On the Grand Line, Foolshout Island.
As usual, Borsalino went ashore. This time, however, the atmosphere felt different. It seemed as though the island's residents wanted to say something to him.
Before long he found the home of the little girl he was looking for. Instead of entering, he simply knocked on the gate.
The door opened. A man in his thirties immediately dropped to his knees.
"M-Marine sir..."
Borsalino pursed his lips. "There's no need for such a grand greeting. So, has your daughter returned?"
The man froze. Then he slammed his forehead against the ground.
"Koala... Koala... Marine sir, if we tell you that Koala came home, would you spare her? She wasn't brought back by anyone."
"A round bubble simply descended from the sky, carrying her safely to the ground without harming her. If that information is useful to the Marines, could you please spare my daughter?"
At that moment a faint noise came from inside the house. Borsalino glanced toward it.
"Hmm. So no one brought her home and she didn't return. Listen carefully. This is the last time I'm asking. She didn't come back. Correct?"
The man stared blankly for a moment. Then overwhelming joy spread across his face.
"Yes! That's right, Marine sir! She never came back! She really never came back!"
Borsalino wrote another note in his notebook.
Then he looked once more toward the house. With Observation Haki and his keen senses he knew exactly what was happening inside.
Sometimes adults were far inferior to children when it came to distinguishing right from wrong. In that regard he wasn't any different.
After leaving, Borsalino rubbed his forehead in frustration. Today's experience had given him something new to think about, something that struck directly at his own heart.
"Care for a drink, Marine?"
The sudden voice behind him made Borsalino pause. Turning around, he saw Rowan disguised as an ordinary civilian.
Behind his sunglasses a trace of confusion appeared in Borsalino's eyes.
Rowan continued, "This isn't a very large town. But you look troubled, so I thought I'd buy you a drink."
Borsalino frowned. His Observation Haki immediately sharpened. The next moment he understood.
"A drink from someone like you? I don't think I have the courage."
Rowan spread his hands.
"Don't say that. If I weren't disguised like this, we wouldn't have any chance to drink together, would we? And besides, I think you'll be interested in that little girl's condition."
That little girl? Borsalino's eyes narrowed. He immediately thought of the child he'd just met, the one who still possessed the simple ability to distinguish good from evil.
After considering it for a moment, as long as he stayed alert and didn't allow Rowan to leave any Flying Thunder God markers on him, he could erase any that were placed using Haki. There shouldn't be any problem.
"Lead the way. I've been working for days. If an ordinary citizen wants to buy me a drink to get on my good side, that's acceptable."
With those words Borsalino quietly established the nature of their meeting. Just a Marine accepting a drink from an ordinary civilian.
Maintaining a cautious distance from Rowan, he followed him into town.
However things unfolded very differently from what he had expected.
The two of them never entered a tavern. Instead they simply bought two bottles of liquor, then walked to the woods near the family home they had just visited. From there they silently watched the house.
Borsalino twitched the corner of his mouth. "So this is your idea of buying me a drink?"
Rowan shrugged.
"I don't know whether there are any CP agents on this island. And drinking isn't really the important part. The important thing is that I think you're confused. And sometimes only the truth can help someone see clearly."
Borsalino gave a faint, crooked smile.
"Because of you, I spent years stationed at the Sabaody Archipelago. I've already seen far too much. But so what? Does that make you right? And besides, you don't understand those beings at all."
Hearing that, Rowan looked a little embarrassed. This wasn't an ideal start.
He had forgotten the man standing before him had spent years stationed at Sabaody specifically to guard against him.
The suffering of the slaves, Borsalino had witnessed more than enough of it himself.
"However, to say that I don't understand would be incorrect. Half a month ago, I used my ability to visit Mary Geoise. Everything you know, I know as well. So there's no need to doubt it."
Borsalino looked at him.
"And even knowing all that, you still believe you can change this world?"
Rowan answered calmly. "The prerequisite is that you're willing to try to change it. Isn't it?"
At that moment, in the courtyard not far away, a little girl emerged carrying a broom. She carefully swept every corner of the yard until not a speck of dust remained.
"What a hardworking little girl." Borsalino remarked. But then he noticed something wasn't right. Her parents tried to persuade her to go and rest. Instead she suddenly dropped to her knees. Her body trembled uncontrollably."
"Over and over she begged for forgiveness under her breath. A frightened smile remained frozen on her face while terror filled her eyes. Only after a very long time did she finally burst into tears. She cried loudly, unrestrained. Only after crying her heart out did she finally seem to calm down.
"She'll need a long time before she truly heals." Rowan spoke softly.
"The way she just released her emotions was something I taught her before I left." He turned toward Borsalino.
"I remember that when you first obtained the Glint-Glint Fruit, you used your powers to play with children. So after seeing this, how do you feel?"
Borsalino frowned.
"If you really know everything I know, then you should understand that there are many things no one can do anything about. Do you think that over the past eight hundred years no one has ever tried to resist?"
Rowan shook his head slightly.
"There are many things I can't tell you until I know where you truly stand."
"Can't tell me?"
Borsalino pursed his lips.
"How frightening. You know about the giant hole at Enies Lobby, don't you? Do you really think terrain so deep that even the sea can't fill it was created by a single attack?"
Enies Lobby. The enormous abyss beneath it really did resemble the ruins of the Lulusia Kingdom from Rowan's memories. So this really was the reason.
"I know. Because my homeland was erased in exactly the same way."
As he spoke, Rowan suddenly thought of the younger Kuzan.
There was no point saying too much in a brief conversation like this. A person's convictions couldn't change overnight. They needed time.
Following Borsalino all this way, Rowan had only wanted to confirm one thing. That Borsalino was someone who could still be won over.
That alone was worth gambling on. And proving it was actually quite simple.
"You have a way to counter that kind of weapon? How is that possible?!"
In his excitement Borsalino completely forgot the caution he'd maintained until now. Without realizing it he had stepped much closer to Rowan.
"Not yet."
Rowan's answer immediately brought him back to reality.
"But there are some things you'll never know unless you try. At least according to my current plan, there is a way to stand against that weapon. And perhaps I'll need your help."
This was a world where every side was flawed. Yet Marines like Sengoku, Garp, Tsuru, and Zephyr had all joined the Marines with the same ideal.
To protect ordinary people. To eradicate pirates completely. But just as youthful dreams gradually fade with age, reality forced everyone to make different choices.
Garp chose never to become an Admiral. That way he wouldn't be responsible for protecting the Celestial Dragons, and he could continue hunting pirates across the seas.
As for eradicating pirates, the true purpose of that dream had always been simple. To allow ordinary people to survive. To make their lives a little less difficult.
But the root of the problem had never been the pirates.
The very foundation of the world's order was wrong. In this rotten world, pirates, the Marines, the World Government, and even the soon-to-be-established Seven Warlords, none of them were truly righteous. Each was merely rotten in a different way.
However the convictions of many Marine officers, people like Borsalino and Kuzan, could still be changed.
As long as they were shown a genuine possibility of success, once their ideals evolved, they would be willing to stake everything on that single chance.
Many people in this world value their dreams more than their own lives.
That was also why, over the past several years, nearly every captured member of the Revolutionary Army had faced death without fear.
At this moment Borsalino was genuinely stunned.
Now that he stood on the verge of becoming one of the Marines' greatest military powers, he had gradually learned some of the World Government's deepest secrets and the hidden truths of this world. The more he learned, the more powerless he felt.
As a Marine, even if he became one of the Navy's ultimate fighting forces, the most he could do was maintain the status quo. Fulfill the duties of an Admiral. Remain deliberately ambiguous whenever possible. That was his justice.
Yet now the Revolutionary standing before him was saying that defeating that absolute power required his help.
Honestly, Borsalino himself had never imagined he could matter that much. Against a force capable of erasing an entire island in an instant like a natural catastrophe, even he could only rely on his speed to save himself.
Out of habit he smacked his lips. The wrinkles on his forehead deepened.
"Heh. I never knew I could be so important. How frightening."
Rowan replied,
"Eight hundred years ago, the war between the Twenty Kings and the Great Kingdom engulfed the entire world. If you want to change the world, one person's strength will never be enough, Borsalino. Scientific advancement is the primary driving force of progress. If the spear already exists, then creating a shield must also begin with science."
Science? Behind his sunglasses Borsalino narrowed his eyes.
"Vegapunk is with you, isn't he? Although Sakazuki and Kuzan carried out the Ohara Buster Call, I was stationed at Sabaody at the time."
"But afterward I visited Ohara myself. The books the World Government burned weren't the real books, were they? Your Revolutionary Army swapped them out, taking away all of Ohara's knowledge. And perhaps some of the scholars as well?"
Faced with questions that had already been guessed correctly, Rowan simply smiled and nodded.
Since Borsalino had never reported these suspicions over such a long period, it meant that to a certain extent the future Admiral had already begun placing his hopes in the Revolutionary Army.
In Rowan's memories, because of his Unclear Justice, Borsalino had often been suspected by fans of secretly being a Revolutionary spy within the Marines. But clearly he wasn't. Luffy punched a Celestial Dragon.
Zephyr left the Marines. He fought against his own former teacher. He personally stabbed Vegapunk. For all of those events Borsalino had been powerless to stop them. Yet he still carried out his duties as a Marine.
The things that had truly given him even the faintest spark of hope were probably his years stationed at Sabaody and the repeated executions of Celestial Dragons by Rowan. The Five Elders' assessment had been correct.
For eight hundred years the Celestial Dragons had stood above the world like gods. No pirate, no individual had ever succeeded in killing one. Only the Revolutionary Army's Cloaked Man had repeatedly dragged those gods from their pedestal and slain them.
After years of witnessing those events, those who knew the truth had inevitably begun thinking differently. Kuzan had.
Borsalino had. Even Sengoku had gradually begun to change. After all, back when he himself was an Admiral, Fleet Admiral Sengoku had faithfully obeyed every order from the World Government.
Yet not long ago, when Bartolomew's identity became suspicious during the Las Gap Town incident, he chose not to report it.
"You know about the Ancient Weapons, don't you?"
Rowan asked casually.
"At the moment I still don't know whether the weapon hidden in Mary Geoise is one of the Ancient Weapons. But according to the intelligence we have, that weapon can't be fired without restraint."
"The enormous energy it consumes means it requires time to recharge. On our side we've already found clues pointing toward an unlimited energy source. But Mary Geoise is likely searching for the same thing. So do you understand what that means?"
Borsalino murmured quietly, "The side that gets there first will..."
He never finished the sentence. Instead he raised a hand and gently rubbed his aching forehead.
Perhaps the Revolutionary Army's intelligence was correct. At present, the weapon hidden in Mary Geoise might indeed not be capable of unlimited use. But once the energy problem was solved.
"The conflict that has lasted eight hundred years will finally reach its conclusion. No one will ever again be able to resist them. And the entire world will remain forever beneath their oppression."
After a long silence Borsalino slowly raised his head.
"I want to meet Vegapunk."
Rowan remained silent for a moment. "I'll have to ask Dr. Vegapunk for his opinion. If he agrees to meet you, I'll bring him here."
At Baldigo, the laboratory's new technology was already responsible for the headquarters' concealment and security.
There was virtually no need to worry about it being discovered by chance.
However the location of the Revolutionary Army headquarters itself could not be revealed to Borsalino in his current state of mind. That was a matter of principle and of security.
After Borsalino agreed, Rowan left behind a Shadow Clone.
Then he vanished from the spot. After infiltrating Mary Geoise, the existence of his Shadow Clone ability had already been exposed.
Leaving one clone behind to guard the Flying Thunder God marker was still a necessary precaution.
"You really do have an unbelievable variety of abilities."
Borsalino glanced at Rowan's Shadow Clone. "So, those slaves in Mary Geoise, you were the one who freed them, weren't you? And after infiltrating Mary Geoise, I doubt that was the only thing you did."
The Shadow Clone replied,
"I learned quite a few things. For example, the secret your Marines have cared about ever since the God Valley Incident. And while I was there, I casually killed two more."
"Two?"
Borsalino's sunglasses slipped slightly down his nose. He certainly didn't believe Rowan was talking about two ordinary guards.
Thinking back to the three Celestial Dragons Rowan had killed at Sabaody, it was obvious he had killed two more. This man really was the Celestial Dragons' natural enemy.
After letting out a slow breath Borsalino looked at Rowan's mask.
"I've always had the feeling that your true identity isn't ordinary. Someone with so many abilities, and considering your organization's goals, you should be one of the major figures on these seas."
"A great pirate ruling part of the New World, a high-ranking member of the World Government, or perhaps a Marine Headquarters officer of Vice Admiral rank or above."
"No need to answer. I'm only sharing my own guesses. Until I know the truth, I don't intend to choose a side. If I learned who you really were, I'm afraid I might have no choice but to join you."
The Shadow Clone smiled. "You're mistaken. Even if you joined us, you still wouldn't know my true identity. Within the Revolutionary Army, only a very small number of people know who I really am."
Borsalino's eyes narrowed. So his earlier guess had been correct? No, it couldn't be a pirate. Given the level of secrecy involved, there was only one real possibility.
The man behind the mask was hiding somewhere within the World Government or the Marines themselves.
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