"Marineford Calendar 1518 June 7th."
"I officially joined the Marines."
"A day worth celebrating. According to my father, I'll have to start out as a grunt, then work my way up to Private Third Class, Private Second Class, Private First Class, and only then become a noncommissioned officer, a lieutenant, and a colonel. What a long road!"
"But I won't give up. Keep it up, Arrow!"
"For justice!"
"July 2nd."
"Today I met a Marine at the base who'd been doing odd jobs for three years.
It's got me a little worried."
"August."
"The weather was really nice today, and Father came to visit me at the base."
"That afternoon, His Excellency the base commander announced that I'd be promoted to Private First Class."
"The others looked at me strangely, especially the man who'd been doing odd jobs for three years. Is this really okay? I haven't done anything yet, after all."
"September."
"I've realized this is pretty nice, since I've been working really hard too."
"Also, I was promoted to Sergeant today."
"When I spoke with Father tonight, he said I was still a little slow. I didn't answer him."
"An unpleasant day."
"That odd-job guy finally got promoted to Private Third Class, but he actually had the nerve to point at me and curse me out!"
"He said I was only getting ahead because of my noble status and connections!"
"Damn it! He's the one who doesn't work hard enough!"
"A pleasant day."
"The Private Third Class who cursed me is dead. Hahaha, he actually went after pirates."
"Father said he'd get me promoted to Second Lieutenant before long. I wonder how that's coming along."
"I should remind him in a bit."
"Time flies. I've been a Marine for almost a year already."
"But there's not much to do at the base. Fortunately, Father said he'd transfer me to Judicial Island before long. That's a great place!"
"Marineford Calendar 1519 September 3rd."
"I've been promoted to Captain, but things seem to have changed a little."
"Father has started asking me to use a warship to transport the pirate captains arrested by the Marines to the Sabaody Archipelago."
"Oh my god, how am I supposed to do that?"
"I'm only a Captain, not an Admiral!"
"The judges on Judicial Island won't allow it, and neither will my colleagues or superiors!"
"But I can't refuse them either... Damn it!"
"They allowed it."
"Also, I'm a Major now."
The diary closed softly. The blue gull printed on its cover was somewhat faded.
"Quite an interesting story, right?"
The person reading the diary remarked unhurriedly, as a charred plank dropped beside him with a clatter.
Buggy pulled out a mirror that was still mostly intact.
He kept adjusting the face reflected in it.
With a sharp fruit knife, he carefully sliced open the flesh and sinew on his face, then rearranged and adjusted them, making sure he looked just like the young Major he'd just seen.
When it came to working on his own face, Buggy was surely the world's finest cosmetic surgeon.
Perhaps Trafalgar Law, with his Op-Op Fruit, could compare.
The two had this in common: Law could cut anyone up without killing them, while Buggy did it to himself.
As for where the Major named Arrow had gone...
After such a serious explosion aboard the warship, it was only natural for a few Marines to have died.
Especially in such a chaotic scene. Forget about a Major—even Commodore Brownie could only focus on keeping himself safe first.
He didn't even have time to worry about Buggy's departure.
Except for a few sycophants.
Clatter.
In Arrow's room, the iron door, already on the verge of collapse from the blast, finally gave way.
Sergeant Jacques froze in the doorway.
His half-raised right hand showed that he'd been the one to give the door its final push.
He looked flustered, with soot from the explosion smeared across his face and head.
"Lord Arrow, are you hurt?"
After a brief moment of shock, Jacques quickly composed himself.
His tone wasn't overly deferential. He sounded more like someone anxiously counting survivors in the aftermath of the chaos.
His narrow eyes blinked as he did his best to pretend he hadn't seen the patch of flesh, about the size and thickness of a bandage, peeling off Major Arrow's face—meaning Buggy's face, as far as he knew.
Major Arrow worked for the noble Celestial Dragons. A few quirks were perfectly understandable.
He quickly came up with an explanation for Buggy.
"Don't worry. It's just a scrape." Buggy followed his gaze and offered an explanation. "How's the situation on the warship?"
"Pretty bad." Sergeant Jacques' face fell at once. Seeing Buggy's displeasure, he quickly added, "But it's not that bad!"
"There was a huge explosion in the hold, then the boiler room blew up too. This area, the Deck Room, came through a little better, but water's getting in below."
"Oh, and Commodore Brownie—he's still down by the hold!"
"So, should we...?"
He left the rest unsaid, waiting for Buggy to lead the way.
"What about the headquarters Marines?" Buggy waved a hand.
"They noticed the explosion too, and they're hurrying over now. Vice Admiral Onigumo is leading them!"
"Onigumo, huh?" Buggy murmured. He stopped adjusting the patch of flesh on his face and grabbed a piece of white cloth, quickly wrapping it around the wound.
Only then did he pick up his rifle.
With a wide grin, he said, "Come on. We're going below to save people."
Save people?
Jacques froze. He'd sought out Arrow because this man had connections and was never one to take risks. Why was he heading for the hold now? If there was another explosion, they'd both be done for!
Besides, that look on his face didn't exactly say he was going to save anyone!
Jacques' opinion didn't matter.
Fresh from escaping danger, he was immediately dragged along by Buggy as they ran down to the lower deck.
Like so many criminals, Buggy wanted to look back at the scene of his crime.
His mindset was much the same.
His boots clattered over the charred iron plates.
He hadn't gone far before he felt the stern tilt noticeably.
Looks like the flooding in the lower hull was pretty bad.
Oil lamps fell in the crew berths, setting off a series of fires that spread across the passage below.
"Lord Arrow, are we still going down?"
"I'm afraid Commodore Brownie is also..."
"Shh, don't rush." Buggy motioned for silence, his gaze fixed expectantly on the passage below.
At the same time, he raised his rifle and took aim.
A burst of frantic footsteps came from behind the flames.
Whoosh!
Arne came tumbling out of the Sea of Fire.
Before he could savor the relief of escaping alive,
he suddenly found himself staring down the pitch-black barrel of a gun.
Beneath it was a smile that, for some reason, made him feel safe.
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