Seven Days

I... I surrender.

Borsalino was bruised and swollen beyond recognition. He kept struggling, only to despairingly realize that it was all futile.

This guy was fighting as if he intended to take them both down with him, and every attack was more vicious than the last. Borsalino felt as if his body no longer belonged to him.

"Stop."

It was as if Ye Chen had not heard Borsalino surrender. He continued his ruthless assault. Before anyone noticed, Ye Chen's eyes had turned bloodshot, dense veins filling his sockets, while an unnatural, violent aura radiated from his body.

Clearly, Ye Chen had lost control.

Kong and the others on the platform could tell from Ye Chen's expression that he had been severely provoked into a state of extreme madness and had lost all reason.

Zephyr appeared in an instant and forcibly separated them. One hand held Ye Chen firmly in place, while Borsalino collapsed onto the ground, barely clinging to life.

In Zephyr's grasp, Ye Chen had no ability to resist, yet he still struggled fiercely.

With a chop to the neck, Ye Chen lost consciousness.

Night fell, stars dotted the sky, and a sea breeze carried a trace of dampness.

The Fleet Admiral's office was brightly lit. Kong was handling official business. The seas had not been peaceful lately, but fortunately, the Navy's next generation had not disappointed him.

"Sengoku, what do you think about what happened today?"

Setting down his quill, Kong looked at Sengoku, who was helping him process official documents, and rubbed his forehead.

Sengoku had appeared here in the middle of the night and was even helping Kong handle Navy affairs. It was obvious that Kong was grooming him to take over his position after he stepped down.

Hearing Kong's question, Sengoku put down the document, looked up at Kong, and frowned slightly. "It's still too early to tell anything."

"Is that so?" Kong did not ask further. He merely nodded and continued handling his work.

As for Sengoku, an unfathomable look flickered in his eyes. He said nothing more and focused on the official documents.

Day and night blurred together, rising and falling. In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

In the Navy infirmary, Ye Chen lay on a spotless hospital bed with his eyes shut tight, as if trapped in a nightmare. Sweat covered his forehead, his hands were clenched hard, and fear, pain, and savagery could be seen on his pale face.

"Brother Ye Chen."

Not far away, Hina had been reading. Seeing Ye Chen grow agitated, she immediately stood up and looked at him worriedly.

"Doctor! Doctor!"

Ye Chen's pained expression frightened Hina. She hurried out of the room to call for a doctor.

Just then, Ye Chen suddenly woke with a start. He bent forward and sat up, his face bloodless as he gasped for air.

"Brother Ye Chen!"

Seeing that Ye Chen was awake, Hina happily walked to his side and stared at him without blinking.

Slowly regaining his senses, Ye Chen looked around at the furnishings and realized he was in the infirmary, though he did not know how long he had slept.

"How long was I asleep?"

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Ye Chen looked at Hina.

"Two days. Brother Ye Chen, you have no idea how badly you scared us." Hina pouted.

"What was the final result?"

"Of course you won, Brother Ye Chen. Borsalino is still recovering!"

Hina looked proud and excited. After all, her Brother Ye Chen had defeated a monster.

Not long after Ye Chen woke up, Vergo and the others came to visit him. An hour later, Ye Chen was discharged.

Over those two days, most of his injuries had already healed. Ever since he had developed the Bomb-Bomb Fruit throughout his entire body, Ye Chen had felt that his physique had undergone major changes. At the very least, his healing ability had become much stronger.

Afterward, Ye Chen also learned from Vergo and the others what had happened over the past two days.

For example, he had lost control, been knocked unconscious by Instructor Zephyr, and slept for two days and two nights.

Ye Chen had slept for those two days because he was too exhausted and injured. Otherwise, he would have long since been full of life again.

Take Borsalino, for instance. Though he had been more seriously injured than Ye Chen, he had gotten out of bed earlier. In terms of physique, Borsalino was no match for Ye Chen, yet he had awakened first. That was enough to show that Ye Chen had expended far more stamina in that battle than Borsalino had.

However, Ye Chen's name had now spread throughout the entire Marine Academy. Even the Navy officers at Marineford headquarters had taken notice of him.

After all, being able to make Borsalino—the most troublesome of the three monsters—suffer was enough to demonstrate Ye Chen's strength.

There were no longer three monsters in the academy, but four. It could be said that Ye Chen's reputation was now on par with Sakazuki, Kuzan, and Borsalino.

When Ye Chen left the infirmary and arrived at the academy, many cadets looked at him with fear, admiration, and disbelief. In the past, they would have ignored him or looked down on him, but now no one dared to show him contempt.

In addition, Vergo and Smoker had also gained much more fame. They were no longer people whom anyone could casually look down upon.

"The matches have all been postponed. The next round will begin in seven days."

As they walked across the training field, Smoker told Ye Chen about the upcoming arrangements.

The further the competition progressed, the more intense the battles would become, and the more serious the injuries would be. Time was needed for recovery. Seven days would be enough for everyone, so long as they had not suffered fatal wounds.

Ye Chen was not worried about that. What concerned him was whether his loss of control would affect how those higher-ups viewed him.

In truth, Ye Chen was overthinking it. As long as he did not show any intention to resist, leave, or damage the Navy, he would not be suppressed.

His talent and potential were enough to cover up some bad temper.

If Ye Chen were to be suppressed merely because he had lost control, then people like Sakazuki, Borsalino, Kuzan, and Onigumo, whose arrogance and personalities were even worse than his, would have been dealt with long ago.

So long as he did not cross the Navy's bottom line, he would not face any so-called exclusion or suppression. Put simply, Ye Chen was just being overly suspicious—or perhaps he lacked a sense of security.

"Seven days. Including the two days you spent unconscious, Chen, we still have five days."

"In that case, let's train!"

Vergo and Smoker clenched their fists. Even if they could not make it into the top four, the top six had to include both of them.

What followed was day-and-night training for the three of them. Hina, Shu, and Very Good served nearby. Since all three had already lost their qualifications, they hoped Ye Chen and the others would achieve good results so they could hold their heads high as well.

During that time, Zephyr came by once. Seeing Ye Chen and the others training until they were drenched in sweat, he nodded in satisfaction.

He also gave them guidance on hand-to-hand combat and Haki, explaining everything in great detail. Ye Chen and the others absorbed it greedily like sponges.

It could be said that Zephyr had given Ye Chen and the others special treatment. It would not increase their strength much in the short term, but it would be extremely important for their future development.

Many issues, such as gaps in their hand-to-hand combat and their inability to control Haki, could be resolved with Zephyr's guidance, allowing Ye Chen and the others to avoid many detours. Such experience was incomparable.

Moreover, this was Zephyr's second time explaining these things. The first time, much of it had gone over Ye Chen and the others' heads, but this time, it was far clearer, even though even more new questions arose.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. The new round of matches was destined to draw attention.