage.

Either way.

If he hadn't known about this information, it would've been one thing.

But since he did know, there was no reason to miss out on such a powerful Devil Fruit.

Heaven gives, and if you don't take it, you'll suffer the consequences.

However, when Seven checked into the Pleasure District and actually started putting his plan into action, he suddenly realized with embarrassment: he'd gotten the timing wrong.

Stussy wasn't the Queen of Pleasure District yet.

"Damn it!" Seven flopped down and went to sleep.

It was still twenty years before Luffy set sail. Most of the famous figures from later eras had little to no reputation now, and some hadn't even been born yet.

The next day, noon.

Seven, who rarely slept in, woke up when the sun was high. After a hearty meal, he strolled leisurely through Sabaody Archipelago.

Since he couldn't find Stussy, he'd have to go to Ohara. If he remembered correctly, Vegapunk and Monkey D. Dragon would show up after the Buster Call on Ohara.

But before that, he needed to meet up with Mihawk.

There was also the problem of the ship.

The ideal material for building a ship was Treasure Tree Adam—both the King of the Pirates Roger's ship and Straw Hat Kid's ship were made from it.

But the material was too scarce. He'd have to rely on luck.

After wandering around all morning without running into any unlucky pirates to let him play the fool and show off, he ended up back at Knockoff Bar.

"Auntie Xia, do you have any leads on Devil Fruits?"