One Piece: General Blue

In the Marineford Island hospital, located in the rear city behind the Fortress of Justice.

Its name is simple, referred to as Headquarters Hospital.

The hospital was built when Marineford became the Marine headquarters.

It spans a large area, constructed specifically to serve the Marines and their families living on the island.

Treatment here is free.

At this moment, in a room on the fifth floor of the hospital, Zephyr sat on a white bed, wearing a respirator, staring absentmindedly at a photo he held in his hand.

The picture showed three family members.

A middle-aged man with short purple hair, smiling with a mouth full of white teeth. Next to him was his wife, holding a child wrapped in a blanket, also smiling happily.

Squeak.

The door to the room quietly opened, and Zephyr quickly hid the photo in his hand and looked up.

"Professor Zephyr, are you feeling better? I brought you some chicken soup and food."

The soldier who entered had wavy, navy blue hair.

"Heh, thank you, Ain. Just place it on the table."

Zephyr smiled weakly, looking at the young woman in front of him with a tired yet content smile.

"If you're feeling exhausted, you should rest more. Didn't you say you wanted to retire? Why did you return to train new recruits?"

Ain looked at Zephyr, who appeared even older than she remembered, with a deep sense of sorrow.

Three years ago, when she accompanied Zephyr on a sea voyage, they encountered a devastating event, and since then, it seemed as if all of his energy had been completely drained.

Losing his wife and son in the past had not been enough to bring down this strong man.

But the incident three years ago, when a training ship wrecked and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of elite Marines under Zephyr's command—except for Ain and Bins—was a traumatic event beyond recovery.

Even Zephyr himself lost an arm while protecting his students during that incident.

Since then, Zephyr seemed to have aged ten years overnight and suffered from severe asthma attacks that required regular hospital visits.

Although the plan to train new recruits was still designed and reviewed under Zephyr's supervision, he rarely participated in their training personally.

Seeing the lively young recruits only reminded him of the soldiers who died before his eyes.

This caused the poor man to live in perpetual sadness and regret.

But today, when Ain and Bins returned to headquarters to submit a report, they heard that Zephyr had returned to personally train new recruits and had even fought against a new recruit, personally teaching him how to use "Haki" and physical combat techniques.

This made Ain and Bins worry and wonder.

Zephyr, sensing the gentle concern in Ain's tone, smiled faintly.

But he suddenly remembered something, and a gleam appeared in his eyes.

Zephyr smiled and said, "Because this year, we have some exceptionally talented new recruits. I can't let these promising buds be trained by others, especially Garp, who would lead them astray if I wasn't here to supervise."

"Is it that recruit everyone's been talking about at Marineford? The young man from the North Blue, Rorschach?" Ain asked.

"Yes, he's the most outstanding among them. But there are also other talented recruits. With a bit of training and guiding them in the right direction, they'll become leaders in the Marines. In such opportunities, I have to find some enthusiasm even at my age."

Ain felt a bit skeptical. "Is this new recruit really that talented? I heard he's a young man with a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit ability and also advanced Haki."

"That's right, the boy's talent is on par with Sakazuki, Borsalino, and Kuzan back in the day. Let me tell you about…"

When Zephyr spoke of Rorschach, his excitement suddenly grew, and he sat up, beginning to tell Ain all about Rorschach in great detail, including the training plan he had designed for him and his vision for his future.

Ain quietly sat beside the bed, watching Zephyr's face light up with a wide smile, and she couldn't help but smile herself.

Perhaps, it wasn't so bad for Professor Zephyr to occasionally train new recruits.

"If the soup gets cold, it won't taste good, Professor Zephyr."

"Haha, I'll drink it now."

As he drank the soup, someone suddenly knocked on the door, and then it opened.

When Ain saw who it was, she immediately stood up straight and said, "Tsuru."

"Ah, Ain, have you returned from Sabaody?"

Tsuru walked in, patting Ain on the shoulder, before looking at Zephyr, who was sipping the soup, and smiled as she gestured behind her.

"Zephyr, it looks like you'll be needing more soup today."

Zephyr was surprised, seeing behind Tsuru, Rorschach carrying an enormous bowl over a meter tall, with the word "Soup" written in large letters on it.

"Boy, did you bring the giant pot from the restaurant?"

Zephyr paused mid-sip, his mouth slightly open.

Rorschach smiled faintly, carefully setting the large bowl down before removing the lid.

Everyone in the room saw the huge chunks of meat and the thick, bubbling broth in the pot.

A delicious aroma filled the room.

"I had Chef Dino specially prepare this soup for you, it boosts immunity. So, Professor Zephyr, you have to drink it all!"

"Are you trying to kill me with overfeeding? My stomach isn't as big as yours."

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

"Thank you." Zephyr smiled and nodded.

Suddenly, Rorschach pulled out a large tray, filled it with soup from the big pot, and handed it to Zephyr.

"Here you go, Professor Zephyr, drink up."

"I told you I'm not hungry, you drink it."

"How could I? This soup is for patients, and I'm not sick…"

Rorschach reluctantly swallowed his saliva.

Zephyr glared at him with narrowed eyes, "Who are you calling a patient? Are you tired of living? Looks like Sakazuki didn't beat you enough, tomorrow you'll be training harder!"

"That's exactly what I came to tell you! I want more training. My wounds are fully healed, look…"

"Is this Rorschach?"

Ain watched the exchange between the old man and the young man with growing curiosity about the boy in front of her.

It was because of this boy that Professor Zephyr had regained his vitality and enthusiasm.

Rorschach, for his part, noticed Ain standing nearby.

Rorschach was the most cautious of Ain in the room, as she possessed a Paramecia Devil Fruit ability that allowed her to revert someone's age by 12 years through touch.

This was because Rorschach was only thirteen years old.

If his age were reversed by 12 years, he would become a one-year-old infant.

However, it seemed that Ain's ability wasn't permanent.

Otherwise, people like Zephyr and Garp, leaders in the Marines, would have asked her to reduce their ages.

At their age, a difference of 12 years would make a significant impact on their combat strength.

"By the way, Professor Zephyr, why is my Armament Haki aura blue? I haven't seen anyone at the base with an aura this color. Is the uncolored aura more advanced?"

Rorschach held the large bowl, continuing to drink the soup as he asked in a muffled voice.

Zephyr took the small bowl that Ain had brought him and began chewing on a piece of tender chicken.

"It's not the colors that define the Haki's strength. As for that color in your aura…"

Zephyr thought for a moment, then said, "There's another person with that kind of aura, someone with a monstrous body."

"Who is it?" Rorschach asked with curiosity.

"The Demon Heir, Douglas Bullet."

(End of Chapter)

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