Michael let out a long sigh.
Thankfully, Sandersonia's mouth wasn't as quick as he'd feared.
Otherwise, how could he continue facing these subordinates he hadn't seen in years?
That Sandersonia had pieced together his identity didn't surprise him much.
She had always been sharp-minded.
Especially when standing beside the blunt-witted Marigold, her intelligence shone all the brighter.
Still… Michael could only apologize silently to the girl for now.
"Everyone… if I may suggest, attack together."
"Are you just going to let them serve themselves up as sacrifices?"
His words darkened the expressions of the remaining members of SWORD Classified Special Forces.
But they couldn't deny the truth—the Golden Thief's displayed abilities were overwhelming.
His body withstood Smoker and Hina's combined techniques, his speed matched Sandersonia's, and his strength surpassed even Marigold's, despite her Power-Power Fruit.
Under these circumstances, killing T-Bone and Shu seemed like child's play.But the more this happened, the angrier they became.
Stella, Crocodile, Enel, Hancock, and Hawkeye surrounded Michael from five directions.
They had never shied away from ganging up on someone.
The SWORD Classified Special Forces had always been a pack of wolves.
And the one who instilled this culture was none other than Michael himself.
He called this fighting style…
"Justice by Numbers."
Even Michael felt a surge of excitement at this moment.
Though Stella and Crocodile didn't hold the title of Angel Alliance Admirals…
Through the feedback from Michael's Voice of All Things… it was clear that both of them had also reached the level of a Yonko or Admiral in these seven years.
Michael licked his lips.
Five Yonko/Admiral-level fighters… the pressure wasn't even below that of the Five Elders back then.
Seemed like today, he'd have to fight to his heart's content.
...
Not far away, the members of the Old Geezers Pirates were watching the spectacle from the rooftop of a three-story building.
The sudden gathering of pirates on Island No. 46 had already prompted the local officials of the Angel Alliance to evacuate civilians for safety.
Those who dared to stay behind at this point had to have some skills.
And among them, the Old Geezers Pirates were naturally the cream of the crop.
The old-timers held various snacks in their hands, grinning like ordinary onlookers.
"Oho-ho-ho, Michael just caught Smoker and Hina's combo attack barehanded!" Garp laughed.
"That's supposed to be a strong move—it's knocked back plenty of powerful Celestial Dragons and pirates… so why does it look so weak in Michael's hands?"
"Techniques like these depend mostly on the opponent," Rocks rolled his eyes. "Even if it wasn't Michael but you or Sengoku, the result wouldn't be much better… In fact, Michael's already giving Smoker and Hina face here. If he had used even a hint of Armament Haki, this would've been a flawless barehanded catch of their ultimate move."
"That's just the limit of talent," Sengoku sighed. "Thinking about it, without Michael, most of the people in the SWORD Special Forces wouldn't be on our side… and Smoker and Hina wouldn't be this strong either… Tch, when you think about it, the future really does look bleak."
"You're only realizing this now?" Zephyr scoffed. "As the head instructor, I feel it even more directly and intensely. The strongest in the Marine's Elite Training Camp went from Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan to Smoker and Hina, then to Ain…"
"Truly, each generation is worse than the last. I had already thought the Marine was inevitably heading into a talent drought… but Michael turned it around. His ability to poach people is even more terrifying than his combat skills."
The old-timers chattered back and forth, but their eyes remained fixed on the distant battlefield.
After all, the ones currently ganging up on Michael were the pillars of the SWORD Classified Special Forces.
Truthfully, Yamato, Rosinante, and Fujitora Issho were missing.
But five genuine Yonko/Admiral-level fighters were already enough to make Michael take them seriously.
Back then, even during the battle against the Five Elders, Michael hadn't actually defeated all five of them head-on.
The Admiral-level members of the SWORD Special Forces were entirely different from the Five Elders.
"Uncle Michael, are you planning to give the seniors from SWORD a teaching match?" Luffy shielded his eyes with his hand as he gazed into the distance.
"No matter how you look at it, 1v5 seems a bit too extreme, doesn't it?"
"That's only extreme for others," Ace ruffled Luffy's head. "But for Uncle Michael, it's just another tuesday."
Luffy nodded.
True.
As they grew older and stronger, the Michael in their eyes only became more and more terrifying.
No matter how much stronger they became, they could only barely glimpse his back from afar.
"Huh? Speaking of which, where are Zoro and the others?" Luffy glanced around. "They're actually not here?"
"Probably haven't arrived yet? They went shopping earlier," Sabo sat cross-legged at the edge of the rooftop.
"With Uncle Michael here, plus their idols, the Three Admirals—no matter what, they'll make it back, right?"
"Eh, who knows?" Ace chuckled. "What if they let Zoro lead the way?"
"Don't joke about that. If Zoro's leading, we'll probably have to plaster missing person posters all over the world."
...
"Huh? Another dead end?"
Zoro scratched his head in confusion.
The man had absolutely no self-awareness when it came to his sense of direction.
The fact that this could happen meant there were definitely no members of the younger generation following him.
And indeed, that was the case.
"Zoro-nii, where is this place? I'm so scared~" Kozuki Hiyori let out a dramatic "eep" and tried to cling to Zoro—only for him to absentmindedly shift away, nearly sending her face-first into the ground.
"Hmph! You're such a cruel man!"
"Seriously… you're way older than him!" Kozuki Rin twitched her lips. "And yet you're calling him 'nii'? Sis, have some shame."
"What do you know? This is the Law of Equivalent Exchange for Brothers! Since my own blood brother chose to become my sister, what's wrong with me finding a sweetheart brother?"
"I don't mind you dating… but at least pick someone who understands human speech?"
Kozuki Rin sighed and turned to look for the way forward.
But just as she turned—
"Oof!"
A girl in a hooded cloak collided straight into her, sending herself tumbling backward onto the ground from the impact.
"Ow! That hurt!"
The hood slipped off, revealing long blue hair.
"Uh, you okay?" Kozuki Rin extended a hand toward the girl.
Only to catch sight of the pendant hanging from her neck—its material unmistakably…
An angel's feather.
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