MARINES - A ONE PIECE story (ENGLISH) - Part I

CHAPTER LXV - The charisma of a supreme king

Arthur opened his eyes in the infirmary. He looked at the ceiling for a moment, then, like a flash, all the memories of that interminable day came back to him in the form of intense pain : the semi-final, Zell's defeat by Hana, his fight against Hector... He was hurt, his body was lacerated, broken. But he was victorious. In less than 24 hours, he would face Hana in the final.

The infirmary was plunged into darkness and Arthur could see the moonlight through the window. The same moon, full and bright, that had lit up his first fight against Hector several months earlier. Today, not without difficulty, he had managed to defeat him, to impose himself against him. The alarm clock at his bedside indicated a very advanced hour of the night. At his side, in the nearby bed, Zell was dozing. His wounds, although superficial, had been painful too... Laying at the entrance of the infirmary, Jorge and Haru were sleeping too, like two guardian angels. Arthur looked at them and smiled. He was peaceful.

Hurried footsteps were heard in the corridor, followed by a gruffly voice :

- Is it here ? Room 3... It looks like it's here.

Immediately, the door was flung open and the ceiling light turned on, making the four students jump.

- How are you doing, kids ? exclaimed Myr, with a frank smile on his face. Not too tired ?

Before his students, still numb, could answer, he pulled Jun into the room. The young woman was pushing a cart covered with plates in front of her.

- Our dear cook has prepared a true king's banquet for you ! You are exhausted, you will need it. Especially you, Arthur : you have to be in shape for the final !

Jun handed out the plates to his amazed classmates : fish, seafood, red meat, grilled or stewed vegetables, more desserts than they could count... Just by looking at them, by smelling their refined flavors, the four students' mouths were watering.

- Wow... You surpassed yourself ! exclaimed Jorge, patting her on the back.

- It's not much, the girl mumbled, blushing.

After making sure Zell and Arthur were alright, Myr left his students to their feast : they needed to be with each other. The five members of team A spent the night eating Jun's delicious food, talking, laughing and singing, reminiscing about the past and trying to predict the future.

Jun, on his own initiative, began to tell her story to her friends, from her hybrid birth, the result of the love between a fishman and a woman, to his adoption by chef Asidama. Her parents, rejected by their respective communities, had been murdered by a group of fishmen who could not accept such a relationship. She had been forced to flee for her life and had been afraid to reveal her nature ever since. This shocking testimony moved her comrades, by the harshness of the story but also because it represented a mark of absolute confidence : never had the young woman given herself so much to those around her, whom she had first accepted as comrades, then as friends, and finally as family.

As the night was coming to an end, the conversation went back to the coming confrontation : very soon, Arthur would face Hana in final, and the duel would be hard to win. The young woman had already defeated three of the five members of team A.

- I'm one step ahead of you, Arthur said, thinking. I know her powers.

- Yeah, we now know that she ate the Paper-Paper fruit. But Zell knew that last time too, and was still defeated, Jorge recalled.

- That girl is really strong... Zell conceded. Probably much stronger than Hector. Even with the ploy I had devised, she got the upper hand. But Arthur is not me, he will defeat her, I'm sure of it.