A hazy sense of justice fluttered in the wind as the tall figure slowly walked away.

Daren quietly watched Borsalino's back disappear at the end of the street, lost in thought and saying nothing for a long time.

"Kizaru's a strange one... really hard to get a read on."

Stussy suddenly spoke up beside him.

"According to the World Government's internal intelligence files, he's rated as 'extremely loyal'—even more so than Admiral Sengoku."

"But oddly enough, among all those Marine Headquarters 'monsters,' his mission completion rate is the lowest."

"And I always had the feeling..."

Her finely shaped brows furrowed slightly as she lowered her voice.

"He figured out long ago that I was working for Dr. Vegapunk—that I only joined CP0 to infiltrate and gather intel for him."

"But he acted like he didn't know. He never approached me, and he definitely never reported me to the higher-ups..."

As he listened, a faint smile slowly appeared on Daren's face.

"That's classic Borsalino."

"But really, it's not just you—even I, someone who used to be his comrade and fellow officer, could never see through that yellow monkey."

Stussy pressed her lips together, sounding a little indignant.

"He's just leaning on the special powers of the Pika Pika no Mi."

Daren shook his head with a smile.

"The Pika Pika no Mi is certainly strong—but that's not what really makes him dangerous."

"What sets Borsalino apart is his ever-shifting stance."

"Ambiguous justice... That's what lets him stay in this neutral space. Because no one can pin down where he stands, there's no way to counter him. That's why he can handle any situation with ease."

"He watches everything like a bystander, always on the outside looking in."

Stussy glanced at the side of Daren's face, intrigued.

She hadn't expected someone as powerful as Daren to speak so highly of his old colleague.

After all, Daren didn't even give Admiral Sengoku the time of day.

"But isn't this whole 'ambiguous justice' thing just an excuse to slack off?" she asked, puzzled.

She'd picked up quirky phrases like "slacking off" and "taking it easy" from chatting with Daren.

"No, there's a pretty big difference."

Daren let out a short laugh and said calmly,

"To be honest, I admire his outlook on life."

"Unlike most people in this world who just drift with the current, Borsalino knows exactly the kind of life he wants—and the kind of goals he's after."

"He's lazy, not useless."

"So-called 'ambiguous justice' basically means 'this works, that works,' but in reality, the one who decides what works or doesn't isn't the world—it's Borsalino himself."

"If I think this is fine, I'll do it... If I think that's fine, I'll do that. No standards, no outside opinions can sway him one bit."

Stussy listened, half understanding, then seemed to recall something and asked,

"Then how's that different from your 'justice of doing whatever you want'?"

Daren paused for a second, then gave a knowing smile.

"The difference is... in some ways, he has even fewer limits than I do."

"That's why he can still put up with the World Government and the Five Elders."

With that, Daren shook his head.

"We should get moving."

"If we keep jamming that Den Den Mushi too long, not even Borsalino's silver tongue will be enough to talk his way out of it."

…

Egghead.

Borsalino had just stepped into the research institute when the sharp ringing of a Den Den Mushi echoed from his coat pocket.

"Brrruu... Brrruu..."

A smirk tugged at his lips as he slowly pulled out the military Den Den Mushi and answered in his usual laid-back tone.

"Moshi moshi? Borsalino speaking."

A hoarse, cold, aged voice came from the other end.

"Borsalino, did something happen at Egghead?"

"The surveillance Den Den Mushi signal was cut off for five whole minutes."

Borsalino scratched his head with a troubled look.

"Saint Saturn-sama, here's what happened."

"One of Dr. Vegapunk's experiments suddenly went wrong. The explosion from the equipment caused a short-term shutdown of all electronic devices inside the facility."

"Thanks to the maintenance robots, most of the equipment is back to normal now... and if you're listening through the Den Den Mushi, you should be able to hear the repair work going on, right?"

On the other end...

Holy Land Mary Geoise, Pangaea Castle, Hall of Power.

Saturn Saint sat in silence, his expression grim as he listened through his monitoring headset. Sure enough, the sound of frantic robotic repairs came through clearly.

"Activate your video Den Den Mushi."

A few seconds later, Saturn Saint spoke up in a raspy voice.

"No problem at all..."

Borsalino replied with a cheerful smile and enabled the video transmission.

A projection quickly appeared on the pristine white wall of the Hall of Power, displaying the chaos inside the Egghead research lab.

Modified lifeforms were hauling supplies, and robots wielding drills and welding torches were scrambling to repair damaged machinery. Black smoke poured from several devices, shattered glass littered the ground.

The doubt in Saturn's eyes began to fade.

As the World Government's Warrior God of Science and Defense, and a scientist himself, he could immediately tell the damage was consistent with a minor experimental mishap. If an intruder had sparked a full-blown battle, the aftermath wouldn't have looked like this.

"Where is Vegapunk?"

Saturn paused for a moment, then asked.

Borsalino kept his relaxed tone.

"Dr. Vegapunk's still in the lab. He says the experiment is at a critical breakthrough stage and is likely fully absorbed in his research... Do you want me to call him over for a direct report?"

Saturn hesitated briefly, then shook his head.

"No, that won't be necessary. That experiment is crucial. Tell Vegapunk to finish his research as soon as possible."

"Let him know—when his work succeeds, that will be the day we end war in this world."

"His research will bring eternal peace to this sea!"

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