Glint

(An Hour Later)

Rex sighed as he looked back at the receding Kuragaina island in the distance. Just to rob a few innocent civilians of a scant few Berries, Devon had massacred thousands. Was that what piracy was?

Even in his past life, Rex distinctly remembers that most pirates abstained from murder of civilians. It just wasn't a good idea given the attention it would garner. Still, from the newspaper in his hand, Rex knew exactly why Devon had done this.

"She's celebrating?" Thatch asked incredulously. "Celebrating her Shichibukai announcement by going around and committing murder?"

Rose shakes her head at this. "Pirates go out for two reasons, money and adventure. To go out to intentionally kill civilians… I fail to see how the world government will tolerate it."

"They won't do jack about it." Bonney says simply. "Kuragaina isn't a World Government affiliated country. Hell, the World Government might use this as a reason to annex the island."

Rex shakes his head. This world was a messed up place.

Rex decides to turn to the other matter he had on hand, the human-drills. Sugar and Thatch had managed to get the tribe Rex had met earlier to come to the King Gucci with little to no difficulty.

Rex was now eager to 'try one out' so to speak.

"So, what do you want me to do again?" Killer asks, seeing the immense, human-drill equipped Rex.

"I need you to go through your sword movements. First slow, and then faster and faster." Rex says, desperately wanting to try out the vaunted human-drill learning ability.

In the anime, it was revealed that in less than nine years, a human-drill was able to master Mihawk's swordsmanship style to a high level. That implied that some human-drills had a learning ability that exceeded even Zoro as Zoro had been learning swordsmanship for 13 years when he clashed with them.

Rex was infinitely curious if he could gain this ability by equipping a human-drill. If he could, the world would essentially become his oyster, allowing him to copy secret techniques, swordsmanship styles, Rex could only imagine it now.

"Begin." Rex says, to which Killer obliges.

At the end of the demonstration, Rex was both intrigued and disappointed. On the negative, Rex did not immediately learn Killer's swordsmanship style. On the plus side, he finally understood why human drills learned so fast.

"Mirror neurons." Rex muttered, remembering a rather new development of medicine on earth. Mirror neurons were neurons that could fire when one observed someone else feeling a sensation.

For example, if person A got slapped by person B, person C might feel a slap on their face granted they had a corresponding mirror neuron.

For the human-drills, it seemed their whole bodies were made up mirror neurons allowing them to 'feel' all the muscle movements of their opponent. What's more, it likely gave human-drills an immense sense of empathy as it would allow them to feel the emotions of others.

It is no wonder the human-drills suddenly became warlike after the war of Kuragaina. They felt all the despair, the weakness and the anger of the civilians.

"What a fascinating species." Rex mutters under his breath. He would definitely have Rose study them later.

Still, with this information, Rex learned that he could, indeed use the human-drills for training. However, he would have to first get used the jarring experience of feeling other people's movements and emotions.

"Hawkins, set our course for Momoiro Island."

Hawkins nodded, preparing to do a reading of his tarot cards. Closing his eyes, pieces of straw flew out to retrieve three cards from his deck.

The Ten of Swords. Death. The Hanged Man.

For a moment, the aura on the ship seems to turn stale. Every member of the crew had a cursory understanding of Hawkins's Tarot cards and they knew for a fact that none of those cards were good. Whenever one of them came up, the ship was in for hell, for all three of them to come up.

"Captain…" Hawkins says, grimly as he looks down. "We're doomed."

"What did I tell you about saying that phrase in my presence?" Rex questioned, really hoping Hawkins had misread the cards.

Hawkins shakes his head. "This time is no small thing. There is no escape, no trickery, nothing will help us. We will face a grand calamity, and it will happen… right now!"

Rex widens his eyes as every nerve in his body screams out in danger.

Swoosh!

Rex turns his head at the last moment, a yellow-suited figure flying right past Rex with his foot only inches away from Rex's face.

The figure has a shocked expression on his face, seeing Rex dodge his first attack and goes flying off into the distance.

"Kid, tell all the fishmen to abandon ship and activate the Borsalino protocol. It's time." Rex said, feeling an immense fear gripping his heart. Still, against all his better judgement, Rex leaps off his ship, riding the backs of two Blugori to move towards Borsalino's direction.

Rex needed to stall.

"So, it's the great vice admiral from the headquarters, Borsalino, isn't it?" Rex said, hoping to play to Borsalino's vanity.

Borsalino appears in a flash of light, materializing about five meters away from Rex in a flash of light. He hovers a few feet above the sea with his typical lazy expression on his face.

"Eh? So you know who I am?" Borsalino says. "That's good. Can you just surrender then? I just got my suit dry-cleaned and I really don't want to mess it up."

Rex feels a pang of guilt at what he is about to do. As a fellow clothing connoisseur, he would hate it if someone did what he was about to do to himself. Unfortunately, when faced with absolute peril, morality became optional.

"Very well, I will turn myself over, as long as you let my crew go." Rex said, making sure to look at Borsalino sternly.

"Sorry, that's not going to work." Borsalino says. "I would be plenty happy to just take you in, but my boss, tsk tsk, I'm afraid I'll have to take you all in."

Rex nods, sighing, sticking his hands out in front of him, he urges the Blugori to move forwards carrying him with them. "Very well, can the record show I was cooperating."

Borsalino really squints his eyes at this time. While others thought that he was an idiot, he was indeed rather sharp. For a pirate, with conqueror's haki and a mythic Zoan to give up so easily… it didn't make sense.

Of course, Borsalino was keeping a close eye on the ship ahead of him and found that nothing had happened. If Rex wasn't stalling for the ship, what was he doing?

Buru Buru.

Borsalino frowns, receiving a call on his mini Den Den Mushi. He answers it without looking down, keeping his eyes locked on Rex.

"This is Sengoku." The Den Den Mushi calls out.

"Oh, admiral Sengoku, why are you calling a humble Vice Admiral such as myself? I am honored that-" Borsalino starts.

"Is that accursed song finally over!?" Sengoku calls out.

Borsalino frowns, then he looks down at his Den Den mushi. "Eh, Sengoku what are you-"

Woosh!

Right as Rex is on top of Borsalino, he moves. Tackling forward, Rex grins as Kizaru turns his body to light and Rex passes through him.

'Now!' Rex thought.

Suddenly, diamonds spring up all around Rex's body, underneath his classic, captain overcoat, Rex was wearing a diamond-studded jacket. From the nobles and the treasuries Rex had robbed, his supply of diamonds was no small thing. With all of them being mobilized at one, Rex almost looks like Jozu in his diamond form.

At the same time, a massive metal covering quickly forms around the King Gucci, turning it from a ship, into a submarine. The submarine rapidly dives under water, disappearing in seconds.

Rex then fully passes through Borsalino, landing in the water. All of Rex's strength drains out of him, while the Blugori carry his body deep underwater.

Borsalino frowns, only to look down and see his body covered with holes. "Eh?"

Borsalino quickly feels the strength draining out of his body. He tries to mobilize his Devil Fruit, only to find that failing too.

As he slowly falls towards the water, Borsalino curses as he uses a long-unused Geppo to rush over to Fisher Tiger's ship.

"What the hell!?" Borsalino cries out. He was certain there was no Armament Haki in that attack. What's more, is, even if there was, there wasn't nearly enough force behind it to put holes in his body.

However, before Borsalino can question anything a cannon fired from the underwater King Gucci hits the Solar Wind.

BOOM!

A massive explosion rises up as the Solar Wind turns to scrap would. Borsalino who is unable to elementalize, is forced to use armament haki and Tekkai to withstand the blast. The yellow suited

Meanwhile, Rex who is underwater smiles. His body is covered by sparkling diamonds, all of which have trapped a portion of Borsalino's body inside them. As such, with around half his body underwater, Borsalino couldn't use his devil fruit.

'Total Internal Reflection, bastard!' Rex thinks with a grin. Internally, his heart is still thumping like a jack hammer. Of course, the light would slowly 'bleed' out of the diamonds and return to Borsalino, but Rex was confident he wouldn't be coming back.

Unfortunately, this was a one-use trick. If Rex intended on escaping Borsalino again, he would need something better.

The Blugori quickly take Rex inside the King Gucci which is currently in submarine mode.

Rex can see that the ship is evidently not ready for this mode as even with Kid's magnetism, Hawkins's straw and Monet's snow, the hull seems to buckle. Still, Rex knows there is no alternative, as Borsalino could attack again at any second.

Meanwhile, several kilometers away from Rex's submarine, a massive clash is happening.

"Death WINK!" A large man with a comically sized head shouts out, blasting Borsalino back with the shockwaves from his wink.

Ivankov curses his luck. He had just gone to Pucci island to rescue one of his pretty Okama's who had lost his permanent log pose and just happened to bump into Borsalino on his way back. What were the odds?

Little did Ivankov know, Borsalino felt the same way, blaming this whole mess on Vesta Rex. After the explosion, Borsalino had been thrown off the solar wind and had nowhere to go. Slowly but surely, his strength was being restored, so he used Geppo to get to a nearby ship.

Unfortunately for Borsalino that nearby ship was Ivankov's. For the first few minutes, Borsalino was getting destroyed, but as his photons came back from underwater, Borsalino regained his devil fruit ability.

Now, Borsalino and Ivankov were matched neck in neck in terms of a vicious fight. However, with his former wounds, Borsalino can feel that he won't be able to out last Ivankov.

Borsalino curses. If he was like Sakazuki and just blew up Rex's ship the moment he saw it, none of this would have happened.

"Ivankov of the Revolutionary army, there is no escape!" Borsalino cries out, trying to channel his inner Sakazuki. "Surrender now… or be destroyed!"

"Be destroyed, why don't you try me boy! Because unless you turn me to dust, you'll never touch any of my candies!" Ivankov cries out. "GALAXY WINK!"

Borsalino curses, before shaking his head, he was in over his head here. Even if he managed to beat Ivankov, Borsalino would be mobbed by the other 50 Okamas on the ship and too fatigued to do anything about it.

Picking a direction he knew would lead him to a marine settlement, Borsalino blasts off.

"Oh no you don't! I still need you to pay for messing up my make up job!" Ivankov shouts. "Emporio Onna HORMONE!"

Borsalino feels a slight prick on his arm as he blasts off into the distance.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Well, it seems we have to head back to Momoiro tout de suite! Dragon will need to know about this." Ivankov said with a grin.

With that, the King Gucci and the RuPaul, Ivankov's ship, both set off to Momoiro island, unaware that they would arrive at the same time.

Meanwhile, Borsalino shoots through the sky, returning to his main base at Marineford. Touching down on the ground, Borsalino quickly finds Strawberry.

"You bastard! How could you not tell me about that brat!?" Borsalino shouts, feeling genuine anger for the first time in a long time.

Strawberry blushes as he sees many of the male marines around him chuckling at him.

"Honey, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm sure we can settle this over a drink somewhere."

"Eh? Honey?" Borsalino asks incredulously. "What the hell are you-"

Borsalino's eyes widen. He finally realizes the pitch and tone of his voice are all wrong. His suit is now extremely baggy, and his hair feels… longer.

"No. No, no, no, no!" Borsalino flashes into his officer, finding a mirror to look into. "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Borsalino was now a woman.