Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Lieutenant Hope stood motionless at the doorway, his feet firmly planted in the ground, showing no intention of dodging the bullets.

"Ta-da..."

A barrage of bullets kept hitting Lieutenant Hope, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

No matter what, we can't back out anymore!

"If those pirates completely defeat the Marines at Marine Base 323, then Lord Arn's plan will fail completely, and Lord Arn's reputation will be damaged!"

"Lord Yann... Lord Yann still has a bright future. We cannot let Lord Yann suffer such a stain that would affect his future. Lord Yann should not stop here!"

"The peace and justice of the sea still depend on Lord Arn!"

"We must hold this place. Even if we fail to complete Lord Arn's order to defeat the pirate alliance, we must at least hold this place and wait for Lord Arn's reinforcements!"

As these thoughts continued to surface firmly in Lieutenant Hope's mind, the image of Yann in his mind seemed to become clearer and clearer.

Lieutenant Hope had met Yone a long, long time ago, when Yone was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy.

Lieutenant Hope witnessed firsthand how Yone trained like a madman to change his frail physique, enduring countless muscle spasms and collapsing from exhaustion in an attempt to compensate for his congenital deficiencies.

Lieutenant Hope also personally heard that when Arn was young, he discussed the naval system with Lord Sengoku, filling in one loophole after another in the past naval system.

Lieutenant Hope also clearly remembered that the young Yann had unintentionally revealed his desire to change the sea and bring it to permanence.

Even though others might see Arn as someone who is not interested in promotion, is doing nothing, and lacks training, Lieutenant Hope believes that Arn must have his own plans.

Lord Yann is no ordinary man; he is a man who will change this sea!

At some point, Lieutenant Hope gradually came to believe this with unwavering conviction.

Actually, there was one thing that Yaon had always misunderstood: the reason why Hope became his adjutant in the Inspectorate in the North Sea was not a special arrangement by Marshal Sengoku.

Given Fleet Admiral Sengoku's adherence to naval rules, he would never choose to demote his subordinates in order to protect Aon.

On the contrary, this was Hope's own request!

"Lord Yann's physique is relatively weak, and he needs one or two trustworthy and capable people by his side so that his strategies can be put to good use."

These are the exact words that Lieutenant Hope said to Marshal Sengoku six years ago.

For this reason, Lieutenant Hope did not hesitate to lower his rank and follow Arn with the same rank he had when he first met Arn.

"Clang! Pfft!"

Lieutenant Hope's figure remained unmoved at the gate of the naval base, his "Naval Six Style: Iron Body" gradually approaching its limit.

In particular, some bullets struck Lieutenant Hope's already unhealed wounds, causing blood to splatter.

At this moment, the entire battlefield gradually quieted down, and everyone's eyes fell on the man who was blocking the entrance to the 323 Naval Base.

The only sound was the constant firing of guns from the pirates, bullets raining down on Lieutenant Hope.

"What...what is this man doing? Why isn't he moving? He'll die if he does this!" A pirate who was quite close to Lieutenant Hope muttered incredulously.

"This makes no sense at all. Why is Lieutenant Hope stalling for time like this?" The naval base commander, who had initially questioned Arn, also said, finding it hard to understand.

"Does this man really trust the Inspector General so much? Does he firmly believe that the Inspector General's arrival can change the situation?" The commander of the 323rd Naval Base vaguely guessed.

"It's useless, it's just a meaningless sacrifice..."

"Perhaps this is Lieutenant Hope's sense of justice; he firmly believes in what the Inspector General believes in, so he is willing to delay the battle with his life!"

Amid the shocked discussion among the naval base commanders, the gunfire aimed at Lieutenant Hope did not cease in the slightest.

Hundreds of bullets, or thousands of bullets?

At this moment, Lieutenant Hope was covered in blood, the splattered blood completely staining the bandages that had been wrapped around him. Even Lieutenant Hope himself didn't know if he was still maintaining "Naval Six Styles: Iron Body".

But in Lieutenant Hope's increasingly hazy consciousness, only one belief remained unwavering: Lord Arne!!!

Suddenly, Lieutenant Hope seemed to hear a familiar voice in his ear: What an idiot!

[Chapter 103. A Sea of ​​Cherry Blossoms Fallen to Earth]

In an instant, Lieutenant Hope's groggy consciousness snapped open, and he saw a sky full of cherry blossoms before him, while Arn appeared in front of him wearing a rather strange outfit.

"It's been a long time, Lord Yann."

Lieutenant Hope tried to force a smile, but felt as if his features were glued together with blood, completely unable to move.

However, before Yaen could respond, Lieutenant Hope's body, which had been standing upright on the ground, suddenly lost all support and fell straight backward.

Instinctively, Yann quickly embraced Lieutenant Hope, who had fallen into a complete coma.

"Instant Step!"

With a swift movement, Yann carried Lieutenant Hope back to his office at Naval Base 323.

"Your Excellency... Your Excellency the Inspectorate..."

Upon seeing Yann's sudden appearance, some of the base commanders present stammered as they tried to greet him.

However, Yann had no time to pay attention to them. Instead, he carefully laid Lieutenant Hope flat on the sofa and gave the order.

"Quickly, what are you waiting for? Get a doctor here. You must save Hope no matter what."

"Yes!"

Amidst the uniquely authoritative tone of Yann's voice, the commander of the 323rd Naval Base instinctively responded loudly, then went straight to lead the doctor to his office.

"call……"

With a somber expression, Yarne straightened up, looked at Hope lying on the sofa, pale as a ghost, and then glanced at the bloodstains on his hands.

"You idiot!"

Ya'en muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the naval base commander, feeling the growing change in Yann's aura, also noticed that outside the naval base, with Lieutenant Hope's fall, the restless pirates were once again stirring.

"Sir Inspector General, the pirates are about to attack again. Should we prepare to retreat?"

"Retreat?! Retreat what?"

If it were before arriving at Naval Base 323, Yann might have still harbored the idea of ​​concealing his abilities, intending to delay and wait for his elite Marine Headquarters soldiers to arrive as reinforcements, in order to reduce his role in this battle and avoid gaining too much merit.

However, at this moment, Yaen rubbed the still sticky and warm blood on his hands, which belonged to Lieutenant Hope.

"This time, I'm going to personally kill these lawless bastards and show them that this ocean is far from being a place where they, as scum, can run rampant!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yann's figure vanished from the office.

"Hmm? Where is the Inspector General?" asked a naval base commander who had no idea how Arn was moving.

"Outside, in the sky!"

Another naval base commander pointed to the area above Naval Base 323, where Yann was walking on air, surrounded by cherry blossoms, and said.

At this moment, Aon, dressed in the style of a Shinigami robe and with a haori draped over his back, raised his hand, and the cherry blossoms that had been slowly falling around him quickly gathered in his hand again, restoring the Zanpakuto to its unreleased state.

"Is that man the legendary North Sea Inspector Stefim Yarn?"

Diamante, hidden among the pirates, muttered to himself, "The son of the Fleet Admiral, that's quite an impressive background."

After hesitating for a moment, Diamante spoke to the pirate captain beside him.

"What are you standing there for? Shoot him down."

"oh oh!"

The pirate captain, seeing for the first time that a human could walk on air, finally realized what was happening and shouted an order.

"Men, what are you standing there for? Shoot that live target down from the sky!"

"Yes!"

Immediately, a large number of pirates aimed their guns at Yann in the sky.

"Bang bang bang!"

Instantly, countless gunshots rang out like firecrackers, and a dense hail of bullets flew toward Yann.

In the past, even if Yann didn't dodge, he would have had to find a way to block these bullets.

But this time, Ya'en made no move, letting the bullets fall on him. The haori on his back was accidentally lifted by the wind, just enough to protect Ya'en's head.

"Ta-da!"

Countless bullets rained down on Yann's body, but when they struck his seemingly soft clothing, they produced a series of metallic clanging sounds.

Amidst the incredulous gazes of countless pirates, Aon remained unharmed, with not even a change in his shihaka and haori!

"Swastika Senbonzakura Kageyan!"

As Yann silently recited a phrase in his mind, he released the Zanpakuto he had been holding upside down, letting it fall.

The next moment, the Soul-Slaying Blade seemed to disappear into an invisible body of water.

In Arn's vision, giant swords sprouted behind him like trees on both sides of a road, stretching endlessly into the unseen distance.

Cherry blossoms then scattered down from those giant swords!

It's as if those giant swords were a blooming cherry blossom tree, scattering cherry blossoms across the world.

However, in the sight of the pirates below, a large number of cherry blossoms suddenly burst forth from the void.

In the blink of an eye, the sky seemed to transform into a canopy of blooming cherry blossoms.

"This...this is Devil Fruit awakening?!"

Diamanti's pupils contracted as he stared at the scene in disbelief.

To Diamante, this scene resembled the awakening of a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, much like Doflamingo's "String-String Fruit," which assimilates the surrounding environment and generates endless white lines.

But at this moment, what almost covered the entire sky was... a sea of ​​cherry blossoms!

It was like a dream, incredibly shocking, and sent chills down the spines of countless pirates!

"What kind of power is this?"

"How beautiful the cherry blossoms are."

What does that man want to do?

……

Amidst the undisciplined pirates' chatter, that sea of ​​cherry blossoms... fell to earth!