Yaen's Counter-Current Journey

"Dragon, enough with the nonsense. People's brains aren't comparable. I sent her towards the northwest of Ohara Island, so try searching the islands in that area," Yaen said.

Slightly twitching his lips after being subtly mocked, Dragon replied, "I understand."

"Also, if nothing unexpected happens, Sauron should have been captured by the Marines by now."

Pausing, Yaen continued, "If possible, see if you can rescue him. Besides the fact that Sauron might agree with our ideas and serve as a combatant, he could also be a bridge for us to connect with the Giant Country Elbaf."

Without waiting for Dragon's reply, Yaen directly hung up the Den Den Mushi. Then, using the chaos of the Ohara fires as cover, he took a slight detour and returned to the coastline near the Buster Call Marine fleet.

Yaen's prediction was correct. As Yaen quietly returned near Vice Admiral Sauron and Vice Admiral Spandine, the battle between the two was nearing its conclusion.

Sauron's own strength was not bad; he had become a Marine Vice Admiral purely on merit. His Giant physique also granted him unparalleled brute strength.

However, Sauron's condition was not great due to his defection from the Marines and constant running. Furthermore, he had just endured numerous cannon shells from the Marine warships, as well as attacks from "Soul Reaper Blade: Senbonzakura." His strength had inevitably declined significantly from its peak.

"The victor is decided!"

With an extremely fast, heavy slash from Vice Admiral Spandine that struck Sauron's chest, a large amount of blood spurted out. Covered in countless wounds that went deep to the bone, Sauron could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground.

"It's over, Deredere hehehe..."

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Sauron was still laughing, as if completely satisfied with his life.

This scene, filled with sorrow yet exuding a carefree spirit, inexplicably reminded Yaen of a saying.

A life spent pursuing dreams and self is happy and joyful!

Yaen couldn't help but praise softly, "What a fine man, Sauron!"

Just as Vice Admiral Spandine was arranging for soldiers to quickly arrest the severely wounded and unconscious Sauron, and prepare to tie him to his warship to be taken back to Enies Lobby for trial, Yaen, who had deliberately made himself look disheveled, stumbled towards Vice Admiral Spandine, shouting, "Vice Admiral Spandine, wait for me."

"Hmm? You're the young man who saved the refugee ship next to Vice Admiral Kuzan?" Vice Admiral Spandine asked, looking at Yaen.

"How did you end up like this?"

Yaen scratched the back of his head, showing an embarrassed and sheepish expression as he replied, "I was trying to take a shortcut to chase that little girl, but I got caught in the fires on Ohara halfway there and almost... almost burned to death."

Just as Yaen expected Vice Admiral Spandine to scold him harshly for his incompetence and criticize him as a negative example, To Yaen's surprise, the Vice Admiral before him, a burly man with a beard and a cigar, patted Yaen's shoulder. His tone was unusually gentle as he said, "While it might have been reckless to pursue the enemy when you were not in peak condition, this spirit of facing death without fear and upholding justice is rare and valuable. Well done."

Yaen.

He had miscalculated!

Yaen could only offer an awkward smile, lower his head, and follow Vice Admiral Spandine back to the Marine warship.

"Medic, quickly, check this young man..."

Vice Admiral Spandine paused and then asked Yaen, "What was your name again?"

"Teffimoe Yaen," Yaen replied.

"Quick, examine young Yaen. He bravely went against the tide into Ohara, which was covered in 'Buster Call' cannon fire, in pursuit of a criminal. He was trapped in the fire but managed to escape. Please check him thoroughly."

Vice Admiral Spandine's voice was filled with praise as he spoke loudly, causing the surrounding Marine soldiers to look at Yaen with a hint of admiration.

"Huh? Isn't that the young man who manipulated the cherry blossoms to save the refugee ship earlier?"

A Marine soldier acting as a lookout suddenly remembered something and exclaimed.

"It really is! Those glasses, no mistake, I saw them too."

"That's truly remarkable. I didn't expect young Yaen to have such unwavering justice, in addition to his compassion and courage against authority. To pursue a criminal, he dared to go against the tide into Ohara, which had turned into an inferno from the cannon fire."

"Looking at young Yaen's attire, he doesn't seem to be a Marine yet."

"Are you an idiot? Young Yaen was with Vice Admiral Kuzan. Even if he's not a Marine yet, he's definitely about to join, right?"

Listening to the Marines' chatter and the occasional admiring glances, Yaen didn't know how to explain himself.

"Is there something wrong with the thought processes of all the men on this sea?"

Yaen complained inwardly with resignation and quickly followed the medic away, feigning illness.

Out of sight, out of mind...

Afterward, Yaen lay comfortably on the hospital bed, telling the doctor he felt dizzy, short of breath, and sore all over, while his eyes gazed out the window.

On the nearby Marine warship, the battle between lava and ice was slowly subsiding.

This was not because Sakazuki and Kuzan had decided a winner, but rather because the refugee ships had gradually moved away, beyond the firing range of the Marine warships, leaving no reason for further combat.

Furthermore, while Sakazuki and Kuzan might have ideological differences, their animosity had not reached the point of needing to kill each other.

"However, this incident will likely delay Sakazuki and Kuzan's promotions to Admiral. Even if the matter didn't escalate completely, the impact of such internal conflict is extremely negative."

Yaen responded absently to the ship doctor while thinking to himself.

"But this is for the best. With the old man about to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, if the Three Admirals are promoted along with him, his authority might not be enough to keep them in check."

"This way, the old man can at least have less to worry about. I suppose it's a good thing, in a way."

Just as the ship doctor took advantage of Yaen's distraction to give him a hefty injection of nutrients, a colossal roar suddenly erupted from outside.

"RUMBLE!"

Immediately after, the Marine battleship, as massive as a steel behemoth on the sea, began to shake violently, as if suddenly facing enormous waves.

At this moment, even though Yaen couldn't see it with his own eyes, he understood that this was the sound of Ohara shattering and sinking into the sea.

In other words, this island, which had existed for over five thousand years, was officially becoming history from this moment on.