Several days passed in a flash.
The Marine hospital at Marineford was quiet and clean, with sunlight spilling into the room through the clear glass windows, landing on the snow white sheets and the floor, dispelling the gloom of the ward. A faint scent of disinfectant lingered in the air, but it was not pungent, instead making this recovery area feel exceptionally peaceful.
Borsalino leaned half upright against the soft pillows of her hospital bed; her bodily injuries had long since healed, but the fatigue from heavily overexerting her Devil Fruit and Haki still required rest and recuperation.
Spread out in her hands was a brand new copy of the World Economic Journal. The front page was massive and eye catching, with a single shocking battlefield photo occupying everyone's entire field of vision.
Golden light filled the sky and covered the earth, while purple lightning of Haki shot straight into the heavens. Her heterochromatic eyes, one gold and one purple, were cold and sharp, her black and gold hair fluttering in the wind as she stood suspended in midair, confronting the massive Charlotte Linlin across the empty space.
The angle was perfect.
Borsalino looked at the newspaper, sighing with emotion in her heart. She had to admit, the photography skills of those Cipher Pol intelligence agents were truly top notch. Morgans also knew how to write. The newspaper's article was highly sensationalized, singing praises of the rise of the Marines' rising star, framing her battle with Charlotte Linlin as a head on defeat that sent the great pirate fleeing in panic.
Shifting her gaze away from the newspaper, the scenes of that great island battle re-emerged in her mind.
After the decisive battle ended, Zephyr had ultimately arrived a step too late. Charlotte Linlin had decisively retreated under the cover of her officers, successfully breaking through and escaping by utilizing the local sea terrain.
As for the Roger Pirates, their situation was somewhat miserable. Garp had personally rushed to the battlefield upon hearing the news, his Haki fully unleashed, throwing two pounds of Haki at Roger the moment they met. Watching from afar, Borsalino saw that after Garp's Fist Bone Impact came down, terrifying waves surged into the sky, and the entire coastal sea area trembled violently. The terrifying pressure of his fists directly forced the Roger Pirates to flee in disarray.
The remaining pirates on the island were all captured, half of whom had already been knocked unconscious by the clash of Conqueror's Haki between Borsalino and Charlotte Linlin when they were caught. A world shaking battle ended with a grand victory for the Marines.
Looking back at her gains this time, a glimmer flashed in Borsalino's eyes. In this battle, her strength had undergone a qualitative transformation.
The awakening of Conqueror's Haki made up for her last shortcoming as a top tier powerhouse. From now on, she no longer feared clashes of Conqueror's Coating, and facing ceiling level powerhouses like Whitebeard, Roger, and Golden Lion, she finally had the confidence to confront them head on. In future duels, she could also throw two pounds of Haki at her opponent to give them a taste the moment they met.
But the even greater surprise was her comprehension of Life Return. The Life Return described by Zephyr during his lectures had a core of extreme control over physical muscles and the subtle flow of Haki, drastically improving physical energy utilization and wound recovery speed.
However, the Life Return awakened by Borsalino had undergone a mutation. Not only could she control her own flesh, muscles, and bones at will, drastically improving the efficiency of her Devil Fruit ability and the healing of her wounds, but she could also completely integrate the light particles of the Glint-Glint Fruit into every inch of her somatic cells.
Countless pure light forces would continuously nourish her body and vitalize her cells, allowing overexerted, aging, and worn down cells to constantly revert to their fullest, peak state. In other words, under the blessing of this effect, her cells would not age with the passage of time; her body would be eternally frozen at its current peak moment, allowing her to maintain peak combat power at all times. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
The effect was almost comparable to the Ope-Ope no Mi's ultimate Perpetual Youth Surgery. In the anime of her previous life, the original Kizaru had never shown such a heaven defying ability, which could only mean that the Kizaru of that time had not mastered Life Return, or this was simply a perk for her as a transmigrator.
Borsalino was in an excellent mood, a smile blooming on her gorgeous face. Finally, her cheat had arrived. A powerhouse who would never age would be her greatest trump card: even if she could not beat someone, could she not just outlast them?
During her time recovering in the hospital, the high ranking officers of Marineford visited almost in turns, in an endless stream. Among them, Gion was the most enthusiastic, visiting Borsalino almost every day and bringing all kinds of fruits and supplements. The adoration and admiration in her eyes almost overflowed, completely viewing Borsalino as her lifelong goal to pursue.
Everyone in the entire headquarters knew that Borsalino had truly repelled Charlotte Linlin head on, forcing her to flee in panic, and that afterward, Linlin had shown absolutely no ability to resist when facing Zephyr's pursuit, focusing only on running away, which was enough to prove the immense weight of Borsalino's achievement in this battle.
In addition, Dragon had also visited once, naturally in the dead of night again.
Compared to before, Dragon's aura was even deeper, a firm sharpness hidden in his eyes. He spoke softly, "With the Lulusia Kingdom as the core, I have already led the team to liberate eight surrounding oppressed countries, saving hundreds of thousands of civilians enslaved by tyranny."
"Now, the Revolutionary Army's four major armies, East, West, South, and North, have taken shape, with the total number of members exceeding one hundred thousand, and our foundation has stabilized."
"Currently, we have spread our liberation cause across the North Blue and East Blue, gradually overthrowing tyrannies everywhere."
But the crisis that followed was also becoming increasingly severe. Dragon said solemnly, "The World Government has officially targeted us, and the Cipher Pol has initiated a full scale investigation."
"In the previous East Blue liberation operation, we already clashed head on with CP3 and were completely exposed."
Dragon's eyes darkened, his tone carrying a trace of helplessness. "There is a high probability that I have already been targeted as a suspect by CP, but they do not have concrete evidence for now, so they cannot convict or arrest me."
"I reckon it will not be long before my identity can no longer be hidden, at which point I will leave Marineford."
Borsalino listened quietly, unable to help but feel emotional in her heart. The speed of the Revolutionary Army's rise was much faster than in the original work, pushing the situation forward ahead of schedule. The turbulent era of the sea had already arrived.
Sea Calendar Year 1491, Marineford Headquarters Square.
A grand and solemn commissioning ceremony officially began, with the headquarters' officers gathered, the atmosphere solemn and majestic. Personally announced by Fleet Admiral Kong, for her outstanding achievements and extraordinary combat power, Borsalino was exceptionally promoted to Headquarters Vice Admiral.
This speed of promotion was a full three years earlier than the time Kizaru was promoted to Vice Admiral in the original work.
Meanwhile, the final ratings of this Elite Training Camp had settled. With his fierce and domineering combat power and brilliant performance in actual combat, Sakazuki took first place by a landslide. His strength far exceeded that of his peers, and he was awarded the rank of Rear Admiral, likewise stepping into the ranks of headquarters officers.
Onigumo, Yamakaji, Momonga, Strawberry, Doberman, and the other rising stars, also, by virtue of their actual combat achievements, were promoted to Headquarters Captain or Commander, growing into the backbone of the Marines. For a time, this training camp was hailed as the strongest class of the Marines in decades.
Time flowed on, winter departed, and spring arrived.
The following year, Sea Calendar Year 1492.
A piece of shocking news shook the world.
Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral, son of Marine Hero Garp, and former Marine Supernova, Monkey D. Dragon, had defected from the Marines. The reformer who had once silently gathered strength had completely bared his fangs. After killing three Celestial Dragons, he stood as the leader of the Revolutionary Army, standing in direct opposition to the World Government.
In the words of the World Government, the Revolutionary Army under his command had overthrown the regimes of several nations, and was designated as an extreme terrorist organization by the World Government.
The World Government issued a bounty: "The Revolutionary," Monkey D. Dragon, bounty: 3 billion Berries!
The entire sea had completely welcomed the turbulent prelude to chaos.