As his jaw vibrated slightly, an invisible force knocked the blade-wielding figure away. He flipped twice in midair before landing on one knee on the wet sand.
The other restrained figure was hurled straight backward. His body twisted and unraveled in midair, scattering into thousands of fine threads.
The blond young man on the distant beach curled his fingers. The threads streamed back and wove themselves into a purple humanoid clad in simple armor behind him.
"Enough."
Dragon lowered his hands. "At your current level, you could hold the rank of Rear Admiral in the Marines, or command a bounty of over a hundred million at sea."
They had grasped the basics of all Three Types of Haki and developed distinctive approaches to their Devil Fruit abilities.
He studied the two still-youthful boys before him, feeling a touch of wistfulness-this sea had never lacked astonishingly gifted youngsters.
"Any other questions?"
They had escorted the supplies here precisely for their regularly scheduled three days of instruction each month.
Otherwise, an ordinary cargo handover would hardly have required both of them to come in person.
"About internal destruction with Armament Haki..."
Rossi sheathed his blade and stepped forward.
The sea breeze scattered their questions and answers amid the ebb and flow of the tide.
Many questions accumulated over the past month suddenly became clear in just a few words, like a lighthouse abruptly lighting up in the fog.
When the sun began sinking westward, Rossi suddenly remembered something and raised his hand.
"Oh, right, Mr. Dragon."
Rossi had learned the basics of Armament Haki under Dragon's guidance, so his address carried the appropriate respect.
"Cipher Pol spies have appeared in the family recently."
"I can sense that the World Government won't tolerate our continued expansion."
Dragon had been an elite among Marine