Morning.
When Drake regained consciousness, he found himself in an unfamiliar room, lying on an unfamiliar bed, with two unfamiliar people standing before him.
His brain stalled for a second, but when he saw the countless rising bubbles outside the window, he understood: he was still on the Sabaody Archipelago, and the two people in front of him were most likely kind residents who had taken him in.
But the way these two "benefactors" were looking at him seemed off.
Could they have discovered my identity?
No, if they truly knew, they would have rushed me to a Marine Base to claim the bounty while I was unconscious.
After all, most people wouldn't refuse a 200 million Beli reward.
Thinking this, a hint of bitterness appeared on Drake's face. He then looked at his two "benefactors." He was about to say thank you when he was interrupted.
"Xia-chan, he's awake! He's really awake!"
The little girl stared at him in astonishment, her eyes bloodshot. Confirming that he was truly awake, she quickly cried out, hugging the young man beside her.
The young man mechanically turned his head, his eyes equally bloodshot and framed by heavy dark circles. He looked at Drake with an unbelievable expression:
"He... he actually came back to life! Our whole night's... effort wasn't wasted."
With that, the young man collapsed onto the floor, sounding like an elderly person giving his last gasp.
"Xia... chan!!!"
The girl collapsed over him, weeping and repeatedly slapping the young man's chest, tears streaming down her face.
A whole night? Hearing this, Drake was deeply shaken. Two complete strangers, who didn't know him at all, had not only taken in his severely injured and unconscious body but had even spent the entire night watching over him to ensure he safely woke up.
He could imagine the depth of the gratitude swelling in his heart, especially as someone who had lacked care and familial affection since childhood.
Last Night.
When the two carried Drake up to the second floor, an accident occurred.
The stretcher suddenly broke in the middle. The two were caught completely off guard and could only watch helplessly as Drake tumbled down the stairs to the first floor like a bouncing ball.
The scene was gruesome.
Blood splattered, bandages flew, and Drake's entire bandaged upper body was stained red by blood gushing from secondary ruptures. His head made intimate contact with the ground when he reached the first floor, tearing open a new, large gash from which blood poured out.
He lay crumpled on the floor, a literal blood bag.
Xiang En and Kagura were dumbfounded, their souls nearly leaving their bodies.
"Xia... Xia-chan, how many tables do you typically set for that kind of gathering?" Kagura asked, her voice trembling after a long silence.
Bang!
After a forehead flick, Xiang En roared, "You greedy brat! You're already thinking about the funeral feast?! He's not quite dead yet!"
And so, the two spent the entire night busy. After moving Drake back to the room, they bandaged his wounds, wiped his body, changed his bandages, and then had to clean up the blood downstairs...
They were busy until dawn. When the two finally finished everything and returned to the room after washing up, they found that Drake had indeed woken up.
At the dining table.
Looking at the table full of steaming breakfast, a surge of warmth rose in Drake's heart again.
Little brother Xiang En is truly a good person. He was concerned about Drake's health the moment he woke up, and then, upon hearing Drake's stomach growl from hunger, he rushed out to buy a table full of breakfast for him.
Even a tough guy like Drake couldn't help but feel emotional. As far as he could remember, not even Fleet Admiral Sengoku had ever been so kind to him.
Thus, Drake decided that he must repay this kindness properly.
So, when he eagerly asked his benefactor how he wished to be repaid, the answer stunned him.
"You need one of my scales?"
Drake paused, too shocked to realize that he had choked on his food.
After drinking a few gulps of water handed to him by Xiang En, he recovered. He thanked Xiang En and then asked in confusion:
"What use could my scale possibly be? Wait... could you know my identity, Xiang En?"
Realizing the implication, Drake's eyes immediately became grave, but that gravity instantly dissipated when he considered Xiang En's role as his benefactor.
"Of course I know. Aren't you 'Fallen Rear Admiral' Drake, one of the Supernovas?" Xiang En replied casually.
"So you knew all along…" Drake fell silent, his head lowered, pondering for a long time. Then, he suddenly looked up at Xiang En:
"Knowing I'm a pirate, and wanted by the Marines, yet daring to take me in—I don't know whether to say you two have great courage or great ambition?"
Xiang En shook his head. "We didn't deliberately take you in. Someone specifically brought you to our home last night."
"Who was it?" Drake asked with feigned confusion, though he already had an answer in his heart—an answer he was sure Xiang En couldn't possibly know...
"Who else? It was the old man who injured you, of course," Xiang En spread his hands.
Ah? Drake froze on the spot. His eyes were now truly filled with horror. He never expected this seemingly ordinary person to know so much.
Could he have been present for the fight the day before yesterday? No, even if he was there, Admiral Kizaru showed no signs of holding back. It should have been impossible for anyone to have witnessed it.
The day before yesterday, shortly after Xiang En and Kagura fled the battlefield, Drake made his entrance. In his public identity as a Supernova—but secretly a Marine undercover agent—he joined Hawkins, Urouge, and Apoo to fight Kizaru and the Pacifista.
The result was predictable: the four were defeated, with Kizaru taking out the Supernovas one by one.
Up until this point, everything was going perfectly according to plan. However, unexpectedly, Admiral Kizaru, perhaps influenced by something, failed to control his strength when attacking Drake, causing him to suffer much more severe injuries than planned and pass out immediately.
And when he woke up, he was here, with Xiang En.
"Do you know him?" Drake asked cautiously in a low voice.
"Who? Oh, you mean that sleazy old man who likes to freeload on food?" Xiang En raised an eyebrow. Mentioning the old man still irritated him. He pointed to Drake's seat:
"He was sitting right where you are now, freeloading on our food yesterday. Right, Kagura?"
"Gulp~~" Kagura, who had been silently devouring her food on the side, responded with a loud burp.
"What!" At this, Drake excitedly jumped to his feet. His chest heaved for a moment, then he sighed in relief, sat back down, and continued eating his breakfast. The wary expression in his eyes completely vanished.
"Ah, little brother Xiang En, you should have told me earlier that you two are subordinates of Admiral Kizaru!"