One piece: I,Akaino will not die easily

Sakazuki, as always, was drinking coffee in the restaurant. The morning meal was quiet and orderly. He held a copy of the World Economic Journal in his hands, reading it carefully. The hot and humid climate of the jungle made this place perpetually damp and stuffy.

The unchanging climate ensured that this island maintained its most primitive state. It made people forget the passage of time—if not for the date printed on the newspaper reminding him, he might not have realized that he had unknowingly spent nearly two months on this island.

Suddenly, the Vice Admiral noticed an article in the World Economic Journal about a navy anecdote titled The Burning Pirate Ship. The article mentioned that since the beginning of 1501, pirate ships had been continuously crushed by the navy across various routes of the Grand Line. Unlike the previous practice of capturing and detaining pirates, this time, occasional passing merchant ships could only see pirate vessels engulfed in flames and corpses drifting on the sea.

The article interpreted this new move by Marine Headquarters as a new strategy pushed forward by emerging hawkish leaders within the navy.

The article even thoughtfully included a photograph of this hawkish leader. The picture was taken aboard a warship, but it still clearly showed a burly navy officer standing with arms crossed and his back ramrod straight.

His gaze was directed toward a pirate ship ablaze with raging flames.

When did they take this photo? Sakazuki hadn't expected that, after spending the past several months wholeheartedly training in Little Garden, he would still end up in the newspapers.

At the end of the article, there was even an intriguing comparison, suggesting that this anecdote might actually be a secret navy operation. It was given a flashy codename—Operation Hell.

Could it be a new type of raid tactic devised by Sengoku and the others in response to the ever-growing pirate forces?

Before the Vice Admiral could think further, a miserable wail from the distance interrupted his thoughts.

"Vice Admiral Sakazuki, please, give me something to eat!!!"

The restaurant doors were suddenly kicked open, and standing outside was a "savage" emanating a strong stench of rot, draped in a haphazard mix of shrubs and leaves.

"Enemy attack!"

The naval officers dining in the restaurant had never seen such a sight before. After a brief moment of shock, they made the most reasonable response.

Several swords were immediately pointed at the vital areas of the wild man's body.

With a choking voice, the "savage" spoke: "I... I am Lindemann!"

"....."

"....."

A deathly silence fell over the room. It was as if the navy personnel had all been petrified by the Sweet-Sweet Fruit.

They simply could not believe that this filthy, mud-covered man—adorned with dried leaves and branches and exuding an unbearable stench—could be the same soft-spoken, ever-smiling "fluffy fox" from their warship.

"Mission accomplished?"

Sakazuki lowered the brim of his cap. Although Lindemann's current appearance was completely at odds with his usual neat and clean image, the Vice Admiral still recognized his adjutant by voice alone.

"Mission accomplished. The training squad should arrive at our camp in about half an hour."

The wild fox nodded, but his gaze was completely fixated on the meal in front of Sakazuki.

The Vice Admiral glanced at Lindemann, whose eyes were practically glowing green with hunger. His facial muscles twitched slightly.

"You've worked hard. Eat this breakfast first..."

Before he could even finish his sentence, the filthy fox had already executed a Soru, leaping over the others and landing steadily in front of Sakazuki's table.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

"Amazing! How can food taste this good?!"

Lindemann devoured the bacon in large bites.

Sakazuki said nothing. The stench from the young man forced everyone to instinctively hold their breath.

In just a few seconds, the food on the plate was completely wiped clean. Watching the officer licking the plate, the Vice Admiral hesitantly suggested:

"After long periods of starvation, it's not good to eat too much at once. How about you take a bath first, rest a little, and then eat some more?"

The starving man nodded repeatedly but didn't stop his hands, grabbing a few more plates from nearby tables before dashing out the door.

Lindemann took an entire half-hour-long bath. If not for the boiler operators worrying that he might drown in the steam room, the fox might have soaked in the hot water for hours.

After his bath, the now refreshed adjutant returned to the restaurant as promised to continue eating. Fortunately, during the time Lindemann was bathing, Sakazuki had arranged for the supply fleet to prepare an additional large quantity of food, ensuring that the ship's provisions wouldn't be completely wiped out by the soon-to-arrive "locust swarm" squad.

Lindemann's medium-length black hair now hung smoothly over his shoulders, still dripping with water.

With his thin face and decent looks, he could have presented the image of an elegant, refined man enjoying a meal. However, his eating manner turned the scene into one of a starving ghost reincarnated.

"We're here!!!"

"Finally back!!!!"

"I missed the soft pillows on the ship."

The sound of commotion grew louder. The excited voices of the children echoed from the deck.

The navy officers, who had been watching the restaurant's events unfold, initially expected to see another group of savages. However, the children's attire wasn't as bad as they had imagined.

At the very least, their noses could still distinguish the lingering sweat odor that accompanied the squad's arrival.

Compared to the toxic stench that had clung to Lindemann earlier, this was nothing. The officers all silently reached a consensus on this matter.

Sakazuki observed Robin standing among the kids. Her hair was slightly messy, and her face bore traces of dark green camouflage paint, but her eyes were bright and full of energy.

"Well done. Everyone, have some food first to fill your stomachs."

Sakazuki nodded approvingly.

"Report, sir. We already had breakfast at the camp. We'd like to clean up first."

Lucci glanced at Lindemann—who was still devouring his meal beside Sakazuki—and suddenly understood something.

So those faint, lingering sensations of being watched in the past few days weren't just his imagination.

"Alright."

Sakazuki agreed readily and pointed at the two girls.

"On the other ship, I've prepared a separate bathing area for the girls."

"Yes, sir!"

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Another half an hour passed, yet Lindemann was still eating, though his pace had slowed down significantly.

The Vice Admiral held a cup of coffee, sitting with the ship's crew in the restaurant, waiting for the now-cleaned children to arrive.

The training squad gathered as soon as the two girls finished their baths, heading straight to the restaurant.

Although they had spoken confidently earlier, after days of eating wild fruits and dinosaur meat, how could it compare to the finely prepared dishes of the ship's restaurant?

Watching the children enter in an orderly line, the navy officers all nodded in approval—this was finally starting to look like a properly trained and disciplined unit.

Then, they all collectively rolled their eyes at a certain fox.

What they didn't know was that while the kids had been eating their fill every day, the fox that had been "set free" was left staring at the barren forest, forced to survive on rainwater and cold rations.

"You've all worked hard. Enjoy your meal."

Sakazuki nodded, sipping his coffee. He didn't trouble the kids too much upon their return. Instead, he dropped an unexpected statement:

"Take half a day to rest. We'll be heading back to Marineford soon."

The children exchanged glances.

Were they already parting ways? Who knew when they would meet again?

"Hmph. Next time I see you, I won't fall for the same trick."

The leader of the CP training camp, Lucci, coldly left those words before sitting down to eat.

Sakazuki was a little puzzled. He hadn't considered the possibility that Lucci had suffered any setbacks.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the phrase fall for the same trick, the girl's face turned red.

Though it had been a moment of panic and chaos, she had indeed touched something described in her biology books.

"Big Sis, until next time!"

The rest of the squad bid farewell in unison, then sat down next to an iron-faced Lucci.

"Pfft!"

Witnessing this utterly baffling scene, Sakazuki abruptly turned his head and accidentally sprayed an entire mouthful of coffee all over Lindemann.