Encountering Pirates

The next morning.

At Marineford's harbor, several vice admiral-class warships stood ready in battle formation.

Rayne carried a simple pack and stepped aboard Vice Admiral Sakazuki's naval warship, which radiated an air of grim severity.

Today, he wore an ordinary pair of black-rimmed glasses, adding a touch of scholarly refinement to his handsome, stern face.

The moment he stepped onto the deck, he spotted a familiar figure frantically trying to prop up a fallen suitcase, only to trip over a rope and fall flat on his back.

Rayne walked over and calmly held out a hand.

"Th-thank you! You're such a good person!" "Big Golden Retriever" Rosinante grabbed his hand and climbed to his feet, dusting himself off as he lowered his head in thanks.

Rayne said nothing.

Seeing no response, Rosinante raised his head in confusion. Once he got a clear look at the person before him, he realized he did not know him.

Rayne slowly removed his glasses.

"Rayne?!" Rosinante's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Y-you started wearing glasses? I didn't recognize you at all just now!"

"Just got them. Still not used to them," Rayne casually brushed it off, understanding inwardly. As expected of a system-produced item. The effect is outstanding.

"By the way, why are you on Vice Admiral Sakazuki's warship?"

"It was Mr. Sengoku..." Rosinante dejectedly picked himself up. "He said my training wasn't iron-blooded enough, so... so he forced me onto this ship and told Vice Admiral Sakazuki to toughen me up..."

Looking at his naturally airheaded expression, Rayne had only one thought. Sengoku... are you sending your adopted son here to die?

Just then, a cold, hoarse voice that seemed to carry the scent of sulfur came from behind them.

"So, you two are the recruits sent by Teacher Zephyr."

The two of them whirled around.

An exceptionally tall man stood before them. He wore a vice admiral's cloak emblazoned with the word Justice and had a cigar clenched between his teeth. Yet beneath that cloak was a dark red floral shirt utterly at odds with the rest of his appearance.

His sharply chiseled face carried an innate severity and brutality.

It was none other than Vice Admiral Sakazuki.

Rosinante froze in terror and awkwardly saluted. "V-Vice Admiral, sir!"

Rayne, meanwhile, calmly stood at attention and saluted. "Corvo Rayne! Reporting for duty!"

Sakazuki's gaze swept over Rosinante, and the disdain in his sinister eyes was undisguised.

Then he turned to Rayne. Beneath that scrutinizing gaze, it seemed as though he intended to see straight through Rayne's bones.

"I don't care what kind of womanly mercy you learned from Teacher Zephyr."

He spoke coldly. His voice was not loud, yet it drowned out the sound of the waves.

"On my ship, justice has only one definition—absolute justice."

"The slightest hesitation toward evil is blasphemy against justice."

"What you must do is tear evil out by the roots and leave it no chance to rise again. Do you understand?!"

"Yes!!!" Rosinante shouted, scared out of his wits.

Rayne remained calm. "Yes, Vice Admiral."

Sakazuki gave Rayne a long look.

This recruit's composure surprised him more than Rosinante's excessive panic.

Without another word, he turned to face the boundless sea, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke from the corner of his mouth.

"Set sail!"

At Sakazuki's command, the steel behemoth rumbled to life and slowly departed Marineford.

On the third day after the warship left Marineford.

The weather in the first half of the Grand Line was as unpredictable as a child's moods.

One moment, the sky could be clear and cloudless; the next, a violent storm could descend.

Aboard Sakazuki's warship, the atmosphere was as oppressive, gloomy, and filled with killing intent as the worst weather on this sea.

It was completely different from the atmosphere at the recruit camp.

Every marine aboard wore an expressionless face, moving with the efficiency of machines.

They rarely spoke to one another. Aside from the crashing waves and shouted orders, there was not a trace of other noise on deck.

And on this ship, "Big Golden Retriever" Rosinante was practically a disaster.

His clumsy nature was magnified without limit here.

He would trip over nothing on the deck and kick over buckets of water.

When pouring coffee for officers, his hands would shake. He would spill it over his own hand, let out a scream, and draw everyone's cold stares.

During training, he was even less able to adapt to the intensity of the drills aboard Sakazuki's warship.

In just three days, he had become the ship's laughingstock.

Sakazuki could no longer be bothered to get angry at Rosinante's incompetence. He simply treated Rosinante as air.

That disregard and contempt flowing from his very bones hurt far more than direct insults.

Rayne was the complete opposite.

He spoke little and kept his quarters immaculate. In the daily training routines, he gave it his all, perfectly playing the role of a fairly capable Elite Training Camp recruit.

As for Rosinante's clumsiness, Rayne neither mocked him nor deliberately distanced himself.

On this ship, where everyone behaved like machines, Rayne had practically become the only person Rosinante could exchange a few words with.

During breaks in training, Rosinante would awkwardly come over and offer Rayne a bottle of water, quietly complaining about how terrible the food was or how frightening Vice Admiral Sakazuki could be.

Rayne usually just listened calmly, giving an occasional "Mm," without offering much comment.

He understood that Rosinante did not need a solution to these complaints. He only needed emotional comfort—on this cold ship, having someone willing to listen was enough.

Rayne did not mind being that listener.

Just like now, Rayne did push-ups while listening to Rosinante's endless chatter, calculating inwardly, I wonder when I'll finally get to make some gains.

As though answering his expectations, at that very moment—

"Beep—beep—!" A piercing alarm from the lookout tower tore through the deck's silence.

"Pirate ship sighted at three o'clock ahead!!"

"Confirmed! It's the 'Broken Finger' Pirates! Bounty: 35 million Beli!"

"Whoosh—!"

The deck, which had been lifeless just a moment ago, sprang into action.

Every marine instantly entered combat readiness. That cold, grim aura transformed into tangible killing intent and filled the air.

Rosinante's palms sweated with nerves. This was his first time truly heading into battle against pirates.

Rayne sprang to his feet, his face showing just the right amount of tension and excitement.

"Finally! A pirate crew with a 35 million Beli bounty means at least dozens of people aboard. This should bring in quite a haul. It's in the bag!"

"All hands, prepare for level-one combat."

With a cigar between his teeth, Sakazuki slowly emerged from the cabin. He was not even wearing his vice admiral's cloak, dressed only in that dark red floral shirt.

He walked to the bow, glanced at the pirate ship in the distance as it turned around, and gave his order in that hoarse voice.

"You two recruits, stay by my side," Sakazuki said coldly. "Use this first battle to get accustomed to combat."

"Yes!" The two hurried behind him.

"Boys! It's a Navy warship! Only one of them!"

At the same time, the cabin of the "Broken Finger" Pirates was a smoke-filled scene of wild revelry.

This pirate crew was infamous for massacring civilians and pillaging villages. Their captain, "One-Eye," was an evil man with a bounty of 35 million Beli.

They seemed to have just looted a small town. The ship was piled high with treasure, and women's wails could faintly be heard from within the cabin.

"Boys! It's a Navy warship! Only one of them!"

Captain "One-Eye" arrogantly raised a wine bottle, planted one foot atop a treasure chest, and laughed. "Brothers, kill these Marines and take their warship too! Our reputation will grow even greater! Turn the ship around and show them what we're made of!"

Most pirates in the first half of the Grand Line were ignorant fools who had no idea how high the heavens were.