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Vice Admiral!
Marine Headquarters promoted Kojin to Vice Admiral, undoubtedly as a reward for capturing Roger.
Sengoku personally granted Kojin his new rank. The procedure was simple because Kong was extremely busy and didn’t have time to handle it himself.
Meanwhile, T-Penn, Bullet, Crocodile, and the others had their military ranks adjusted based on their strength.
Bullet, T-Penn, Crocodile, Evans, and Yagyū Hyōe were promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and the rest were promoted to Captain.
Compared to being a Rear Admiral, becoming a Vice Admiral granted far greater freedom and a much wider range of activity.
…
After that, three more days passed.
Kojin continued to study and familiarize himself with the powers of the Thunder-Thunder Fruit (Goro Goro no Mi). He also used lightning to stimulate his own cells, pushing his already powerful body even further.
Lightning body-tempering was a method he had developed.
Unlike using high-voltage currents to obliterate enemies directly, this subtle electrical stimulation demanded far greater precision and control.
During this time, Marine Headquarters was preparing to transfer Roger to Loguetown.
“The time has been set… we will begin one week from now.” Kuzan shared this news when he visited the day before.
Truthfully, Kojin had learned of it earlier than Kuzan.
“We’re on full alert across the entire world right now. The execution of the Pirate King is a matter of enormous significance, it could provoke unrest among other great pirates,” Kuzan said with a sigh.
Kojin nodded. The tense atmosphere at Headquarters in recent days was obvious even to the naked eye.
“Once Roger is executed, everything will finally settle down. Then we’ll be able to rest properly.” Kuzan added.
In response, Kojin merely smiled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with him.
He knew that once Roger was executed, the most chaotic era would truly begin. Compared to the coming Great Pirate Era, the current situation could be considered rather mild.
In terms of both the number of pirates and the degree of worldwide chaos, the Great Pirate Era would far surpass the present.
“Be ready at all times to escort Roger to Loguetown.” At noon that day, Sengoku contacted him via Den Den Mushi to give this order.
“Understood.” Kojin nodded.
Clearly, escorting Roger to Loguetown required the strongest Marine forces, and Kojin was inevitably among them.
In the afternoon, dark clouds suddenly covered the skies above Marineford.
“Boom… Rumble!”
Deafening thunder echoed, causing the entire Marine Headquarters to flicker between light and shadow.
“There is going to be a major rainstorm.” Crocodile said softly.
Kojin raised his head to look at the sky, remaining silent.
He could clearly sense his connection with the lightning above. If he willed it, those bolts stretching thousands of meters would instantly become power at his command.
However, this thunderstorm was not caused by him; it formed naturally.
“Whooosh… Whooosh!”
Fierce winds howled, and the waters of the inner bay surged violently.
“Boom!”
After about fifteen minutes, a massive peal of thunder accompanied a torrential downpour that suddenly descended, crackling as it struck the ground of Marineford.
The storm had arrived.
Everyone marveled at how abruptly the storm appeared.
In the villa district, Kojin sat cross-legged.
Upon closer inspection, his body appeared to hover about a foot above the ground, surrounded by an invisible barrier shimmering with blue arcs of electricity. Not a single drop of rain could touch him.
“With weather like this, it really feels like something ominous is about to happen,” Rosinante said with a sigh.
The entire group stood in various postures, some leaning against pillars and others deep in thought, smoking cigars, but they all watched the rain.
“Boom… Rumble!”
Another thunderclap echoed across Marineford. Kojin’s eyes lit up as he turned toward the square area along the inner bay shoreline.
Inside the Fleet Admiral’s office, Kong lowered his head and reviewed the documents in his hands, his brows tightly furrowed.
Suddenly, he jerked his head up and looked out the window.
The rainstorm poured down in torrents; raindrops fell to form layers of orderly yet chaotic curtains of rain.
Then, in the next second…
“Woooo… Woooo… Woooo~”
A deep, urgent, piercing alarm blared without warning, spreading throughout Marineford and causing countless Marines to snap their heads up in shock.
In front of the inner bay plaza.
Rainwater cascaded down, and lightning stretched across the sky, leaving an extremely long streak of light behind the Gates of Justice.
A figure with lion’s-mane-like long hair hanging all the way down to his calves stood atop a small mountain formed from piled Marine corpses. He held a blade in each hand.
Fresh blood dripped from the blades’ edges, falling into the pooled rainwater on the ground and producing crisp splashing sounds.
Large numbers of figures rushed out before him in panic, tension written across their faces.
“Enemy attack!” A shrill scream rang out, accompanied by an urgent alarm that continued without pause, striking fear into everyone’s heart.
“Enemy located at Marineford, inner bay shoreline square!”
“Numbers!”
An officer holding a Den Den Mushi was drenched in rain, sweat streaming down his forehead. When he clearly saw the towering man atop the mound of corpses, his entire body began to tremble and his face filled with shock and terror.
“Only one person!”
Suddenly, lightning flashed, illuminating the face of the lone man standing atop the pile of corpses.
“Could it be that guy?”
“Golden Lion… Shiki!”
“The enemy is Gold Lion Shiki alone!”
The piercing cry of terror jolted Marineford awake amid the rainstorm.
Golden Lion Shiki!
One of the Three Great Legends, he stood alongside Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard Edward Newgate as one of the strongest pirates of this era.
His name was so thunderous that even a three-year-old child had heard of it.
“Jihahahaha! So you’re saying Roger was captured by some unknown brat?”
“You weak Marines just love exaggerating and telling boring jokes.”
A cold laugh rang out as Gold Lion Shiki stood calmly, looking down at the Marines before him. Suddenly, a ripple spread outward, forcing countless Marines to retreat in fear.
Facing such a legendary man, even the officers did not dare step forward lightly.
“Even if Roger is going to die, he should die by my hand!”
With a furious roar, Gold Lion Shiki leapt into the air. The pile of corpses beneath his feet shattered as he dove toward the Marines.
The long blade in his right hand swung violently. The fierce slash instantly tore apart the rain curtain, erupting with an unimaginably sharp aura.
“Save us!”
The Marines in front were terrified beyond measure.
The horrifying slash covered almost the entire range visible to the naked eye. It moved with the speed of racing thunder, there was simply no way to dodge it.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, the space in front of the Marines flared brightly as a blue pillar of lightning crashed down and struck the ground.
Immediately after, a figure appeared beneath the blue lightning pillar.
He raised his arm and threw a punch!
“Buzz!”
The air trembled violently. The rain curtain exploded outward, and the entire area was cleared. The massive slash was completely intercepted.
Blue arcs of electricity shot in all directions, while several enormous bolts of lightning coiled across the sky, illuminating everything around them.
“That figure is…?!”
“It’s Vice Admiral Kojin!!!”
(End of Chapter)
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