One Piece: Holy Light Swordmaster

After their conversation at the ramen stand, Wright invited Borsalino to a nearby dessert shop. He ordered a coffee with milk foam, and Borsalino chose banana ice cream—although it was a bit strange for two men to be eating desserts like this.

Borsalino was still processing Wright's earlier declaration about "world peace." From his over two decades in the Navy, Borsalino found Wright's statement to be… almost like a joke, an aim that seemed so distant it was nearly impossible to see.

However, Borsalino didn't laugh. While Wright's strength might not be enough at the moment, his potential meant that such words shouldn't be mocked.

"Senior Brother," Wright said as he took a sip of the milk foam, savoring the faint sea salt flavor. He didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "I have some doubts about abilities that I'd like to ask you about.

"Your Glint-Glint Fruit is quite famous, capable of transforming into the natural element of 'light.' My 'Holy Light' can't turn into an element, but it has other effects—how is it different from your 'light'?"

Borsalino took a small bite of his banana, enjoying its cold, smooth texture. Upon hearing Wright's question, a curious look appeared on his face, and his small eyes widened slightly. "I've been quite interested in your… abilities ever since I learned about you," he said, adding in a teasing tone, "But with Zephyr-sensei around, I don't really have the freedom to talk about it."

Clearing his throat, Borsalino continued leisurely, "My Glint-Glint Fruit has nothing to hide. It can output high-energy energy and condense into solid form. Its light-speed element is not an exaggeration."

"So, with such a convenient ability, it's best to make good use of it, right?" Borsalino added with a playful tone, before pausing as if taking a jab at their teacher, Zephyr.

"In short," he concluded, "It's using the physical properties of light to develop abilities, but your ability doesn't seem to reflect light's physical characteristics as clearly."

Wright pondered carefully, trying to explain his Holy Light power through the lens of "Devil Fruit" abilities in this world: "It's not a Natural-type fruit, because it can't transform into an element. It's more of an energy, one that's closely tied to the mind. The level of spiritual cultivation, just like physical strength, greatly influences the Holy Light.

"The Holy Light takes the form of light, but I feel it's more like a fusion of mental and physical energy. That's why it has characteristics that natural light doesn't, like healing abilities, but it lacks traits like extreme speed."

"Oh~ that's terrifying," Borsalino scratched his head and sighed, "An ability tied to the mind… It must be a Paramecia type. Paramecia abilities always come with strange traits that don't make sense."

"But to say it lacks the physical properties of natural light… that's not necessarily true. The reason you can't manifest it might just be because it can't transform into an element."

Upon hearing this, Wright's mind sparked. No wonder Borsalino, who was himself an ability user of light, had a different perspective.

At least, the materialization of the Holy Light—like creating Light-forged weapons—should be similar to Borsalino's "Amatsumagatsuchi" sword. It's just that, because it can't transform into an element, it can't achieve "I am light." The same goes for acceleration—without turning into light, it's impossible to achieve light speed in a material form!

"Thank you, Senior Brother!" Wright said sincerely. No matter Borsalino's motivations for offering help, he had indeed opened up a new line of thought for Wright regarding the development of his Holy Light power.

"No need to thank me," Borsalino replied with a smile. "This is just some experience. You'd probably figure it out on your own soon enough."

"But speaking of your ability, since it's tied to the mind, does it have healing effects?" Borsalino asked, with a curious tilt of his head.

Wright thought for a moment before nodding. "Something like that. Based on mental intent, Holy Light has three modes—Judgment, used for offense; Protection, used for defense; and Healing. It's like… expressing a person's mental will."

"Hmm, attacking intent, protective intent, and healing intent, huh? Quite an impressive ability," Borsalino said, shrugging and finishing the last bite of his ice cream. "I guess I won't be able to relate to this one. After all, my intent is to avoid trouble."

Wright couldn't help but laugh at Borsalino's self-deprecating humor. "Senior Brother, you really have a great sense of humor."

"Thanks for everything today, Wright. I'll introduce you to my excellent subordinates next time. Maybe you young ones will get along," Borsalino said as he stood up, glanced at the time, and walked out of the dessert shop.

"Well, time to get back to work. See you later, Wright. Next time, I'll treat you. Say hello to Zephyr-sensei for me!" he added, waving as he left.

"Whoosh!"

In a flash of light, Borsalino shot into the sky, appeared for a brief moment, and then vanished without a trace.

"Excellent subordinates? The guy who calls himself 'the tightest-lipped man in the world'?" Wright muttered with a weird expression, watching Borsalino disappear in the distance. "So that's what qualifies as 'excellent' in the yellow monkey's eyes. His standards are something else."

"As for Fisher Tiger…" Wright clenched his fist. "Not strong enough. Far from it… Right now, the yellow monkey could probably beat me up with ease, and the red dog would probably rub me into the ground… Ugh…"

The image was too horrifying to imagine.

However, thanks to the yellow monkey, Wright had gained many new ideas for developing the next phase of his Holy Light powers.

...

The big shots had finally wrapped up their various affairs, and Garp was about to return to the G3 branch—though in truth, it was more due to Admiral Sengoku complaining that Garp's constant presence at headquarters was making it impossible for him to get any quiet work done. As Garp's subordinate, Wright naturally had to accompany him.

Before leaving, Wright glanced at the latest news—Fisher Tiger, the fish-man who had invaded Mariejois, had led the fish-men and mermaid slaves he freed, along with other fish-men and mermaids, to form the "Sun Pirates," a crew entirely composed of fish-men and mermaids, and they were now wreaking havoc on the seas.

"Though I don't really believe in the 'other races are always enemies' mindset… It's clear that both humans and fish-men think like that now, and it's deeply ingrained..."

"Humans, no matter which world they're in, are both inclusive and exclusionary at the same time. The Moonmen, Longarms, Longlegs, Snakeheads, Giants, Dwarves, Fur Tribes, and Three-Eyed people, for example… Only the mighty Giants are recognized by humans, while the rest are generally oppressed by humans. Yet, paradoxically, their cultures are all somewhat assimilated by humans."

"Do the fish-men and mermaids want to become the second Giants? Too bad, Fisher Tiger is still not strong enough, nowhere near the level of the 'Giant Soldier Pirates' from back in the day."

Deep in thought about these complexities, Wright took a deep breath and followed Garp up the warship, heading back to the G3 branch.

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