The next day arrived with a crisp morning breeze, and Miguel and Borsalino made their way into town. It was the first time either of them had set foot in the settlement since Miguel arrived, and the townspeople barely paid them any attention—just two wanderers blending into the coastal bustle.
They gathered supplies—mainly fresh water, sake, and some long-lasting provisions. Neither of them was too concerned about food; they were confident they could hunt sea beasts or fish as needed during the voyage.
A few hours later, the two men stood at the beach where Miguel had first swam ashore.
Borsalino squinted at the horizon, scanning the coast. "So… where's this ship of yours?" he asked.
Miguel said nothing. He simply drew his blade and pointed it toward the sky.
A pulse of energy surged through the air.
Suddenly, from the clouds above, the silhouette of a colossal ship began to descend. The winds howled as the massive floating fortress broke through the mist, casting a long shadow over the ocean. As it descended, the pressure of the air shifted—until finally, the ship made contact with the sea, slamming down with such force that a towering wave erupted, crashing against the shore.
Borsalino took a step back, eyes wide. "What the hell…" he muttered, his usual lazy tone laced with awe.
The ship was unmistakable. It was that ship.
The infamous ship of the Golden Lion Pirates—the one that had once struck terror across the Grand Line. Seeing it up close was surreal, especially knowing what it meant.
Without missing a beat, Miguel walked toward the dock and leapt onto the ship's main deck. Borsalino followed, transforming into a beam of light and reappearing beside him.
Miguel adjusted the wheel and caught the wind in the sails. The ship began to move, slow but steady, as the waves pushed it away from the island.
"I've seen this ship in the papers," Borsalino finally said, eyes tracing the lion-emblazoned flag fluttering above them. "The Golden Lion's ship. Why is this in your possession?"
Miguel didn't look at him. He simply kept his hands on the wheel and said casually, "I killed him. So I took his ship. That's how piracy works, isn't it?"
His voice was calm, as if he were talking about the weather. But the weight of his words settled heavily on the deck.
Borsalino blinked slowly, absorbing what he just heard. Golden Lion Shiki—one of the most notorious pirates in history, a man feared across all seas—was dead. And this man beside him, his new captain, had been the one to end him.
"You really are strong, huh?" Borsalino said, his voice quieter than usual.
Miguel finally turned, a small smirk curling at the corner of his lips. "You haven't seen anything yet."
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The two then just sailed along the North Blue but without unfurling the sails, as Miguel thought that it would bring unnecessary attention to both of them, which was something that Miguel would rather not deal with, so the ship was just running on the waves of the sea, while also Miguel controlled a bunch of oars that were connected under the sea to make it row automatically every second, this was the main thing that they would use as a main way that the ship would move, after waves.
Both Miguel and Borsalino also did not waste any time on the ship, as both of them could be seen sparring almost every day. As Miguel removed the limits of Borsalino, like what he did to himself in the God Valley, he also removed the curse of the sea from Borsalino. Which created a funny scene.
As in one of their daily spars, Miguel deliberately knocked Borsalino into the sea, which made Borsalino panic, as he did not realize that he was swimming in the sea, which Miguel then pointed out, and made Borsalino realize, then Borsalino tried swimming in the sea, to which he succeeded, for the first time ever since he ate his Devil Fruit, he was able to swim in the ocean, Borsalino then took a dive, and only resurfaced after more than thirty minutes, in which he brought a large amount of sea kings that he hunted under the sea.
"How did you do that?" Borsalino then asked Miguel, who was skinning and dividing the sea beasts, to properly store them and to add them to their food supplies.
"Do what?" Miguel then asked for clarification, but he just continued to cut the sea beasts that Borsalino caught.
"You know what," Borsalino then said.
"Oh, that? I can cut anything that I wanted to cut, which includes even intangible things such as concepts, sickness, enslavement, etc I did it to myself, and of course, as my crewmate, I did this to you, aren't you thankful?" Miguel then explained what he did towards Borsalino, who was now looking at him like he was some kind of anomaly.
"Aren't you afraid that I'll tell another person the information you just shared with me?" Borsalino then asked, to which Miguel stopped his cutting of the sea beasts, as he then looked at Borsalino, while also slowly showing a grin, but it was a different kind of grin than he usually does.
"I've cut your ability to say this to others that are not members of our crew so I don't have any fears, plus, I know that you are a trustworthy person, that's the reason why I made this ability known to you, as being my friend and also my first mate, you should have my unwavering trust, and of course, I would expect the same thing from you," Miguel then said, which just intensified Borsalino's look at Miguel, then, suddenly, Borsalino smiled and closed his eyes, as this feeling, despite being foreign, is not something that he hated, it was being trusted by a person, and as a loner, he valued the friendship that he built, more than anyone.
"So much for trusting me with you taking away my ability to tell it to others," Borsalino then complained, but his face just showed a pleasant reaction, to which Miguel just smiled and resumed cutting their would-be food supply.
Both Borsalino and Miguel then just continued their journey and sailing, leaving their destination to fate while also continuing the routines that they had built over the days that they spent with each other.