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****************
The next day, early morning.
When Drake regained consciousness, he found himself in an unfamiliar room, lying in an unfamiliar bed, with two strangers standing before him.
His mind went blank for a moment.
When he spotted countless bubbles rising outside the window, recognition suddenly dawned on him.
He was still in the Sabaody Archipelago.
The two people before him were most likely island residents who had kindly taken him in.
However, the way these two "benefactors" were staring at him seemed rather peculiar and unusual.
'Could they have discovered my identity?'
No, if they truly knew who he was, they should have taken him to the Marine base to collect the bounty while he was still unconscious.
After all, most people wouldn't refuse a 200 million Berry reward.
Thinking of this, Drake couldn't help but show a trace of bitterness on his face.
He looked at the two benefactors before him, preparing to express his gratitude, when he was suddenly interrupted.
"Kyo-chan, he woke up! He really woke up!"
The girl looked at him with surprise, her eyes bloodshot.
After confirming that he was truly conscious, she hurriedly hugged the young man beside her and shouted excitedly.
Upon hearing this, the young man turned his head mechanically.
His eyes were also bloodshot, with heavy dark circles underneath.
He stared at Drake with an expression of disbelief.
"He's actually alive. Our efforts throughout the entire night weren't in vain."
After saying this, the young man collapsed to the ground like an elderly person taking their final breath.
"Kyo-chan!"
The girl dropped to the floor and cried out, patting the young man's chest heavily as tears streamed down her face.
'An entire night?'
Hearing this, Drake felt deeply moved.
Two strangers had not only taken in his seriously injured, unconscious body, but had also spent the whole night caring for him to ensure he could wake up safely.
This was incredibly touching for someone like him, who had lacked the care of relatives and friends since childhood.
****
To understand what happened…
Last night.
When the two had carried Drake to the second floor, an accident had occurred.
The stretcher had suddenly broken in the middle.
Caught off guard, they could only watch helplessly as Drake rolled down the stairs from the second floor to the first floor like a ball.
The scene had been absolutely horrific.
Blood splattered everywhere, bandages flying through the air.
Drake's entire upper body, which had been wrapped in bandages, was stained crimson by blood from his wounds reopening.
At the same time, his head had made brutal contact with the ground when he'd rolled to the first floor, opening a new, large gash that gushed blood.
He'd collapsed to the ground, a bloody mess.
Kyoma and Kagura had frozen in place, their souls nearly scared out of their bodies.
"Kyo-chan, how many guest tables should we set up?" Kagura had asked after a long silence, her voice trembling.
Bang!
After flicking her forehead, Kyoma had shouted anxiously, "You greedy girl, are you already thinking about a funeral feast? He's not dead yet!"
The two had then spent the entire night working frantically.
After moving Drake back to the room, they'd cleaned his wounds, changed his bandages, and scrubbed away the bloodstains downstairs.
They'd been busy until early morning.
When they'd finally finished everything and washed themselves in the bathroom before returning to the room, they'd discovered that Drake showed signs of waking up.
****
At the dining table.
Looking at the steaming breakfast spread before him, Drake couldn't help but feel warmth surge through his heart.
Kyoma truly was a good person.
Not only had he immediately shown concern for Drake's health upon his awakening, but after hearing his stomach growl from hunger, Kyoma had rushed out of the house to buy him an entire table full of breakfast.
Even a tough man like Drake couldn't help but feel deeply moved.
In his memory, no one had treated him this well.
Therefore, Drake made up his mind to repay this kindness.
So when he asked his benefactor with expectation how he might repay him, the answer left Drake completely stunned.
"Do you have any dragon scales you could spare?"
Drake froze.
The shock was so great that he choked on his food.
After drinking several sips of water that Kyoma handed him, he finally recovered.
After expressing his gratitude, he asked with a puzzled expression, "What would my scales be used for? Wait, Kyoma, do you know my identity?"
Realizing the implications, Drake's eyes suddenly grew serious.
However, upon remembering Kyoma's identity as his benefactor, the severity instantly dissipated.
"Of course I know. You're one of the pirate Supernovas, X Drake." Kyoma answered casually.
"So you already knew..." Drake fell silent, lowering his head as he considered something.
After thinking for a long while, he suddenly looked up at Kyoma.
"Knowing that I'm a pirate who's wanted by the Marines, you still dared to take me in. I don't know whether to call you brave or reckless."
Kyoma shook his head.
"We didn't take you in of our own accord. Someone brought you to our home last night."
"Who was it?" Drake asked doubtfully, though he already had an answer in mind.
He believed that Kyoma and the others would never know this answer.
"Who else could it be? Obviously, the old man who injured you." Kyoma spread his hands.
'What?'
Drake froze on the spot, his eyes filled with genuine shock.
He'd never expected that this seemingly ordinary person before him would know so much.
'Was he also at the scene two days ago?'
No, even if he had been present, Kizaru had shown no signs of holding back.
It should have been impossible to observe without being noticed.
Two days ago, not long after Kyoma and Kagura had escaped the battlefield, Drake had appeared on the scene.
As a pirate Supernova on the surface but secretly a Marine undercover agent, he'd joined Hawkins, Urouge, Apoo, and the others in fighting against Kizaru and the Pacifistas.
The final result had been self-evident.
All four had been defeated and kicked around by Kizaru like amateur pirates.
At this point, things should have gone perfectly according to plan.
However, what had been unexpected was that Kizaru hadn't controlled his strength when attacking Drake, causing him to suffer more serious injuries than planned and faint on the spot.
After waking up, he found himself at Kyoma's house.
"Do you know him personally?" Drake asked cautiously in a low voice.
"Know who? Oh, are you talking about that sleazy old man who likes to mooch free meals?" Kyoma raised his eyebrows, looking somewhat annoyed at the mention.
He pointed to Drake's current position.
"He sat right where you're sitting to eat for free yesterday. Isn't that right, Kagura?"
"Burp." Kagura, who had been silently devouring food on the side, burped in response.
"What!"
Drake stood up excitedly upon hearing this.
His chest rose and fell for a moment before he breathed a sigh of relief.
He sat back down and continued eating breakfast, looking at Kyoma with eyes that no longer held any trace of suspicion.
"You should have told me earlier that you're one of Kizaru's subordinates."