Shiki stepped aside, then looked to his left, a faint cut now visible on his cheek.
The wound was barely worth mentioning, like a minor scratch one might get accidentally in daily life, just a slight break in the skin.
However, it was still bleeding.
"Cough... ah..." Dante couldn't help but cough up two mouthfuls of blood, looking utterly disheveled.
His chest was bleeding profusely, and he could clearly feel his breathing was extremely difficult; each breath felt like he was drowning, as if blood was pouring into his lungs.
The strength in his body was also rapidly draining, and he couldn't even stand steadily anymore.
But he was still somewhat relieved, at least... he had injured Shiki, hadn't he?
To challenge a lion in the form of an ant!
If he could survive this time, perhaps in the future, no matter what powerful enemy he faced, he wouldn't hesitate to draw his sword out of fear!
This was the very definition of courage!
Although severely wounded, thanks to his Iron Will, Dante's mind was temporarily unaffected, and his perception of the outside world remained fully intact.
He could feel that both Admiral Zephyr and Fleet Admiral Sengoku, those two powerful auras, would arrive in just a moment.
And it was at this moment that Dante's cunning and self-serving instincts resurfaced.
He forced himself to endure his injuries, and with righteous indignation, he declared, "Golden Lion... if you want to kill that brat... you'll have to step over my corpse first... Don't underestimate... the Marine!"
Shiki seemed to be deep in thought, his gaze fixed on Dante, his eyes no longer holding the previous disdain, but rather a hint of seriousness.
"Marine, your name?" Shiki suddenly asked.
"Rodriguez Dante..." Dante said in a deep voice.
However, Shiki no longer paid attention to Dante; he activated his ability, and his figure quickly floated up, reaching high into the sky in moments.
At the same time, Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr also arrived; Admiral Zephyr immediately supported Dante's body and looked up, glaring angrily at Shiki.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku also stopped, looking at Shiki with a furious expression.
"Not interested anymore..." Shiki muttered to himself, then turned and flew towards the distant horizon.
Neither Fleet Admiral Sengoku nor Admiral Zephyr pursued him further at this point.
"Dante!" Admiral Zephyr then looked at Dante with some tension.
Dante opened his mouth as if to say something, but the weakness caused by excessive blood loss quickly invaded his mind; as soon as his mouth opened, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
After an unknown period, his scattered consciousness slowly reassembled.
Dante slowly opened his eyes; he was in a room, but soon, he felt the rocking motion, which led him to deduce that he was on a ship.
Before he could observe his surroundings, he heard Rosinandi's voice.
"Brother Dante!!!"
The voice was filled with surprise, and then a series of shouts rang out.
"Brother Dante is awake!!"
"He's alive!"
Dante turned his head and saw Rosinandi had already run out of the door, shouting...
"To see that brat as soon as I wake up, how unlucky..." Dante muttered to himself.
But soon, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He wasn't dead; he was still alive.
And not dying this time surely meant he had gained a great deal.
First, there was the courage to face the world's top powerhouse and still dare to draw his sword.
Secondly, there was the spirit and excellent performance he displayed to the two Marine bigwigs during this incident.
These were all bonus points!
Whether he could rise through the ranks in the Marine in the future might just start from this moment.
As Dante was thinking about these random things, the door opened again, and then both Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr walked in.
Upon seeing Dante awake, Fleet Admiral Sengoku's expression relaxed, while Admiral Zephyr wore a relieved smile.
"Looks like you have a strong life, Dante," Zephyr said with a smile.
Dante also gave a weak smile and said, "Perhaps my life wasn't meant to end..."
"Fate?" Fleet Admiral Sengoku murmured, nodding with some emotion, "Perhaps it really is fate."
This time, he had suffered heavy losses, directly scrapping a warship, and almost all the Marine personnel on board at the time were severely injured, with many fatalities; only after emergency rescue efforts were they barely saved from complete annihilation.
Yet, precisely in that crisis, Rosinandi and Dante happened not to be on the warship, thus escaping a disaster.
And Dante, having been pierced by Shiki's sword, managing to wake up now and not die, was like having picked up another life.
Indeed, one could exclaim, fate.
At this point, through the accounts of the Marine commodore who had luckily survived, and Rosinandi's own narration,
Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr already understood what had happened.
What happened was that Rosinandi was originally hiding on the warship, but then he suddenly saw people buried in the rubble who weren't dead; he didn't know if he had a problem with his brain or himself, but anyway, he didn't ask the Marine for help to save them, instead, he sneaked down by himself to rescue them.
And this scene was coincidentally discovered by Dante, because Sengoku had casually mentioned before that Dante should help look after Rosinandi.
So Dante took on the responsibility, risking danger, leaving the warship, and wanting to bring Rosinandi back.
This led to everything that followed.
And indeed, everything that happened, just as Dante had predicted, greatly increased the favor of both Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr towards this originally 'insignificant' subordinate.
Especially Fleet Admiral Sengoku, who was subtly starting to view Dante as a junior member of his own family.
Look, what a good kid; he's only nineteen, and he's already so responsible.
"Rosinandi has told us what happened. I'll give that guy a good scolding later; he's too reckless... But thank you, Dante," Fleet Admiral Sengoku said softly.
He had adopted Rosinandi as his foster son, and now Dante had saved his son's life, so he was indeed very grateful.
Dante gave a weak smile and said, "After all, I promised you, Admiral, that I would look after him... Moreover, as a Marine, it's my duty to go to the rescue when a brat like him is in danger."
Fleet Admiral Sengoku nodded and didn't say any more words of gratitude, but he had taken this matter to heart.
He had already secretly decided that as long as Dante met the other conditions, his promotion would face no obstacles.
He would take good care of him in this regard.
Any good resources could also be preferentially allocated to Dante.
Shouldn't such a responsible and courageous good Marine be properly trained to become a pillar of the Marine?
He was only nineteen, and his future was still very broad; Sengoku believed that under his and Zephyr's training and guidance, Dante would not disappoint them.
Just then, Admiral Zephyr suddenly asked, "Are you still lost?"
Zephyr had heard everything Dante said to Shiki at the time, which was why he was asking this question now.
However, he had expected Dante to shake his head.
Instead, he saw Dante still nod and say, "Lost..."
This made Admiral Zephyr pause, then he burst out laughing, "Hahahahahahaha, it seems I was a bit too impatient, old man."
After speaking, he reached out and patted Dante's shoulder, saying, "Perhaps you are still lost, but Dante, as a witness, I am honored to see you take another firm step on the path of justice, and I firmly believe that one day, you will find the justice in your heart. I look forward to that day."
"I will certainly not disappoint you," Dante said with a smile.
Justice?
He didn't think he was just.
That was just for a better performance.
But, what of it? He did indeed risk his life, that cannot be denied!
Speaking of which, although he didn't join the Marine for the sake of justice, in reality, if he could truly find the so-called 'justice' that Zephyr spoke of in the future, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, would it?
Just then, the previously swaying ship slowly stabilized.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Zephyr, who were chatting with Dante, both stood up simultaneously and said, "We've arrived."
"Arrived?" Dante was startled.
He hadn't quite processed it.
Arrived where?
Speaking of which, wasn't our warship destroyed?
"That's right..." Fleet Admiral Sengoku smiled, paused slightly, then looked at Dante and said, "Welcome to the stronghold of justice, Marine Headquarters, Marineford, Dante."
Dante???
What stronghold of justice?
Aren't we in North Blue?
"Speaking of which, how long was I unconscious???" Dante quickly asked.
"Counting the time, about a month and a half," Admiral Zephyr said with a smile.
"That long???" Dante said, somewhat surprised.
He had thought he was only unconscious for two or three days or something.
"Don't underestimate your injuries back then. If it weren't for the ship's doctor luckily being unharmed, you would have surely died on Minion Island, kid. But indeed, your physical fitness isn't good enough yet, but it doesn't matter, now that you're in Marineford, after your injuries heal, I'll train you well, hahahahaha," Admiral Zephyr laughed heartily.
After a slight pause, Admiral Zephyr reached out and pointed at Dante's chest, saying in a very serious tone, "I've always been good at judging people, Dante, and I believe you have the potential to become a strong person."
Seeing Dante's somewhat bewildered expression, Fleet Admiral Sengoku also smiled and said, "I think so too; you possess the heart of a brave man."