Chapter 23: A Girl's Friendship

"Well, there are over thirteen hundred people now. After the Warrior Maiden examinations conclude, we will continue recruiting on the ship."

Hancock adjusted her posture, her slender fingers tracing irregular circles on Borsalino’s chest.

Borsalino felt a sense of helplessness. The growth ceiling of the Kuja Pirates was too low; even with his support behind the scenes, they could never compete with the massive pirate crews of the New World. Fortunately, the female warriors qualified to join the Kuja Pirates were elites who had mastered Armament Haki. With over a thousand of them, they could barely qualify as a secret weapon in critical moments.

"Let’s go. Since we have nothing better to do, we might as well go and witness the Warrior Maiden examination."

Borsalino shook his head. Since he couldn't expand the scale of the Kuja Pirates in a short time, he might as well focus on quality. As it happened, the Warrior Maidens were the elite among the Kuja warriors, and with a little training, they would be ready for action. However, on the surface, Amazon Lily remained a pirate faction; no matter how much of a double agent he was, as a Navy Admiral, Borsalino couldn't be too reckless. At the very least, he certainly couldn't teach them conspicuous skills like the Rokushiki. Fortunately, Borsalino had other options.

"Hancock, is that Zoan-type Devil Fruit I had someone send over still here? I recall it was an Ancient Zoan, the Kong-Kong Fruit (Gorilla-Gorilla Fruit)?"

Borsalino helped Hancock stand up. In a sense, Amazon Lily was his private vault; the majority of Borsalino’s personal wealth was stored on the island, while the other half was managed by Nami. The origins of some of these items were sensitive, making it inconvenient to keep them at Navy Headquarters. Even as a Navy Admiral, there were certain unwritten rules that had to be followed.

"It is here. I have kept everything you sent me safe and sound," Hancock said, as if asking for praise. She didn't care whether those items were intended to strengthen the Kuja Pirates; as long as they belonged to Borsalino, she wanted to collect them. Of course, the person she wanted to collect most was Borsalino himself, though that was the one thing she would never be able to achieve.

"Hmm, have someone bring it over later."

Borsalino spoke. Afterward, while following Hancock to the Warrior Maiden training grounds, he opened the Dimensional Chat Group in his mind.

...

[Fubuki: I didn't expect your taste to be unexpectedly good. The styles of these bags are quite nice.]

[Ai Haibara: Hmph, likewise. Your taste isn't bad either. It’s a pity I don't know who ended up with my collection; otherwise, I could have shown you those classic bags I cherished.]

[Fubuki: Is that organization still hunting you? Do you want me to come over and help you take down all those bad guys!]

[Ai Haibara: The organization isn't as simple as you imagine. If they were that easy to find, the police of various countries would have wiped them out long ago...]

[Fubuki: Then there’s nothing to be done. Take care of yourself, and if there’s any danger, you can call me for help.]

[Borsalino: Eh? Did I miss something? Since when did you two get along so well?]

[Kobayashi: Well... I have never been able to understand the friendships of girls~]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: Ah, this... Kobayashi, you’re a girl yourself. *Sweating profusely.jpg*]

[Kobayashi: I am an office worker capable of handling triple the workload!]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: Kobayashi, remember to pace yourself. If you die from overwork now, the consequences will be severe. If things go wrong, it could mean the end of the world.]

[Kobayashi: Hmm? What do you mean?]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: Your Tohru! Have a little self-awareness! Your dragon maid is capable of destroying the world. If she goes berserk, she’s no different from Godzilla!]

[Kobayashi: It’s not as exaggerated as you say...]

In Kobayashi’s world, looking at Tohru in the kitchen, humming a tune while cooking and flicking her large tail from time to time, anyone would scoff at the passerby’s words. How could such a cute maid be a world-destroying Great Demon Dragon?

[Borsalino: @Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh, young man, the Devil Fruit you wanted is ready. Zoan-type, Ancient Species, Kong-Kong Fruit (Gorilla-Gorilla Fruit) model. I’ll get it to you later.]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: Wow! Thank you, Admiral Kizaru! Love you! An Ancient Species! You’ve spent a fortune, sir!]

[Fubuki: What is a Devil Fruit?]

[Ai Haibara: It seems to be a specialty of the world Borsalino inhabits. As long as you eat it, you can gain all sorts of incredible superpowers...]

[Fubuki: How is that possible! Does that mean ordinary people can also become superpowered?]

Even in the One-Punch Man world, where heroes and monsters run rampant, true superpowered individuals are quite rare. Taking the S-Class heroes of the Hero Association as an example, ignoring Blast, whose background is unknown, only Tatsumaki is a true superpowered individual. Therefore, it was no surprise that Fubuki was so shocked to hear that one could gain superpowers just by eating a fruit.

[Borsalino: By the way, I’d like to ask everyone, @All, does anyone have a way to cultivate a large number of subordinates? Something that can be done quickly without major side effects. They don't need to be too strong, but not too weak either. It needs to be enough for a few hundred people.]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: Ah, this... may I ask timidly, Admiral Kizaru, when you say "not too strong but not too weak," how strong is that?]

[Borsalino: Hmm, how should I describe it? You should know the situation at Navy Headquarters, right? I need a way to help subordinates who have the strength of a Navy Lieutenant Commander reach the level of a Captain or Commodore.]

[Passerby Wanting to Hug Luo Feng’s Thigh: Damn... are Stands an option? Didn't you bring back the Arrows from Jotaro’s world?]

[Borsalino: That won't work. Using the 'Arrow' kills too many people. I can't let my subordinates take such a huge risk.]

[Ai Haibara: Officer, how strong is the Lieutenant Commander strength you mentioned?]

In the world of Conan, Ai Haibara, who was enjoying afternoon tea, stared intently at the virtual screen. Not long after joining this magical dimensional chat group, she had developed the idea of gaining the ability to protect herself through it. However, compared to the other group members who fought vampires or kept dragons as maids, Ai Haibara really had nothing to offer as a bargaining chip. She didn't even have any APTX 4869 on hand. Having finally waited for a request that didn't seem to require overwhelming strength, Ai Haibara suddenly had a bold idea. As the passerby had mentioned in the group before, the technological development in Borsalino’s world was unbalanced; the Navy’s warships were still even using sail power.