Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
Cross lay in a hospital bed, bored, gazing out the window. Suddenly, a cloud of secondhand smoke drifted over, making him cough uncontrollably.
"Damn it, don't you know smoking's prohibited in hospital rooms?!" Cross fanned the smoke away from his face, angrily yelling at Smoker on the adjacent bed.
In the battle of Gurri Island, the G-2 Branch Marines suffered minimal casualties but gained much.
Over ten pirates with bounties exceeding 30 million Berries were either captured or killed, and countless others were wounded or died. Only a handful of pirates managed to escape Gurri Island.
Cross and Smoker were just unlucky; both were injured by Redfield, which is why they ended up in the same hospital room.
"I told you earlier we should switch beds, but you refused!" Smoker bit down on his cigar, glancing disdainfully at Cross.
Cross's face darkened as he glared at Smoker, retorting, "Bullshit! Why would I switch with you? Just because you're constantly spewing smoke?"
"Fine, don't. I don't care anyway!" Smoker pouted, took a deep drag from his cigar, and exhaled another cloud of smoke. The white smoke drifted with the air current towards the window, once again making Cross, who was by the window, cough incessantly.
"Cough, cough… cough, cough, cough…"
"You bastard!"
Cross was exasperated. He immediately threw off his covers, intending to get up and teach Smoker a lesson.
"Alright, you two!"
Hina, sitting between them, stood up helplessly. She gently pushed Cross back onto his bed while taking the cigar from Smoker's mouth.
"Hey, Hina, what are you doing?!"
"No smoking in the hospital room. You've had enough puffs, don't overdo it!"
Smoker glared unhappily at Hina. Hina glared back, then directly extinguished the cigar in the ashtray on the bedside table.
"Exactly. When you're eligible for a private room, you can smoke all you want!" Cross scoffed.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" Smoker said, annoyed. "Next time, I'll absolutely never end up in a hospital again!"
Hearing this, Cross scoffed, "Don't say such silly things, Smoker. There's a saying: 'A clay pot can't avoid breaking at the well, and a general can't avoid death on the battlefield.' Even if you could guarantee you won't be killed by others, you can't go through countless battles without a scratch. You're not like Charlotte Linlin, that 'Steel Balloon' who's impervious to blades and bullets!"
"Urgh…"
Smoker realized the flaw in his own words, but being young, he refused to show weakness and stubbornly retorted, "I only said I won't stay in the hospital again; I didn't say I wouldn't get injured!"
In the Gurri Island battle, he was severely wounded by Redfield in a single blow, sending him straight to the hospital. He felt utterly humiliated, so much so that he lacked the confidence to even boast.
Especially after his time studying in the Marine Academy's elite class, combined with the crushing defeat on Gurri Island, he had already come to understand that Logia abilities weren't invincible.
He had experienced the power of both Seastone weapons, which counteract Devil Fruit users, and Armament Haki, which can directly fight them.
Cross naturally heard Smoker's stubbornness and almost burst out laughing. Images of Smoker's future triple defeat at Punk Hazard flashed through his mind.
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, a knock came from the door.
They looked up and saw Shuzo standing at the doorway with a serious expression, holding a newspaper.
"Hey! You come to see us, and you don't even bring anything, just a newspaper to fool me with?!" Smoker vented his frustration on Shuzo, complaining indignantly.
Shuzo ignored Smoker's displeasure and walked directly into the room. Without a word, he approached Cross and handed him the newspaper.
"What's wrong with you? Did something big happen again?" Cross asked, puzzled, as he took the newspaper.
Shuzo pointed at the newspaper in Cross's hand, his tone cold, "The Kingdom of Flevance has fallen!"
"Nani?!"
"How is that possible?!"
"…"
In an instant, Cross, Smoker, and Hina's expressions all changed dramatically.
Cross quickly lowered his head and scanned the newspaper. He saw a prominent headline in bold, black letters on the main page of the World Economy News Paper: "Massive Outbreak of Amber Lead Disease! The Demise of the 'White City' Flevance!!!"
For a moment, Cross's breath hitched. He suppressed his shock and continued reading.
It turned out that ever since Cross and Zephyr exposed the dangers of Amber Lead and the true nature of the Royal Family of Flevance, the residents of the Kingdom of Flevance had been plunged into panic.
They desperately sought renowned doctors to treat their Amber Lead Disease, or funded doctors within the kingdom, hoping they would accelerate research to find a cure for Amber Lead Disease or develop drugs to delay its onset.
However, it was too late. Just over ten days ago, Amber Lead Disease broke out on a massive scale within the Kingdom of Flevance. Adults and children alike fell ill continuously.
Previously, when people from Flevance sought doctors outside, they stated that Amber Lead Disease was a heavy metal poisoning. But such a widespread outbreak still terrified the people and nobles of neighboring countries, causing them to disbelieve Flevance's claims.
Consequently, the countries surrounding Flevance dispatched their armies to blockade their borders, preventing anyone from leaving the Kingdom of Flevance.
However, the people of Flevance were unwilling to simply wait for death. Coupled with no shortage of weapons and ammunition within their country, they erupted into war with several surrounding nations.
The result was obvious: Flevance, known as the "White City," could not escape its fate of destruction. All residents of the entire country were shot and killed by soldiers from other countries, with no survivors.
"Heh… How ironic."
Cross's face was pale as he collapsed weakly back onto the bed.
"Let me see that!"
Hina snatched the newspaper from Cross's hand and, along with Smoker, began to read it.
Moments later, the room fell silent. Hina and Smoker were pale, almost swaying.
The Kingdom of Flevance, one of the richest countries in North Blue, had actually fallen just like that!
"But… but the World Government even released a statement… Why did this still happen?…" Smoker's lips trembled as he muttered to himself.
Cross gave a bitter smile and softly said, "The World Government's statement never said that Amber Lead Disease wasn't contagious!"
Although Cross had already understood that the demise of the Kingdom of Flevance was inevitable, he hadn't expected history to repeat itself, with Flevance perishing in the same tragic manner.
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