"Toki-san, your physical examination has been arranged. This way, please."
Just then, a woman in her forties wearing glasses pushed open the door. She nodded at Daren first, then smiled warmly at Amatsuki Toki.
"Thank you for your trouble, Dr. Inoue."
Toki bowed slightly in thanks, her movements graceful and elegant.
Dr. Inoue smiled and said,
"It's my honor to serve Vice Admiral Daren's beloved."
She then turned to Daren and spoke softly,
"Vice Admiral Daren, please rest assured. I am the headquarters' top obstetrician. Many senior officers have entrusted me with their pregnancies and deliveries. I will do everything I can to ensure Toki-san's health is in the best possible condition."
Her tone carried a strong, unshakable confidence—the kind only those who had reached the pinnacle of their field could possess.
"I trust Admiral Sengoku's judgment. I'll leave Toki in your hands," Daren said with a smile.
Dr. Inoue nodded again before leading Toki out of the room.
With their departure, only Daren and Gion remained.
The atmosphere grew stiff in an instant.
"Ahem... Gion, could you peel an apple for me? I'm feeling a little thirsty."
Seeing Gion sitting there, arms crossed, a half-smile playing on her lips, Daren shamelessly broke the silence with a grin.
"Of course, Vice Admiral Daren," Gion replied sweetly.
She reached into the fruit basket beside her and picked up an apple. Pausing for a moment, she suddenly said,
"There's no fruit knife, so I'll use this."
Clang!
She abruptly drew a golden Meito, its cold gleam sending a chill down Daren's spine and making his hair stand on end.
"No, no, it's fine, I'm suddenly not thirsty anymore."
Daren's eyelids twitched wildly as he hurriedly waved his hands.
Was that blade meant for fruit?
It was clearly meant for me!
Seeing the faint coldness hidden in Gion's smile, Daren finally understood—when someone wants to stab you, their eyes give it away without fail.
"Hmph!"
Gion snorted and finally sheathed her sword.
"Vice Admiral Daren is really something. You just defeated the legendary Great Pirate Shiki the Golden Lion and earned a colossal achievement, and now you come back to headquarters to find your wife pregnant."
"Good news just keeps piling up."
Daren's mouth twitched.
No, seriously, where had this little brat Gion picked up such a sarcastic tone?
Before he could respond, Gion snorted again.
"And I heard that Vice Admiral Daren even used his own military merits to secure the highest level of medical care and security for his lover... Truly enviable..."
Daren: ...
Alright, as expected, there's no reasoning with a jealous woman.
The sourness in her words could curdle milk.
He let out a heavy sigh and looked at Gion with genuine sincerity.
"You should know that if it were you, I would do the exact same thing without a moment's hesitation."
Meeting Daren's open and affectionate gaze, Gion's heart unexpectedly gave a little jolt.
Seeing the faint weariness and weakness on his face made her heart soften even more.
She bit her lower lip, but in the end, her grievance and emotions won out.
"I don't care! I was here first!"
With that, she suddenly flipped herself onto the bed, straddling him, her long, strong legs clamping tightly around Daren's waist.
"If she has it, I want it too!"
Daren: ???
"Wait, Gion!!"
He immediately panicked.
"I... um... I'm still injured..."
...
Time flew by, and ten days passed quickly.
Thanks to his injuries, Daren enjoyed a peaceful and happy period.
Except for Gion's daily visits, which left him with a sore back.
"Vice Admiral Daren, your body has recovered well and there are no major problems. I can now approve your discharge from the hospital."
The attending physician looked at the test results in his hand with amazement.
Although it wasn't the first time he had witnessed Daren's terrifying physique, his exaggerated, monster-like recovery still shocked him and completely overturned his 20 years of medical experience.
A normal person would have died countless times from such fatal injuries, but he had completely recovered in just ten days.
Apart from the scars that proved the severity of his injuries, just looking at the examination report in his hand, it was impossible to tell that this man had been on the verge of death ten days ago.
"That's good. Thank you for your help, doctor."
Daren smiled as he put on his military uniform to cover the gruesome scars on his body.
"You're welcome."
The doctor waved his hand and was about to turn away, but paused and added casually,
"But Vice Admiral Daren, to be on the safe side, I suggest you refrain from strenuous exercise for the time being..."
Exercise?
Daren was taken aback and didn't react right away.
"Ahem... I mean that."
The doctor blinked strangely.
Daren: ...
I can't control that!
He nodded, wanting to cry but unable to shed any tears.
"Okay, I understand."
As the doctor left the ward, Daren slowly exhaled and shook his head in resignation.
Bang!
Just then, the door of the ward was suddenly kicked to pieces.
"Dahahaha! Daren, you really are my lifelong rival! You actually killed Shiki!"
A passionate voice rang out from outside the door. Daren didn't even need to look to know that it was Kuzan.
He looked up, but the sight of Kuzan made him roll his eyes.
"What have you done?"
Kuzan walked in looking exhausted, his beard unkempt and his hair greasy and messy like a bird's nest.
He picked up an apple with a helpless look on his face and began to munch on it without any manners, muttering,
"Don't mention it. Vice Admiral Garp and I chased Roger for more than half a month, but we lost him in the end."
"We've been on a warship for more than half a month, and we've used up all our food and drink. We couldn't even take a proper bath."
He bit the apple fiercely and swallowed it in one bite.
"I'm going to soak in a hot spring later!"
Daren smiled.
He wasn't too surprised that Garp had returned empty-handed.
After traveling to this world for so many years and experiencing so many things, he gradually realized that perhaps there really was some kind of unique, intangible force in this world.
That thing called "fate."
Roger was definitely not that easy to kill.
Not to mention anything else, just this time dealing with Shiki, he exposed all his cards and almost died on the spot.
As for Roger... Perhaps protected by the fate of this world, he would be even more difficult to deal with than Shiki.
"By the way, Admiral Sengoku wants to see you."
Kuzan casually wiped his mouth with his military uniform, and Daren frowned at his sloppy behavior.
This guy was good at everything. After following Garp for more than half a month, he had learned most of his "unrestrained" attitude.
"He wants to see me?"
"Yeah," Kuzan nodded, "It seems to be about a pirate. That person is a former crew member of Roger's pirate crew..."
He scratched his head.
"What was his name... Douglas Bullet, was it?"
Hearing this name, Daren's eyes flashed slightly.
Bullet?
Is headquarters going to get serious with him this time?
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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