After Jiang Lin and his allies left Marineford, the sea outside the fortress simmered with secrets.
From the waters beyond, the new pirates who had recently shown their faces at Sabaody gathered, watching the distant battlefield with hungry eyes.
The Whitebeard Pirates had paid dearly. Their strength was crippled, their numbers thinned—and worse, Whitebeard himself had revealed weaknesses that would embolden rivals. In the New World, countless forces were already imagining how to tear down the old order and seize a Yonko's seat for themselves.
But the Navy had suffered even greater humiliation. Two admirals had been brought to disgrace, and even Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral, had shared their fate. The casualties among the rank and file were staggering. What was meant to prove the Navy's strength had instead shattered its authority. Of all the forces present, the Navy emerged as the most broken.
Jiang Lin's training commenced on the crimson ship to Amazon Lily.
Sweat poured from his body as he sprinted back and forth across the planks, dropped for push-ups, then hefted crewmen overhead in brutal repetitions. His already formidable body pushed to its limits, muscles trembling as he wrung every ounce of growth from himself.
"Haa… haa…"
His breath came rough and heavy, yet his eyes burned with determination. The truth was plain: despite his formidable power, he still fell short of what was needed to face an admiral. He intended to change that—fast.
His plan was ruthless. First, he would break his body through relentless training, forging endurance and muscle into iron. Then he would test himself against Jozu, Ace, and Vista—until the day he could bring them down with strength alone.
"Hancock. Come."
Flinging sweat from his brow, Jiang Lin beckoned to the Pirate Empress with a grin.
"Captain, if you use your Devil Fruit, I can't win," Hancock said lightly, refusing with a smile.
"No ability. From this moment, until my training is complete, I won't rely on my power. Fight me seriously—I want to measure my body for what it is."
Hancock's eyes brightened with mischief. "Then I can use my ability?"
"Do as you please," Jiang Lin answered, sweeping his gaze to Ace, Jozu, and Vista lounging at the rail. "The same goes for all of you. No need to hold back."
"Ha! You'll regret those words." Jozu laughed, diamond armor glittering across his shoulders.
"As a swordsman, I can't strike without intent," Vista said solemnly, raising his blade in salute. "Are you truly prepared?"
"Jiang Lin, if you face my fire barehanded, you'll be burned to ash!" Ace's fists flared with flames, though his eyes held gratitude even as his stance promised no mercy.
"Enough talk. Come."
Jiang Lin cracked his neck, lowered his stance, and faced Hancock.
The Empress vanished in a blur, reappearing at his side. Her leg whipped up, gleaming in the sunlight.
"So fast—!"
Jiang Lin crossed his arms over his head just in time.
BOOM!
The impact hurled him across the deck and into the sea with a thunderous splash.
"Captain!"
"Jiang Lin!"
Ace, Hancock, and the others rushed to the railing—only to freeze.
For Jiang Lin was not sinking.
Instead, he was swimming.
"He's… moving? In seawater?" Vista muttered in disbelief. "But he's a Devil Fruit user…"
Jiang Lin surfaced, shaking the salt from his hair. "Oi! What are you waiting for? Throw something down here and haul me up!"
With a flick of her hand, Hancock ordered the sea serpents towing the ship to lift him back onto the deck. Jiang Lin landed atop a serpent's head, dripping and grinning.
"Again!"
He took his stance.
And again, Hancock struck him into the sea.
And again, he climbed back up.
And again.
And again.
By the time their ship neared the Calm Belt, Jiang Lin had been hurled into the ocean more times than anyone could count—but each time, he rose faster, endured longer, fought harder.
Even Vista and Jozu, watching from the rail, were forced to admit his resolve.
"That man," Ace said quietly, "never stops. Not in Impel Down, not at Marineford, and not now. Once he decides on a path, he follows it to the end."
Jozu crossed his massive arms, voice heavy. "This is only the beginning. When he can finally stand against us without relying on his power—that's when his true ordeal will begin."
On the deck, Jiang Lin's body trembled with strain, muscles swelling from endless push-ups and strikes.
"Vista," he said, rising at last, "fight me."
The swordsman's eyes lit with interest. "So you finally ask."
They crossed blades. With a single thrust, Vista shattered Jiang Lin's weapon and drove him to the deck, chest bleeding.
"Is this… the strength of a true swordsman? Just one strike, and I had no answer," Jiang Lin muttered, studying the cut.
Vista frowned. "Where is your technique? You fight like a novice."
Jiang Lin clenched his fists. "Then I'll start from zero. I'll rebuild my swordsmanship from the ground up."
Vista's eyes widened, then softened with respect. "To abandon borrowed strength for your own path… I see. You're seeking your breakthrough."
Jiang Lin tore a strip of cloth from his sleeve to bind the wound. "Again!"
With a roar, he charged.
At last, the crimson ship entered the harbor of Amazon Lily. Islanders swarmed to the port, cheering their Empress's return—until they saw the man at her side.
"Is that… a man?"
"Not just any man—he's the one who attacked the island before!"
The crowd erupted in outrage.
Hancock raised her hand to speak, but Jiang Lin stepped forward, his voice booming over the square.
"I have two announcements."
"First—Hancock will no longer serve as a Warlord of the Sea."
The plaza exploded in panic. Shouts of protest rose, warning of doom without the World Government's protection. Even Elder Gloriosa hobbled forward on her cane, furious.
But Jiang Lin silenced them with a single sharp command, his presence crushing the noise.
"The second announcement concerns your survival. From this day forward, Amazon Lily will be under my protection."
The crowd gasped, then roared with anger and disbelief.
"You? Protect us?"
"Better the World Government than you!"
Gloriosa raised her voice above the others. "Who are you, boy? What right do you have to make such claims?"
Hancock bristled, ready to strike the elder down, but Jiang Lin raised a hand to stop her. His voice rang clear:
"Who am I? I am the man who will become Pirate King. And why can I protect you? Because at Marineford, it was I who saved Portgas D. Ace."
He stepped aside, revealing Ace, Jozu, and Vista standing at his back. The crowd fell into stunned silence.
Gloriosa trembled, recognizing the truth in their faces.
"Then you are…"
Jiang Lin smiled faintly. "D. Jiang Lin."
The name rolled across the square like thunder.
Gloriosa's eyes filled with tears. For the first time in years, she shook not from fear, but from hope.
And with her voice, Amazon Lily declared its allegiance:
"From this day, Amazon Lily stands under D. Jiang Lin!"