Three Days Later
"What? Uncle Sakazuki left again?"
In Akainu's courtyard, Rosha was shirtless as Daus helped remove the bandages wrapped around his body.
Hibari, carrying two cups of juice, said, "Yes, he went on a patrol to the Grand Line. Every time he returns to headquarters, my dad only stays for three days before getting bored and heading back to the sea."
Rosha sighed, "Ah, Uncle Sakazuki is so serious about his work. He's not like Uncle Borsalino, who spends his days in Marineford doing nothing under the sun. If Uncle Sakazuki had eaten Uncle Borsalino's fruit, there wouldn't be a single pirate left in the Grand Line or the four seas."
Looking at his body after the bandages were removed, Rosha noticed that he had almost completely recovered. A smile appeared on his face.
Luckily, the battle didn't leave him with major scars like it happens in manga.
In that fight, Rosha finally experienced what it felt like to face Akainu as an enemy.
He also felt the heat of the magma over his head.
That sensation of being burned from the inside out made Rosha imagine a bird roasted in clay.
The moment the magma covered him was like being enveloped in clay and thrown into an oven.
Perhaps the experience was even more painful.
But Akainu didn't continue the attack.
He only splashed some magma on his body.
If he had used one of his deadly techniques like "Hellhound," Rosha would have been buried in the heroes' cemetery in Marineford by now.
For the past three days, he had been eating like crazy in the base's dining hall, consuming rare and valuable foods.
There were meats from rare sea creatures, rare medicinal herbs, and nutritious plants and animals.
Simply put, Sengoku invested a lot of money into developing the new generation leader, dedicating a significant budget to buy these foods.
And maybe due to his awakening to Armament Haki, Rosha found himself able to consume even more food than before.
After his bones fully healed, he discovered that his control over wind and lightning powers had advanced to a higher level.
Even the maximum amount of electrical energy his body could store had increased significantly.
When fully charged, he could now hold up to 80 million volts.
And this limit could keep rising.
As long as his body continued to evolve and improve.
Hearing Rosha's comment, Daus laughed and said, "If Admiral Sakazuki had eaten the Pika Pika no Mi, the pirates of the New World wouldn't have escaped, but I think the magma fruit suits him better."
"Definitely, nothing suits Uncle Sakazuki more than magma, haha."
Rosha laughed too.
But Hibari seemed somewhat unhappy, with rare tension visible on her face.
Of course, Rosha noticed.
He took a sip from the juice on the table.
"The juice tastes great. Why do you seem upset, Hibari?"
Hibari showed an apologetic expression and said, "Brother Rosha, I'm sorry for my dad's actions..."
"Ah!" Rosha quickly stood up and said, "Don't say that, Hibari. I don't blame Uncle Sakazuki at all."
He spoke sincerely, "Uncle Sakazuki does this for me. Look."
Rosha extended his right arm.
A dark blue layer soon covered his arm up to the halfway point, looking like a sapphire stone.
"If it weren't for Uncle's training, I wouldn't have been able to control Armament Haki this quickly."
"And also, Uncle woke me up."
Rosha smiled bitterly, "Honestly, that day after I defeated those soldiers and trainers, I was feeling a bit arrogant."
"Everyone always talks about my age and the potential I have."
"But Uncle Sakazuki's guidance made me realize that age and potential are illusions. True power is what matters. Without great strength, even with immense potential, there will come a time when I feel powerless."
"Compared to Uncle Sakazuki and the others, my current strength is nothing. I need to work twice as hard!"
As he said this, a look of regret appeared on his face. He sighed and said, "Unfortunately, Uncle Sakazuki can't stay in Marineford all the time. Otherwise, I'd want to fight him every day. If he trained me regularly, my strength would improve rapidly."
"You're really crazy."
Daus shook his head, replying, "You trained once and almost died, yet you're not afraid and still want to risk your life every day."
He added with a wry smile, "This new generation is truly terrifying."
After a while, Daus picked up his medical kit and left directly. He had to go train the new recruits.
"Great! My body has fully healed, so I can return to training. See you tomorrow, Hibari. I'm going to find Teacher Zephyr."
Rosha got up and said goodbye to Hibari. In the past few days, he hadn't been staying at Uncle Sakazuki's house but in the officer dorms at headquarters, unlike Law and Bepo, who stayed in the recruits' dorms.
In fact, Law had also been promoted to Lieutenant in headquarters, and he could've stayed in the officer dorms. But he insisted on staying with Bepo and the others, perhaps to share hardships with them, or maybe to avoid Rosha...
When Rosha dressed and went to Marshal Sengoku's office, he didn't find Teacher Zephyr there.
In the office, besides Sengoku, there was a short, kind-looking elderly woman with the rank of Vice Admiral. Next to her was a beautiful young officer wearing a cloak and holding a cigarette.
When Rosha entered, both women noticed the handsome naval boy.
"You're Rosha, the new recruit from the North Blue, right? You look skillful and elegant!"
Vice Admiral Tsuru smiled and nodded at him.
"I'm Rosha, a Major in headquarters, reporting to Vice Admiral Tsuru."
Rosha gave a salute. The elderly woman with a calm and kind demeanor was indeed the gentle grandmother of Kujaku, the Chief Strategist of headquarters, Vice Admiral Tsuru.
"So young and already promoted to Major! I've heard a lot about you from Kujaku. I just heard Sengoku praising you, saying you might be the next leader of the new generation of the Navy."
Tsuru looked at Rosha with appreciation, smiling.
Rosha scratched his head, feeling embarrassed. "If you keep praising me like this, I'll be too shy."
Then he noticed the young female officer who had been watching him curiously.
"This is Tashigi, a Lieutenant Colonel. You should get to know each other."
Tsuru introduced Tashigi to him.
Suddenly, Rosha remembered why she looked familiar. The real-life person seemed very different from the two-dimensional character in the manga, so he hadn't recognized Tashigi right away.
"Tashigi is curious. I heard you defeated Smoker, and also... are you really only thirteen years old?"
Rosha hesitated, "Yes, but Lieutenant Colonel Smoker is very strong. I didn't really defeat him. At that time, I hadn't awakened Armament Haki yet, so I couldn't hit his real body."
Tashigi smiled as she blew out a puff of smoke. "To defeat Smoker, that arrogant guy, at thirteen and awaken both types of Haki, Tashigi is truly surprised."
Sengoku, who had been busy with paperwork, finally looked up and said, "You came to see Zephyr, right? He's at the island hospital. Tsuru and her companion are heading there, so you can go with them."
"The hospital? Is Teacher Zephyr alright?"
"Just some old ailments, nothing serious."
(End of Chapter)
───────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"Power stones if you like them"
"If you want an early access join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"