Time Is a Butcher's Knife

Boom!

Oak, sent flying by Shiki's slash, crashed heavily onto a deck. Looking up, the first thing that entered his view was a pair of long legs wrapped in Sailor Pants, followed by a spectacular pair of peaks.

As for just how spectacular they were, Oak had only one description—he could not see her face even when he looked up!

So after silently admiring them for a good ten-odd seconds, he reluctantly lay back on the deck and wriggled backward a few centimeters.

Hm? Still could not see her face.

So he admired them for another ten or so seconds, then wriggled back a few more centimeters before finally seeing the face hidden behind those twin peaks.

Her healthy wheat-colored skin gleamed brightly. She had long dark-blue hair, bangs cut level with her eyebrows, and a high ponytail tied with a simple red cord.

While Oak rapidly sized her up, she lowered her head to meet his gaze. But because she was too spectacular, the first time she lowered her head, it was not far enough for their eyes to meet. She frowned and stepped back twice before her gaze finally connected with Oak's.

A white sleeveless standard-issue shirt, a light-blue neckerchief, deep-blue eyes, and a standard Flintlock slung diagonally over her shoulder gave her an exceptionally valiant air.

After confirming the look in her eyes, Oak decided she was exactly his type and opened his mouth.

"Beautiful big sister, do you have a boyfriend? If not, I think I'd be a fine choice. Even if you do, that's okay. I wouldn't mind having a little..."

Before Oak could finish saying "special friendship," she cut him off.

"Are you flirting with me?"

Her lovely brows furrowed. Without waiting for his answer, she stomped down with lightning speed, aiming directly between his legs with ruthless force.

Bang!

Oak's expected scream did not sound out. Instead, her foot blasted a large hole through the deck.

"Big sister, that was vicious!"

Several meters away, Oak's mouth twitched. At the thought of what would have happened if that kick had landed on his lower half, he could not stop himself from shuddering.

Was that really necessary? He had only said a few flirtatious words, yet she had gone straight for such a vicious kick. He was still an innocent virgin, but she had tried to ruin the happiness of his entire life. How vicious beyond all reason!

The valiant woman opposite him said nothing. Instead, she frowned and stared intently at Oak's face as though pondering something. The man standing beside her stepped forward and demanded,

"Who are you?"

The man had a round mass of black hair like a cannonball, a thick, long braided beard hanging from his chin, and small round glasses. His sharp eyes glinted beneath the lenses, and his voice brimmed with authority. Yet what drew Oak's attention most was the broad white cape behind the man's white suit.

"Sengoku?"

Oak asked uncertainly. His eyes swept over the surroundings, and only then did he realize that the vessel he was on was a Marine warship.

The other man resembled a certain major Marine figure Oak remembered from the future. He was simply far too young—so young that Oak, who only remembered him as an old man, could hardly believe it was really him.

"You know me?"

The man's question effectively confirmed his identity for Oak.

Then...

Oak shifted his gaze toward the woman from earlier.

"You're Vice Admiral Tsuru?"

A woman who could stand shoulder to shoulder with a young Sengoku, possessed such a valiant bearing, and seemed somewhat familiar to him—Oak could think of only one person.

"I'm no Vice Admiral. I'm merely an ordinary Headquarters Rear Admiral."

Tsuru shook her head, relaxing her furrowed brows.

"As for you, Tacks O'ro, known as the Terminator of the Battlefield in the West Blue—why are you here? Unless my intelligence is wrong, you should currently be on a government ship, being escorted to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise!"

The young Tsuru questioned Oak with confusion in her eyes. She felt that his presence here made no sense whatsoever.

Yet Oak turned a deaf ear to her question and fell into a daze.

Was she really the future Vice Admiral Tsuru?

Oak truly could not accept that this valiant woman, who had made even him want to flirt with her, was the same person as the white-haired old lady from his memories.

Time really was a butcher's knife!

That old thief Oda was truly too unfriendly toward women.

Oak could only grumble to himself.

"Answer me, Tacks Oak! Why are you here?"

After Tsuru's reminder, Sengoku also reacted. The other man really was an important figure recorded in Marine intelligence. Earlier, Oak's bruised and battered appearance had mainly prevented him from recognizing him.

Furthermore, as Tsuru said, Oak should not have been here. So Sengoku questioned him again, and seeing Oak standing there blankly, his tone grew even sterner.

"What the hell does it have to do with you?"

Oak recovered from his daze and rolled his eyes irritably, too lazy to pay Sengoku any attention.

Sengoku was not Fleet Admiral yet. He was not even an Admiral, so Oak had no reason to fear him.

"Big Sister Tsuru, you still haven't answered my earlier question. Do you have a boyfriend? Are you interested in developing a relationship that goes beyond friendship with me?"

Oak turned his attention back to the young Tsuru, undisguised admiration in his eyes. As for the image of the elderly Vice Admiral Tsuru from his memories, he automatically deleted it from his mind.

He felt that he had truly arrived in this world at a wonderful time, before the beauties of these seas had been thoroughly ruined by that old thief Oda.

"Bastard! You dare flirt with Little Tsuru again!"

Before Tsuru could speak, Sengoku's face was already filled with fury.

Not only had this brat ignored him, he had even flirted with Little Tsuru again. Little Tsuru was the goddess among their generation of Marines, secretly admired by most of their peers—including Sengoku himself. When Oak had looked Little Tsuru over with those dog eyes earlier, Sengoku had already wanted to teach him a lesson. He had only forcibly restrained himself because the situation was unclear. And now this brat was doing it again...

No longer willing to endure it, Sengoku vanished from the spot with a whoosh, appearing before Oak the next moment.

"Brat, get down on the ground obediently!"

A palm the size of a cattail fan swung toward Oak's head. Even with some distance still between them, Oak could feel the gust of force coming from it.

"You think I'm scared of you?"

Oak immediately met it with a punch. He had already experienced the caliber of this era's top pirates through Shiki, and now he wanted to test the strength of the Marines' rising stars.

Boom!

Fist and palm collided with a tremendous bang. Sengoku and Oak both retreated, but Sengoku stopped after only two steps, while Oak did not stop until he reached the ship's rail.