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"Is that the incompetent acting Fleet Admiral who got caught rewarding himself and gave soldiers wives?"
Norton asked suspiciously, instantly angering Sakazuki.
"You're asking for death, Dark Hound!"
"Damn, Wolf Claws."
Norton's spine tingled with fear, and without a word, he immediately used Armament Haki to defend against the magma attack.
With a bang, cracks appeared in the surrounding ground.
At this moment, Sakazuki was even more fierce and ruthless than before, charging straight at him.
"Great Eruption! You'll pay for those words."
"Ugh... I shouldn't have mentioned that guy."
Boom!
Grand Line, Jaya Island.
"Marine's big monster!"
"Why? Why is someone like you here?"
A young man with a diamond-shaped face, chestnut-shaped hair, and short blond locks was full of disbelief.
He was in a terrible state, lying on the ground covered in ice, unable to move.
More than half of his body was frozen, with the biting cold air invading his body every moment.
He looked up.
The island that was supposed to be full of spring had turned into a complete Iceland.
Countless pirates who were staying on the island, waiting for the Log Pose to reset, had all turned into frozen statues.
Some had clear looks of fear on their faces, while others, who were slower to react, didn't even realize that death had arrived. They were still laughing and chatting happily with their crewmates as they froze.
The culprit behind all this was a man sitting on a small iceberg formed by hundreds of ice-covered bodies.
The Logia user of the Ice-Ice Fruit, Marine Vice Admiral Kuzan.
"Well, just to deal with the trivial matter of Mont Blanc Cricket, who has a bounty of 25 million berries."
"Honestly, I want to know too."
Kuzan tossed away the bounty poster of the diamond-faced youth, propped his chin with his right hand, and yawned: "The command from headquarters was for me to wait here, but I don't know why."
Mont Blanc Cricket swallowed hard.
"If you're just waiting for someone, why did you have to do this?"
"You're asking why I froze the island?"
Kuzan looked at him with emotionless eyes and said calmly, "It's simple. There were pirates here, and that disgusts me."
"As for me, I really hate pirates now."
For the past half month, under Sengoku's orders, the ships had been hunting pirates at sea.
He had seen too many tragedies caused by pirates.
He didn't know how much anger and killing intent had built up in his heart during that time.
If he didn't let it out, he felt like he might go crazy.
So, after arriving at Jaya Island and realizing it had become a pirate haven, he unleashed his fruit powers with all his might without a word.
"Ah, I finally feel a lot better." Kuzan exhaled, his mood improving slightly.
"Why didn't you kill me?" asked Mont Blanc Cricket.
"I heard you're very familiar with Jaya Island, right? I might need your help," Kuzan replied.
He still didn't know why he was there, but since headquarters had chosen this place, there must be a reason.
It made more sense to keep someone who knew the area well rather than stumbling around blindly.
At that moment...
A loud noise came from the distant sea.
A flash of light exploded from the approaching warship.
Within two breaths, it reached Jaya Island and stopped behind Kuzan.
The dazzling light reflected off the ice, its brightness comparable to the sun.
"Ah, Kuzan, you're terrifying."
Borsalino appeared, glanced at the situation on the island, and curiously pinched his chin, "What happened to make you so angry?"
"Borsalino, if you had witnessed a month's worth of countries being destroyed and families torn apart, you would do the same."
Kuzan didn't look back, his face full of helplessness.
If he could, he'd rather not remember those scenes.
Every time he thought of those innocent and poor people, he couldn't help but feel a surge of killing intent.
"Oh! Fortunately, my mission isn't to hunt down pirates."
Seeing this, Borsalino tactfully didn't ask further questions.
The two had worked together for many years and knew each other well.
Although Kuzan didn't show much emotion, the negative energy radiating from him was palpable even from a distance.
'No wonder these ice cubes are colder than ever,' Borsalino thought to himself, impressed.
"Let's not waste time. What does Acting Fleet Admiral Akira want us to do, I also have the log pose ready, do you want it?" Kuzan got straight to the point.
Borsalino didn't even glance at Mont Blanc Cricket. He pulled out a document from his pocket and skimmed through it.
"Oh, then you're wasting your time. The mission location isn't here, but up there."
"Sky?"
Kuzan looked up at the empty sky, frowning.
What kind of mission requires them to go into the sky, and what could be up there?
"You've heard of the fairy tale about the land of gold, right? Acting Fleet Admiral Akira said it really exists."
"400 years ago, part of this island was thrown 10,000 meters into the air by a massive Knock Up Stream."
"So, there's a huge amount of gold up there."
"My task is to go up there, drop all the gold, and you'll be responsible for collecting it below."
After finishing, Borsalino put the document back in his pocket, and his body turned into a flash of light.
Without waiting for Kuzan's response, he shot up into the sky like an arrow.
"Wait, can you take me with you?"
Mont Blanc Cricket, who had already resigned himself to his fate, widened his eyes in disbelief. He finally couldn't contain his excitement, his whole body trembling.
He never expected that the ancestors, who were labeled as great liars by the world, hadn't lied.
The land of gold truly existed.
If anyone else had said this, he wouldn't have believed them.
But these two Marine monsters couldn't be lying, especially not to him, a small-time pirate who couldn't fend for himself.
He struggled, shouting for Borsalino to take him along.
That way, even if he died, he'd have no regrets.
Click, click, click.
The ice around him began to move, enveloping him at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In the last moments before Mont Blanc Cricket lost consciousness, he heard Kuzan's cold, emotionless voice.
"Sorry for wasting so much of your time, brother."
Whoosh.
Like a meteor, Borsalino shot upwards at incredible speed.
Finally, after breaking through the clouds at 7,000 meters, Borsalino released his elementalization.
"There's a strong sense of resistance, and the clouds here can actually support a person."
Borsalino squatted to examine the clouds under his feet, his eyes showing surprise.
When he was younger, he had ventured into the sky out of sheer boredom, but he had never encountered anything like this.
Back then, the clouds were like mist, unable to support anyone and easily dispersed.
"It seems what Akira said is true. There really is a Sky Island here."
Borsalino stood up and resumed his ascent without a word.
For the first time, he found this mission interesting.
All the way up.
The next 3,000 meters were easily crossed.
Borsalino's figure flickered, seamlessly blending into the crowd on Angel Island.
Time passed by every minute and every second.
"Pretty and lovely young lady, I'll buy you a drink some other day."
"Well, you're always welcome, interesting Blue Sea man."
Though he wanted to develop relationships and have deep conversations with these unique-looking ladies on Sky Island, Borsalino remembered his official duties and quickly withdrew after getting the information he needed.
"Island of the Gods, Upper yard?"
"There's definitely a lot of activity there."
Following the directions given by the Sky Island woman, Borsalino flew slowly toward the destination.
As he got closer, his Observation Haki picked up on numerous life forces.
The sounds of shouting, fighting, and clashing reached his keen ears.
"Fight! Take back our homeland! The Shandia will never yield!"
"Great Warrior Kalgara is watching over us!"
"Come on, kill them!"
"Block these Shandians! Never let them take the Holy Land from us!"
"The Holy Land was granted to us on Angel Island by God. You bastards won't get your hands on it!"
The two sides were locked in fierce combat, driven by deep-seated hatred. Both were brave and fearless, with each side losing warriors as the battle raged on.
But to all this, Borsalino couldn't care less.
His expression was as indifferent as ever, thinking to himself, 'this has nothing to do with me. I'm just a task robot with no emotions.'
He had learned from the women that this war had been raging for 400 years between the two races. With such a long and bloody history, it was clear that no outsider could easily intervene—only the two clans could settle it.
If the dispute had been over some treasure, Borsalino might have been interested in stepping in to mediate.
But what were these two tribes fighting over?
Just soil, the kind you could find anywhere in the sea. It wasn't worth his time or effort.
Isn't the Marine already busy enough in this chaotic era of piracy?
Ignoring the battlefield below, Borsalino continued his search until he finally arrived at his destination—Shandora, the fabled City of Gold.
Despite 400 years of erosion, much of the gold had dulled, covered in moss and shaded by towering trees.
But even the visible gold was enough to shock anyone.
Even Borsalino was taken aback by the vast expanse of gold before him.
"So much gold..."
"How many berries is that worth?"
Borsalino's breath quickened, his heart raced, and he could feel the blood rushing to his face.
Anyone with any sense of value would be overwhelmed by such a sight.
Greed, hunger, the desire for gold...
These instincts were ingrained in the bones and genes of all humans.
But Borsalino quickly regained his composure, closing his eyes to suppress the turmoil in his heart.
He stopped staring at the gold and instead took out his Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
Pere~Pere~Pere~Pere~.
"Moshi moshi, this is Akira, go ahead."
"Acting Fleet Admiral Akira, I've arrived at Sky Island and found the land of gold you mentioned."
The Den Den Mushi's eyes lit up, and Akira's voice came through with a tone of approval: "Good work, Borsalino. Before you throw all the gold down, take dozens of photos of the land of gold."
"Remember, I want no blind spots in all directions. Get both long-range and close-up shots."
"We're going to start building momentum for it back at headquarters. Make sure the photos are impressive and impactful."
Borsalino couldn't help but think to himself that it wouldn't take much skill at all. Even a simple snapshot would be enough to leave people in awe.
But he kept those thoughts to himself and dutifully followed Akira's instructions.
Click, click, click.
The lights from the camera Den Den Mushi flickered as Borsalino moved around, using Moonwalk and his Glint-Glint fruit abilities to get the best possible angles.
It took a full half hour before he was done.
"Acting Fleet Admiral Akira, the photos are taken. Have you received them?"
"Yes, the receiving Den Den Mushi here is just starting to produce the first one."
Borsalino sat down on a golden slab, watching intently as the Den Den Mushi in his hand began to develop the pictures.
Out of sheer curiosity, he wanted to see how Akira would react to the sight of the land of gold.
But to his surprise, Akira's response was underwhelming.
"This one's not very good. The lighting and angle are off."
"The second one's better than the first, but it still doesn't meet my expectations."
Akira critiqued the photos from a professional standpoint, focusing solely on the quality of the shots and completely ignoring the vast wealth of gold captured in each image.
"Well, maybe this is why you're on track to surpass us to become Fleet Admiral!" Borsalino shrugged, deciding to hang up the Den Den Mushi and start moving the gold.
But just as he was about to get up, Akira suddenly let out a soft "Huh."
"What is it?" Borsalino asked.
"Oh, it's nothing! Just remember, we're only interested in the gold, nothing else."
Borsalino's pupils flashed slightly as he caught onto something, nodding in understanding.
He glanced back at an indestructible stone tablet in a corner, one that he had noticed while taking pictures. Although he couldn't read the text, he knew it was a Poneglyph, one of those ancient stones the Five Elders were desperate to erase from history.
If Akira hadn't specifically mentioned it, Borsalino would have planned to take it along too.
After all, handling Poneglyphs was part of the Marine's duties.
But since Akira had deliberately ignored it, Borsalino decided not to give it any more thought.
"Right! We're all about making money right now. We don't have the time or resources to waste on these incomprehensible relics," Akira explained deliberately.
"Ok, I get it! Why not just bury it? That way, the Five Elders won't know we left it behind."
"Hmmm... yes, make sure to mark the spot."
"Got it!"
Snap.
The Den Den Mushi call ended.
Borsalino first blasted a hole, buried the Poneglyph, and then moved a large stone on top to hide it.
With that done, he turned his attention back to the vast land of gold before him.
"There's so much gold here... It's probably going to take all night to move it."
Meanwhile, the war between the Shandians and the Sky Island natives was still raging.
With reinforcements arriving on both sides, the battlefield kept expanding.
Suddenly, all the red-eyed warriors froze in place.
They turned their bloodshot eyes toward the uninvited guest who had appeared in their midst.
"Ah, don't mind me, just carry on," Borsalino said, scratching his head, clearly annoyed. He had no intention of disturbing their war, but both sides seemed to be converging on him.
"Damn Blue Sea thief! Stealing while we're at war—kill him!"
"Everything in the Holy Land is ours! Put the gold down!"
The Shandians and the Sky Island natives tacitly teamed up, completely surrounding Borsalino.
Feeling the intense killing intent through his Observation Haki, Borsalino sighed.
He had just wanted to quietly haul away the gold, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.
"Impact Dial!"
A Shandian warrior suddenly appeared behind Borsalino, aiming a sword at the back of his head with both hands.
Boom.
The powerful impact shell blasted out, blowing Borsalino's upper body apart without mercy.
Buzz, buzz.
But to everyone's horror, Borsalino's head and body quickly reformed as if nothing had happened.
"I am such a fool. With so many 'friends' here, why am I doing all the work myself?" Borsalino mused, looking around.
Hum!
An intense, dazzling flash of light enveloped the entire battlefield.
Back on Jaya Island, Kuzan had been gazing up at the blue sky ever since Borsalino had left.
At the port, their warships had regrouped, and the Marines were searching the pirate ships for supplies.
Who knows how much time passed.
Suddenly, a brilliant beam of light shot down from high above, crashing into the sea with explosive force.
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Things are looking good for Akira, aren't they?