Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

"Did you teach them this? How can you speak of being afraid of death so confidently?"

Upon hearing this, the Warring States Marshal's lips twitched slightly, but he also breathed a sigh of relief.

This approach is perfectly in line with Yann's character; it can't be wrong.

As for Lieutenant General Borsalino, he vaguely sensed some of his own kind in him.

This ambiguous, perfunctory attitude, this non-stick pan approach that leaves no room for criticism, seems familiar.

"Reporting to Lieutenant General He, this is not about being afraid of death!"

"Yarn said loudly."

"I simply don't want my men to make pointless sacrifices, but rather to preserve their lives and wait for the opportunity to uphold justice. You must understand that bearing humiliation requires more courage than facing death head-on, especially for my men."

After a pause, Yann changed the subject and spoke directly.

"If this cowardly behavior creates a bad impression on the Navy, I am willing to take full responsibility for it, even if I am dismissed and investigated, I will have no regrets."

'His retreat is a strategic advance; young man Yan is no ordinary person!' Lieutenant General Borsalino thought to himself.

In this situation, even if the Navy doesn't hold Arn responsible for being captured by pirates as a warship commander, he will still gain a reputation as a compassionate commander who cares for his subordinates and earn the respect of many Navy personnel.

That respect is far more valuable than a mere captain's rank.

However, Fleet Admiral Sengoku knew very well that if the Navy really wanted to dismiss Aon, he would probably be laughing in his sleep.

"Don't give me that nonsense. What happened next? Why did Shiki leave? And where are you now?" Marshal Sengoku pressed.

Having stalled for some time by spouting nonsense, Yann had already figured out what to say next.

"After that, 'Golden Lion' Shiki tried to recruit me to become a pirate? How could that be allowed? I am a true-blue Marine descendant, and I will naturally refuse to comply."

"But the despicable 'Golden Lion' Shiki threatened the lives of my beloved subordinates, so I could only try to stall for time and wait for reinforcements from Marine Headquarters."

Then, amidst the bewildered looks of Sengoku and the others, the Den Den Mushi, mimicking Aon's voice, sighed deeply and said...

"Later, during my conversation with 'Golden Lion' Shiki, I realized that he wanted to win me over as the son of the Fleet Admiral. He firmly believed that Roger was not dead, but was being secretly hidden by the Navy, and wanted me to help him rescue Roger."

"But reality is reality. The Pirate King Gol Roger is dead. That is an indisputable fact."

"Then, overwhelmed with grief and indignation, 'Golden Lion' Shiki vomited blood and left alone in sorrow."

After a pause, fearing that Marshal Sengoku and Lieutenant General Tsuru might not believe him, Arn continued.

"Oh, right, when 'Golden Lion' Shiki left, he also said, 'Ten years have passed, and we are separated by life and death; though I try not to think of you, I cannot forget you…'"

???

Marshal of the Warring States Period, Lieutenant General Tsuru, Lieutenant General Borsalino.

"Old man, judging from 'Golden Lion' Shikina's expression and tone, he seems utterly despondent. He might not be able to withstand this blow and could very well do something foolish like committing suicide. If you want to arrest him, you'd better hurry."

suicide?!

Is this a suicide pact?!

Marshal of the Warring States Period, Lieutenant General Tsuru, Lieutenant General Borsalino.

"Could it be that Roger and Shiki have some secret past that our navy doesn't know about?" Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku felt that this was extremely absurd when he said this.

"It seems, it's not impossible..."

Lieutenant General Borsalino adjusted his brown sunglasses and said, "Back then, when Shiki stormed Marineford, wasn't it to rescue Roger?"

[45. Chapter Forty-Five: The Return to the Free Sea]

"After Roger surrendered, his place of imprisonment was a top secret. 'Golden Lion' Shiki didn't know where Roger was being held, but..."

Lieutenant General Tsuru speculated.

"The reason why Shiki caused such a ruckus in Marineford, even destroying half of it, may not have been purely out of impulsive anger, but rather to confirm whether Roger was being held captive in Marineford."

"Afterwards, Shiki, who had the ability to fly, could have easily retreated, but he fought to the death when faced with the combined attack of Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice Admiral Garp, until he was captured."

"If we follow this line of reasoning, this might be Shiki's action because he believed that the only place left that could imprison Roger was Impel Down."

Upon hearing this, the Warring States Marshal's eyes widened considerably, and he murmured.

"So, the reason Shiki was captured was so that he could use the Navy to send him to Impel Down, and then use that opportunity to rescue Roger?"

Lieutenant General Tsuru nodded and said thoughtfully.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out. After all, the fact that Shiki, a Devil Fruit user, has the ability to jump out of Impel Down shows that he was well prepared for being imprisoned in Impel Down."

"hiss……"

Sengoku couldn't help but gasp slightly, and said with relief.

"Indeed, this is something that Shiki, who is always cautious and skilled in strategy, could do. Fortunately, Roger was not imprisoned in Marineford or the underwater prison, otherwise it would have been troublesome."

“As expected of a man with the title ‘Golden Lion,’ if it weren’t for Yann, we would probably still be kept in the dark by Shiki,” Lieutenant General Tsuru said.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, Yann listened to the conversation coming from the other end of the line and was completely bewildered. He even began to wonder if Shiki had really harbored this plan back then.

However, in the short time it took to talk, "Golden Lion" Shiki had already completely died, and even if Yann wanted to confirm it, he had no way to do so.

After confirming that there were no casualties among Aon and the rest of the navy on the warship, Fleet Admiral Sengoku hurriedly hung up the Den Den Mushi.

"They actually believed it..."

Yaen couldn't help but feel that it was somewhat unrealistic, but for Yaen, it was ultimately a good thing.

In any case, Yann would never allow the fact that he defeated "Golden Lion" Shiki to be exposed.

Otherwise, setting aside the major challenge of promotion, the attention from the World Government alone made Yann feel a great sense of crisis.

Despite lacking sufficient strength, they deliberately provoked the World Government.

Yaen would never do something so dangerous and foolish.

Immediately, Yann rapidly descended towards the sea below, releasing both "Shikai: Senbonzakura" and "Bankai: Kurobo Tenken Myōō," leaving only "Shikai: Tenken" with the corpse of "Golden Lion" Shiki.

"Since you're a pirate, then I'll send you back to the sea!"

If it were a normal procedure for Yann, then to avoid the discovery of Shiki the Golden Lion's body later, Yann would definitely have burned Shiki the Golden Lion to ashes and scattered them cleanly.

However, in the battle against "Golden Lion" Shiki, Yann may not have agreed with his so-called dream, but he still admired his will to fight to the last drop of blood.

So, Yann took two iron weights from Little Gold's body and then used chains to firmly bind them to "Golden Lion" Shiki.

"Return to the free sea."

"Pfft!"

Watching the huge splash of water, Yann witnessed the body of "Golden Lion" Shiki sink rapidly into the sea under the force of the iron weight, and soon disappeared completely.

"Farewell, 'Golden Lion' Shiki, you were a worthy opponent."

Subsequently, Yann threw the "Famous Sword: Sakura-ju" and "Famous Sword: Kuki" left behind by "Golden Lion" Shiki into the castle inside Little Gold's body.

The value of these two famous swords far exceeds that of ordinary Devil Fruits. According to Yann, any real famous sword would fetch at least 300 million Berries on the black market, and it's not impossible for it to be worth 1 billion Berries.

In terms of sheer quality, the two iron weights that Yone gifted to Shiki the "Golden Lion" were much heavier than the "Famous Sword Sakura-ju" and the "Famous Sword Kuki," they just weren't as expensive.

Of course, for the current "Golden Lion" Shiki, money is just an external thing, and he probably wouldn't care so much about its value.

"Reciprocity and social etiquette..."

After a pause, Yann said to Xiao Jin, "Release the warships."

"Chirp."

Xiao Jin responded, then flew away from Ya En, opened its mouth, and flung it forward. A warship quickly grew larger and then landed steadily on the sea.

Afterwards, Yann went into the cabin and checked the ship. He confirmed that, apart from a very few unlucky ones who had suffered minor injuries, the sailors were generally fine, so he stopped worrying about them.

The mental pressure of these naval officers and soldiers caused them to fall into a coma. According to Yann's estimate, they would need to remain unconscious for at least another night before they could wake up.

Immediately afterwards, Yann returned to his room, closed the door, and then entered Xiao Jin's body.

The cabin?

When he last went to Ohara with Kuzan, Yann was already completely fed up with living there.

Inside the castle inside Little Gold's body, Ya'en had done a thorough renovation.

The overall style is that of a European ancient castle, exuding luxury and elegance, and it has all kinds of entertainment facilities, daily necessities, food and water storage.

At the same time, this place can also be considered one of the fallback options that Yann left for himself.

If something really did happen, Yann planned to hide inside Xiao Jin's body and let Xiao Jin find a deserted island to hide on, so that no one could find Yann's trace.

"The only regret is that I am all alone here. Otherwise, with multiple companions, I could easily spend several decades cultivating diligently."

Yann lay down on a large sofa in the center of the castle and quickly fell asleep.

……

"Ya'en, shall we begin today's training?"

As Arn's spirit opened its eyes, a purple-armored warrior wearing a fierce mask and a cherry blossom headdress appeared before Arn.

"what……"

Yaen responded, then spoke to the purple-armored warrior.

"Senbonzakura, thank you. Thanks to you for teaching me Shunpo and Binding Spell, otherwise I might really have died at the hands of 'Golden Lion' Shiki this time."

Senbonzakura, in the form manifested by the Zanpakuto Senbonzakura, spoke calmly.

“Now, Yann, you are my master. These skills, inherited from the previous master, have a duty to be passed on to you as the sword in your hand.”

[Chapter 46: The Kind Uncle Who Sells Fish]

This place should be considered the location of Yann's spiritual space. The overall layout resembles an endless night sky, with a white jade-like avenue running through the middle, dividing the entire night sky into two halves.

Today, Yann stands on this white jade avenue.

Looking to the left, you can see two bright stars that represent Senbonzakura and Amaterasu respectively, and many dim asteroids that represent spiritual pressure that have been completely transformed into spiritual pressure.

On the right, two different ethereal monsters roam the night sky.

One of them resembles a giant eyeball, but upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is an eyeball composed of countless tiny, densely packed eyes.

On the other side was a demonic monster with outstretched black wings, seemingly exuding a sense of eternal nothingness and loneliness.

These two ends are the manifestations of the Hollow Soul-Slaying Blade.