Night fell, and the cool moonlight poured down upon the earth, casting long, slender shadows of Sabo and Rorschach, who stood facing one another.
Morley and the others had retreated to a distance, watching with great interest.
"So, what do you guys think? Who's going to win?" Morley asked, glancing at her companions beside her.
The crow-masked Karasu remained silent, arms crossed, unwilling to speak.
Lindbergh took a long look at Rorschach's back, then clicked his tongue.
"I might sound discouraging, but honestly… I think that Marine named Rorschach will win. I've fought him before. That kind of power…"
He shook his head and sighed, leaving the rest unsaid — but the meaning was obvious.
Belo Betty, cradling the unconscious Reiju in her arms, hopped onto Morley's massive thigh. Pulling out a slim pack of lady's cigarettes from her pocket, she lit one, took a drag, and blew out a hazy puff of smoke as she gave Lindbergh a sideways glance.
"We all know Rorschach isn't weak. His record speaks for itself."
"But Lindbergh, you're being a bit too pessimistic. Sabo isn't exactly a pushover either."
She leaned back slightly and continued,
"Sabo was personally trained by the Chief and Kuma. He's long since mastered powerful close-combat techniques and refined use of both Armament and Observation Haki. Plus, he's learned the Chief's Dragon Claw Fist. His strength now is nothing to scoff at."
Lindbergh shrugged, resting his cannon on the ground and sitting on it, legs swinging.
"It's different. You wouldn't want to fight that guy, Betty. His power… reminds me of Kuma."
In the center of the battlefield, Rorschach looked Sabo up and down.
It wasn't his imagination — something about Sabo was different from when they'd last met in the Spring Queen's City.
Not a change in power, but something deeper — his mindset, his spirit.
There was a light in Sabo now, a joyful, almost liberated energy radiating from within.
Rorschach raised an eyebrow. He had an idea.
Without hesitation, he asked,
"You seem… different from before. Don't tell me — you've met Ace?"
Sabo stiffened, eyes wide with surprise.
"How did you know?"
From the way Rorschach said it, it wasn't just that he knew about his relationship with Ace.He even seemed to understand Sabo's mental state before recovering his memories.
But how could that be?
Even he hadn't known he was missing memories — not until the day he met Ace.
It had happened on the sea, when Sabo was sailing through chaotic waters and received a call from Robin through the Den Den Mushi.
By chance, he had encountered Ace, who was using his flames to propel a small boat.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he gave chase.
Ace immediately recognized him.
And so, the long-lost brothers embraced, crying and laughing together.
When they calmed down, each tried to recruit the other into their respective groups — but neither succeeded.
In the end, they chose different paths: one to the New World, the other back to the Revolutionary Army.
They parted ways, leaving each other a Vivre Card and Den Den Mushi contact.
Having regained his lost memories, Sabo felt reborn — as if he were living anew. His mindset had matured naturally, becoming steadier and more grounded.
Now, hearing Rorschach's words, he only felt a momentary shock before smiling calmly.
"You're right. I did meet Ace. I didn't expect you'd know him too — but apparently, you fought him in Mock Town after leaving Spring Queen's City. Ace told me he was defeated by you, more than once. Even someone as stubborn as him felt shaken — that's a first for him."
"So, Rorschach… I'll be the one to win back his pride."
Rorschach's eyes glinted faintly blue as lightning shimmered over his body.
"I don't think you can."He clenched his right fist and thrust it forward slowly, though the air itself seemed to ripple from the motion."But as his sworn brother, I hope you can convince him not to walk down a dead-end path. There's no medicine for regret in this world."
Sabo chuckled.
"You even know that much? I guess the Marines really do have their eyes on me. But sorry — I don't interfere with my brother's freedom. Whatever Ace decides, I'll support him. That's what being brothers means."
"Dragon Claw Fist!"
With a powerful step, Sabo shot forward like the wind, dodging Rorschach's punch. His fingers curled into claws, coated in black Armament Haki, as he leapt high and struck downward at Rorschach's head.
"A doomed fool can't be talked out of his fate," Rorschach muttered. "Being a pirate really is pathetic."
His right fist turned into a claw as well, rising to meet Sabo's descending strike.
Sabo blinked in surprise.
"You know the Dragon Claw Fist too?"
Before he could finish, their claws collided.
In that instant, Sabo's expression twisted.It felt like his blow had hit a mountain.
He couldn't move Rorschach an inch. The shockwave running through his arm made his wrist scream with pain.
A monstrous force surged through his arm like an avalanche, tearing through his body.
BOOM!
The collision erupted into a blast of air, and Sabo was hurled skyward like a cannonball.
"What!?"
The four commanders watching from afar all turned pale in disbelief.
Even Lindbergh, who had fought Rorschach before, was stunned.
He knew Rorschach was strong — terrifyingly so — but to blow Sabo away in a single clash?
That was beyond what he imagined.
Rorschach, however, looked calm.
To him, Dragon Claw Fist was just another technique — one focused on refining Armament Haki, like Garp's Fist Bones, Zephyr's Black Arm, or his own Domineering Body technique.
Once you studied enough styles, you realized they all led to the same place.
Of course, his Dragon Claw Fist was just a rough imitation — nowhere near Dragon's mastery.
Still, the reason Sabo was losing wasn't technique — it was raw power.
Their bodies weren't on the same level at all.
Trying to match Rorschach in strength was pure folly.
A sudden gust swept the air as Rorschach's form blurred.
In an instant, he caught up with the airborne Sabo and kicked toward his chest.
Sabo, though dazed from the earlier blow, wasn't hurt badly.
Seeing Rorschach's leg descending, he slammed his palm forward.
BOOM!
The air exploded, sending him spinning backward as the counterforce helped him right himself midair, narrowly avoiding the kick. He then curled his right hand into a claw again and lashed out toward Rorschach's neck.
Rorschach's expression didn't change. His leg sweep turned sideways, slicing through the air like a guillotine.
Standing nearly three meters tall, Rorschach's sweeping kick toward the not-quite-1.8-meter Sabo looked like an adult kicking at a child.
The air shrieked as it split around his leg.
"Such speed!" Sabo thought grimly.
If he continued his attack, Rorschach's leg would crush his ribs.
It wasn't worth the exchange.
He pulled back his claw, tucking his body tight and rolling midair like a ball, narrowly avoiding the kick while punching at Rorschach's ankle.
BOOM!
A white shockwave burst out as Sabo spun like a top, flung far into the distance like a kicked football.
It looked clumsy, but it had reduced most of the force — about seventy percent, he calculated instinctively.
He could endure the rest.
Landing a hundred meters away, Sabo steadied himself, rubbing his aching wrist as he stared at Rorschach.
"This guy's got monstrous, inhuman strength. Even without using his Zoan powers, I can't match him. Looks like I'll have to rely on speed…"
Before the thought finished forming, the sky above flashed blindingly bright.
A deafening crack of thunder split the air.
A massive hand, wreathed in deep-blue Armament Haki, tore through the atmosphere toward Sabo's face at lightning speed.
He had no time to dodge.
"Then I won't!"
He gritted his teeth, raising his right claw wreathed in pitch-black Haki.
"Dragon Claw Fist Secret Art — Dragon's Breath!"
BOOM!
The blue glow around Rorschach's massive hand expanded like a shield, blocking the destructive claw strike — and then, in Sabo's wide-eyed stare, it seized his face.
"Sabo!"
Morley and the others cried out as they rushed forward.
Rorschach lifted his arm high — then slammed Sabo down toward the earth.
"Fist Bone: Abyssal Drop!"
BOOOOOM!!!
Sabo's body smashed through the sound barrier, wrapped in a burst of white air as he plummeted like a meteor.
The ground shattered, a deep crater forming where he struck.
Sabo barely managed to coat his entire body in Armament Haki before impact, but even then, the shock left him dizzy, bones screaming, blood spilling from his lips.
As Rorschach dove from above, fist raised for another crushing blow, Morley thrust her trident into the ground before her and lifted it sharply toward the sky.
"Swaaash!"
The ground itself rose in surging waves, crashing upward toward Rorschach.
End of Chapter)
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