Borsalino

At Sea.

The waves were cleaved by the sharp hull of a marine battleship. The sea sprayed faintly upon the deck.

Upon the bow, three cannons were mounted, aiming forward.

At the front of the deck, a white marine coat fluttered in the breeze. On its back, the word 'Justice' was boldly painted in calligraphy. The man who wore it had a black afro, a thick, M-shaped mustache, and round glasses. He sternly observed the incoming sea with his arms crossed.

Sengoku's brow furrowed as he thought about all the things he had to go through the last few weeks.

A week before Roger's execution, Golden Lion Shiki had invaded Marineford, making a mess of things, and killing a mountain of marine soldiers. It was fortunate that he had been stationed there with Garp at the time to protect HQ, but the battle with the lone pirate had severely damaged the fort, also costing them a battleship. The pirate had thrown it at them in the melee, and it had crashed into the eastern wall of the base.

Garp may have been pleased to have a fresh battleship bag for training, but Sengoku was not happy.

Not only did they have to arrange the repair of the extensive damage, and fill in piles of paperwork for the deceased soldiers, but they also had to send many of their soldiers to contain the havoc wrought by emerging pirates in the wake of Roger's execution.

And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, he received news that two Celestial Dragons were murdered on Sabaody Archipelago.

Frankly, he had had enough. The plans of the marines and World Government had been thwarted by Roger's final words, and it had given Sengoku the biggest of headaches whenever he thought about it.

'Damn him…' Sengoku thought bitterly as his brows knotted even further.

And now there was this incident that caused him an even bigger headache. Thankfully, he was not fleet Admiral Kong, who he was sure was suffering the brunt of things. 

Step. Step.

"Say… Admiral Sengoku, what… are our… plans?" A man with slow speech wearing a fedora and a yellow-orange striped suit approached him from behind.

"Vice-Admiral Borsalino…" Sengoku muttered. He thought for a moment. The objectives for this excursion were a little unclear. All he knew was that he had to capture a girl. One who, supposedly, was responsible for the Nobles' deaths. And also one who potentially possessed The Disposition of A Conqueror.

"I'd prefer it if you go ahead. Just travel straight from here. Assess the situation and report back to me," he said as he made out the dense gray storm of clouds in the far distance.

"Roger… that…" Borsalino's body began to shine bright yellow as he spoke in his slow manner before he disappeared in a ray of light.

Faster than a blink, the light flashed through the horizon and then vanished from Sengoku's sight.

'What a mess…' Sengoku thought. He couldn't help feeling some resentment towards Garp who mocked his plight. The man made it his mission to lounge around in his office, munch crackers, and gloat every time an irritating problem came up.

Sometimes, he couldn't help but envy his Vice-Admiral comrade.

Sometimes.

—----

Sabaody Archipelago, Grove 66.

Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk!

The horns mounted upon Sabaody's marine base blared as a state of emergency was called. The marines stationed there quickly formed ranks and were briefed on the information they had received from HQ.

One of their targets for capture, they had been told, was a girl with rose-colored hair. A platoon of soldiers split into squads, and began their search outward, while another platoon was sent to Grove 61 where the inciting incident had taken place.

As for the third platoon…

They were still napping upon the soapy mud of said Grove 61.

A flash of yellow light shone through the thick curtains of rain, drawing the attention of the marines. The light dimmed, revealing Borsalino's figure.

All movement there paused briefly, before the man spoke in his usual slow manner, "Hey there… can I ask what happened… and where I need to go…?"

—----

Grove 61.

Jarl stirred from a nightmare.

He was a young giant, barely twenty. He had been out for a Sea-King hunt with some of his friends, and then…

Amber red iron pressed upon his skin. His flesh sizzled, and the permanent mark of a dragon's hoof was branded upon his back.

Shhh.

Sizzling flesh and heavy rainfall merged into one sound, and then the sensation of numerous cold droplets attacking his body awoke him. He jolted up, the heavy clanging of his chains momentarily breaking the sound of the rainfall.

He looked around at the littered bodies, and then upon his vile master.

He froze. Then, ever so slowly, as if he were in a dream, approached that body in the mud.

He prodded it with a giant finger.

He looked around in equal parts confusion and delight.

"Thank the little girl," A resigned, conflicted voice spoke from not too far away. Jarl turned towards the marine who was the only other one awake.

"She… did this?" Jarl asked with his deep tone, gradually digesting the reality he had found himself in. It was too sudden, too unreal, too… bitter.

That girl… 

He glanced at the other body nearby. Rose-colored hair floated upon a puddle.

He looked away and started searching for the device to release his restraints. He glanced at the marine.

"Here," Brannew said as he pressed a button.

Click. Clang.

Their collars opened and fell upon the dirt, releasing all fifteen of them; the twelve men who carried the palanquin, the two women, and the giant. 

Slavery was not something Brannew would support, and now that the Noble was dead anyway, no one would even notice the absence of his slaves.

Jarl nodded as he nudged his fellow ex-slaves awake. It didn't feel right to leave them be, especially when they had all suffered together.

A low murmur stirred.

"We're… free?"

"Free?"

"The little girl killed Lard?"

Just as they had all understood the situation and rejoiced upon their release, they quickly escaped, wanting to be as far away from the dead noble as possible, freeing themselves from the source of their nightmares and suffering.

After spitting upon and kicking the corpse a few times, of course.

Just as soon as they left, a yellow flash reflected from the heavy droplets of rain.

"You are… Lieutenant Brannew… Right?" Borsalino asked.

Brannew looked upon the Vice-Admiral who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, sighed, and then nodded.

He had heard of Borsalino. He was one of the three emerging powerhouses of the Navy. A newly minted Vice-Admiral, but a powerful resource nonetheless. It was said he would become an Admiral Candidate within the next twenty years.

The only thing he lacked was experience.

"Hmm…" Borsalino looked around at the situation and squatted in front of the dead fat Celestial Dragon.

He reached into his pocket and retrieved a transponder snail.

"Hello…? Hello…? This is Borsalino…" He said into the snail phone.

Silence. He received no response.

"That's… odd. Hello…? …Admiral Sengoku…?" He scratched his head.

"Vice-Admiral, that's the wrong one…" Brannew pointed out after a while, "That's… a white snail. Not used for calls…"

Borsalino looked towards him, and nodded, 

"How...Strange…"

—----

Grove 76, Lily's house. Parents' bedroom.

"You said… people are after me? To… capture me?" Lily repeated those words, and mumbled.

"Capture… they… want to capture me?" Her voice raised slightly as her sadness and grief were overcome by an overwhelming burning rage inside her that had yet to be satiated.

Capture. 

A word like that fueled the deep chaotic mess of resentment within her, releasing the locks on her rage.

Red and black lightning began to spark around her as her eyes sharpened and bore into Rayleigh's.

Rayleigh's eyebrows shot up, not expecting the shift. Michael had mentioned that his daughter was delicate and that certain words or ideas would trigger a panic within her, but this…

"Calm down, I won't let that happen," he said as he sent out a small portion of his own Conqueror's Haki to combat and contain the child's. Releasing too much of it placed a strain and would only exhaust the girl.

They stared at each other for a while before Lily closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she spoke candidly.

"Who, and why? And what do I do?"

Rayleigh was inwardly surprised for the second time at the child's shift in demeanor. But unfortunately, there was no time left.

He sighed.

"Go to Grove 13. Shakky's Bar. She's a beauty, just tell her Rayleigh sent you," He said. He would have loved to escort her there himself, but his Observation had peeked a few seconds into the future.

"They're already here…" He said.

With that, he jumped out of the window, and drew his blade, clashing with an unformed flash of light.