You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.p*treon.com/darkshadow6395
With Crocodile joining Kojin's squad, their combat strength rose sharply without a doubt.
Over the following half month, Crocodile demonstrated the terrifying offensive power of a Logia-type ability, almost sweeping aside every pirate group they encountered.
A sandstorm could be summoned in an instant, and with a casual gesture, he could create a sand-dragon whirlwind. At the same time, the moment his right hand touched an opponent's body, he could drain all moisture from the target.
The Suna Suna no Mi possessed undeniably fearsome offensive power, with an almost absolute ability to plunder and violate.
Yet this man, once known as Sand Crocodile, a notorious great pirate active on the seas, now displayed a personality completely different from his past.
He was cautious and wise, gentle and courteous toward his companions. While carrying out missions, whenever he encountered civilian children, he showed genuine kindness.
This left T. Penn, Evans, and the others clicking their tongues in amazement.
No one could have imagined that a great pirate with such a fearsome reputation would, after losing his memories, be reborn as if he were an entirely different person.
Naturally, everyone on the ship shared a tacit understanding and no one would reveal anything about his past.
On this day, after completing a rescue mission and returning to the battleship, Crocodile finally couldn't hold back anymore. Gathering his courage, he walked up behind Kojin and asked the question that had been troubling him for days.
"Senior Officer Kojin! Why did those pirates recognize me? And why did they say that I betrayed the ideals of pirates?"
"Who… was I before?"
Hearing this, Kojin turned around. There was no smile on his face, and he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stared straight into Crocodile's eyes.
After a long moment, he slowly spoke.
"Sand Chan. Is the past really that important to you?"
"No matter what kind of past you had, or who you once were, aren't you living in the present right now?"
"So who you are now, and what kind of person you are now, that is what matters most."
After a pause, a trace of emotion appeared in Kojin's eyes as he continued to speak.
"In fact, just like you, I know nothing about what I experienced before I was seventeen. But I'm living quite well now, aren't I?"
Crocodile froze when he heard this. He looked at the man before him, the superior he cherished, trusted, and respected the most.
"You… you've forgotten your past as well."
"Live in the present! Sand Chan!" Kojin said with a smile.
The confusion in Crocodile's eyes vanished. He nodded solemnly.
"Yes, Senior Officer!"
"Go train. Your physical conditioning and Rokushiki still need to be improved and remember, no matter how powerful a Logia ability is, in exchanges between true experts, one's own body is the final deciding factor."
Kojin reached out and patted his shoulder.
Crocodile turned around cleanly and decisively, joined Rosinante and the others, and continued their training for the day.
…
Time continued to pass, and in the blink of an eye, another two months had gone by.
The seas had undoubtedly experienced much that year. Roger becoming the Pirate King had triggered waves of madness among countless pirates.
While suppressing these pirate groups, Kojin's squad also frequently heard news of Kuzan and Sakazuki. Like Kojin himself, they were active on the seas, having grown from once-immature graduates into seasoned Marine Rear Admirals.
As for Borsalino, it seemed that under Headquarters' arrangements, he had taken up the position of deputy commander at a certain fortress, beginning a life of clocking in and out of work.
The strength of the squad's subordinates also rose rapidly through training and constant battle.
What was worth mentioning was that after months of exploration, Kojin finally managed to guide out the Busoshoku Haki that had been hidden within his body and gain full control over it.
Although it was only a trace, it was already enough to be displayed on the Status Panel.
"Busoshoku (Armament): Lv. 0+"
This simple line of information made the corners of Kojin's mouth curl into a smile as it undoubtedly meant that he could allocate points to it.
From the Marine Academy and the battles over this period of time, he had accumulated a total of fifty-eight system points.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately invested them all into Busoshoku Haki.
In an instant, Busoshoku (Armament) Haki rose to Level 58.
Aand in the very next instant, a strange perception of his own body and the aura of the outside world swept over him. With a slight movement of his consciousness, a layer of energy spread across the gloves he was wearing, rapidly extending outward to envelop his entire arm.
Busoshoku Haki infusion.
"Busoshoku (Armament)." Kojin broke into a smile as he muttered to himself.
Although Busoshoku Haki's suppressive effect on Devil Fruit users was not as absolute as Seastone, it could greatly enhance one's attack and defense powers, and more importantly, it allowed one to physically grasp Logia-type Devil Fruit users.
With Busoshoku Haki at level fifty-eight, he could already coat himself from the head down to below the chest and across the arms. At the same time, Kojin realized that he could now perform a basic form of Ryuo, a high-level application of Busoshoku Haki.
Naturally, when using it, the effect was still inconsistent as sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.
"With this, I now have more ways to deal with Devil Fruit users, and they're far more effective." Kojin said with a smile.
On the other side, Crocodile, who was chatting cheerfully with Rosinante, suddenly felt his head go blank as fragmented images abruptly surfaced in his mind. Scenes of him running barefoot as a child, scenes of boarding a ship and heading out to sea in excitement, and even the moment he swallowed a strange-looking fruit.
Everything was shattered and disjointed.
Yet Crocodile instantly understood, these were memories from his past.
"My memories are coming back? But they're far too fragmented!"
At this moment, Rosinante noticed something was off and asked curiously, "What's wrong, Crocodile San?"
"It's nothing." Crocodile shook his head and smiled.
"Come to think of it, as trainees, we've already participated in so many battles. We should be close to becoming full-fledged Marines, right?" Mina asked curiously.
Although the five of them had originally been pirates, life after becoming Marines was actually quite comfortable. Most importantly, their superior's attitude toward civilians, and toward others, left them very satisfied and at ease.
Evans had once privately evaluated the situation and concluded that their senior officer was, in truth, one of their own kind.
"That would be great." Crocodile grinned. "I like the Marine cloak behind Senior Officer Kojin."
Hearing this, Evans laughed and said, "The 'Justice' on some people's cloaks is false, but the Justice behind Kojin, that is real justice."
Crocodile laughed. "If I ever wear that cloak, my justice will be real too."
"Me too!" Rosinante shouted.
Everyone burst into laughter, creating a lively and warm atmosphere.
Clearly, everyone aboard this battleship held Kojin in the highest respect. That respect stemmed from the different attitudes he showed during missions, one toward civilians, and another toward certain detestable, bastard like nobles.
…
Another day passed, and a message arrived from Headquarters.
"There is a very important mission that requires you to carry it out." Fleet Admiral Kong spoke in a grave tone.
"An important mission?" Kojin asked in confusion.
"It was originally assigned to Sakazuki, but something came up for him. After discussing it with Sengoku, we judged that with your strength and the power of the subordinates on your ship, you are are undoubtedly more suitable." Kong said in a deep voice.
From his tone and words, Kojin could tell that this mission was truly significant.
"Therefore, you will need to rendezvous with Sakazuki and take over the precious item he is carrying. Then transport it to Egghead Island and personally deliver it into Vegapunk's hands."
After listening carefully to the mission details, Kojin fell silent.
A moment later, his eyes began to gleam.
"Fleet Admiral Kong! I would be honored to accept this mission."
(End of Chapter)