With the Float-Float Fruit as her foundation, Rebecca is indeed superior to many highly talented navigators. It's like playing chess; if you can't win, you just flip the table and leave. You have a natural disaster, right? If I can't handle it, I'll just have my warships take off and leave. Having confidence is what makes you arrogant!
Three days later, the warship arrived at Punk Hazard without much trouble but also without much loss. This place was not the apocalyptic scene of ice, fire, or poison gas that Vic had encountered when he first appeared in his previous life.
The island is now bursting with spring, and from a distance it looks like a very beautiful Spring Island, complete with flowers, plants and trees. In the center of the island stands a very tall research institute, which can be seen from the sea and is surrounded by flowers, plants and trees.
When Vic ordered the warships to approach the island, they discovered that not only were there patrolling naval soldiers along the coast, but many trees also had hidden Surveillance Den Den Mushi), demonstrating that the navy still valued Vegapunk's scientific capabilities.
Indeed, it's important to note that many of the technologies Vegapunk introduced later were of great help to the Navy, especially the Seraphim, which even Vic didn't know about. With this human weapon, the Five Elders directly discarded Vegapunk after he had served his purpose. The World Government no longer dared to think about creating even stronger androids, fearing a backlash, because Vegapunk might actually be able to create them.
" Vice Admiral Dark Dragon! We have received orders from headquarters that you will be responsible for protecting Dr. Vegapunk and safeguarding this island. Please come with me, I will take you to see Vice Admiral Kizaru!"
Before Vic even got close to the island, he was already spotted by the island's Surveillance Den Den Mushi and naval soldiers. Such a large warship sailed straight towards them; anyone with eyes could see it.
Once Vic's warship approached, a naval captain was already waiting on the shore. After greeting Vic and his entourage of officers, the captain led the way.
Kizaru was already inside waiting for the handover. Actually, Kizaru really didn't want to leave this great place. It was so enjoyable to slack off and steal for a living every day. But headquarters had given him orders, so he had no choice but to leave!
However, it was impossible for him to personally go to the beach to greet Vic, a junior. Both of them were Headquarters Vice Admiral titles, and he was still a senior. It was impossible for him to do that. Going to greet him would not be considered as showing respect, but rather as flattery. How could Kizaru, an old fox, do such a thing?
Vic didn't recognize the naval captain; he hadn't appeared in the previous storyline either. He was probably stationed on Punk Hazard all along, but he was very kind to Vic, explaining the situation on the island as they walked.
It was only then that Vic learned that Vegapunk wasn't the only famous scientist on the island; Caesar Courant was also in the institute.
It was only then that Vic remembered that the Punk Hazard research facility was the site of Caesar's gas weapon test explosion, which caused a gas leak and forced its abandonment. Later, after Aokiji and Akainu fought there, he secretly returned to use the research facility.
Looking at the big picture, it's highly likely that Caesar did this intentionally. Building a research institute would require an immense amount of manpower, resources, and money. Caesar could simply use his Devil Fruit power to fill the institute with poisonous gas and then stage an accident, thus rendering the institute unusable. Caesar could then get away with it for free without spending a single penny. This possibility is quite high.
" Vic! What a formidable young man! I've been following your news for the past year and have heard quite a few rumors. I've always been curious about you, and today we finally meet. I'm Borsalino, nice to meet you!"
When Vic arrived at Kizaru's office, Kizaru was clipping his nails, but upon seeing the colonel bring Vic in, he immediately stopped what he was doing and greeted Vic.
During their first meeting, he showed neither the arrogance nor disdain of his seniors; clearly, as a centrist, he was friendly to high-ranking generals from any faction.
Although Vic is a newcomer, his strength has already been recognized by him, and he also has Garp's support behind him. He has everything he needs in the Navy, and he is destined to be on par with him in the future, or even surpass him to become his superior.
However, it's not fair to say that Kizaru is obsequious. He's not an ambitious person and doesn't need to please others, not even his superiors.
" Borsalino! I'm also very curious about you, the fastest man in the Navy. I've seen almost all the other Vice Admiral at headquarters, but I've never seen you before."
I never imagined you'd be vacationing on such a beautiful island! What a refined taste! I thought you were on some secret mission; I hadn't heard from you at all. Now that I've finally met you, it's an honor to meet you!
Kizaru greeted him with a smile, and Vic, of course, wouldn't be impolite either, though his words were slightly teasing. This admiral, who had been teased in his previous life as Second Uncle Kizaru, the King of Slacking Off, and the Terrifying Marine Admiral, was not wearing sunglasses at this moment, but rather a dark top hat, and his suit was not yellow but silver-gray.
This is different from when he became Marine Admiral. What remains the same is his sleazy and unkempt face, with a nearly burnt-out cigarette dangling from his mouth, and he is considerably taller than Vic when he stands up.
"Lieutenant Vice Admiral Vic! You're so scary! You can't joke around like that. I'm on a serious mission. If I weren't waiting to hand over duties to you, I'd be protecting Dr. Vegapunk right now. Come on! I'll take you to see the doctor. From now on, you'll be in charge of his safety."
Kizaru uttered words of mock horror and grievance, but his expression and eyes remained largely unfazed, clearly not taking Vic's joke seriously.
"Let's not rush that. Let's have a spar first. I get itchy when I see a strong opponent, especially since we're all Logia Fruit users. What do you think?"
Vic didn't respond. He genuinely wanted to test with Kizaru Devil Fruit, hailed as the fastest, could actually go—could it truly reach the speed of light?
Vic thought it was unlikely. If he could really reach the speed of light, no one could withstand Kizaru's attack methods, and no one could interrupt him from using his ability, because time would stand still after reaching the speed of light. Who could block such an attack? Even if you could Future Sight, it would be useless. If you could see the future, you wouldn't have time to dodge!
If Kizaru's speed can't reach the speed of light, then how does it compare to his lightning speed or the acceleration from the Speed-Speed Fruit? If he can surpass Kizaru in speed, and with his Haki continuously increasing, how powerful will he be in the future? Therefore, Vic is very interested in seeing where Kizaru's limits lie!
"No, no, no! You don't want to? You young man are too terrifying! You want to fight to the death the moment you meet? You can't be so impulsive. We're colleagues, fighting like this is pointless. You'd be better off saving your energy to capture a few more pirates!"
Kizaru waved his hands repeatedly, refusing Vic's suggestion. He was genuinely a little intimidated by Vic, not because he was afraid of losing, but mainly because the kid's methods were too frightening. Look at how miserable the fates of those pirates were one by one; if pushed to the limit, he would definitely get really angry.
Then it wouldn't be a friendly sparring match anymore. He really didn't want to compete with Vic. It was common knowledge that Kizaru had always relied heavily on his Devil Fruit abilities and didn't care much about training in Haki techniques. He had even less interest in sparring. What's the point of messing around when you can just relax?