Chapter 29:
Just as they were anxious and restless—even Heracles was about to personally go to meet him—Victor finally appeared.
Soaked to the bone and covered in wounds, Victor suddenly leaped up from the sea surface.
"Victor—you're finally back! How did you get hurt this badly? Who did you run into?"
"Crocus—come check Victor's injuries!"
The moment he saw Victor, Heracles rushed over anxiously.
The other crew members also gathered around, constantly checking Victor's body.
"Don't panic, calm down. Is the ship ready to depart?"
Victor signaled for everyone to relax, then asked about the Plant Scholars' preparation status.
"Everything's ready. We can depart anytime, Captain."
Nora answered loudly.
"Good. Dive deep immediately. Set course for Fish-Man Island."
Victor nodded and immediately gave the order.
So all the crew members quickly took their positions, started the ship, and gradually submerged into the sea.
"Alright, let me examine you now, Captain."
Seeing that Victor had finished giving orders, Crocus came over and said.
"Good. Sorry to trouble you, Crocus."
Victor said, pulling out food from his inner space and devouring it in big bites.
The Elli and Eni twin sisters held the medicine box, assisting Crocus.
"Hmm, Captain. You have both external and internal injuries. External ones are easy to treat. But the internal ones require rest for some time."
"Captain, I'll prescribe a few doses of medicine to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis."
After the examination, Crocus stated Victor's symptoms.
"Crocus, impressive. No wonder I chose you as doctor—your medical skills are truly excellent."
"Don't worry, there won't be any problems. Just prescribe whatever you need—I'll take it on time."
Victor smiled and praised Crocus's medical skills, because it was indeed the case.
His internal injuries were caused by Sengoku's Armament Haki shock—this was the first time he truly felt the power of advanced Armament Haki.
However, he felt that as long as he kept eating, his body would repair quickly.
Moreover, this time he could clearly feel his body changing—his cells seemed to become even more active.
He had a premonition: once his body recovered, his physique would experience a qualitative leap.
At that time, the gap in combat power between him and Sengoku would narrow significantly again.
As the Plant Scholars dove deeper into the sea, various fish appeared around them.
This amazed the crew members on board.
When they entered even deeper, massive Sea Kings appeared.
This immediately startled everyone, but fortunately Ryan and the others reassured them, saying that as long as they weren't provoked, there would be no trouble.
And this time they brought back two mermaids—named Lisa and Tria.
A pair of extremely beautiful mermaid sisters.
No wonder they were captured and sold to Celestial Dragons.
However, with Fish-Men guiding them, they encountered no difficulties and arrived safely at Fish-Man Island.
During this time, Victor was eating frantically.
His external injuries had completely healed, not even a scar remained.
The internal injuries were even more unnecessary to mention—eating so much food wasn't for nothing.
At this moment, Victor had already recovered to his peak state.
"Hey, Victor. Looks like you're completely recovered? Do you still need to take medicine?"
Heracles looked at the energetic, full-of-vitality Victor and couldn't help but tease.
"I feel fine. But medicine still needs to be taken—after all, we have to follow doctor's orders, right?"
Victor said with a smile.
"Hahaha, that's just like you."
Heracles was immediately amused.
"By the way, Victor—who exactly did you fight?"
Heracles was very curious—who could injure Victor this badly.
The other crew members were also extremely interested and gathered around.
Crocus was no exception—he also wanted to know who had hurt Victor like this.
"Alright, I'll tell you. It was Navy Admiral candidate Sengoku."
Victor said very casually.
"Eh?" ×N
"Sengoku? That's one of the Navy's top powerhouses. You actually managed to escape from him—Victor, you're really amazing."
Heracles was also very surprised.
But the fact that Victor could fight Sengoku and escape safely was indeed very impressive.
"Wow! Our captain is that strong? Let's celebrate—once we reach Fish-Man Island, we must celebrate!"
Nora and the two male shipwrights immediately cheered loudly.
"I knew it—the captain is incredibly strong!"
Beli danced with joy.
"That's incredible. Sengoku is a top powerhouse from the same era as Garp."
Crocus couldn't help but exclaim.
The other crew members, hearing Victor recount the battle process, let out bursts of surprise.
They also learned how terrifying Sengoku was—a top powerhouse with Conqueror's Haki and a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability.
At this moment, they finally realized Victor's strength was truly monstrous.
Cheers erupted again.
"Captain—you escaped from Sengoku's hands. You're really amazing."
Ryan looked at Victor with admiration.
"Hey, the way you said that sounds weird. Are you praising me or praising me?"
Victor said helplessly after hearing this again.
"Yes, yes, Captain—you're really amazing. I'll work hard on my training too."
Ryan nodded heavily.
Beli beside him also nodded along.
After two days of contact, these Fish-Men could also feel that Victor was very easygoing toward his own people.
He had no airs with them, and joking was fine as long as it wasn't personal attacks.
As the voyage progressed, the Plant Scholars drew closer and closer to Fish-Man Island.
With Fish-Men guiding them, this deep-sea journey had no accidents—very smooth.
The Fish-Men, seeing Fish-Man Island getting nearer, became excited.
It seemed that after this experience, they wouldn't dare leave Fish-Man Island casually anymore.
Meanwhile, on Sabaody Archipelago—after the news of Celestial Dragons being attacked and Victor fighting Sengoku and escaping safely spread—
Everyone on the island was extremely shocked, as if a bomb had gone off and set them ablaze.
Especially Nozaki, who received the news—she was stunned on the spot.
"I never expected... he really is a big shot. And such a top powerhouse who can fight Admiral-candidate Sengoku."
Nozaki muttered in a daze.
"Yeah, boss. This time we really latched onto a super thigh."
Nana, who delivered the message, said excitedly.
"Hmm, we can consider it a blessing in disguise. Tell the girls below—full effort to help sir gather information."
Nozaki said very seriously to Nana in front of her.
Nana nodded in response and turned to leave.