The Golden List flashed, and two figures appeared within its arena. Both held swords, though they bore no resemblance to one another.
Zoro stood on one side, his swords at his waist, staring at his opponent with his full attention.
Vanse Kurosaki simply looked around the arena with poorly hidden annoyance.
"Of all the people you could try to challenge..." He locked his charcoal-black eyes on the green-haired swordsman.
"...You just had to pick me."
Zoro strapped on his black bandana, a smirk curling across his lips.
"...Pretty lucky, right?"
He didn't waste another second. Unsheathing two of his three blades, he dashed toward his opponent.
Cling!
Their blades met at the center, sending sparks flying as the screech of metal rang loudly through the arena. They exchanged strikes at blistering speed.
Vanse Kurosaki deflected the swords aimed at him with swift movements before jumping back to regain his footing. Somewhere during their first exchange, the annoyance in his eyes had vanished.
With a quiet huff, he sheathed his sword, lowering his stance.
Zoro didn't wait for his attack.
Drawing his third sword, he slashed at Vanse without the slightest hesitation.
Splurt!
"Ugh!"
Crimson blood splattered across his vision.
Ignoring the wound across his chest, Zoro pressed forward with his next attack.
Vanse, momentarily caught off guard, raised his own blade to counter—
Cling!
"Hiss..."
Instead, he was forced to slide back two meters, his arms going slightly numb from the shock that traveled through his hands.
He looked at Zoro, his expression nearly speechless.
"This is ridiculous... What kind of swordsman prioritizes attacking despite clearly knowing he'll lose?"
Vanse asked, genuinely not understanding what Zoro was thinking—or rather, whether he was thinking at all.
Zoro grinned somewhat stiffly.
"Swordsmanship requires focus, without stray thoughts."
The ground beneath him shattered as he rushed toward Vanse with even greater momentum.
"You think too much!"
---
Outside the Arena
In the Golden List Chatroom
[Golden Lion Shiki: If you actually ignore just how weak they are, this fight is actually quite interesting.]
[Dark King Rayleigh: Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we all started where they are right now.]
[Takumi: Listening to you all reminisce... I suddenly feel surrounded by history books.]
[Yellow Monkey Kizaru: My, my~ The young ones have no respect for their elders nowadays.]
[Ethan V. Nusjuro: Truly, your arrogance astounds me. It has reached heights even I can only aspire to.]
[Akagami no Shanks: Heh! Takumi, you're really talented at ticking people off. I'm kind of impressed.]
[Alpha: Red-Hair, how's your wound?]
"Oof."
---
Aboard the Red Force
Shanks felt the wound on his chest suddenly flare up with phantom pain.
"I was just joking! Why the hell did she have to give such a sharp reply!?"
Shanks roared in exasperation.
"Ahahaha!"
"Captain! Captain! I can't—pfft—hahaha!"
"Aren't you tired of being socially killed by Takumi?"
"Benn! You too!? It's not even my fault this time! I literally just commented on his sharp tongue. Is that a bad thing?!"
Shanks stared at the gray- and black-haired man smoking beside him.
"Sigh... You're truly idiotic. Those girls have been blabbing for a while now, and I think I've gotten a grasp on something they all share."
This caught the attention of Shanks—no, the attention of everyone on the crew.
The girls in question were Takumi's subordinates, as well as those who shared a history with him.
Each of them was powerful in her own right. The world might not have shown it, but they were certainly not unaffected by everything the Golden List had exposed.
One of those things was naturally Takumi and his... women?
And now Beckman was saying he had figured something out.
Stubbing his cigarette into the ashtray, Benn Beckman glanced at the Golden List.
The last puff of smoke escaped his lips before he finally spoke.
"Regardless of whether it's praise or criticism, as long as you're talking about Takumi... you're fair game..."
Silence.
The entire Red Hair Pirates crew stared at Beckman, waiting for the rest of the explanation.
...
Benn Beckman remained completely silent.
Yasopp's eye twitched.
"Hey, Beck... that isn't it... right?"
Benn Beckman didn't even spare him a glance.
"..."
"..."
"...That was the explanation. Is there anything else you wanted?"
Silence once more descended upon the ship.
Shanks blinked.
"That's it?"
Beckman nodded.
"That's it."
Lucky Roux slowly lowered the piece of meat in his hand.
"...We've all been waiting for thirty seconds."
"I know."
"You made it sound like you had uncovered some terrifying secret."
"I did."
"..."
"..."
Shanks pointed at him in disbelief.
"You aura-farming bastard!"
Shanks cursed Benn, his body being restrained by his laughing crew as he tried to reach for Gryphon.
---
Meanwhile, at the Sabaody Archipelago
Nami, Uta, and Nojiko sat on the deck of their ship. They wore swimsuits as they basked in the sun, looking at the Golden List as though it were a show.
"Alpha is really something, huh? Actually talking to one of the Four Emperors like that."
Nojiko smiled playfully, taking a small sip of juice with a blissful expression.
"Hmph! You act like you wouldn't do anything similar. Sigh~ Why does Takumi-nii always dump his work on us anyway!? Doesn't he know work is detrimental to a woman's body?!"
Uta groaned upon hearing Nami's words.
"Don't even start with this, you cat thief! Isn't it exactly because you stole some of the crew's money that we're in this situation?!"
Uta, as if finally letting out some grievances, glared at the orange-haired girl.
Nami looked away, a bit embarrassed by the truth of her words and the fact that Nojiko was snickering beside her.
"I mean, we're technically more of an organization than a crew..."
Uta: ...
"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT EVEN CHANGE?!"
Fortunately for Nami, Nojiko managed to calm Uta before she could send the greedy girl into a dream she'd never forget.
"Regardless of why we're doing this, we shouldn't be distracted."
She flicked a handful of her blue hair as she looked at the Golden List.
"Kalifa-nee said that we absolutely need to get these supplies to the next order, and the—"
Nojiko looked at the crates on their ship and sighed.
"It's actually surprising how such a simple idea managed to elude the seas until Takumi popped up."
End of chapter 7