One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

Another punch.

As the punch landed, the bed beneath Luo Xia finally gave way, snapping with a crack. He fell off the wooden bed and lay sprawled among the broken pieces of wood.

Luo Xia lowered his head, his bloodshot eyes empty.

My stomach and intestines were spasming incessantly, and intense hunger surged through me like waves.

They forcibly dragged him out of the dream he didn't want to wake up from.

Chapter 8 Burying the Past

If there's one thing Rorschach hates most since coming to this world, it's this strange illness he has.

This strange illness, which he named 'bulimia,' is somewhat similar to the strange illness that Charlotte Linlin, a character in a comic book, had when she was a child, as he remembered it.

However, Charlotte Linlin's cravings are specifically for sweets.

Rorschach's cannibalism, on the other hand, affects anything edible.

It is the complete opposite of anorexia, which is characterized by a lack of appetite.

From the time he could remember, this feeling of hunger, as if his stomach were being constantly burned by concentrated sulfuric acid, had been with him.

It seems like he's never had a full meal.

In fact, his parents, John Sr. and Elizabeth, had given 99% of their daily food to Rorschach.

Old John catches fish at sea every day, getting up early and working late.

Ms. Elizabeth painstakingly wove bamboo baskets, which she exchanged for some grains.

All these factors combined, if provided to an ordinary family of three, would actually leave some surplus, which could be saved to pay taxes, essentially paying the price of heavenly gold.

But because of Rorschach's bottomless appetite, Old John's family could never store any surplus food.

Without money and food, one naturally cannot pay taxes.

However, the kingdom's tax officials who haven't received their taxes are not so easy to talk to.

Over the years, old John has been beaten many times. His wooden house has been forcibly demolished almost every year.

Because of his strange, malnourishing illness, his father scrimped and saved, scrimping and saving his own food for Luo Xia. The next day, he would continue the arduous fishing work. This overworked him, and his health deteriorated year by year.

Because of this strange illness, even when her mother, Ms. Elizabeth, caught the most common cold, she couldn't afford to go to Port Marrouss for treatment.

Charlotte Linlin's parents appeared to be wealthy nobles, but they couldn't afford to feed her horrific appetite and chose to abandon her.

Rorschach's parents were just ordinary people. Even though their son dragged their entire family down, they didn't give up on him. Instead, they encouraged him and gave him the confidence to keep living.

I used to think that my uniqueness was a gift from God.

But it was precisely this talent that destroyed his life.

Inside the rest area, Rorschach stopped his frenzied actions and sat quietly on the broken bed.

Only the stomach inside my belly continued to rumble incessantly, like a mocking murmur.

Hibari, hiding behind Akainu, looked at Rorschach with pity.

"He must be in so much pain. His village was wiped out by pirates. I wonder if any of his family members are among the survivors. Why is he beating his stomach? Being hungry isn't shameful; everyone gets hungry. Right, food!"

Yun Que glanced at Luo Xia, who was standing with his head down and not saying a word, then turned and ran out.

Akainu stood quietly for a long while before speaking in a low voice, "Have you calmed down yet?"

Upon hearing his voice, Luo Xia's empty eyes finally regained some focus.

He slowly raised his head and looked up at the man standing in front of him.

He has a square face, a cold demeanor, and a robust build.

His height of over three meters gives people a strong sense of oppression.

Red military uniform, black gloves, white cape.

Just standing there, you feel a suffocating pressure.

Is this Admiral Akainu of the Marine Headquarters?

Rorschach took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm, and stood up, suppressing the churning hunger in his stomach.

Before he could say anything, Akainu turned and walked out.

Rorschach followed in silence.

The two walked out of the cabin one after the other and onto the deck.

The sky outside was still as dark as it had been that day, so it seemed to be evening.

The warship's deck is spacious enough to easily accommodate hundreds of soldiers.

One large and two small masts, three thick masts, standing straight.

Thick cables hung from the top of the mast, diagonally draped over the sides of the ship.

The white sails were rolled up and tied with ropes, and the seagull pattern embroidered on the canvas could be vaguely seen.

The setting sun shone from the front of the warship, making the sea shimmer. Where the sea met the sky, the evening glow resembled fish scales.

Akainu stood at the bow of the ship with his arms crossed, the sea breeze making the white justice cloak draped over his back flutter.

"Your family should be buried where they were found, to say their final farewell. I have lingered here long enough."

Luo Xia pursed his lips, said nothing, and walked down the ladder from the warship toward the small island where he had lived for twelve years.

On the way, Luo Xia checked his body and found that all his wounds had scabbed over.

New granulation tissue is growing at the stitched wound site, stretching the sutures tightly.

His body was covered in scars, like centipedes crawling all over him, which looked rather disgusting.

The crisscrossing wounds on his chest were particularly noticeable.

The penetrating wound on his left lower abdomen had also been treated. When pressed with his fingers, Rorschach felt no pain, only a slight tingling sensation.

Therefore, the doctor who treated my wound must have been extremely skilled.

In a world where even a minor cold can be fatal, Rorschach's condition that day was absolutely one foot in the grave.

...

Most of the houses in the village are built of wood.

Under the pirates' burning, killing, and looting, the originally scattered wooden houses have been reduced to ruins, with charred wooden planks and doors everywhere.

Apart from the solidified dark brown soil, there was no trace of the corpse on the ground.

Both the pirates and the dead villagers have been dealt with by the naval soldiers.

Rorschach didn't know whether the bodies were thrown into the sea, transported to other places by the Navy and buried, or burned by Akainu with lava.

He saw no signs of soil renovation in the village, except for a mound of earth that had risen in front of his wooden house.

Rorschach stood in front of the small mound for a long time before kneeling down, stretching out his hands, and beginning to dig.

The soil was tamped down so firmly that Rorschach had to find a piece of charred wood to dig it out.

My stomach was growling with hunger, and I had no idea how long I had been unconscious or how many days I hadn't eaten.

He didn't have much energy left, and even simple digging left Luo Xia drenched in sweat.

Fortunately, old John's body was not buried deep, and it took Rorschach nearly an hour to finally lift him out of the mud with his hands.

After so much time, the body had begun to decompose and was emitting a foul stench.

But Rorschach remained expressionless.

He silently carried his father's body away from the cabin and headed towards the distant beach.

There was a sparse bamboo grove there, where my mother, Elizabeth, often picked bamboo shoots and obtained bamboo materials.

It is also the place where my mother was buried after she died.

Rorschach was very grateful to the naval soldiers for burying his father's body.

But let's bury my father and mother together.

In that case, they might meet again in the underworld.

I hope my mother's soul hasn't gone far.

...

As the last handful of soil fell, the mound in the bamboo forest, which had been overgrown with weeds, was covered with fresh soil in the hazy night.

Rorschach sat quietly in front of the mound, holding a somewhat old wooden board in his hand, carving words on it.

It is inscribed with Chinese characters.

The tomb of mother Elizabeth and father John.

Son Rorschach.

They were a virtuous wife, a gentle husband, and great parents.

February 6, 1515 (Haiyuan Calendar)

"What kind of script is this? It looks very beautiful."

Suddenly, a slightly magnetic male voice rang out from behind.

Rorschach did not turn around immediately. Instead, he stuck the carved wooden board into the soil before turning to look at the person who had come.

Not far behind, on a forest path, stood a man in his early thirties wearing a white coat and glasses, with a little girl who looked around nervously, smiling.

"Hehe, did we scare you? We were worried because you hadn't come back for a long time, so we came to check on you."

Chapter 9 The Battle Between the Chef and the Glutton

"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."

"Are you a doctor? Did you treat my injuries? Thank you so much." Luo Xia's eyes were filled with gratitude.

“It’s nothing, it’s what I should do. We’re the Navy. Oh, right, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Desmond Doss, the ship’s medic. You can call me Doss. This is Lark.”