When Chenos said that he was weak, everyone around him looked utterly confused.
After all, he had just beaten down a Marine with Admiral-level combat power and smashed him into the ground—how could that possibly be considered weak?
Only Rayleigh's eyes lit up.
"Oh?" Rayleigh asked with interest. "Why do you think you're weak?"
Chenos gave a bitter smile.
"I really am weak. Just now, I only won because I caught him off guard and relied on a sneak attack. If Uncle Rayleigh hadn't been here, and Borsalino came back to fight seriously, the ones who would die would definitely be us."
He paused for a moment, then continued calmly.
"Besides, Borsalino is a Logia user—and not just any Logia, but the Glint-Glint Fruit, an almost invincible Devil Fruit.
If something really happened to him, the Marines would absolutely send out their highest combat power to deal with me. They might even mobilize everything they have and hunt me down across the entire world."
"That's not something I can afford to face right now."
"At that point, all my plans would be completely disrupted. So killing Borsalino would bring me nothing but fame—and fame alone is useless. The downsides far outweigh the benefits. Why would I kill him?"
The straightforward fish-men, along with the "clever" Shark, stared at Chenos in shock.
They had never imagined that something as simple as kill or don't kill could involve this much calculation.
If they ever got the chance to kill a Marine with Admiral-level power, they wouldn't hesitate for even a second—they would strike without mercy.
"Whenever you do something… you think about the pros and cons, and whether you can bear the consequences?"
Tesoro fell into deep thought.
He was constantly absorbing everything from Chenos—learning how he thought, how he decided, how he acted.
Even though Tesoro was older, there were so many areas where he was far inferior to Chenos.
That made him feel ashamed.
He wanted to grow stronger—strong enough to truly support Chenos.
Rayleigh looked at Chenos with clear admiration.
As the former right-hand man of the Pirate King, he had seen countless prodigies—monsters of talent who charged headlong into the New World.
And what became of them?
Some ended up as subordinates of the Four Emperors.
Some were crushed and never recovered.
Most… were reduced to bones at the bottom of the sea.
And the vast majority of those geniuses lacked one thing:
Humility.
They were arrogant, proud of their strength, fearless to the point of recklessness.
Crocodile, who once sought to kill Whitebeard.
Moria, who dared to challenge Kaido.
Both had been dazzling talents in their prime.
And now?
One played with sand in Alabasta.
The other hid in the Florian Triangle, commanding zombies.
They had been beaten so thoroughly that they lost the courage to ever challenge the New World again.
Chenos, too, was a rare genius.
At such a young age, he already possessed power rivaling a Marine Vice Admiral.
If he grew steadily, he would almost certainly reach Admiral level in the future.
With that strength, he would stand at the very top of the world.
Yet Chenos wasn't intoxicated by his power.
He was clear-headed.
He knew his limits.
That humility alone was extraordinarily precious.
It was exactly this quality that could carry him even higher—perhaps even to the level of a Four Emperor one day.
Rayleigh couldn't help but think of another former apprentice of the Pirate King—Shanks.
That man had terrifying talent, yet remained humble and grounded.
Perhaps that was precisely why he had risen so quickly to become one of the Emperors of the sea.
Once Chenos entered the New World, the future would be… very interesting.
What a shame.
The captain wouldn't be able to see it.
"Hahaha," Rayleigh laughed. "Little Chenos really is humble. A good kid."
"Although sparing Borsalino means the Marines won't immediately go all-out against you, you'll definitely be placed under close watch. Someone like you is exactly the kind of talent they want to eliminate early."
"Leave this place and head to the New World. Over there, the Marines' threat will be much smaller."
Chenos nodded in agreement.
They really did need to leave. Their location was already exposed—staying any longer would only invite danger.
"Alright, Uncle Rayleigh. I'll have to trouble you to coat our ship. We need to head for the New World as soon as possible."
Rayleigh smiled.
"Ship coating takes at least three days. During that time, stay at Shakky's bar—it's relatively safe there."
"Three days later, you can depart for the New World."
Chenos clenched his fist excitedly.
"Hahaha! Good! Three days from now—our conquest of the New World begins!"
Meanwhile, Kizaru's figure appeared at Marine Headquarters.
The surrounding soldiers were stunned when they saw his injuries.
In their memories, Kizaru being lightly injured was already rare—let alone this badly wounded.
Had the Fleet Admiral sent him to fight a Yonko commander?
"Vice Admiral Kizaru! You're covered in blood—let me call a doctor!"
"Sir, are you alright?!"
Kizaru ignored them all and walked straight toward the Fleet Admiral's office.
Knock, knock.
Without waiting for a reply, he pushed the door open and walked in.
Inside, Kong and Sengoku were in the middle of a discussion. Both froze when they saw Kizaru enter—bloodied from head to toe.
Sengoku asked in disbelief, "Borsalino… what happened? Did you run into Dark King Rayleigh?"
"That shouldn't be possible. Even if you couldn't beat Rayleigh, you should've been able to escape. How did you get hurt this badly?"
Kizaru shook his head slowly.
"It wasn't Dark King Rayleigh."
"It was Chenos—the pirate you ordered me to kill."
"I was injured by him."
The room went silent.
"…Are you certain?" Kong asked.
Kizaru nodded gravely.
"I underestimated him. He caught a single opening and turned it into a crushing defeat. I was seriously injured—almost killed, in fact."
"He spared me."
Kong frowned deeply.
"Explain everything."
Kizaru then reported the battle in detail, step by step. After finishing, he gave his assessment:
"Chenos's strength is around Vice Admiral level. His Devil Fruit allows him to absorb enemy attacks and reflect them. He can also perform short-range teleportation."
"For most Vice Admirals, defeating him would be extremely difficult."
"But if an Admiral-level combatant fights carefully, he can be dealt with—though it won't be easy."
Sengoku's expression darkened. He picked up a document and handed it to Kizaru.
"Chenos…"
"…is only fifteen years old."
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