Gawain had already heard about T Bone from Gin.
As for this fierce-looking marine, Gawain admired him more than he was cautious.
After all, in this age where marines and pirates are both rotten, people like T Bone were rare.
His willingness to die for justice was admirable.
Thus, Gawain's only command was for T Bone to stay in the hospital and rest until the Water 7 situation was over.
As for where he wanted to go afterward, T Bone could make his own choice.
"Did you save me?!"
T Bone looked at Gin, his eyes landing on the emblem of rank on his shoulder.
A Rear-Admiral.
Two ranks above him.
T Bone straightened his body, raised his hand to his head, and saluted Gin properly.
"Marine Captain T Bone reporting!"
"Ah."
Gin was slightly stunned.
Seeing T Bone so formal, he felt somewhat uncomfortable and waved his hand.
"No need for such formalities."
"Yes! Sir!"
T Bone replied loudly, then immediately asked the most pressing question: "What's the situation in Water 7 now?"
At this moment, T Bone had already concluded that the man in front of him must be a marine officer sent from Marine Headquarters to assist in Water 7.
After all, the situation had escalated to this point, with countless civilians trapped in Water 7, waiting for rescue to arrive.
The Marines had no reason to be bystanders.
Justice could never be about ignoring the death of so many civilians!
He had always believed in the Marines and its justice.
That was why, after his disappointment with the kingdom's nobility, he chose to join the Marines after resigning from his position as a knight.
"I can help—"
Before T Bone could finish his sentence, a shell landed in the camp.
The heat wave rose, and the window shattered.
Even if Gin didn't say it, T Bone could feel that the situation on the battlefield at this moment must be extremely tragic.
"This is not something you should be asking right now."
Gin shook his head, his gaze landing on T Bone's bleeding wound, and his tone became more severe.
He imitated the appearance of the Marine officers in his memory and ordered: "Your first task now is to heal your wounds first!"
"This is an order!"
"Sir, I can't sit idly while civilians are suffering!"
T Bone shook his head; his eyes were firm, and he looked at Gin without giving in.
In his heart, the civilians who believed in marine came first, the marines under his command came second, and as for himself, he ranked last.
Like Gawain, he was originally a knight, but he was far more orthodox than Gawain.
At least he would never break the code he believed in, even if it cost him his life.
"You..."
Gin opened his mouth while looking at the wounds on T Bone's body, which were cracking open. His eyes were filled with emotion.
He had never seen a marine like this before.
Never.
In his impression, the Marines were mostly like mice.
Apart from the clothes and privileges on their body, they were no different from a pirate; no, they were no different from a noble of the kingdom.
"In that case... Then you follow me for the time being and help the wounded in the camp evacuate. Is there any problem?!"
"Yes, sir!"
T Bone answered loudly.
He took a deep breath, adjusted his bandages to stop the bleeding as best as he could, and then walked out the door with Gin.
It was also at this time.
T Bone finally knew how tragic the battle situation in the Water 7 was.
He had been here before for ship repairs and had witnessed the prosperity of this city, but now, all of that was gone.
All he saw were collapsed buildings and burning seas of fire.
How many people would die from such a disaster?!
T Bone didn't dare to think about that answer and didn't want to think about it.
But his face became paler, not knowing whether it was because of the injuries on his body, or the current state of Water 7 at the moment, or both.
In short, after just a second of hesitation, T Bone forced himself to support his weak body and, together with the people who looked like marines around him, led the wounded to retreat one by one.
Looking at these marines who were rescuing the wounded in the war, T Bone felt admiration in his heart.
He even saw with his own eyes that a marine used his body to block the flying stones in order to help the wounded retreat.
Although he was not fatally injured, he only broke a few ribs.
But the will shown by these marines made T Bone feel indescribable admiration.
If justice requires qualification, then the marines here, who risked their lives, were more than qualified.
"They are all good and have respectable wills."
"Even the best marines I have ever seen are only at this level."
T Bone couldn't help but give a compliment.
The members of the White Knight Pirate, who were dressed as marines, had strange expressions on their faces. They looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
"Hahaha!"
Even Gin, who was standing in front of T Bone and kicked away the cannonballs, couldn't help but smile: "Yes, they are all good marines and the ship... I mean, they were all trained by Vice-Admiral Lancelot."
"Really?!"
T Bone couldn't help but reveal a trace of fascination in his eyes.
When he thought of his close friend Akainu, who had had a huge argument with him before parting ways on bad terms, he felt even more so.
"It should let Akainu see what a real marine should be like."
"His overly radical approach is absolutely wrong!"
After saying that, T Bone was about to step forward and join the team to transfer the wounded.
But he just took a step and felt dizzy.
Fortunately, Gin reached out and supported T Bone in time, and Chopper beside him quickly came over.
After carefully examining T Bone's body, Chopper breathed a sigh of relief.
T Bone's injury recovered better than expected, but his body was a little out of strength because he hadn't eaten for too long.
Gin and the others were relieved.
A few minutes later, T Bone woke up, and after eating a few pieces of bread and fish, he recovered.
He did not have the slightest intention of resting and turned around to join the team to transfer the wounded, but his eyes fell on Gin's face from time to time.
"What? Is there something on my face?"
"No, I just think I have seen your face somewhere before. Maybe we met each other at the headquarters meeting before."
"Really..."
Gin nodded and then ignored T Bone.
T Bone's will has been recognized by him, and although T Bone has barely recovered his mobility at this moment, he can't even think about fighting.
"Hurry up and work."
"If we move faster, we can save one more person."
"Understood!"
… … …
Time flies, the sun sets, and a bright moon rises.
With Gawain and Kuro's actions, the pirates' offensive was temporarily curbed, but the original camp had been destroyed by artillery fire.
Gin had no choice but to lead the refugees toward the mayor's office in the core area of Water 7.
The underground space there had enough room to accommodate the tens of thousands of survivors of Water 7.
Along the way, T Bone frequently observed the surrounding Marines and Gin.
The longer the time passed, the stronger the sense of incongruity he felt.
"The way these Marines act and some of their habits don't seem like they've been trained; it's more like… Am I imagining things?!"
T Bone shook his head and threw away the unrealistic thoughts in his mind.
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