Shiki stepped aside.
Then his eyes shifted slightly to the left.
A thin cut had appeared on his cheek.
It was insignificant.
Just like the kind of scratch someone might get accidentally during daily life.
But—
It was still bleeding.
"Cough…!"
Diarmuid coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth.
His condition looked miserable.
Blood poured from the wound in his chest.
He could clearly feel his breathing becoming difficult.
Every breath felt like drowning.
Blood was flooding back into his lungs.
The strength in his body was rapidly draining away.
He could barely even remain standing.
Yet strangely—
He felt somewhat satisfied.
At least…
He had managed to injure Shiki.
An ant challenging a lion.
If he survived this—
Then perhaps in the future, no matter how powerful an enemy he faced, he would never hesitate to draw his sword again.
That—
Was courage.
Despite his severe injuries, Diarmuid's Iron Will allowed his mind to remain clear.
His awareness of the outside world hadn't collapsed yet.
He could sense it.
Both Zephyr and Sengoku were rushing over.
Those overwhelming presences would arrive in just a moment.
And at that exact moment—
Diarmuid's cunning and self-preserving instincts surfaced again.
He forced himself upright despite the injury and spoke with righteous determination:
"Golden Lion…"
"If you want to kill that kid…"
"Step over my corpse first…"
"Don't underestimate… the Marines…"
Shiki stared at him.
For the first time, his gaze changed.
The earlier contempt disappeared.
There was now a trace of seriousness in his eyes.
"Marine," Shiki suddenly said.
"Your name."
"Rodriguez… Diarmuid…" he replied.
But Shiki didn't say anything else.
His ability activated.
His body floated upward.
In just a moment, he rose high into the sky.
At the same time, Sengoku and Zephyr arrived.
Zephyr caught Diarmuid's collapsing body and glared furiously at Shiki.
Sengoku also stopped nearby, his face filled with anger.
"Lost interest," Shiki said casually.
Then he turned and flew off into the distant sky.
This time—
Neither Sengoku nor Zephyr pursued him.
"Diarmuid!" Zephyr looked down at him with concern.
Diarmuid tried to say something.
But the weakness caused by blood loss overwhelmed him.
His mouth barely opened before darkness swallowed his vision.
He fainted.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Eventually, his scattered consciousness slowly gathered again.
Diarmuid opened his eyes.
He was inside a room.
But soon he felt the gentle rocking motion.
A ship…
Before he could examine the surroundings, he suddenly heard a voice.
"Brother Diarmuid!!!"
The voice was full of surprise.
Then hurried footsteps ran out of the room.
"Brother Diarmuid woke up!"
"He's alive!"
Diarmuid turned his head.
Rosinante had already run outside shouting.
"…First thing I see when I wake up is that kid. What bad luck," Diarmuid muttered internally.
But soon—
A smile appeared on his lips.
He hadn't died.
He was still alive.
And surviving this meant he had gained a lot.
First—
The courage to face the strongest figures in the world and still draw his blade.
Second—
The impression he had made on two Marine legends.
Those were huge advantages.
Whether he could rise smoothly through the Marine ranks might very well begin from this moment.
While he was thinking about these things—
The door opened again.
Sengoku and Zephyr walked in together.
Seeing that Diarmuid had awakened, Sengoku visibly relaxed.
Zephyr smiled with satisfaction.
"Looks like you've got a tough life, Diarmuid," Zephyr said.
Diarmuid smiled weakly.
"Maybe it just wasn't my time yet."
"Fate?" Sengoku murmured.
He actually nodded thoughtfully.
"Perhaps it really was fate."
This incident had cost him dearly.
An entire warship had been destroyed.
Most of the Marines aboard had been severely injured.
Many had died.
Only after emergency treatment did they barely avoid total annihilation.
Yet during that catastrophe—
Rosinante and Diarmuid had just happened to be off the ship.
They had escaped the disaster.
And although Diarmuid had been stabbed through the chest by Shiki, he still survived.
It really did feel like fate.
At this point, Sengoku and Zephyr had already learned what happened from the surviving brigadier and from Rosinante.
Rosinante had secretly been on the ship.
Then he spotted someone still alive in the ruins.
Instead of asking the Marines for help, he had sneaked off alone to rescue them.
And that was when Diarmuid noticed him.
Because Sengoku had previously asked Diarmuid to look after Rosinante.
So Diarmuid had taken responsibility.
Risking danger, he left the warship to bring Rosinante back.
That decision led to everything that followed.
And just as Diarmuid had expected—
The entire incident left Sengoku and Zephyr with a greatly improved opinion of him.
Especially Sengoku.
He had already begun subconsciously viewing Diarmuid as a junior under his care.
After all—
He was only nineteen years old.
Yet he already had such courage and responsibility.
"Rosinante already told us what happened," Sengoku said.
"I'll give that boy a proper lesson later. He was far too reckless."
"Still… thank you, Diarmuid."
Since Rosinante was his adopted son, Diarmuid had essentially saved his child's life.
Sengoku truly felt grateful.
Diarmuid smiled weakly.
"After all… I promised you I'd look after him."
"And besides… as a Marine, rescuing a kid in danger is simply my duty."
Sengoku nodded.
He didn't say any more words of thanks.
But in his heart—
He remembered it.
He had already decided something.
As long as Diarmuid met the basic requirements in the future, there would be no obstacles to his promotions.
He would personally make sure of it.
Any good resources could be prioritized for him.
After all—
Shouldn't a Marine with such courage and responsibility be cultivated into one of the Navy's pillars?
He was only nineteen.
His future was wide open.
Sengoku believed that with guidance from himself and Zephyr, Diarmuid would not disappoint them.
Just then—
Zephyr suddenly asked:
"Still lost?"
He had heard everything Diarmuid said to Shiki earlier.
So he asked this question.
Originally, he expected Diarmuid to shake his head.
But instead—
Diarmuid nodded again.
"Yes… still lost."
Zephyr froze for a moment.
Then he burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahahaha! Looks like I was being too impatient."
He patted Diarmuid on the shoulder.
"Maybe you're still lost."
"But Diarmuid…"
"As a witness, I'm honored to have seen you take another firm step forward on the path of justice."
"I believe that one day you'll find your own justice."
"I look forward to that day."
"I won't disappoint you," Diarmuid said with a faint smile.
Justice?
He didn't truly believe he was acting for justice.
It had just been the best way to present himself.
But—
Did that really matter?
He had truly risked his life.
That much was undeniable.
And perhaps…
Even though justice wasn't the reason he joined the Marines—
If someday he really did discover the justice Zephyr spoke of…
Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.
Just then, the ship—which had been gently rocking—finally stabilized.
Sengoku and Zephyr both stood up at the same time.
"We're here," they said.
"Here?" Diarmuid blinked in confusion.
He hadn't quite realized what they meant.
Diarmuid blinked in confusion.
Arrived where?
Wasn't our warship destroyed?
"That's right…" Sengoku smiled slightly. After a brief pause, he looked at Diarmuid and said:
"Welcome to the headquarters of justice—Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Diarmuid."
Diarmuid: ???
What do you mean headquarters of justice?
Weren't we still in the North Blue?
"Wait… how long was I unconscious?" Diarmuid quickly asked.
"If you count it up, about a month and a half," Zephyr replied with a smile.
"That long?!" Diarmuid was shocked.
He had assumed it was only two or three days.
"Don't underestimate the injuries you suffered," Zephyr said.
"If the ship's doctor hadn't survived that day, you definitely would have died on Minion Island."
"Your physique still isn't good enough."
"But that's fine. Now that you're in Marineford, once you've recovered, I'll train you properly."
Zephyr laughed loudly.
Then he tapped Diarmuid lightly over the heart and spoke in a serious tone.
"I've always had a good eye for people."
"Diarmuid, I believe you have the potential to become a strong man."
Seeing the confused look on Diarmuid's face, Sengoku chuckled.
"I think so too."
"You possess the heart of a brave man."