Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The sound echoed harshly across the silent harbor.
He seemed to have forgotten the little sister in his arms, forgotten the sharp pain in his forehead, he only wanted to pour out the volcanic eruption of joy and gratitude in his heart through the most primitive, devout gesture.
Lily, this child whose body had already turned cold, whose breath had completely stopped, had truly… come back to life!
She was staring up at him with clear, bright eyes, frightened by the blood and tears smeared across her brother's ecstatic, distorted face.
"B… Brother… it hurts…"
Her tiny hands clutched his clothes tightly.
That faint whisper instantly snapped Rehn back to his senses.
"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Lily! Brother… Brother just got too excited!"
He hurriedly stopped kowtowing, carefully adjusting her in his arms, using his tattered sleeve to clumsily wipe the blood from his face, terrified of scaring her.
"Thank god… Lily… thank god…"
He kept repeating incoherently, tears still falling uncontrollably.
On the sofa, Renzo rested against Ain and Monet's soft embrace, gasping heavily.
That soul-ripping exhaustion made even opening his eyes feel impossible.
Reversing death, the ultimate form of "sloth", consumed far more of his power than "massive" could ever describe. It shook the very core of his existence.
"Admiral Renzo! Are… are you alright?"
Ain's voice trembled. She could feel how unbelievably weak his presence had become, and it tore her heart apart.
"So much… trouble…"
Renzo forced out the words through clenched teeth. He pried open one eye, the usual lazy indifference gone, replaced by a crystal-clear sharpness that saw through everything, born from pure exhaustion.
His gaze did not fall on Rehn.
Nor on Ain.
It swept across the surroundings.
The busy G-5 marines.
The medics.
Even Kizaru, still organizing the prisoners in the distance…
All of them had witnessed the scene just now.
All of them… had witnessed a miracle.
Instantly, countless "possible futures" flashed through Renzo's mind:
A G-5 marine returns to base drunk and blabs: "You know? Admiral Haiiroyo can resurrect the dead!"
Rumors spread across the Grand Line.
Sengoku's Den Den Mushi explodes from nonstop calls.
The Five Elders issue an emergency directive.
A Celestial Dragon loses his favorite pet and demands Renzo revive.
The remnants of Whitebeard's crew kneel before his battleship, begging him to revive Ace and Whitebeard.
Revolutionaries, Emperors, ambitious warlords, the entire world focuses on him.
His once peaceful, lazy life would be drowned beneath:
Requests.
Demands.
Schemes.
Battles.
He would become the world's greatest collection of annoyances.
No peace. Ever.
"No…"
"Absolutely… not."
A decisive gleam flashed in Renzo's tired eyes.
Just imagining that future exhausted, and disgusted, him more than reversing death itself.
"Ain… Monet… help me sit up."
"Admiral! You need to rest!" Ain panicked.
"Shut up… just help."
Neither dared to disobey. They quickly propped him upright.
Renzo took a deep breath. The hollow emptiness inside nearly knocked him out again, but he squeezed out the last shreds of his mental strength.
He raised his right hand, so heavy it felt filled with lead, aiming at everyone on the harbor except Ain, Monet, Kizaru, and the Rehn siblings.
"Hey… Renzo, you…"
Far away, Kizaru's pupils shrank.
"This 'miracle'…"
Renzo's voice was soft, yet clear to every "witness" present.
"…is the biggest source of trouble."
"And the best way to deal with trouble…"
"…is to make it too lazy to exist."
"[Judgement of Sloth, Memory Erasure]!"
Buzz
A strange gray ripple, finer, subtler, far more eerie than anything before, spread out from
Renzo, sweeping across every G-5 marine and medic.
This wasn't brute-force suppression.
This was precise manipulation of mind and information.
[Remembering what happened a few minutes ago… such a hassle.]
[Revival? Miracles? What?]
[Huh… why did I stop moving?]
[…Right, Admiral Gray Sheep exhausted himself and is resting.]
[Hurry up, so much cleanup to do… ugh, what a hassle.]
Every marine caught in the wave froze for a brief moment, eyes going blank, then returned to normal a second later.
They glanced at their halted hands, at Rehn, then at Admiral Renzo sleeping on the sofa.
"Move! Get those pirates on the ships!"
"Medics! Continue searching the city for survivors!"
"The Admiral is resting, keep quiet! No noise!"
The harbor returned to its normal busy rhythm,
As if the miracle had never happened.
Renzo trembled violently. His face turned deathly pale.
Mental exhaustion was vastly worse than physical exhaustion.
Thump.
He collapsed completely, falling back into Ain and Monet's arms, slipping into near unconsciousness.
"Admiral!"
"Renzo-sama!"
Ain grabbed him in panic, tears welling.
"Good grief…"
A flash of golden light, Kizaru appeared beside the sofa.
He looked at Renzo's pale, unconscious face, then at the marines working normally despite having their memories altered.
For once, his expression was deadly serious.
"To avoid trouble… he created even greater trouble… then used overwhelming strength to erase all of it."
Kizaru let out a sigh and pushed up his sunglasses.
"What a… terrifying man, from the bottom of my heart."
He turned to Rehn, still kneeling in stunned silence.
"You saw it too."
Kizaru's voice went cold.
"How much Admiral Renzo sacrificed… just to keep this secret."
Rehn shuddered, hugging Lily tightly, nodding fiercely.
Before losing consciousness, Renzo had given the four "remaining witnesses" a final order:
"Today's events… If even one word leaks…"
"I will personally… let you experience a 'stillness'… a thousand times more troublesome… than death…"
The warning echoed in Rehn's skull.
He knew this was Renzo's ultimatum, as well as his protection.
"I, Rehn, swear to the heavens!"
He kowtowed hard again, clutching Lily.
"From today forward, our lives belong to Admiral Renzo! If we utter even half a word… may our souls be destroyed!"
Kizaru nodded.
He knew no one would ever leak the secret.
.....
"Your Majesty! You can't go through!"
"Silence! I am the king of this nation! I must personally thank the Admiral for saving our lives!"
At that moment, a commotion erupted at the edge of the harbor.
The king of Patnia, along with surviving ministers, rushed to the port with excitement, wanting to thank the savior who descended from the heavens.
But as soon as they approached, G-5 marines blocked them without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, please return."
A G-5 major stepped forward expressionlessly.
"Admiral Renzo is resting. He has ordered that any troublesome gratitude or meetings, will be rejected."
"H-how can this be!?"
The king panicked. "The Admiral's grace, I-"
"Your Majesty," Kizaru drawled lazily, "he accepts your feelings. But from here on, the G-5 will handle the cleanup."
He pointed at the captured Blackbeard commanders being loaded onto the ships, and the still-twitching 'Burgess-human-swine.'
"These local specialties… we'll be taking them."
"Set sail! Return to G-5 Base!"
The ships' horns blared.
Ain and Monet carefully tended to the sleeping Renzo as the floating sofa was carried onto the deck.
Rehn held the fainted Lily and followed tightly behind, stepping aboard the G-5 battleship.
He turned back for one last look at his ruined homeland, no lingering sadness remained. Only newfound purpose and unwavering devotion.
The king and his ministers could only bow deeply toward the departing ship.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu