Above the Edd War Sea, a single drop of icy rain fell onto Borsalino's nose.
A heartbeat later, fine strands of rain drifted down from the heavens, quickly weaving themselves into a hazy curtain that shrouded the sea.
"Oh my~ it's raining," Borsalino drawled, stretching out the words as water streaked across his sunglasses.
He turned his head toward the person beside him.
Gern Reginald Sigmar stood there with his head tilted back, eyes closed, letting the rain wash freely over his face. A faint smile rested at the corner of his lips, calm and unguarded.
"Oi, oi… you stir up a tsunami that huge, and now you're wearing that expression…"Borsalino waved a hand lazily in front of Gern's eyes."You're not praying or something, are you?"
At the same time, out on the sea—
Beneath the thickening rain curtain, the post-tsunami Edd War Sea was nothing short of devastation.
The once sky-obscuring floating armada had been torn apart. Dozens of warships lay overturned or snapped in half, their wreckage bobbing violently with the waves.
Splintered planks.Scattered weapons.Pirates struggling in the water.
They clung desperately to whatever floated, staring around them in terror, as though their minds still hadn't caught up with the sudden catastrophe that had swallowed them whole.
But what was truly chilling—
Golden Lion was gone.
"Dear me…"Borsalino narrowed his eyes, his tone turning subtly sharp."Don't tell me Shiki actually—"
"Maybe he got dragged into the sea," Gern finally spoke, his voice low and even."Who knows."
Borsalino glanced sideways at him, fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.
"Gern… don't tell me you already knew this rain was coming?"
Gern didn't answer directly. He simply let out a quiet breath.
"Storms always come," he said softly."It's only a matter of time."
Borsalino studied him for several seconds. In the end, he shrugged and didn't press further, turning his gaze toward the distance instead.
At this moment, Roger's Oro Jackson, having seized the chaos caused by the tsunami, had successfully broken through and was now racing toward the far horizon.
"Roger got away, huh…"Borsalino rubbed his chin."Golden Lion's plan has completely gone down the drain."
"Yeah," Gern replied lightly.
Yet his eyes never left the debris-strewn sea, as if he were searching for something beneath the waves.
According to "history," this tsunami should have been a naturally occurring disaster.Golden Lion would have been swept away by the waves, his head grievously injured.
But now—
This tsunami had been triggered by his own hand.
So would Golden Lion's fate… still unfold as "history" dictated?
Within the rain, golden light gathered at Borsalino's fingertips.Several precise laser beams shot down at the sea's surface, shattering floating planks and forcing the struggling pirates to swim toward the reconnaissance ship.
Then, with a lazy sideways glance at Gern, Borsalino curled his lips into a faintly teasing smile.
"Gern~"He stretched out the syllables."That little stunt just now… wasn't exactly within orders, you know?"
Hearing him, Gern didn't even lift his head. He simply smiled.
"Senior, pulling living pirates out of the sea right now counts as a pretty solid achievement too, doesn't it?"
Borsalino's sunglasses slid down slightly, revealing eyes that were smiling—but not quite.
He stared at Gern for a few seconds, then gave a soft snort.
"I see~ In that case, Fleet Admiral Kong's bonus is really going to double for me. After all, there are quite a few well-known officers mixed in there!"
He understood perfectly.
Gern was shutting him up.
Because if Borsalino truly chose to pursue the issue of Gern triggering the tsunami without authorization, Gern could just as easily turn it back on him—
by pointing out that Borsalino had tacitly allowed it.
At that point, the two of them would be accomplices on the same boat.
After all, this mission only involved the two of them—and Borsalino was the one with operational command authority. If things were investigated seriously, he wouldn't be able to cleanly extricate himself either.
"You really are…"Borsalino shook his head, his tone hard to read."…one hell of a guy."
It sounded like a joke.
But Gern heard the deeper meaning hidden beneath it.
The King of Slacking is throwing shade at me, he thought.
"Heh."Gern lifted his head. Rain slid down from his dark hair, his gaze calm and unfathomable."You flatter me, senior. I just thought… if we've already run into this, it'd be a waste not to make use of the opportunity."
"All right then~"Borsalino stared at him, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly broke into a wide grin."In that case, I'll just 'waste' a little time dealing with these pirates."
With that, his body dissolved into a streak of golden light. In the next instant, he was perched atop the reconnaissance ship's mast, sitting there lazily as if the conversation had never happened.
Gern's lips curved slightly upward.
He knew Borsalino had effectively given his silent approval—perhaps he had even guessed something already.
But this senior, infamous for slacking off, clearly had no intention of digging deeper.
After all, for the two of them, the gains from this mission were already substantial:
First—confirmation that the Battle of Edd War ended with the Roger Pirates escaping in a narrow, bloody victory, while the Flying Pirates suffered catastrophic losses.Second—the capture of surviving Flying Pirates officers.
Those two points alone were more than enough to satisfy Marine Headquarters.
As for the questions that shouldn't be asked…
Borsalino had never liked asking them.
And besides—
The rain was gradually easing.
...…
Meanwhile, on the other side—
The post-rain sea shimmered with scattered light. The Oro Jackson glided forward slowly on the gentle breeze.
On the deck, Gol D. Roger stood at the bow, both hands resting on the railing, his gaze fixed on the sea as it steadily calmed.
Rayleigh walked up beside him, droplets still clinging to his golden hair.
"That was lucky," Rayleigh said with a grin, patting Roger on the shoulder."If it weren't for that sudden tsunami, we'd probably have gone down at Golden Lion's hands."
Roger didn't answer right away.
He fell silent for a moment, then let out a deep sigh—before breaking into a wide grin.
"Rayleigh… that tsunami…"He laughed loudly."I owe someone a pretty big favor because of it! Hahaha!"
Rayleigh frowned, instantly catching the subtext in Roger's words.
"What do you mean?"
"Rayleigh."Roger turned around and leaned back against the railing, a complex light flickering in his eyes."Didn't you notice? A calm sea doesn't just suddenly throw up waves like that…"
Rayleigh's pupils contracted as understanding struck him.
"You're saying…"
His mind flashed back to his earlier clash with Gern—
That vibration power, even more terrifying than Whitebeard's, was more than capable of triggering a supermassive tsunami.
"Yeah. That's right."Roger nodded, his tone unusually serious."That wasn't a natural disaster."
"Roger… are you talking about that Marine brat?"Rayleigh's expression slowly hardened."But why would he save us?"
Roger shook his head, his gaze drifting toward the distant horizon.
"Who knows?""Maybe he's got his own plans."
Then his voice paused—and suddenly he laughed again.
"But debts always have to be repaid.""Next time we meet, I might have to treat him to a drink!"
Rayleigh let out a helpless sigh.
"You really are carefree."
Roger burst out laughing and slapped Rayleigh on the back.
"When you've got a lot of debt, what's one more?""And besides…"
His eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Who knows—maybe that guy really wants to personally capture me someday?!Hahahaha!"