"Hey, Borsalino, what are you thinking about?"
A deep voice came from behind Borsalino.
The voice sounded like someone who had smoked for decades.
Borsalino turned around and saw his good friend from the Officer Training Camp—Sakazuki.
Just like him, Sakazuki was a Logia user and one of the most promising new Marines.
"Nothing much. I was just bored, so I came out for some fresh air," Borsalino replied with a smile.
Actually, Borsalino and Sakazuki had a pretty good relationship.
In the original story, even a man as cold as Sakazuki truly considered Borsalino a brother.
During the Egghead incident, Borsalino even cried while yelling at Sakazuki, and Sakazuki apologized to him.
And it wasn't only Borsalino.
Even though they had different views on justice, Sakazuki and Kuzan were also close comrades who trusted each other deeply.
In the end, even someone as ruthless as Sakazuki couldn't truly kill Kuzan.
Of course, that was in the future. For now, the bond between Borsalino and Sakazuki wasn't quite that ironclad yet.
"Have you ever been to the New World before?" Sakazuki walked over beside him and asked casually.
Borsalino shook his head.
"This is my first time entering the New World. I didn't expect my first trip here would be going deep into it and heading to the legendary strongest country—Elbaf…"
"Same here," Sakazuki replied. "Before I was recruited into Marine Headquarters, I only stayed around the North Blue."
Part of the reason the two got along well from the start was because they were both Logia users training under Zephyr.
Another reason was that among the first training camp group, only the two of them were close in age and both came from the North Blue.
"People always say the New World is extremely dangerous," Borsalino said lazily. "The World Government's influence barely reaches here, and the Marines don't have the same power as pirates in these waters. Just thinking about it feels scary. Hopefully nothing happens this trip…"
Sakazuki was completely different.
He raised a brow and said, "Harald is said to be one of the strongest people on the sea. We also have two Admirals with us. No matter how crazy those pirates are, they probably won't dare mess with us… honestly, that's kind of disappointing."
"Don't tell me you're disappointed that pirates won't attack us?" Borsalino asked strangely.
"That's right," Sakazuki said without hiding his hatred. "I joined the Marines for only three things—kill pirates, kill pirates, and fucking kill pirates!"
Borsalino's attitude toward pirates was much more complicated.
He remembered his old "pen pal."
Back then, he thought that person was just some kind-hearted man.
Later, he found out he was a Celestial Dragon.
And by the time he realized what happened, that person had already become a pirate.
Wrath of Winter Valthior.
Bounty: 567 million Berries.
Borsalino couldn't understand it.
Why would a Celestial Dragon become a pirate?
What was the point?
Was it some kind of adventure game?
Or some deeper meaning he couldn't understand?
"I wonder if I'll meet you in the New World… and if I do, what kind of attitude should I have toward you… Valthior," Borsalino thought quietly.
Suddenly, the fleet broadcast rang out.
"All units on alert! Observation reports show a massive storm forming in the distant sea area, and there may be giant chunks of ice falling from the sky!"
The alarm sounded immediately after.
The well-trained Marines on deck quickly moved into action.
Meanwhile, Borsalino and Sakazuki, despite being Marine Headquarters Captains, looked at each other in confusion like lost rookies, having no idea what they were supposed to do.
A few minutes later, several giant tornadoes appeared on the horizon ahead, sucking up huge amounts of seawater as they rushed toward the fleet.
The wind howled wildly, and the distant sky turned dark. Black clouds rolled across the heavens like the end of the world.
Before Sakazuki and Borsalino could properly observe the terrifying climate of the New World—
A huge shadow suddenly fell from the sky, covering the entire Marine warship.
Borsalino looked up, and his pupils shrank.
"The hell? That's the 'ice chunk' they warned us about!?"
"That's not an ice chunk, that's an iceberg!" Sakazuki shouted in shock. "So this is the New World!? The most dangerous sea in the world… weak people really have no right to sail here…"
When they heard "ice falling from the sky," they both thought it meant hail or some kind of extreme weather.
But instead, entire icebergs were falling from the sky.
The thing was almost the size of a small island!
How was something like that even possible!?
At the front of the deck, Sengoku's hand started glowing with golden light as he prepared to move.
But Zephyr suddenly grabbed his shoulder and smiled.
"This is a good chance to test those two rookies and see how they handle this kind of extreme climate."
Then Zephyr shouted toward Sakazuki and Borsalino.
"Hey! You two! That thing in the sky is yours!"
Neither Sakazuki nor Borsalino was stupid. They immediately understood this was a test.
The two looked at each other.
"You go first," Borsalino said calmly. "I'll handle the rest."
"Fine by me," Sakazuki replied seriously.
Even though this was their first time seeing such crazy weather in the New World, and both were shocked at first, they truly deserved to be future Admirals.
Neither of them panicked.
Black smoke started rising from Sakazuki's arms as burning magma flowed out from his skin.
People always said that once someone ate a Logia fruit, their strength would rise greatly even without much training.
And it was true.
Because early Logia fighting was simple and direct—
Just throw overwhelming natural power at the enemy.
Even though Sakazuki had gotten the Magma-Magma Fruit less than a year ago, the Marines had experienced teachers who deeply understood Logia powers.
Sakazuki raised both arms toward the sky and roared: "Great Eruption!!!"
In the future, when Sakazuki became an Admiral and a top-tier powerhouse, he could casually throw out this attack.
But right now, it still took effort.
Still, the power was terrifying.
His palms erupted like volcanoes, and boiling magma exploded upward, forming a giant magma fist even larger than Harald himself.
Like a volcanic eruption, it blasted into the sky.
Hundreds of meters above them, the giant magma fist slammed into the falling iceberg.
BOOM!!!
A massive explosion shook the sky.
The magma and shattered ice mixed together, turning into an even more dangerous rain of fire and ice that fell down everywhere.
If Borsalino hadn't been there, Sakazuki would have just been making a mess. But with Borsalino present, it was a different story.
A calm smile appeared on the young Borsalino's face. He crossed his hands in front of him as golden light shined from his fingertips.
His Observation Haki spread out, covering the entire storm of ice and magma.
That's right.
Unlike Marines like Sakazuki who had no special background, Borsalino had already started learning Haki years earlier thanks to support from the Jaygarcia family.
Sakazuki and the others only started learning Haki after joining Headquarters, much later than Borsalino.
So at this stage, even though they were both rookies, Borsalino was still much stronger.
"Yasakani no Magatama…" Borsalino muttered softly.
Countless shining laser beams burst into the sky like a rain of bullets.
Every falling piece of ice and magma headed toward the fleet was precisely destroyed.
Explosions filled the sky like brilliant fireworks.
After it ended, chunks of ice and magma splashed across the sea—
But the entire fleet remained completely unharmed.
"Not bad," Zephyr nodded with satisfaction after watching the two rookies work together to handle the crisis.
Sengoku smiled slightly as well.
"Watching them… feels like seeing our younger selves again, Zephyr."
"Hahahaha! Looks like you really have high hopes for them," Zephyr laughed loudly.
...
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