Marine Headquarters in Marineford:
"What?!"
"Both Admirals are...?"
"J-Joking, right? Those are two Admirals!"
"What kind of mission were they carrying out? Who could have inflicted such heavy injuries on two admirals?"
"Shh! I heard they went to West Blue."
"West Blue?! Isn't that where Vice Admiral Kojin is stationed?"
"Quiet!"
As the battleship returned to the Inner Bay port, five stretchers were quickly carried toward the hospital. Shock, disbelief, and incomprehension instantly spread throughout Headquarters.
No one could have imagined that two Admirals going on a mission would end up like this.
They had left the Gates of Justice in perfect condition. Now, they were being carried back neatly on stretchers.
"The other three are the younger generation's Three Monsters!"
Countless people felt their hearts tremble and became nervous at the same time.
Marine Headquarters had suffered a crushing defeat, its highest combat power had been vanquished. If word of this spread, the impact would be impossible to estimate.
Soon after, a gag order was issued from the Commander-in-Chief's office.
In an instant, the security level of the entire headquarters was raised to the maximum.
Some speculated that an unimaginably powerful group had appeared in West Blue, being so strong that even two Admirals, Sengoku and Zephyr, had suffered a disastrous defeat.
Others spoke in low, serious voices about the legendary young Vice Admiral who would not hesitate to become an enemy of the headquarters for the sake of justice.
And that Vice Admiral was precisely the enemy of the two Admirals!
All kinds of rumors spread instantly, with countless versions.
...
Marine Hospital
Kong stood with a grave expression before the hospital beds, staring at the two Admirals lying side by side, unconscious and wrapped like mummies from head to toe. He remained silent for a long time.
The Vice Admirals around him also held their breath, not daring to exhale loudly. Shock flashed in their eyes from time to time.
"How are they?" After a while, Kong asked the doctor in a deep voice.
"They've suffered heavy blows in multiple places across their bodies. There are penetrating wounds, blunt trauma, burns, and lightning strike injuries. Both Admirals' injuries are extremely serious." The doctor took a breath and spoke tremblingly.
These two Admirals were the most severely injured people he had ever seen. In fact, if an ordinary person had suffered such injuries, they would have died long ago, without a doubt.
"What kind of enemy did the two Admirals encounter?"
"Did Redfield escape from prison?"
"But even if it was him..."
The doctor couldn't help but mutter.
He failed to notice the Marine Fleet Admiral's increasingly gloomy expression, though.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask! Forget everything you saw today!" Kong said coldly.
The doctor immediately fell silent in fear and nodded repeatedly. It was obvious that the Fleet Admiral was in a bad mood.
"How are those three young brats?" Kong asked again.
"Sakazuki's injuries are extremely severe. Whether he survives depends on his ability to endure. His shoulder and abdomen have penetrating wounds. Even if he lives, he will likely be left with permanent scars."
"Borsalino is in somewhat better condition. Kuzan also needs time to recover."
The doctor replied immediately.
Kong nodded and quickly walked into the ward rooms of the three men, lifting the curtains one by one to check on them.
After the great battle, the Marine Three Monsters were all in deep sleep, showing no reaction at all. After a long time, Kong walked out of the hospital and let out a deep breath.
"Kojin… This time, you really gave this old man one hell of a 'gift.'"
During the Battle of Ohara, the two Admirals and three monster-level Vice Admirals of the Marine Headquarters were all severely injured. Their highest combat power was practically crippled.
This was the first time in history that something like this had happened!
Not even the former Pirate King Roger or the World's Strongest Man, Whitebeard, had ever caused such a situation.
"As for the World Government..."
After a brief pause, Kong decided not to interfere.
Such heavy news had surely already reached them.
Besides, he, the Marine Fleet Admiral, was not the one who would ultimately decide how the situation developed. Neither he nor the World Government could have expected the Ohara Buster Call to trigger such a massive incident.
...
Seven days later:
A piece of news rapidly spread across the entire world:
"Ohara, for violating the World Government's prohibition, has been erased by a Buster Call!"
As soon as the news came out, countless people around the world were stunned and filled with regret, shock, fear, and many other emotions.
Yet, no one mentioned the battle that had occurred fourteen days earlier in West Blue, G-18 Fortress.
...
West Blue, G-18 Fortress:
Kojin slowly opened his eyes. The blinding light made him squint instinctively.
After a moment, he finally adjusted to it.
He felt as if he had been reborn, as if his brain had been rebooted. Only after a long while did his awareness of his surroundings and of everything that had come before gradually become clear again.
He lowered his head and looked at himself. His upper body was bare, and his lower body was covered only by underwear; a warm blanket was draped over him.
Outside the room, the waterwheel in the pond turned slowly, producing a steady dripping sound.
On a bamboo chair outside the door sat a figure.
"Eveya." Kojin called softly, a smile appearing on his face.
"Senior Officer!" Hearing his voice, Eveya immediately turned around and a smile spread across her face.
"You're finally awake!"
Kojin smiled lightly and asked, "How long was I asleep?"
"Seven days and seven nights!" Eveya replied.
Upon hearing this, Kojin froze for a moment, then sighed softly.
"That long, huh..."
"You went through a huge battle. You must be exhausted." Eveya said.
Looking at his expression, she felt utterly shaken.
'Who could believe it?'
'Who would dare believe it?'
The young man in front of her was actually the terrifying existence who had defeated the Three Monsters-level Vice Admirals and two Admirals of the Marines.
His previous achievements of capturing Roger and Golden Lion Shiki, only made people feel more awe toward him.
"Yeah... I was really exhausted." Kojin smiled lightly and sighed softly.
He slowly stood up, still wearing only his underwear.
Eveya blushed as she stared in shock at his magnificent, powerful body. He had solid, well-defined pectoral muscles and sharply contoured eight-pack abs. He stood nearly one and a half meters taller than her.
Even more unbelievable was that, despite going through so many shocking battles, there wasn't a single scar on his body, completely violating the so-called "scar rule" that all strong men were supposed to have.
Yet this only proved, from another angle, just how strong this man was.
"Eveya!"
Suddenly, Kojin's voice sounded.
Eveya snapped back to her senses only to realize that he had already walked outside the room and was stretching lazily.
She saw her senior officer's back, which was so terrifying that it could only be described as a demon's.
With just a casual movement, it was as if a dragon was shifting through mountains. His entire back was covered in deep ridges and valleys, like an endless mountain range.
"Clothes," Kojin said.
"Ah?! Yes!"
Eveya's face turned bright red as she hurriedly picked up his clothes and draped them over him.
Before long, Kojin's powerful body was wrapped in his robe.
A trace of regret and fascination flashed through Eveya's eyes.
Her senior officer's physique was truly intoxicating.
"Dr. Clover and the others, are they all doing all right?" Kojin asked casually as he walked out into the courtyard.
"We've set aside an area for the civilians and scholars from Ohara to live in. They're all doing fine." Eveya replied quickly.
"And what about Headquarters?" Kojin's eyes flickered as he asked again.
It had been a full seven days. After waking up, he realized that the entire G-18 Fortress was still peaceful and quiet, as if nothing unexpected had happened.
"Headquarters hasn't made any moves, and they haven't contacted us either," Eveya said.
"Is that so?" Kojin narrowed his eyes, sensing something strange.
"Yes. For seven whole days, it's like they've forgotten what happened not long ago. However, the news that Ohara was destroyed has already spread across the world," Eveya continued.
"What about the battle between me and the two Admirals?" Kojin asked.
"It hasn't been mentioned," Eveya answered.
"Now that's interesting." Kojin let out a soft chuckle.
It really was interesting. The Marine Headquarters had suffered a crushing defeat, yet the entire world remained silent. Even the World Government showed no reaction.
Clearly, they were all doing their best to cover up the battle.
"Tell the cafeteria to prepare some food," Kojin said.
After sleeping for seven days and seven nights, he was extremely hungry.
Fifteen minutes later, under the reverent gazes of the Marines around him, Kojin entered the Marine cafeteria.
He devoured thirty-three bowls of noodles, over fifty kilograms of beef, and fifteen bowls of meat soup in one go before finally finishing.
This shocking scene left Eveya standing there with her mouth wide open for a long time.
The Marines beside her were completely petrified.
No one could understand what was going on with this senior officer. After eating so much food, his stomach didn't bulge at all!
"Sir, where did all that food go?" Eveya asked in a trembling voice.
"Besides the Marine Rokushiki, there's another technique called Life Return. It can accelerate the human body's conversion of food into energy. To put it simply, it speeds up digestion and increases the efficiency with which the body uses food." Kojin chuckled softly while speaking.
Then, facing the many stunned Marines, he added,
"Everyone, train hard. If you reach my level of Rokushiki mastery, you'll be able to learn this technique as well!"
"Trust me, it's extremely useful!"
After that, under the excited and inspired gazes of the Marines, he walked out of the cafeteria.
A short while later, Kojin saw Crocodile and Bullet.
"What should we do next?" Crocodile asked in a deep voice.
That single sentence made Kojin narrow his eyes.
"What should we do next?"
"That's a very interesting question."
He smiled, then looked up again.
"Send a squad of soldiers to keep constant watch over Ohara's situation. If anything abnormal is discovered, report it immediately."
Although Crocodile was puzzled, he nodded and accepted the order.
"And besides that... we need to find a way to strengthen our power."
Kojin sighed softly, his eyes flickering.
He truly possessed great power; he was even undying. But his subordinates were weak. If they faced a siege by more powerful enemies, they would be at a disadvantage.
In that battle, Crocodile and Bullet's support during the fight could be said to have been crucial.
This demonstrated the importance of influence and organization.
"I'm going to establish an organization!"
After a long pause, Kojin lifted his head and said in a deep voice to Crocodile and Bullet.
(End of Chapter)
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