Shiki took a step back, his eyes darting to the left. A small wound, a scratch, was on his cheek.
The cut was insignificant, like a small scratch you might get on any given day. It was barely more than a scratch, but it was bleeding.
"Cough… uagh…" Diarmuid couldn't hold back and coughed up two mouthfuls of blood. He was in a terrible state.
His chest was bleeding profusely. He could feel that it was difficult to breathe, and every inhale felt like he was drowning, as if blood was pouring into his lungs.
His strength was rapidly draining away, and he could barely stand.
But he was glad. At least… he had managed to injure Shiki, right?
A rabbit challenging a lion!
If he survived this, maybe he would never be afraid to draw his sword against any strong enemy again!
This was courage.
Even with his serious injuries, thanks to his Iron Will, Diarmuid's mind was not affected. His perception of the outside world was still intact.
He could feel the two powerful presences, Zephyr and Sengoku, who would arrive in a moment.
And at that moment, Diarmuid's cunning and selfish instincts kicked in again.
He fought through his injuries and said with a righteous tone, "Golden Lion… if you want to kill that kid… you'll have to get through my dead body first… Don't underestimate… the Marines!"
Shiki stared at Diarmuid, his expression different from the previous contempt. He looked a little serious.
"Marine, what is your name?" Shiki suddenly asked.
"Rodriguez Diarmuid…" Diarmuid said in a low voice.
But Shiki didn't say anything else to Diarmuid. He activated his ability, and his body quickly rose into the air, reaching a great height in a moment.
At the same time, Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr arrived. Zephyr quickly grabbed hold of Diarmuid and glared up at Shiki.
Sengoku also stopped, looking at Shiki with a furious expression.
"I'm not interested anymore…" Shiki said to himself. Then he turned and flew toward the distant horizon.
Neither Sengoku nor Zephyr pursued him.
"Diarmuid!" Zephyr looked at Diarmuid with a worried expression.
Diarmuid tried to say something, but the weakness from the massive blood loss quickly overcame him. He had barely opened his mouth when his vision went black, and he passed out.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but his scattered consciousness slowly came back together.
Diarmuid slowly opened his eyes. He was in a room, but he soon felt a rocking motion, and he knew he was on a ship.
Before he could even look around, he heard Rosinante's voice.
"Diarmuid-nii!"
The voice was filled with surprise, and then a series of shouts echoed.
"Diarmuid-nii is awake!!"
"He's alive!"
Diarmuid looked over and saw Rosinante yelling as he ran out of the room.
The first thing I see when I wake up is that brat. So unlucky… Diarmuid muttered to himself.
But soon, a smile appeared on his face.
He wasn't dead. He was alive.
And the fact that he was alive meant that he had gained a lot from this.
First, the courage to draw his sword against the world's top powerhouses.
Second, the heroic image and excellent performance he displayed to the two Admirals in this incident.
These were all big plus points!
His future career in the Marines might just be taking off right now.
As Diarmuid was thinking about these random things, the door opened again, and Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr walked in.
Seeing that Diarmuid was awake, Sengoku looked relieved, and Zephyr had a satisfied smile.
"Looks like you have a lot of lives, Diarmuid," Zephyr said with a laugh.
Diarmuid gave a weak smile. "Maybe it's my destiny to survive…"
"Destiny?" Sengoku murmured. He nodded with a hint of emotion. "Perhaps it is destiny."
He had suffered a great loss. A warship had been destroyed. The Marines on board were almost all seriously injured, and many had died. It was only thanks to some quick rescue efforts that the whole crew hadn't been wiped out.
But by a stroke of luck, Rosinante and Diarmuid weren't on the warship at the time and had escaped unharmed.
And Diarmuid, who had been stabbed by Shiki, had now come back to life. He had truly dodged a bullet.
Indeed, it could be called destiny.
By now, thanks to the self-reporting of the Commodore who had survived and Rosinante's own account, Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr knew exactly what had happened.
Rosinante was hiding on the warship when he saw a person buried in the rubble was still alive. For some reason, he hadn't asked the Marines for help. Instead, he had secretly snuck out to save them himself.
And this was exactly what Diarmuid had seen. Since Sengoku had casually told Diarmuid to look out for Rosinante, Diarmuid had taken on that responsibility, risking his life to leave the warship and bring Rosinante back.
This led to everything that happened next.
As Diarmuid had expected, all of this had made Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr think much more highly of him.
Sengoku, in particular, was starting to see Diarmuid as a promising protégé.
Look at this kid, only nineteen and already so responsible.
"Rosinante told us what happened. I'll make sure to teach that kid a lesson. He has no sense of what's important… But thank you, Diarmuid," Sengoku said softly.
He had adopted Rosinante, and now Diarmuid had saved his son's life. He was truly grateful.
Diarmuid gave a weak smile. "I promised you I would look after him… Besides, as a Marine, it's my duty to go to the rescue when a kid is in danger."
Sengoku nodded, but didn't say any more words of thanks. He had already committed this to his memory.
He had decided that as long as Diarmuid met the other requirements, his promotions would have no limits.
He would make sure to take care of him in that regard.
Any good resources would be given to Diarmuid first.
Shouldn't a responsible and brave Marine like this be nurtured to become a pillar of the service?
He was only nineteen. He had a wide-open future ahead of him. Sengoku believed that with his and Zephyr's guidance and training, Diarmuid would not disappoint them.
Just then, Zephyr suddenly asked, "Are you still lost?"
Zephyr had heard what Diarmuid had said to Shiki, which was why he asked the question.
He expected Diarmuid to shake his head.
But Diarmuid still nodded. "I am…"
This surprised Zephyr, but then he laughed. "Hahahaha, I was too impatient."
He patted Diarmuid on the shoulder. "You may still be lost, but Diarmuid, as a witness, I am honored to see you take a firm step forward on the path of justice. I believe that one day, you will find your own justice. I look forward to that day."
"I won't disappoint you, sir." Diarmuid said with a smile.
Justice?
He didn't think of himself as just.
It was just for show.
But so what? He had risked his life, and there was no denying that!
Thinking about it, even though he didn't join the Marines for the sake of justice, it might be a good thing if he could actually find the "justice" Zephyr spoke of in the future.
Just then, the ship, which had been swaying, slowly stabilized.
Admirals Sengoku and Zephyr, who were chatting with Diarmuid, stood up at the same time and said, "We're here."
"Here?" Diarmuid was confused.
We're here?
Didn't our warship get destroyed?
"That's right…" Sengoku smiled. After a pause, he looked at Diarmuid. "Welcome to the home of justice, Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Diarmuid."
Diarmuid was stunned.
What do you mean, the home of justice?
Weren't we in the North Blue?
"Wait, how long was I out?" Diarmuid quickly asked.
"If you count the time, about a month and a half," Zephyr said with a laugh.
"That long?!" Diarmuid was surprised.
He thought he was only out for a few days.
"Don't underestimate your injuries. If the doctor on the warship hadn't survived, you would have died on Minion Island. But your physical condition is still weak. Don't worry, now that you're at Marineford, I'll train you well after you've recovered. Hahahaha!" Zephyr laughed.
After a short pause, Zephyr pointed at Diarmuid's chest. "I'm a good judge of character, Diarmuid. I believe you have the potential to become a powerhouse."
Seeing Diarmuid's bewildered expression, Sengoku smiled. "I agree. You have the heart of a hero."