Physically Frail

Grand Line, Marineford.

A Marine warship docked at the port, and then a burly Marine captain, over three meters tall, leaped directly from the ship.

"Bang bang!"

Just as he was about to fall onto the port like a cannonball, the Marine captain agilely stepped on the air as if on solid ground, mitigating most of his downward momentum before landing lightly.

What was strange, however, was that this Marine captain was holding a young man in a princess carry.

"Lord Yaen, I apologize for bringing you to Marineford in this manner," the Marine captain said cautiously.

Yaen, with drooping eyelids and crooked glasses, weakly replied, "Captain Hope, let... let me down..."

"Yes, Lord Yaen." Captain Hope half-bent his knees and placed Yaen on the ground.

Yaen raised his hands and said to Captain Hope, "Seastone Cuffs."

"This... Admiral Sengoku's order was not to remove Lord Yaen's Seastone Cuffs until he was delivered to his office," Captain Hope politely refused.

"This is Marineford, surrounded by warships. I can't escape. Remove them," Yaen said, seemingly without the strength to protest further.

"This..." Captain Hope still looked troubled.

Seeing this, Yaen sighed helplessly and said, "I don't want to see the old man looking so pathetic. Please, remove them."

Hearing this, Captain Hope was finally persuaded. He took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the Seastone Cuffs for Yaen.

"Clang."

With the Seastone Cuffs removed, Yaen immediately perked up. He straightened his black-rimmed glasses and gently rubbed his wrists.

Seastone Cuffs were too tiring for Yaen.

After all, pretending to be half-dead and weak was exhausting. It tested his acting skills immensely, and any subconscious movement could give him away.

Even though Captain Hope didn't seem very sharp, Yaen had been extremely careful and tense the entire journey.

To make old man Sengoku completely trust me, I can't leave him with too many loopholes. He definitely won't be at ease with me.

Sigh, being an adopted son is really too difficult...

As Yaen complained inwardly with resignation, his mind raced. Beneath his bangs, gently swayed by the sea breeze, Yaen's bright eyes looked towards the distant, imposing building that resembled a castle keep. Its walls bore the large characters "Marines," exuding an aura of authority.

"Is this Marine Headquarters?"

Yaen murmured to himself.

Ten years ago, he had transmigrated to this world. After drifting at sea, he was unexpectedly rescued by Sengoku, who was affiliated with the Marines. Along with Corazon, they were taken in as adopted sons and settled outside Marineford. This was Yaen's first time in Marineford.

Captain Hope, standing beside him, said with a tone full of pride, "Lord Yaen, that's right. This is Marine Headquarters, Marineford, the symbol of peace and justice on the seas."

Yaen waved his hand and said, "Captain Hope, I'm just a commoner. Please don't call me 'Lord.' It can easily lead to misunderstandings."

"How can that be?"

Captain Hope showed an expression of disbelief and said, "Lord Yaen is Admiral Sengoku's son, and for many years, you've dedicated yourself to the development of the Marines, offering countless excellent strategies. You've even neglected your own training for it. If someone like that doesn't deserve to be called 'Lord,' then I, Hope..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Yaen urgently interrupted Captain Hope's self-righteous monologue, saying weakly, "You can call me whatever you like, but my past deeds are classified. They are highly classified secrets involving the old man and absolutely cannot be revealed to anyone."

By the end, Yaen's expression became incredibly serious, as if this were a matter of life and death.

Captain Hope's eyes widened, his fists clenched, emitting a "crackling" sound. He replied word by word, "Yes, I understand, Lord Yaen. I will protect this secret with my life."

Yaen nodded slightly and said no more, allowing Captain Hope to lead the way towards Admiral Sengoku's office.

Along the way, Yaen kept his head slightly bowed, trying to maintain a slight distance from Captain Hope, making it seem as though they weren't very familiar, just strangers walking in the same direction by chance.

However...

Yaen glanced sideways at the surrounding white Marine uniforms, while he himself was dressed in black civilian clothes.

A drop of ink in a sea of white waves!

I'm too conspicuous! It's all that fool Hope's fault. With a foolish grin, he suddenly cuffed me with Seastone Cuffs and didn't give me a chance to speak, let alone change clothes. He just carried me onto the warship.

Yaen felt like he was about to crack.

In Yaen's life plan, before he possessed absolute self-preservation capabilities, he had no intention of exposing himself to the World Government's scrutiny.

At the very least, before he had the ability to face the "Three Admirals" of the future – Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji – and escape unscathed, Yaen just wanted to hide under Sengoku's halo as a sickly second-generation military brat.

Unfortunately, Yaen had tried for many years, constantly delaying Admiral Sengoku's request for him to join the Marines, attempting to make Sengoku understand that he was just a useless person who wanted to freeload and lie flat.

He never expected to fall into the hands of Captain Hope, a simple and honest person with a foolish grin. What a careless mistake!

"Forget it, I'm already sixteen. Corazon was sent out to sea by the old man a long time ago. It's definitely time for him to stop holding back and forcibly drag me to Marineford."

Yaen shook his head, suppressing his extraneous emotions. He then began to carefully consider what kind of emotions and attitude he should adopt when he met the old man Sengoku later.

Should he be arrogant? Kick his desk directly, like a "filial son"?

Or should he be obedient? Politely and gently greet the old man, like a filial son?

Forget it, he'd just pretend to be sick like he did in the past.

Anyway, his frail health wasn't a recent thing. If things went south, he'd just pretend to have seasickness, wave sickness, or even milk sickness.

"Knock knock!"

After Captain Hope led Yaen around for a long time, attracting the curious gazes of many Marines, he stopped in front of an office door and knocked carefully, shouting loudly.

"Reporting to Admiral Sengoku, Captain Hope has been ordered to bring Lord Yaen here."

"Let Yaen come in."

Sengoku's voice, filled with authority, immediately made Captain Hope's expression incredibly excited and passionate. He responded loudly.

"Yes."

Yaen helplessly shook his head at this and walked straight in, opening the door.

As the office of a Marine Admiral, it wasn't luxurious. The style was quite simple instead. However, the man sitting behind the desk, wearing frog-shaped glasses and sporting a mustache tied into a braid, exuded immense authority.

Marine Admiral—Buddha Sengoku!