Chapter 285: Flash and Fury on Cake Island

“Understood, Lord Karl.”

With that, Halil hung up the call. He glanced at the motionless Colin at his feet, tucked the Den Den Mushi into his coat and pulled out something else.

Right now Colin was gathering the last bit of strength inside him, desperate to attempt another teleport.

As long as he could activate his power and get away, there was still a chance to complete his mission to take Vegapunk.

Honestly, it was a mystery where they got this unshakeable confidence—like all they needed was to get Vegapunk off Cake Island and they’d make it back to Mariejois with no trouble.

Did they all draw courage from Sister Liang too?

With a clink, two iron cuffs snapped around his wrists, and instantly his Devil Fruit power vanished without a trace.

His ability was cut off in the middle, leaving him powerless.

It was like being stopped halfway through something important—completely unsatisfying and unbearable.

Colin’s face twisted with rage and humiliation before everything went black and he fainted.

Halil wasn’t anyone’s fool. He’d been wary of Colin all along, so the moment he spotted any odd fluctuation in Colin’s palm, he whipped out the Seastone shackles and locked them on tight.

“This move? Call it enforced law.”

“Trying to run right under my nose? Forget it.”

Halil didn’t waste words or bother dragging him to the lab. He found a random house and tossed Colin inside.

Colin was half-dead already. With Seastone shackles and a locked door, Halil doubted he’d be getting out of that room anytime soon.

“Once things calm down outside, I’ll deal with you.”

After locking the door, Halil headed back to stand outside the lab, waiting for the next unlucky visitor.

Meanwhile, Karl, having ended the call, turned his gaze west. There, golden flashes arced through the sky in a dazzling fight, sometimes even sketching pentagrams midair.

Another fierce battle was raging—Borsalino, the man who ate the Light-Light Fruit, was the star of the show.

His original orders were just to back others up, but of course Borsalino had found himself work—lining up his own worthy opponent.

Across from him stood Rachel, a master of martial arts from CP2 under the World Government.

This skirmish had drawn agents from CP0 all the way to CP9. If they were all lost here, the World Government’s intelligence network might be crippled for a while.

Still, for the chance to get Vegapunk, those sacrifices were considered worth the price.

Rachel had just stepped out of the room when he locked eyes with Borsalino waiting nearby.

Being part of the World Government’s intelligence division, of course he recognized Borsalino instantly.

Borsalino: Logia-type Light-Light Fruit user. Combat power rated at Vice Admiral level. One of the main pillars of Karl’s Pirate Crew.

Right away, Rachel wondered—had he been exposed?

But he didn’t show a trace of panic. Instead, he cautiously asked, “May I ask why you’re standing at the door, sir?”

Borsalino might look young, but you could never hide his sleazy nature.

“Oh? The World Government sends people who talk this smooth now?”

“Kowai ne!”

He even pulled out a nail clipper, carefully trimming his nails mid-conversation.

Once Borsalino spoke, Rachel knew his cover was blown.

Even if he didn’t know what gave him away, the top priority was to get past Borsalino, regroup with the others and plan their next move.

He kicked off the ground, right hand aiming a jet black fingertip at Borsalino.

“Flash Sword!”

Borsalino didn’t rush. He formed a two-meter long sword of pure light in his right hand.

Swinging the light sword, he aimed to slice Rachel right down the middle.

Swish!

But midair, Rachel switched tactics. He unleashed a Tempest Kick, sending a blue crescent slash straight through Borsalino’s body.

The attack smashed into a house behind him, rattling it with a thunderous crash.

“Hmph. Elementalization, huh?”

“Logia types are always a pain.”

Not that this was Rachel’s first time fighting a Logia user.

Both his hands turned pitch black with Armament Haki. “Six Powers Ultimate Technique—Grand Swing!”

Only Armament Haki could hurt someone with a Logia’s elemental body.

But this was Borsalino—an undisputed genius.

Even in the original story, he should’ve awakened his Light-Light Fruit long ago.

Let alone after years refining his power here on Cake Island—if he hadn’t awakened yet, he was still far beyond what Rachel could handle.

“Speed is power. Ever taken a kick at light speed?”

“What?”

Rachel didn’t even get to finish before Borsalino flashed to his side in a burst of light.

A size-58 shoe print crashed down, stamping right across Rachel’s face.

The impact left a massive crater in the ground, Rachel out cold at the bottom.

But Borsalino wasn’t about to believe a top agent would go down after one hit.

A cross-shaped ray formed on his finger and in a blink, a beam of light shot out.

Clang!

Not surprisingly, Rachel was only pretending—waiting for Borsalino to check on him so he could launch a counterattack.

Didn’t expect to be so thoroughly seen through though.

Rather than wait for Borsalino’s attack, Rachel immediately coated his hand with Armament Haki and smacked the beam apart.

Realizing just how tricky Borsalino was, Rachel’s eyes darted, searching for an escape route and a backup plan.

He was wrong about one thing—Borsalino wasn’t the only one lurking here.

If he tried to run, others hiding in the shadows would block him before he could get away.

“Looks like you’re about to experience the brilliance of light.”

Before Rachel could figure out what Borsalino meant, he was sent flying again.

Borsalino treated him like a battered sandbag, launching him again and again.

For several seconds, Rachel was bounced across the battlefield, pain spreading through every inch of his body—he simply couldn’t fight back.

Borsalino unleashed his full Observation Haki, pairing it with the Light-Light Fruit’s speed. In just minutes, he delivered hundreds of kicks.

He kept going until Rachel lost consciousness, and still didn’t stop.

Boom!

With one last kick, Rachel was smashed into the ground, hard.

Staring at Rachel’s limp body in the crater, Borsalino didn’t take any chances. He aimed his finger and fired a laser, punching right through Rachel’s right chest—blood spurting out.

No resistance at all. The attack pierced him cleanly, blood gushing forth.

Borsalino dropped back to the ground, dusted off his hands and signaled a squad of Fishmen out of the shadows. They strode over and locked Seastone shackles onto Rachel.

“Lord Borsalino, the fight here is over. Could you please support the other fronts? Thank you!”

Borsalino just waved it off. In a flash of yellow light, he disappeared.

As for who could do the most destruction to Cake Island? That was Sakazuki, without question.

Even from a distance, you could see eruptions of magma blasting sky-high from the eastern coast.

Karl could only sigh, rubbing his face with his right hand. “Sakazuki, don’t start tearing down the house like a husky, alright?”

Borsalino, hovering in midair, locked onto his target too. Worried that Sakazuki might destroy the whole island, he zipped off in that direction, a streak of light in the sky.