One Piece: Blue Scale Admiral

I almost died after just one training session.

If you're not afraid, then so be it.

He still thinks about going to his death every day.

"Young people these days are really terrifying."

After a while, Doss picked up his medical kit and left.

He's going to train new recruits.

"Alright! You've fully recovered and can resume training. Hibari, see you tomorrow. I'm going to see Teacher Zephyr."

Rorschach stood up and said goodbye to Lark.

These days, he no longer stays at Akainu's house, but lives in the headquarters dormitory like Law and Bepo.

The difference was that he lived in officers' quarters.

Luo and Bepo lived in the recruits' dormitory.

In fact, Luo's rank had also been promoted; he was now a second lieutenant at headquarters and could live in the officers' quarters.

But Luo insisted on living with Bepo and the others.

It's unclear whether he wanted to share the hardships with Bepo and the others, or whether he wanted to stay away from Rorschach...

When Rorschach got dressed and arrived at Sengoku's marshal's office, he did not see Zephyr.

Inside the office, besides Zhan Guo, there was also a short, kind-looking elderly female lieutenant general.

And a beautiful female officer wearing a cloak and with a cigarette in her mouth.

Both of them were immediately struck by the sight of Luo Xia walking in.

What a handsome young naval officer!

"You must be Luo Xia, the new recruit from Beihai? You are indeed a handsome man."

Lieutenant General Crane smiled and nodded at Luo Xia as he walked in.

"Major Luo Xia of the headquarters greets Lieutenant General He." Luo Xia raised his hand in a military salute.

The serene and kind old woman before me was none other than Peacock's grandmother, Lieutenant General Crane, the Chief of Staff of the General Staff.

"You've already been promoted to lieutenant commander at such a young age. I've heard a lot about you from Peacock. I just heard Sengoku praise you, saying you'll be the leader of the new generation of the navy."

Lieutenant General Crane smiled and looked Luo Xia up and down.

With long silver hair draped over his shoulders, clear blue eyes, a spirited expression, and a tall, upright physique, he exuded a youthful and energetic vibe.

Lieutenant General He became more and more satisfied with what he saw.

"I'll feel embarrassed if you praise me like that."

Luo Xia scratched his head before noticing the young female general standing to the side, who was scrutinizing him with a look of both scrutiny and curiosity.

"This is Tina, her rank is lieutenant colonel, you can get to know her."

Lieutenant General Tsuru explained.

Rorschach suddenly realized.

No wonder it looked familiar.

The real, three-dimensional person was so different from the two-dimensional character in the comic that he didn't recognize the woman as Tina for a moment.

“Tina is very curious. I heard you defeated Smoker, and…” Tina stared intently at Rorschach’s still boyish face, “Are you really only thirteen years old?”

"Uh...yes. However, Lieutenant Colonel Smoker is very strong. I didn't really defeat him. I hadn't awakened my Armament Haki that day, so I couldn't hit his body."

Rorschach gave a somewhat embarrassed explanation.

"She defeated that arrogant Smoker at the age of thirteen and even awakened dual-color Haki. Tina is really surprised." Tina exhaled a puff of smoke.

“Rorschach, you’re here to see Zephyr, right? He’s at the hospital on the island. Little Crane and the others are going there too, so why don’t you go with them and see that old man?”

At this moment, Sengoku, who had been engrossed in processing documents, finally looked up and said something.

"The hospital? Is Professor Zephyr alright?"

"It's just an old problem that's flared up again; it's nothing serious."

Chapter 104 Zefa

The hospital on Marineford Island is located in the town behind Fortress of Justice.

The name is very simple: Main Hospital.

The hospital was built when Marineford became the headquarters of the Navy.

It occupies a large area and was specially built to serve the navy headquarters and the families of the navy on the island.

You don't need to pay for medical treatment here.

At this moment, in a ward on the fifth floor of the hospital, Zefa sat back on the white hospital bed, wearing a respirator, staring blankly at a photograph in his hand.

The photo shows a family of three.

A middle-aged man with short purple hair smiled, revealing a mouthful of white teeth. His wife, holding a swaddled baby in her arms, nestled beside her husband and smiled happily as well.

"Squeak."

The door to the hospital bed was pushed open, and Zefa calmly held the photo in his palm and looked up.

"Teacher Zefa, are you feeling better? I brought you chicken soup and some food."

The woman who walked in was a female soldier with a head of wavy, sea-blue hair.

"Hehe, thank you for your trouble, Ain. Just put it on the table."

Zefa forced a smile, looking at the woman in front of him, a hint of relief appearing on his slightly tired face.

"If you're not feeling well, then get some rest. Didn't you say you wanted to retire? Why are you training new recruits again?"

Looking at Zephyr, who appeared much older than the Black Arm General she remembered, Ain felt a pang of pity.

Since that incident three years ago when she went to sea with Zefa, Zefa's energy and spirit seemed to have been completely drained.

The loss of his wife and son back then couldn't break this tenacious old man.

But three years ago, a training ship carrying new recruits was involved in an accident, and all but Zephyr and the hundreds of elite naval soldiers she led perished.

Even Zefa himself had his arm severed by that beast while protecting the students.

After that incident, Zefa aged more than ten years in an instant, and his severe asthma relapsed, requiring him to be hospitalized every few days.

In the past two years, although the new recruit training plan of the headquarters has still been formulated and reviewed by Zefa.

But he rarely personally goes to train those naval soldiers anymore.

Because seeing an object reminds me of someone.

Whenever Zephyr sees those energetic and passionate navy men, he can't help but think of those vibrant lives that died before his eyes.

This left the poor old man constantly immersed in self-blame and pain.

But when Ain and Binz returned to headquarters to report today, they heard that not only had Teacher Zephyr resumed presiding over the elite training camp, but a few days ago he had also personally fought against a new recruit and carefully taught him about Haki and physical techniques.

This left Ain and Binz somewhat puzzled and worried.

Zephyr sensed the reproach in Ain's tone, and his heart warmed.

But then, as if he had just thought of something, a familiar look appeared in his eyes, a look that seemed familiar to Ayn.

A smile appeared on Zephyr's face. "Because there are quite a few promising recruits among this year's new soldiers. I don't trust those outstanding talents to be trained by others. Especially that bastard Garp. If I'm not supervising him at headquarters, he will definitely lead some promising talents who could become pillars of the Navy astray."

"Is it that North Sea newcomer who's been all over Marineford these past few days, I think his name is Rorschach?" Ain asked.

"Yes, he is the best among them. However, besides him, there are quite a few other promising talents. With a little training and help in determining their future direction, we can add a batch of officers to the navy. Given this opportunity, this old man should also pull himself together."

Ain looked doubtful. "Is that recruit really that powerful? I heard that he's young but already has the abilities of a Mythical Beast, plus he's awakened dual-color Haki, and it seems he was born with the ability to use high-level life return."

"That's right, that kid's talent is no less than that of Sakazuki, Borsalino, or Kuzan back in the day. Let me tell you, he..."

When Rorschach was mentioned, Zephyr suddenly perked up, sat up, and began to tell Ayn at length about Rorschach, his training plan, and his vision for Rorschach's future.

Ayn sat quietly by the bed, watching the smile on Zefa's face, and a smile involuntarily appeared on her own face as well.

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing to let Teacher Zephyr train the new recruits occasionally.

"Chicken soup doesn't taste good when it gets cold, Professor Zefa."

"Haha, I'll drink it right away."

While I was drinking chicken soup, the door to the ward was suddenly knocked on and pushed open.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Ai Yin immediately stood up straight. "Lieutenant General Tsuru."

"Oh, it's Ain. You're back from Sabaody?"

Lieutenant General Tsuru stepped forward, patted Ain on the shoulder, glanced at Zefa who was drinking soup, and smiled as he pointed behind him.

"Zefa, I'm afraid you'll have to drink a few more bowls of soup today."

Zefa was taken aback, and then he saw behind Lieutenant General Tsuru, Rorschach was holding a jar that was more than a meter tall, with a large character for "soup" written on it...

"You little rascal, you didn't bring the big soup vat from that restaurant here, did you?"

Zefa paused mid-air as he drank the soup, his mouth slightly open.

Luo Xia chuckled, carefully placed the large jar he was holding on the ground, and then removed the seal.

The people in the room immediately saw the churning meat and thick soup inside.

A fragrant aroma wafted over.

"This is a soup that Chef Deno specially prepared for you; it can boost your immunity. So, Professor Zefa, drink it all!"

"Do you want to stuff me to death? My appetite isn't as big as yours."

"Tina brought fruit, Professor Zephyr." Tina placed a large bag of fruit on the table.

"Thank you." Zefa nodded with a smile.

Rorschach pulled out a large basin from somewhere, scooped a basin full of soup from the large vat, and handed it to Zefa.