When the rest of the Marines woke up from their unconscious state, it was already the last day of their rookie period.
The deck bore signs of chaos.
Pirate corpses were strewn everywhere!
Everything indicated that there had been an intense battle on the deck the previous night.
However, due to their loss of consciousness, none of them, except for Curls and Kahn, knew what had happened on the ghost ship and the patrol ship last night.
…
Loguetown, medical room.
When Curls opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a white room—white walls, white curtains, white bed…
Everything he saw was white.
Curls turned his head in confusion.
On the bed next to him, Major Kahn was lying quietly.
Curls frowned. Wasn’t he on the patrol ship before?
After breaking through to precise swordsmanship, he had performed the technique he created through meditation.
Iai Strike: Knight’s Requiem!
He had killed Captain Kuro in one blow.
Then, he fought the entire Black Cat Pirates with extreme mental exhaustion.
It was only after Mode woke up that he lost consciousness. How long had he slept?
At this moment, Mode, hearing some movement in the ward, walked in from outside.
“Curls, you’re awake.”
“Yes,” Curls replied, relieved to see it was Mode.
“Where am I?”
Mode answered, “Rest assured, we’ve returned to the Loguetown Marine Base.”
Upon hearing they had returned to the Marine Base, Curls immediately felt a great sense of relief.
“How long have I been asleep?”
Mode exclaimed, “You’ve been asleep for three whole days. I never expected someone who usually only needs three hours of sleep to sleep for so long this time.”
Three days?
Curls pondered. This duration was indeed a bit too long for someone with the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
But it was probably related to the mental exhaustion, given that he had summoned [Ralos] and twelve [Shadow Knights] on the ghost ship.
Moreover, his mental and physical exertion from fighting the Black Cat Pirates had been overwhelming.
It made sense for him to have been unconscious for so long.
Mode continued, “Your three-month rookie period has ended. Upon returning to the Marine Base, Captain Smoker completed the commissioning for the new recruits…
As for your rank, it hasn’t been determined yet because some military merits need to be confirmed.”
“Okay.” Curls wasn’t too concerned about the Marine rank.
“Now, I’m going to record what happened after we fell unconscious. What happened on the ghost ship? And why were Captain Kuro and so many Black Cat Pirates killed on the patrol ship?”
Mode asked, trying to document the events of those days, while also taking out a report to record the situation.
Curls didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he asked, “How is the Major?”
The mode was already used for Curls’s indirect answers.
“Major Kahn’s injuries are severe. The doctors have stabilized the critical wounds, but he hasn’t shown signs of waking up yet.”
“When the doctors first saw your injuries, they were shocked. They couldn’t understand how you both got so severely injured!”
Relieved that Major Kahn wasn’t in immediate danger, Curls turned back to Mode. “Didn’t you want to record what happened?”
“Yes, because it involves significant military merits,” Mode nodded.
Feeling a mix of guilt and gratitude, Curls decided to hide the events on the ghost ship and give the credit to Major Kahn.
“Nothing happened on the ghost ship. You all fell unconscious for no reason, and then the patrol ship was attacked by the Black Cat Pirates.”
Mode started recording seriously, “So, did you and Major Kahn defeat the Black Cat Pirates together, killing Captain Kuro?”
Curls shook his head.
“No, it wasn’t me and Major Kahn… It was Major Kahn alone who defeated the Black Cat Pirates, including killing Captain Kuro.”
It should be noted.
Captain Kuro was a very notorious pirate in the East Blue. Defeating the Black Cat Pirates was a major achievement. Anyone involved, even if they didn’t contribute much, would receive significant merit.
Because of this.
Captain Smoker hadn’t immediately awarded Curls a rank. He was waiting for both of them to wake up to confirm the events before making a decision.
“Are you sure?”
Mode was puzzled. Curls hadn’t participated in the battle?
But how to explain those severe injuries?
Curls glanced at the still-unconscious Major Kahn and firmly responded.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Mode’s face showed disbelief, “Then how do you explain your injuries and what I saw when I woke up?”
Curls didn’t flinch.
“I was influenced by the same mysterious power as you all were. When we discovered the Black Cat Pirates, I fell unconscious, waking up just a bit earlier than the rest of you.
As you saw me, I also saw Major Kahn standing in the middle of the deck, covered in blood. His injuries were from fighting the Black Cat Pirates.
Major Kahn instructed me to wait for you to wake up, and then he fell unconscious.
As for my injuries, they were caused by a cannonball fired by the Black Cat Pirates’ first mate during their retreat, which I couldn’t dodge in time.”
“And the sword wounds?”
“Those were from Kuro’s Shakushi technique, covering the ship entirely.”
“Are you sure you’re telling the truth?”
“Yes! If you don’t believe me, you can have the forensic team check. The wounds on the Black Cat Pirates, including Captain Kuro, were all caused by Major Kahn’s sword.”
…
Marine Headquarters, sixth floor.
Mode knocked on Smoker’s office door, entering a room filled with smoke, a result of Captain Smoker smoking with the windows closed.
“Reporting to Captain Smoker, Curls has just woken up and recounted the events of three days ago.”
“Really? Let me see.”
The smoker, smoking two cigars at once, took the report.
He had high hopes for Curls.
From the first encounter at the execution platform, he knew Curls was different.
Curls’s performance during the rookie training further impressed Smoker.
Therefore, he often paid attention to this Marine recruit with the Devil Fruit ability.
The report was short.
Smoker only needed a glance to understand the gist, but he read it several times to ensure he hadn’t missed anything.
“Curls didn’t participate in the battle with the Black Cat Pirates?”
Facing Captain Smoker’s question, Mode replied seriously.
“Yes, that’s what Curls said. The forensic team confirmed the Black Cat Pirates’ wounds were from Major Kahn’s sword.”
Smoker understood, “Got it. You can handle your duties.”
“Yes, sir.”
Mode saluted and left the smoky office.
After Mode left.
Smoker picked up the report again, sighing softly.
He had hoped Curls could use his Devil Fruit abilities to achieve remarkable results in the encounter with the Black Cat Pirates.
But he didn’t expect Curls to be affected by the same mysterious power, falling unconscious!
What a missed opportunity!
Still.
Smoker didn’t doubt the account.
The seas held many mysterious powers, and it wasn’t surprising that the ghost ship caused people to fall unconscious.
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