ing States general, the Phone Bug communication seems to be disconnected..."The Warring States' footsteps faltered, then "his expression changed," and he muttered to himself:"Is the signal bad"He grit...A cool breeze was Darren's first sensation.

The joyful cries of the seagulls seemed to come from far away, mingled with the sound of disciplined drills.

Darren struggled to lift his heavy eyelids, opening one slit. A blurry brightness pierced through.

Am I dead

It hurts so much...

His prolonged coma left him with some mental fog.

Every bone in my body felt as if it had been crushed, and my chest burned with an excruciating pain that was unbearable.

He lay like that for a while, finally forcing himself to adjust to the suffocating pain. His dry throat gasped for breath.

"I am still alive."

He muttered hoarsely.

He's still alive, truly alive, from the hands of the future Pirate King... he lived.

Darren lay on the soft hospital bed, his entire body wrapped in blood-stained bandages, with tubes inserted in several places. His face was as pale as a ghost.

But he couldn't help but smile, a smile that was both wide and genuine.

Although heavily injured and exhausted in the final moments of his fall, he managed to inflict some damage on Roger at least.

"What's so funny"

A cold female voice suddenly sounded.

Darren turned his head awkwardly, and what met his eyes was a face of extraordinary beauty.

Her black hair, long and wavy, was simply tied into a ponytail. Her phoenix eyes were slightly raised, giving her a rather fierce look.

"Waking up to such a beautiful face, of course I'm happy."

He looked at her face, which was rather pale. It was clear that she, Gion, had been sitting here watching over him for a long time. He couldn't help but smile gently.

Gion unnaturally avoided Darren's gaze, coldly snorted.

"Since you can still spout gangster talk, it means you're not dead yet."

Darren smiled. "It's good to see you, Major Jingu."

As soon as his words fell —

"And me too, and me too! Hahaha, Darren, see I'm happy"

A rather crudely drawn face suddenly came up from the side, grinning with teeth bared, holding a peeled and bitten banana in its hand, its whole expression brimming with excitement.

"Darren, do you know You're quite the famous person among Marlin's people now... well, your fame is still nowhere near that of mine, this genius, but everyone's talking about your name!"

"The rising star of the Marines who fought face to face with the legendary pirate Gol D. Roger and gave him a severe beating!"

And and…

"That...Lieutenant Colonel"

Darren couldn't help but interrupt Gage's incessant chatter.

"Huh You said!"

He hesitated for a moment, then with a touch of worry, leaned closer to Darren.

After two incidents involving Bundy Waldo and Roger, although superficially unwilling to admit it, inside he had thoroughly accepted Darren.

"Is there anything uncomfortable Should I go find a doctor Or are you hungry The doctor said you have to fast these days, after all, many of your internal organs were injured…"

"Could you please move your face away You're too close."

The banana suddenly snapped and fell to the ground.

Adding: ...

He blinked.

Darren also winked at him.

"You're just jealous that I'm so handsome!"

He grumbled angrily, turned and sat down in the corner, gritting his teeth as he ripped open a brand new fruit basket.

Darren looked at Cai Ji's figure and couldn't help but smile.

Well, that makes me feel better now.

He turned his gaze back to Gion.

"Is this...Headquarters Mariland"

He quickly scanned the surroundings.

The pristine white walls, a ceiling fan hanging above, the air thick with disinfectant and the metallic tang of blood. Various life sign monitoring instruments flickered with faint lights, emitting steady electronic beeps.

Darren is very familiar with such an environment.

Gion gently nodded her head.

"That's right, this is the military hospital at headquarters. We just got here a few hours ago."

Darren frowned.

"How long was I unconscious"

"Three days."

Darren fell silent for a moment, chuckled wryly, and shook his head, saying softly:

"It seems like I almost went too far this time."

Since his physique reached 60 points and he obtained a resilience comparable to steel, he had never been injured this badly.

For a full three days, she was in a coma.

"I'm still far behind..."

He murmured something.

Facing Roger's terrifying blade, if I hadn't erupted with Conqueror's Haki at the last moment and successfully grasped Armament Haki, even with my superhuman resilience, I would have been cleaved in half by his sword.

The most important point is, while no one else noticed, Darren applied the repulsion force of the Magu Magu fruit to Roger's ultimate great sword the moment he attacked, weakening the strength of his slash.

Only then did he truly realize that the so-called "World Destroyer" Bundy Waldo...was actually far inferior to Roger in terms of personal combat strength.

This also shows that those at the same level of strength as Roger, like Captain Kizaru, Whitebeard, and Golden Lion, are incredibly powerful. They could fight Roger for days and nights on end without breaking a sweat.

The sea's abundance...

Darren's eyes sparkled with a glimmer.

"Hahaha, Darren, I heard you woke up"

At this moment, a hearty laugh came from outside the ward.

Holding a fruit basket, Dorag smiled as he pushed open the door to the ward and strode inside.

"Major Dorag."

And the one with an apple half-way in his mouth, immediately stood up and saluted with a hand gesture.

Drogon waved his hand dismissively, smiling and looking at Darren.

"How do you feel On the return voyage, both Major Takaji and Major Genji took turns taking care of you. You understand that on a warship returning with so many wounded, the ship's doctor is overwhelmed."

"Me and the old man...well, you know we're not really good at looking after people."

When it came to the last word, Dorag scratched his head sheepishly.

He and Kapo spent most of their journey home sleeping.

"I feel much better."

Darren smiled and glanced at both Jiyuan and Jiaji, a warmth filling his heart as he spoke.

"That's great, get well soon. In two days it's the opening ceremony for officer training camp. Such an important occasion, you can't miss it as 'The King of the North Sea'. Right now, you are a hotshot celebrity in Marlin Vando."

Drog's smile was genuine and heartfelt.

After finishing his sentence, he suddenly raised an eyebrow, a strange expression on his face.

"Well, the unpleasant fella is here. It's an old acquaintance of yours."

Darren was taken aback.

Steady and powerful footsteps sounded from outside the hospital room door.

Stereotypical, cold, and standard, even his footsteps gave off a sense of rigid pendulum-like hardness.

Soon, a tall and imposing figure appeared at the doorway.

He simply stood there, exuding an aura of solemn and unwavering strength.

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Request everything, be grateful. gray.She stared blankly at the two figures before her, warring with each other – Sengoku gritting his teeth and Zefa wrestling him to the ground. She rubbed her temples in pain.What are the two of yo...