Time slipped quietly by beneath the lazy sunlight of the Sabaody Archipelago, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.
Life on the archipelago went on as usual. Under Karon's iron-fisted rule, the underworld remained orderly, and Kael's villa grew livelier by the day.
The most noteworthy event was the clash between Mihawk and Rayleigh.
Rayleigh's sword was steady as a mountain and deep as the sea. Every strike carried the calm and experience of someone who had weathered countless storms.
Mihawk's sword, on the other hand, was peerlessly sharp and overbearingly dominant. Every swing of the black blade, Yoru, radiated the intent to cut through everything.
The two of them fought from sunrise until dusk. The clear ring of clashing blades never stopped, and the stray sword slashes carved the deserted island's ground into a web of ravines.
After the battle, Rayleigh laughed and handed Mihawk a bottle of liquor.
"What a terrifying young man you are. Give it a few more years and these old bones of mine will not be able to take your sword anymore."
Mihawk took the bottle without a word and simply tilted his head back, gulping down a long swig.
On the surface, the fight was declared a draw.
Two of the world's top swordsmen had shaved an uninhabited island beyond recognition, then sheathed their blades without either side gaining the upper hand.
But only the two of them, and Kael, knew the truth. Hidden within Rayleigh's seemingly casual swordplay was a margin of ease and control.
Old ginger is still spicier.
Rayleigh had been holding back from beginning to end. His sword that day was more instruction and guidance than true life-and-death combat.
The legendary "Dark King," still at the peak of his power, had a depth and polish to his swordsmanship that ultimately outweighed the young Mihawk by just a fraction.
Mihawk, for his part, had already gone all out, yet in the face of Rayleigh's seemingly effortless defense, he felt an insurmountable wall.
After that duel, the already taciturn Mihawk became even more silent.
He spent more time training than ever before, and pushed himself harder than ever before.
The training yard in the back of the villa had practically become his personal domain, and the howl of Yoru slicing through the air turned into the villa's most common background noise.
This time, when Kael said he was heading back to Ohara, Moria actually volunteered to stay behind.
With more and more people gathered in the villa, security was an issue that could no longer be ignored.
A Moria who possessed the Shadow-Shadow Fruit and had just gained a new understanding of his ability was the most reliable guardian for their base on Sabaody.
Though he typically holed up in the basement, buried in his research on shadows, having him on-site let Kael rest a little easier.
"Gihihihihi… protecting maids and lolis is also a path of training for the strong," was how Moria defined his new role before they left.
…
A small boat sped across the waters of the Grand Line, fast enough to be ridiculous despite its size.
At the stern, Mihawk stood with Yoru in hand, expressionless, practicing his swings against the sea itself.
Each slash carved a deep, bottomless trench into the water, and the tremendous recoil from those sword strikes provided a constant stream of forward thrust for the little boat.
The pushback was phenomenal.
Kael lay stretched out on the deck, watching the clouds drift by overhead.
"You know, Little Hawk, this is the perfect example of killing two birds with one stone. You refine your swordsmanship and save on fuel. Truly a frugal homemaker."
Mihawk ignored him. His swings simply grew a fraction faster.
"Still savoring Rayleigh's sword?" Kael continued on his own.
"That old man is just like me, a genuine monster who hacked his way out of the previous era. He is definitely holding back. If he really wanted to decide a winner, that stylish trench coat of yours would not have survived."
"I know," Mihawk replied calmly.
There was no discouragement in his voice. In those hawk-like eyes burned an even fiercer fighting spirit than before.
Having glimpsed a higher peak only made his desire to climb stronger.
Kael chuckled and dropped the subject.
A massive fish, cleanly bisected down the middle, floated up from beneath the waves.
"Whoa. A wild dinner. Thank you for your generous gift, Mother Nature."
…
A few days later, the scorched outline of Ohara once again appeared on the horizon.
The little boat pulled in slowly. The island was drowned in silence.
The town had been flattened by bombardment, the forests burned to charcoal, and the charred remains of the Tree of Knowledge stood like a blackened skeleton, silently broadcasting the brutality of the disaster.
And yet, in the midst of all this deathly stillness, there were signs of life.
Several enormous ships were moored in the ruined harbor. In the large lake at the island's center, several massive giants were carefully scooping something from the murky water with specially made nets.
Sodden books, swollen from long immersion, were pulled up from the lakebed in heaps. After preliminary drying and treatment, another group of people carefully packed and carried them aboard the ships.
The entire process was quiet and orderly, like a solemn ritual.
On the opposite shore of the lake, two figures stood watching in silence.
One had a disproportionately large head and was sticking out his tongue, practically radiating "I am very smart" energy just by existing.
The other wore a dark green cloak, his expression serious, a bouquet of white flowers cradled in his hands.
"Been a long time, Vegapunk," the man in the green cloak said. His voice was low and powerful.
"So it is you, Dragon," Vegapunk replied, turning around.
"Never thought I would run into the giants here. Ohara's wisdom must be preserved to the greatest extent possible. This is the treasure of all mankind. It must not be allowed to vanish."
"On that, we agree," Dragon nodded.
He knelt to set the flowers gently on the ground and bowed deeply toward the center of the lake.
When he straightened up, his gaze swept over the busy giants and finally settled on Vegapunk.
Vegapunk's face was full of pain and frustration.
"Those idiots in the World Government," he spat. "They can destroy the vessels that carry knowledge, but they cannot destroy knowledge itself."
A faint smile tugged at Dragon's lips, but it quickly faded, replaced by solemnity again.
Right then, a lazy voice rang out behind them.
"Yo. Everyone is here."
Dragon's body tensed in an instant. His dark green cloak billowed though there was no wind, and a formless pressure rose up from within him, ready to explode into a storm at any second.
Vegapunk's huge head wobbled dramatically as he muttered under his breath, "Danger response… energy level extremely high…"
Not far away, two figures were walking toward them.
The man in front wore a black coat and an amused smile, golden eyes that seemed to see straight through people.
The man behind him carried a massive black blade on his back, his hawk-like gaze sharp enough to cut.
But when Dragon saw the face of the man in the lead, the storm he had been about to unleash vanished in an instant.
The hard lines of his expression eased, and an obvious joy surfaced.
"Mr. Kael."
Dragon stepped forward quickly, casting aside all precautions.
"Yo, long time no see, Little Dragon." Kael greeted him like an old friend.
"So, are you working on giving the world a little shock again?"
His gaze shifted, settling with interest on the man with the enormous head.
"And this is…?"
Vegapunk pushed up his glasses. Behind the lenses, his eyes were full of shock and confusion.
He watched Dragon and the man with a 4.198 billion bounty greet each other with casual familiarity and felt like his internal CPU was about to fry.
The leader of the Revolutionary Army and the "Waveguide King" Aaron Kael, two names that should belong on opposite sides of the world, were… connected?
"Mr. Kael, let me introduce you," Dragon said, turning slightly. His tone grew formal.
"This is Dr. Vegapunk, the greatest scientist in the world."
Then he faced Vegapunk again.
"Doctor, this is Mr. Kael."
Dragon did not spell out Kael's identity, but none of the people present were idiots.
"So it is Dr. Vegapunk. I have heard a lot about you," Kael said with a lazy smile as he extended a hand.
Vegapunk hesitated for a beat, then took it.
He could feel that the palm gripping his was warm and firm, without the slightest trace of hostility. Only pure curiosity.
"Kael-san…" Vegapunk repeated the name, his tone thick with analysis.
"I studied the previous user of the Wave-Wave Fruit. He could only manipulate certain water waves and vibration pulses. But you are different. Your development of the Wave-Wave Fruit follows a complete scientific logic. You are a genius.
"From a scientific standpoint, it is practically a miracle. It breaks the energy-conservation models we currently know. How are you converting and controlling waves of completely different natures? Sound waves, light waves, electromagnetic waves… their media and frequencies are entirely different. How are you switching between them without any loss?"
And there it is. The scientist's cursed curiosity.
Before Kael could say anything, Vegapunk had already unleashed a barrage of questions.
His eyes shone with the light of discovery as if the person in front of him were not a notoriously dangerous pirate, but an extraordinarily valuable research subject.
"Well, you see…" Kael scratched his head and answered with the utmost seriousness.
"It basically goes peng and then duang… and it works."
Vegapunk: "…"
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