One Piece: General Blue

"Don't move, Gringo Saint."

The older man crouched on the wall of the Navy base puckered his lips, revealing a sly grin.

Gringo Saint's face darkened further.

He straightened up, raising his rapier to point directly at Kizaru. "What now? Are you willing to clash with me, an Elder Saint, over a mere Navy Major, Kizaru?"

"Scary, truly terrifying, Gringo Saint," Kizaru replied, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"I dare not oppose the great World Nobles. But you see, this young man lying on the ground is a prized disciple of mine. Could the great Gringo Saint give me a little leeway and allow him to receive medical attention first?"

"His crime has already been confirmed. The attack on the Rozwad family was the result of his mishandling, allowing the culprits to escape. In other words, he is directly responsible for the deaths of the Rozwad family. If I kill him now, no one can object!"

Gringo Saint stood his ground, his gaze icy as he stared at Kizaru. "Remember your place, Kizaru. The Navy serves the World Government..."

"But not you personally," Sakazuki interjected as he strode forward. Without sparing Gringo Saint a glance, he knelt and hoisted the unconscious Rorschach off the ground.

"The Admirals are here to serve the Celestial Dragons, and I—" Gringo Saint's grip tightened on his sword.

Sakazuki paused, turning his head slightly. "So, are you asking me for protection? No problem. Just have the World Government issue the order, and I'll protect you immediately, mighty Gringo Saint."

"You...!"

"The guilt of my disciple will be determined by the Navy's Internal Affairs Bureau, not by your personal judgment," Sakazuki said coldly. Then, addressing Kizaru, he added, "Borusalino, since the great Gringo Saint has issued a cry for help, as a Navy Admiral, you should assist him in investigating the Rozwad family's attack."

With Rorschach unconscious in his hand, Sakazuki left the Navy base. He quickly disappeared from Gringo Saint's sight, taking Yun Que and Tina with him.

"Of course, I'll fully cooperate with Gringo Saint," Kizaru said with a cheeky smile as his body dissolved into a flurry of light particles and reassembled before the Elder.

Gringo Saint scoffed heavily. "Didn't you just claim he was your disciple? How did he suddenly become Sakazuki's disciple?"

Scratching his head, Kizaru puckered his lips. "Well, Sakazuki wasn't wrong, you know. Rorschach is indeed my disciple. But he's also Sakazuki's disciple, Kuzan's disciple, Zephyr-sensei's disciple, Vice Admiral Garp's disciple... Oh, and he's also Sengoku-san's disciple and Vice Admiral Tsuru's disciple too."

Gringo Saint fell silent.

....

A few hours later, the skies over Sabaody Archipelago darkened as evening approached. A vast fleet from Navy Headquarters and the Holy Land Guard of the World Government arrived en masse at the archipelago's perimeter.

Hundreds of ships—large and small, military and governmental—surrounded Sabaody, sealing it off entirely.

From the ships, tens of thousands of Navy Headquarters soldiers and thousands of Holy Land guards flooded the 79 mangrove districts of Sabaody, conducting a thorough sweep of the island.

Every hidden and visible illegal entity was uprooted and eradicated: slave traders, arms dealers, brothel operators, smugglers, and pirate crews were all captured en masse.

No one's backing or influence mattered this time.

Even organizations with ties to major powers, including the famed Auction House, were uprooted completely.

Among the captives brought to the clearing in District 40 for interrogation by the World Government and Navy Headquarters were the remaining members of the Avengers Pirate Crew, the Decalvan brothers, the giant Palmel, hundreds of nobles and wealthy merchants who attended the Auction House, surviving guards from Rozwad's entourage, and CP leader Friesis.

...

"Where's Rorschach? Where's my student?"

Before the military ships had even fully docked, several elderly figures leaped off and stormed toward the clearing where the suspects were held.

The CP0 guards instinctively stepped forward to stop them.

"This area is restricted. Unauthorized—"

"Move aside!" A heavy mechanical arm grabbed one of the CP0 agents by his collar and hurled him dozens of meters away like a rag doll.

The other CP0 agents froze, stunned. As they reached for their weapons, they stopped short upon recognizing the intruders.

"Black Arm Zephyr! Hero Garp! Fleet Admiral Sengoku! Admiral Aokiji!"

The burly old men strode forward in a line, with the lean figure of Kuzan bringing up the rear.

"Gringo Saint, long time no see. How's your health holding up?"

.....

Sengoku smiled as he spotted an elderly man in a black robe sitting on a wicker chair not far away and approached him with a cheerful expression.

Upon seeing Sengoku, Gringo Saint dared not remain seated and rose from his chair.

"Not bad, but it seems I don't measure up to you, Sengoku. My hair has gone completely white, while yours is still full and black."

Sengoku chuckled, rubbing his afro, and laughed heartily. "Hahaha, it's dyed black! As Fleet Admiral of the Navy, showing a head of white hair might invite ridicule, suggesting the Navy has no capable successors."

After a few laughs, Sengoku cleared his throat, realizing that the current situation wasn't suitable for idle chatter.

He gestured for Gringo Saint to sit down and began discussing the attack on the Rozwad family.

.....

Meanwhile, Drake, Peacock, Bepo, Grus, and others followed Zephyr, Garp, and Kuzan to the temporary tent set up in a clearing by the seaside.

Inside the tent, Law, having regained some strength, was working with Daws to treat the severe injuries on the unconscious Rosha.

When Zephyr, Garp, and Kuzan saw the horrifying wounds on Rorschach, some of which exposed bone, their expressions darkened.

"How did he get these injuries? Is Aristo truly that strong?"

Their doubts were understandable.

Over the past three months, as Rorschach's trainers and mentors during his combat drills, they had a clear understanding of his capabilities.

Although Rorschach had only trained for three months, his progress was astounding, aided by the guidance of dozens of high-ranking officers at Navy Headquarters and his unique ability to rapidly absorb nourishment through advanced Life Return techniques.

His Observation Haki was exceptional.

With the added sensory range from his lightning abilities, Rorschach's Observation Haki could now easily cover the entirety of Marineford.

The stronger his lightning output, the greater the range of his Observation Haki.

Then there was his newly awakened Armament Haki.

While its intensity wasn't yet high enough to match advanced levels of destructive force, his Armament Haki had a rare trait: immense volume.

This type of Haki, awakened by very few in the world, was similar to the deep blue Haki possessed by Douglas Bullet.

With this Haki fortifying his body and combined with his Mythical Zoan abilities, Rosha had reached a physical resilience that was nearly unmatched.

Even Vice Admirals would exhaust themselves before depleting his stamina and Haki reserves.

He was, essentially, a younger version of Douglas Bullet combined with Kaido, though perhaps slightly weaker overall.

If Rorschach could further enhance his Armament Haki to advanced levels, his power would make him a formidable opponent even against Admiral-level combatants.

For Rorschach to be wounded so gravely, it had to be the work of an overwhelming foe or an ambush by three to five Vice Admirals.

...

"I heard from Hibari…" Daws, while stitching up a terrifying gash across Rosha's chest, grumbled and nodded toward the tent's entrance. "Rorschach was slashed twice by that old man with the crescent-moon forehead. Oh, and he also kicked him once."

"You're talking about… that old bastard Gringo?"

Garp clenched his fists. "This is outrageous! The Commander of the Holy Knights attacking a Navy Major? That old fool! Back in God Valley, if I hadn't saved his hide, Rocks would've beaten him so badly he'd lose more than just face!"

"Cough! Cough, cough, cough!"

Outside the tent, Sengoku's loud, forced coughs rang out, sounding almost as if he had suddenly developed Zephyr's asthma.

"These wounds, here and here," Daws pointed at Rorschach's deep shoulder gash and the horizontal slash across his torso that nearly bisected him, "were caused by his sword."

Zephyr's expression darkened.

Gringo had aimed to kill.

If not for Rorschach's extraordinary skeletal structure, fortified by three months of nutritional abundance and his and Garp's Armament Haki training on how to coat his bones, Rorschachwould have been killed on the spot.

Zephyr grew increasingly furious at the thought. His breathing quickened, and he began coughing in anger.

"Hmph! Back in the day, Rocks nearly crushed that crescent moon of his, and he didn't manage to take down Rocks. But now he dares to cut down his own comrades! What a despicable traitor. Zephyr, why waste your breath on someone like him? Next time, let's just throw a sack over his head and give him a good beating."

Garp dug into his nose with a disgruntled expression.

Kuzan's face darkened as he covered it with his hand and whispered, "Vice Admiral Garp… he's listening outside…"

"Ah?" Garp froze before bursting into loud laughter. "Hahaha! I was just joking. Forget what I just said; I take it back!"

Outside, Sengoku stood awkwardly on the open ground, coughing repeatedly.

Across from him, Gringo Saint's face alternated between shades of green and white. His fingers, clutching his rapier, turned white from the pressure.

At that moment, a black Navy Headquarters battleship appeared on the sea.

Seeing the ship arrive, Sengoku cleared his throat and stood up.

"That's Tenryūbito's ship. He's here to handle the investigation. Let's leave the matter to him."

(End of Chapter)

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