______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
"What?"
"Both Admirals?!"
"You've got to be kidding. Those are Admirals!"
"What kind of mission were they on? Who could possibly injure two Admirals that badly?"
"Keep your voice down. I heard they went to the West Blue."
"The West Blue? Isn't that where Vice Admiral Kyle is stationed?"
"Shut it!"
As the warship docked in the inner harbor, five stretchers were rushed toward the naval hospital at a near run. Shock. Disbelief. Utter confusion. The emotions spread through Headquarters like wildfire.
No one could wrap their heads around it. Two Admirals had set out in perfect condition, passing through the Gates of Justice with imposing dignity.
Now they were being carried back like this.
"And the other three… they're the three monsters of the younger generation!"
Hearts clenched. Anxiety mounted.
If word got out that Marine Headquarters had suffered such a crushing blow—that its highest combat forces had been defeated—the consequences would be impossible to predict.
Before long, a strict gag order came down from the Fleet Admiral's office.
Security across Headquarters was immediately raised to its highest level.
Rumors spread anyway.
Some whispered that an unimaginably powerful force had emerged in the West Blue—so strong that even Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr had been handed a disastrous defeat.
Others spoke in low, tense voices of that legendary young Vice Admiral who would defy even Headquarters itself in the name of justice.
And they said the Admirals' opponent… was him.
Every version of the story sounded wilder than the last.
Naval Hospital.
Fleet Admiral Kong stood beside the hospital beds, his face dark as stone. The two Admirals lay side by side, unconscious, wrapped head to toe in bandages like mummies.
The Vice Admirals around him barely dared to breathe. Shock flashed through their eyes again and again.
"How are they?" Kong finally asked in a deep voice.
The doctor swallowed.
"Multiple heavy impacts across the body. Penetrating wounds. Blunt trauma. Burns. Electrical injuries."
"They're both in extremely serious condition."
His voice trembled. In all his years, he had never seen injuries this severe. An ordinary person would have died many times over from wounds like these.
"What kind of enemy could do this to two Admirals?"
"Did Redfield escape from prison?"
"Even so…"
The doctor trailed off.
He failed to notice the Fleet Admiral's expression growing colder by the second.
"Ask no questions you shouldn't," Kong said sharply. "Forget everything you saw here today."
The doctor nodded frantically, breaking into a cold sweat.
Clearly, the Fleet Admiral was in no mood for speculation.
"And the three young ones?" Kong asked next.
"The worst is Sakazuki. Whether he survives depends on his own willpower."
"His shoulder and abdomen were pierced. Even if he wakes up, the scars will likely be permanent."
"Borsalino's condition is somewhat better."
"Kuzan will need time to recover as well."
Kong nodded and strode into their ward, pulling aside the curtains one by one.
The three so-called monsters of the new generation lay in deep sleep, utterly unresponsive.
After a long silence, he left the hospital and let out a slow breath.
"Kyle…"
"This time, you've really handed me quite a 'gift.'"
The battle at Ohara had left two Admirals and three monster-level Vice Admirals severely wounded. Headquarters' top-tier forces were practically paralyzed.
It was unprecedented.
Even the Pirate King, Roger, and the so-called strongest man in the world, Whitebeard, had never pushed the Marines into such a state.
"The World Government…"
Kong fell silent for a moment, then decided not to interfere.
With news this grave, they surely already knew. And in the end, he wasn't the one who would determine how things unfolded.
No one—neither him nor those people in the World Government—had anticipated that the Buster Call on Ohara would trigger such a catastrophe.
Seven days later, a single piece of news swept across the globe.
"Ohara has been erased by a Buster Call for violating the World Government's prohibitions!"
The world reacted with shock, regret, fear.
But the battle from fourteen days earlier?
Not a word was said.
West Blue, G-18 Fortress.
Kyle slowly opened his eyes. The harsh light made him squint.
It took a few moments before he adjusted. His mind felt as though it had been rebooted from scratch. For a long while, his thoughts were blank before awareness gradually returned.
He looked down at himself. Bare-chested, wearing only undergarments, a warm blanket draped over him.
Outside, a waterwheel turned steadily in the pond. Drip. Drip.
A figure sat in a bamboo chair by the door.
"Alvida."
He called softly, a smile forming on his lips.
"Sir!"
She spun around at once, joy flooding her delicate face.
"You're finally awake!"
He smiled faintly. "How long was I out?"
"Seven days and seven nights."
He paused, then sighed lightly. "That long, huh?"
"You went through a terrible battle. You must have been exhausted."
She looked at him with quiet awe.
Who would believe it? Who would dare believe it? The young man before her had defeated three monster Vice Admirals and two Admirals.
Add that to his past achievements—capturing Roger, apprehending the Golden Lion Shiki—and the reverence only deepened.
"Yeah," Kyle said with a small chuckle. "I was worn out."
He rose to his feet just like that, still in his undergarments.
A faint blush crept across Alvida's face as her eyes took in his powerful frame.
Broad chest. Perfectly sculpted abs. He stood nearly a meter and a half taller than her.
More astonishing still—after so many earth-shaking battles, not a single scar marred his skin. It defied the unspoken rule that true power left marks behind.
In its own way, that proved just how overwhelming his strength was.
"Alvida."
His voice snapped her back to reality.
She realized he had already stepped outside and was stretching lazily.
And then she saw his back.
It was almost frightening.
With the slightest movement, the muscles beneath his skin rippled like coiling dragons beneath a mountain range, ridges and valleys shifting with terrifying vitality.
"Clothes," Kyle said simply.
"Ah! Yes!"
Flustered and red-faced, she hurried over with his garments and helped him dress. Soon, that imposing physique was concealed beneath his robe.
A fleeting trace of regret and admiration passed through her eyes.
Her commander truly was… breathtaking.
"How is Dr. Clover and the others?"
As they walked out into the courtyard, Kyle asked casually,
"We've set aside a district for the civilians and scholars from Ohara to live in."
"They're all doing well,"
Alvida replied quickly.
"And what about Headquarters?"
A faint glint flashed through Kyle's eyes as he asked the next question.
It had been seven full days since he woke up. In all that time, G-18 Fortress had remained calm and peaceful, as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened.
"Headquarters hasn't made any moves. They haven't contacted us either," Alvida said.
"Really?"
Kyle narrowed his eyes, a trace of puzzlement rising in his heart.
"Yes. Seven days have passed. It's like they've already forgotten what happened."
"But the destruction of Ohara has spread across the entire world."
Alvida paused before adding, "As for your battle with the two Admirals… it wasn't mentioned at all."
"Oh?"
Kyle let out a soft chuckle. "Now that's interesting."
Very interesting indeed.
Headquarters had suffered such a crushing defeat, and yet the world remained silent. Even the World Government hadn't reacted publicly. It was obvious they were doing everything they could to bury that battle.
"Tell the mess hall to prepare some food."
After seven days and nights of deep sleep, he was starving.
Half a quarter of an hour later, under the reverent and awestruck gazes of the surrounding Marines, Kyle stepped into the cafeteria.
Then he proceeded to devour thirty-three bowls of noodles in a row, over a hundred jin of beef, and fifteen bowls of meat soup before finally putting down his chopsticks.
The sight was so shocking that Alvida's mouth hung open for a long time without closing.
The Marines nearby were practically petrified.
No one could figure out what kind of body their commanding officer possessed. He had eaten an absurd amount of food, yet his stomach hadn't even bulged.
"W-Where did all that food go?" Alvida asked in a trembling voice.
Kyle smiled lightly.
"Beyond the Six Powers of the Marines, there's another technique called Life Return."
"It accelerates the body's ability to convert food into energy."
"Simply put, it enhances digestion and maximizes how efficiently you use what you eat."
He looked around at the stunned Marines and added with a grin,
"Train hard. Master the Six Powers to my standard, and one day you'll be eligible to learn it."
"Trust me, it's incredibly useful."
He left the cafeteria amid a wave of excited, fired-up stares.
Before long, Kyle found Crocodile and Bullet.
"So," Crocodile asked in a low voice, "what's next?"
The question made Kyle's eyes narrow slightly.
"What's next, huh?"
"That's a good question."
He smiled faintly, then looked up.
"Send a squad to keep constant watch on Ohara. If anything unusual happens, I want to know immediately."
Though puzzled, Crocodile nodded and accepted the order.
"And after that… we need to find ways to strengthen ourselves."
Kyle let out a quiet sigh, his eyes flickering with thought.
Yes, he possessed tremendous power. He was even immortal.
But the forces under his command were still too weak. If they were surrounded by stronger enemies, they would be at a clear disadvantage.
In that battle, Crocodile and Bullet's mid-fight reinforcement had been absolutely crucial.
It only proved how important influence and allies were.
After a long moment of silence, Kyle lifted his head and looked at Crocodile and Bullet.
"I'm going to build an organization."
"..."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________