Reflection and Partners! (Bonus chapter 10 for Alliance Leader Zangjing Laozu!)

"Green Beans?"

Lieutenant Vice Admiral Dewitt was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized that he had some Green Beans in his pocket. He quickly took them out and fed them to Vidal, one, two, three, four, and so on, until the latter regained consciousness.

"Phew—helping others is indeed helping yourself. Deciding to sell the Green Beans to the Navy in bulk was the right decision, otherwise I would still be suffering now." Vidal finally had the strength to stand up, but the dense wounds on his body had not healed, and the bloodstains all over his body were even more gruesome.

However, the bloodstains were easier to deal with. It was raining heavily, so I washed my face in the rain and looked somewhat presentable. But the red stains on my Justice Coat were still unavoidable.

The Justice Coat only has the attribute of not fading, not the attribute of being stain-resistant; it will still get dirty if it's meant to.

"How are Borsalino and Sakazuki?" Vidal roused himself and looked towards the Nine Pillar Domain, then looked up at the black cloud split in two. It was truly a terrifying sight.

"I just received word that they've been handed over to the G-2 fleet by the Fleet Admiral Kong." Although Vice Admiral Dewitt's rank was much higher than Vidal's, in this serious question-and-answer exchange, the latter seemed more like the former's superior.

"Really? I'll go check. Oh, and do you still have Green Beans?" Vidal asked, turning around.

"I have five more here!" Vice Admiral Dewitt quickly handed over the rest, since this stuff was basically supplied every month anyway. He then asked for the Green Beans from his Rear Admiral adjutant.

"Good."

Vidal swallowed three more pills. After the faint green light on his body disappeared, most of the larger wounds on his body had healed, and his complexion had become rosier. He put the rest into his coat pocket and then flew away using Geppo.

"It's unbelievable that he managed to hold out for an entire day while being chased by that Red Count!" Vice Admiral Dewitt exclaimed, watching Vidal's retreating figure.

He had faced Redfield before; it was less a fight and more a narrow escape from a single stab wound. Had Redfield struck him again, he might have been dead.

Next, the commander of the G-8 Branch turned his attention to the battlefield on the Tree World, where everyone's attention was now focused.

However, they couldn't see anything at all, because the area was covered by Inazuma with scarlet and dark red special effects. Apart from the rumbling collisions, all they could see were broken wooden planks and snapped trees from the violent shaking.

But Vidal had no interest in any of that; he was only anxious to see his two friends.

Soon, he arrived above the G-2 fleet that was surrounding the other side. Ignoring their guard, he pointed at his guns and cannons, used his Observation Haki to locate Borsalino and the others, and then rushed in that direction.

As he got closer to the ground, his Justice Coat became clearly visible, and the navy naturally didn't stop him.

Inside the cabin of a warship, he finally saw Borsalino and Sakazuki lying on hospital beds. Both of them looked to be in very bad condition; the former had a thick bandage wrapped around his body, while the latter was unconscious.

Sakazuki was really unlucky; he hadn't been there long before he was hit twice by the Red Count's full-force attacks, although neither of them were the latter's forte—swordsmanship.

But his decades-long cultivation of Emission Armament Haki was enough to give him a run for his money.

"Quick, heal me! I'm in so much pain!" Borsalino, groaning in agony, looked at Vidal as if he had seen a savior.

"Then you should emit light for me to absorb, so I'll have the energy to help you recover," Vidal said with a smile as he walked over and sat down on the chair by the bed.

"Come on then," Borsalino said listlessly, staring at the ceiling with a submissive look, which amused Vidal. What was this all about? It felt like he was the one who wanted to... well, you know.

But you still have to touch it, otherwise you can't suck it up. Oh, no, you can't suck it up. To be precise, without physical contact, the sucking efficiency is not very high.

"Take it easy, this is all my energy!"

"Mmm, don't worry about your stamina, I'll take care of it. I'll definitely replenish it for you." Vidal used his right palm to quickly absorb the flash energy and then convert it into Photosynthetic Energy within his body.

After Borsalino's face turned considerably pale, he quickly stopped demanding more, and green light emanated from his palm, enveloping Borsalino's entire body, including his black hair.

Meanwhile, Vidal was also recovering his strength. In fact, of the three, he suffered the most severe injuries, because he had endured the longest and most brutal beating.

"Monkey."

"Um?"

Borsalino, enjoying the warmth, tilted his head in confusion as he looked at Vidal, who had called him. "Wait, why did I answer?"

The latter said sincerely, "Thank you, thank you for always coming all this way for me, and thank you for staying by my side during my desperate times!"

"Um--" Borsalino froze, momentarily speechless. Finally, he smirked and replied, "Who told me to have such an unlucky friend like you?"

"Uh, haha, yeah, I'm really unlucky." Vidal laughed heartily, thinking that what the Yellow Monkey said made perfect sense.

"Please guide me in the future, Yellow Monkey," Vidal said earnestly, though he was also reflecting on his own problems.

He has always had a certain utilitarian purpose in intentionally befriending these future bigwigs he knows, such as Issho, Sakazuki, Dragon, and so on, as well as his current teacher Sengoku and his adopted son Bullet.

Only Enel had genuine tenderness and didn't want to leave him on Birka Island to endure those ten-plus years of suffering, while Rosinante was entirely a gift from Sengoku.

Therefore, among the people around him, the only ones who seem to be completely without any ulterior motives are Cornell, Enid, and Enel.

But unlike him, Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Ichisho genuinely considered him a classmate, friend, and comrade-in-arms.

These people treated me sincerely, but I didn't reciprocate with the same sincerity. Instead, my feelings were mixed with ulterior motives and self-interest, even though it was all for the ultimate goal.

To Vidal, they were less friends and more his future subordinates and powerful fighting force.

But today's battle, especially the scene where Borsalino was willing to risk his life to stand in front of him and block Redfield, deeply moved him.

They are not tools, not characters in comics; they are my friends, my comrades-in-arms for life, the ones I will entrust my back to!

[Cough cough]

Just as the atmosphere between Vidal and Borsalino was gradually becoming warm and harmonious, Sakazuki, who had woken up at some point, weakly spoke, startling Vidal from his self-reflection.

"It's my turn now, Vidal."