The sudden loud shout was like a thunderclap out of a clear sky.
Sabo, Hibari, and Jonathan, who had been deeply engrossed in conversation, were startled violently by the shout. Their expressions changed drastically.
Without thinking, Hibari leaped into the air. His body transformed, quickly turning into an ink-black crow, flapping his wings and soaring high into the sky.
Sabo was just as quick. He jumped onto Hibari's back, forming the stance of Dragon Claw Fist with both hands, eyes warily scanning in the direction of the voice.
As for Jonathan—
He shuddered in fright, as if his heart had nearly stopped. His old face turned pale.
But soon, he realized something. His face turned dark as a pan, and he glared at the approaching Navy youth with a faint smile on his face.
"You little brat! Were you trying to scare me to death? Don't you know I have heart problems? Let me tell you, if you scare me to death, you'll have no choice but to marry my granddaughter!"
"Navy!"
On Hibari's back, Sabo tensed up completely, watching as Rorschach approached with a relaxed demeanor, hands in his pockets.
"Sabo, what do we do? Should we run?" Hibari asked nervously.
"Wait... that guy... doesn't seem like an enemy."
Though he said that, Sabo remained cautious. He kept his index and middle fingers, as well as his ring and pinky fingers, held together and hooked into a Dragon Claw stance.
This was the Dragon Claw Fist—an extremely powerful martial art Sabo had learned from the Boss.
Rorschach strolled up casually, looking at the uneasy Jonathan with a faint smile. "President Jonathan, I don't think I've met these two before. Friends of yours? Aren't you going to introduce me?"
Jonathan glanced up at Sabo and Hibari, then at Rorschach, snorted, and grumbled, "Cut the act, you little brat. If you didn't recognize them, why'd you say that line?"
"I just saw you three whispering around here suspiciously. It looked fishy, so I spoke up on a whim."
Rorschach's lips curled into a smirk. Ignoring the now red-faced Jonathan, he looked up at the two in the air.
"Won't you two introduce yourselves?"
Sabo and Hibari remained silent.
The air turned eerily quiet.
Jonathan stood behind Rorschach, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He was genuinely afraid that Rorschach might suddenly attack Sabo and Hibari.
Rorschach's personality had been made perfectly clear during yesterday's battle.
He abhorred evil and acted decisively.
Even if sometimes confused, he would never hesitate when it came time to strike.
And most importantly, Rorschach's strength had been fully revealed.
Based on the terrifying power he displayed yesterday, if Rorschach really decided to act, Sabo and Hibari probably wouldn't be able to escape.
Hibari could fly, but so could Rorschach.
And he was even faster.
"Rorschach, kid..." Jonathan had just opened his mouth to try and ease the tension when he saw Sabo and Hibari slowly descending from the air.
Sabo dropped down and landed in front of Rorschach.
Hibari reverted to human form, silently standing behind Sabo.
In his human form, he was a gloomy, bald man with a bird-beak mask and a black fur coat.
So tall!
Sabo's first impression of Rorschach, now on the ground, was that this Navy youth was incredibly tall.
At 2.7 meters tall, he was noticeably taller than even the Boss, Dragon.
And based on what Jonathan had just said about this youth's incredible performance in yesterday's war, Sabo couldn't help but think of those monstrous powers within the Navy.
All of them, just like this young man—around three meters tall, with overwhelming presence.
And then, the youthfulness.
He was so young.
Although much taller than himself, the lines on Rorschach's face were still soft, youthful, not at all rugged.
But within his eyes, there was a powerful, unmistakable sense of conviction.
Those were very special eyes.
Sabo couldn't find the words to describe the sky-blue eyes of Rorschach.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his wariness, and spoke: "I'm Sabo."
He pointed behind him. "This is Hibari."
"As you suspected..." Sabo paused, then said in a deep voice, "We are members of the Revolutionary Army."
"So young... the Revolutionary Army's No. 2, Chief of Staff Sabo." Rorschach glanced at the visibly stunned Sabo and Hibari. Then, to their surprise, he extended his right hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rear Admiral Rorschach of Navy Headquarters."
"You're joking, Rear Admiral Rorschach. You look even younger than I am."
Sabo reached out and shook Rorschach's hand.
Gurgle...
Suddenly, a gurgling sound came from Rorschach's stomach, and Sabo froze.
"Hahaha, sorry, I'm just really hungry and running low on energy. I'll sit for a bit."
Rorschach gave a wry smile, rubbed his stomach, and sat down on a nearby reef.
The atmosphere in the scene turned oddly awkward.
Jonathan's mouth twitched slightly. He couldn't figure out Rorschach's intentions or why he had come.
Rorschach plopped down on a relatively flat rock, crossed his hands under his chin, and smiled at Sabo.
"So, Mr. Sabo, would you mind telling me what your Revolutionary Army is doing here at this time?"
Sabo also wasn't sure of Rorschach's intentions.
But as the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, despite his youth, he had plenty of resolve.
Once he set aside his internal doubts, Sabo didn't remain standing either. He casually found a rock and sat down, looking at Rorschach as he said:
"To be honest, there's no harm in telling you, Rear Admiral Rorschach. We came here to help the Bounty Hunters Guild fend off the pirates' attack. But thanks to your assistance, the pirate fleet led by Gleever was completely wiped out before we even arrived. On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of survivors in Queen of Spring City, I thank you for your help."
"It's nothing. Taking down pirates is our Navy's duty."
Rorschach waved his hand, then glanced at Jonathan, who was pretending to be a wooden statue.
"By the way, it seems like you've known President Jonathan for a while. You three looked like you were having a nice chat."
"You must be joking. President Jonathan is the King of Hunters, admired by everyone in the Paradise. The Hunter Guild he founded has brought much peace to this world. Even we in the Revolutionary Army greatly respect President Jonathan as a person."
Sabo chuckled and cleverly redirected the topic to Jonathan. "I'm a little curious," Rorschach said, locking eyes with Sabo, "Commander Sabo, you're so young—what sea are you from?"
He wanted to know if Sabo had really lost his memory.
"Sorry, no comment," Sabo replied, refusing to answer Rorschach's question.
The two continued their back-and-forth casually, which made Jonathan frown.
He had been listening for a while.
But when he heard Rorschach ask Sabo if he liked any girls, he couldn't hold back anymore. He walked forward and smacked Rorschach on the shoulder with a slap, irritated.
"Rorschach, can't you just get to the point if you have something to say? Stop with this useless small talk."
"Straight to the point, huh?"
Rorschach let out a soft chuckle and slowly stood up.
"I think... if I can bring back the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army and a corps commander, that would be a huge achievement, wouldn't it? I might even get promoted straight to Vice Admiral."
"So you're still going to fight us?"
Sabo stood up as well, muscles tensing, staring at Rorschach at point-blank range without blinking.
Zzzzzzt...
Silver-white arcs of electricity began to crackle from Rorschach's body, dancing around him like sprites of lightning, emanating a terrifying aura.
The power of lightning! Sabo's pupils shrank, and he curled his fingers into claws.
Behind him, the black cloak on Hibari flapped wildly, stretching a long swath of darkness into the air.
It was pitch-black coal ash.
Crackle! Boom!
A volcanic, explosive aura suddenly erupted from Rorschach, making his silver hair flutter even without wind.
As Rorschach slowly raised his right hand, Jonathan's face darkened.
He looked at Sabo, then at Rorschach.
Both were exceptional young men, both walking the paths of justice they believed in—shining figures of a new era.
No matter which one got hurt, it would break Jonathan's heart.
Over the years, he had long stopped believing that only the Navy represented justice.
Over ten years ago, on this very island, Jonathan had met Molly and the young Dracule Dragon while he was journeying the seas.
The three of them had spent some time together, talking.
Jonathan had deeply admired Dragon, who even then had astonishing resolve for someone so young, and believed he would one day change the world.
So Jonathan had funded Dragon's first startup capital, which he used to build a now-iconic ship in Water 7.
That ship was the Martha-Grammar, the flagship of the world's most wanted man—the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Dragon.
Over the next decade, Jonathan had witnessed the Revolutionary Army's actions. From complete obscurity, they steadily grew into a force known by all.
Now, they were labeled the most evil organization in the world, a major thorn in the side of the Celestial Dragons.
But to Jonathan, the Revolutionary Army's actions were far more righteous than those of the World Government.
So, he truly didn't want to see the two sides he admired come to blows here.
Among the reefs by the sea, the tension escalated.
Arcs of electricity sizzled in the air.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
But no one made the first move.
Suddenly, Rorschach lowered his raised right hand, rubbed his rumbling stomach, and sighed:
"I'm starving... after fighting so long and not eating all day, I'm about to pass out."
As he spoke, the arcs of electricity in the air instantly vanished and returned to his body.
The heavy tension disappeared like smoke.
Rorschach turned to the stunned Jonathan. "President Jonathan, when's dinner? I'm starving."
"Huh?" Jonathan froze, then immediately broke into a broad smile. "You want to eat? No problem, I'll have someone prepare dinner right away. Let's throw a banquet tonight to celebrate the victory!"
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
Rorschach smiled at him, then turned his gaze to Sabo, whose expression was complicated.
"Let's fight another time. I'm not in top form today. I'd really like to see that Dragon Claw Fist of yours."
Sabo slowly unclenched his clawed fingers.
As he watched Rorschach and Jonathan walk off to make dinner preparations, Sabo suddenly pulled out a small slip of paper and extended it forward.
"Wait, Rear Admiral Rorschach."
Rorschach turned back, puzzled by the white slip of paper being handed to him.
"What's this?"
"My Den Den Mushi number."
Sabo looked at Rorschach deeply.
"The leader has been watching you ever since you left the North Sea.
To be honest, we used to think the leader's attention and regard for you was overblown.
But now we see... your rate of growth has far exceeded our expectations.
Maybe someday, you'll become our greatest enemy.
Or maybe... you'll be our friend.
I'm giving you my number. If you run into trouble in Paradise or the Four Seas, you can contact me.
If I can help, I'll lend a hand—consider it thanks for saving this city, and for saving Old Man Jonathan."
"Being watched and valued by the world's most dangerous criminal... not exactly comforting. Still, I'll keep your number."
Rorschach took the slip of paper from Sabo's hand.
"Well then, farewell for now, Rear Admiral Rorschach."
Sabo tipped his hat, then leapt into the sky.
Hibari transformed into a pitch-black crow and took flight, carrying Sabo away at speed.
Rorschach looked at the slip of paper in his hand, tucked it into his coat, and turned to face Jonathan, who was still staring skyward at their departure.
Then, he smirked and said something that nearly made Jonathan faceplant.
"President Jonathan, you wouldn't want me reporting your collusion with the Revolutionary Army to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, would you?"
(End of Chapter)
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