The Ship's Doctor Is on Board

"Besides, ordinary pirates couldn't afford that price. Raise it any higher and it wouldn't sell, but you couldn't just give it away! In the end, it got tossed in here."

"True. Compared to other fruits that multiply your strength several times over, or even dozens of times, this thing is trash."

Kuta nodded, studying the black fruit in his hand.

"An ant, huh?"

He didn't believe ants were really that weak. Probably no one had ever properly developed its abilities! Ants were hardly bottom-tier insects, after all!

"What about this one?"

Kuta raised the other fruit, a white one, and asked. "That one? It's much the same as the Ant Devil Fruit. It's the Rabbit Devil Fruit. The boost to physical strength is too small, so it wouldn't sell either."

"Hmm! A rabbit?"

Kuta stared at the white fruit, curiosity flashing in his eyes.

"What would happen if a beautiful woman ate it?"

He shook his head, hurriedly banishing the terrible thought that had suddenly popped into his mind.

Bunny ears and bunny girls? He wasn't thinking about those at all!

Aside from being cute, rabbits only had their powerful hind legs going for them.

This wasn't like an ant. With an ant, he could at least imagine training its abilities into an unbeatable power down the line.

There might even be other surprises.

But he genuinely couldn't think of how to train a rabbit's abilities.

Hmm! Don't rabbits go berserk?

He suddenly remembered the thing about rabbits having red eyes. If it did have a berserk ability...

Kuta looked at the white Rabbit Devil Fruit, his eyes lighting up.

"Then this thing wouldn't be trash."

Still, it came down to luck. If it didn't have a berserk ability or any other powers, it really would be a trash fruit.

Then he imagined Ahua or A-Tao eating it and couldn't help shuddering.

No bunny girl, just a fat rabbit.

"Let's go! The Marines should be here soon."

He tossed the fruits to Indigo and told him to find a box for them.

Once Indigo had packed the two fruits away, Kuta slashed twice at the vault.

With so many weapons and shells inside, it was bound to blow sky-high!

Then he spread his Space Domain, took control of a door panel, and carried Indigo away with him.

The ship's doctor was in place

East Blue

A fleet of enormous ships from Marine Headquarters was speeding toward Prothius Island.

When Bearded Man left, he had contacted Marine Headquarters using the Navy Warship's Den Den Mushi.

As soon as Headquarters received the news, they dispatched Admiral Kizaru's warships straight across the Calm Belt, heading for the East Blue at top speed.

At the time, Garp was still in the New World, Aokiji was away from Headquarters, and Akainu had to stay behind to defend it and remain available for summons from Mary Geoise.

That left only Kizaru of the Science Division free to travel to the East Blue.

His fleet was also the only one that could get there fast enough.

Besides Admiral Kizaru's flagship, the fleet included one Vice Admiral and five Rear Admirals.

Seven enormous warships sailed abreast, pushing forward into the huge waves thrown up by the falling islands.

By now, they could make out the silhouettes of the two enormous islands ahead. The original Prothius Island, however, had vanished completely from the sea.

At the bow of the largest warship.

A tall, lean figure stood with his hands in his trouser pockets, gazing ahead. He wore a yellow-and-white striped suit, a purple tie, a dark green shirt, white leather shoes, and a Marine Justice Coat draped over his shoulders.

This was Borsalino, one of Marine Headquarters' Admirals and the Marines' greatest fighting powers, codenamed "Kizaru."

With his short, naturally curly black hair, a ring of stubble, tinted sunglasses, and a face that looked a little old for his age, the people in the Science Division called him Old Man.

Those of us in anime fandom, meanwhile, preferred to call him Yellow Pikachu or Seafood Admiral SpongeBob.

Given his incredibly sleazy way of speaking, he might also have been a Light Man who had eaten the Creepy-Creepy Fruit.

Watching wave after enormous wave roll toward them, Kizaru uttered his catchphrase. "How frightening!"

Beside Kizaru stood a man in an exceptionally tall hat, with a long black beard hanging from his chin, an indigo suit, and a Marine Justice Coat draped over his shoulders. He was looking toward the islands ahead.

His face grave, he said solemnly, "Looks like the battle is over."

This was Strawberry, the Marine Vice Admiral accompanying them on this mission. He served under Admiral Borsalino at Marine Headquarters.

"Yes! And it seems to have ended in Golden Lion's defeat."

Looking ahead, Kizaru drawled, "How frightening! Silver Hair Kuta."

"Oh!"

Just then, a tremendous explosion erupted on the island ahead.

Strawberry stared at the island and exclaimed in surprise, "Is it not over yet? Are those two still fighting?"

Kizaru turned to Strawberry and the five Rear Admirals behind him. "I'll go take a look first. Catch up as quickly as you can."

Golden light flickered over him as he spoke. His entire body broke apart into photons and shot toward the island ahead.

He was a Logia-type Glint-Glint Fruit user.

Commonly called a Light Man, he could turn any part of his body into light. He also possessed the speed of light, allowing him to attack and move at light speed.

He could use that speed to deliver devastating blows, and his body could emit intense flashes that temporarily blinded his enemies.

When it came to the coolest and most powerful Devil Fruits in One Piece, his easily ranked among the top five.

Kuta and Indigo had just flown out of the palace when they ran straight into Kizaru.

Kuta stopped in midair and stared sourly at the yellow figure taking shape from photons on the roof ahead.

If he'd known, he wouldn't have stopped to eat.

But what choice had he had? After two days of fighting without so much as a drop of water, only alcohol, he had been starving.

So after slashing at the vault twice, he had Indigo take him to the kitchen, where he quickly

ate a meal.

Who could have guessed that a delay of just a few minutes would leave him face-to-face with the one Marine he least wanted to encounter?

Even Garp would have been better!

But no, it had to be this Yellow Monkey.

At that thought, he turned his head and spat to the side.

"Just my fucking luck."

He really didn't want to fight this guy.

He glanced at Indigo beside him.

He couldn't teleport with Indigo along, and he couldn't fly faster than Kizaru. It seemed a fight was unavoidable. At the very least, he had to make Kizaru realize there was no point in chasing him.

Having settled on that, he looked at Kizaru on the roof ahead, whose expression seemed to mock everyone he looked at.

Pursing his lips, he imitated the man's manner and called out in a slow drawl.

"How frightening! Isn't this Marine Admiral Yellow Pikachu?"

"Oh, wrong name, wrong name. Force of habit."

Kuta waved his hands repeatedly and rearranged his expression.

"Well, well! Isn't this Marine Admiral Kizaru? How frightening!"

Kizaru watched Kuta's performance in bewilderment. That "Pikachu" in particular made him feel as though he'd been insulted.

But he had no proof.

How annoying.

He shook his head and fixed his eyes on Kuta. A red gleam flashed in their depths, but he sensed no other powerful presence.

It seemed Golden Lion had been utterly defeated.

He just didn't know whether the man was dead or had escaped.

A trace of gravity crossed his eyes, but his face betrayed nothing. He still wore that infuriatingly nonchalant expression.

Staring at Kuta, Kizaru jutted his chin forward and pursed his lips teasingly. "How frightening! Silver Hair Kuta. To think you could even defeat Golden Lion. What a monster!"

Kuta withdrew his domain and lowered the door panel.

Looking up at Kizaru on the roof, he activated Teleportation and instantly appeared before him, even borrowing his catchphrase.

"Speed is weight. Have you ever been kicked at the speed of light?"

His right foot coated in Armament Haki, he twisted in midair and whipped a kick at Kizaru's head as though volleying a ball.

Kizaru's pupils contracted as he watched Kuta suddenly appear before him.

What was that?

It wasn't speed. He would definitely have sensed it if it were.

When he heard Kuta repeat his usual line, Kizaru nearly lost his sleazy composure. His mouth twitched.

What's with this guy? First he copies the way I talk, now he's copying my moves.

Watching the incoming foot, he evaded it easily with a thought, turning only his head into his element.

Then his entire body became light, scattering into photons before instantly re-forming above Kuta. Golden light gleamed on his right foot as he readied a volleying kick.

"So, have you ever experienced a Flash Kick?"

As he spoke, he kicked at Kuta's head while Kuta was still holding his kicking pose.

He intended to give as good as he got.

His foot passed straight through Kuta.

A yellow laser pierced the roof, followed by an explosion below.

A second look revealed that his kick hadn't hit Kuta at all, only an afterimage.

The instant Kizaru's foot approached, Kuta had teleported above him again.

With the same motion and the same Armament Haki-coated foot, he kicked at Kizaru's head once more.

And, of course, it was just like kicking empty air again.

He felt nothing.

Kizaru's body scattered into photons and re-formed less than a meter from Kuta.

He dropped his perpetually lazy, mocking expression and, for once, looked serious.

If this were purely a contest of speed, he would definitely be faster than Kuta.

But this guy could teleport. That made him troublesome.

Kuta couldn't land a kick on him, but he couldn't land one on Kuta either.

Staring at Kuta, a trace of gravity flashed through his eyes, and he spoke in a serious tone.

"Silver Hair Kuta, it seems everyone has underestimated you."

His gaze swept over the sword at Kuta's waist before he continued. "Not just a Great Swordsman, but a spatial Devil Fruit user as well. How frightening!"

Apart from a Devil Fruit ability, he couldn't imagine what could let someone teleport.

Kuta offered no explanation. He simply pulled the Wine Gourd from his waist, raised it, and tipped his head back for a drink.