Cover Story – Momonosuke Arc, Part 7: 'What the hell is that monster?!'"
When Kin'emon and Kanjuro regained consciousness, they found themselves stranded on a deserted island. After searching around with no trace of Momonosuke, the two became alarmed.
After a brief discussion, they decided to build a small raft and set out to sea to figure out where they had ended up.
Just as they were preparing to depart, a pirate ship suddenly docked nearby.
And the first to step down from the deck... was a stunning beauty, wearing sheer black stockings and a strapless top that hugged every curve.
But as their eyes moved up—
—and landed on the thick beard and heavy eye shadow smeared across that face, the two froze in horror, eyes wide and sucking in a sharp breath.
...
BOOM!
BOOM!
The shockwaves roared like thunder, shaking the ground relentlessly just outside the capital of the Kingdom of Kagaya.
Two figures flashed and collided midair again and again, locked in a relentless clash that had already lasted hundreds of exchanges.
The world around them had been reduced to rubble. Cracks split the earth in all directions like spiderwebs—like a glimpse of hell after the apocalypse.
"Try this on, brat!"
Whitebeard slammed Murakumogiri into the ground, then grabbed it with both hands and drove his fists outward, shattering the very space around him.
"Quake: Cloud-Splitting Rift!"
CRACK!!
The sound of shattering glass rang out as the air itself fractured. The full force of the Quake-Quake Fruit burst in every direction, bearing down on Nao with crushing power.
"After imitating Whitebeard's form, your strength has improved a fair bit... but—"
Nao blocked the incoming shockwave with a cross-slash, rebounding it away. With his other hand, he swung Azakana, unleashing a surge of Wind Sword energy that howled forward like a hurricane.
"You're still not even close!"
BOOM!
The quake energy and gale-force sword energy collided violently.
Whitebeard's enormous body was blown backward. Before he could even regain his footing, two dark blades closed in—Nao's twin swords flashing toward his face.
"GET LOST!"
Whitebeard roared, channeling the power of the Quake-Quake Fruit into his blade, and swung it hard. The rippling shockwave forced the twin swords back temporarily.
But he himself stumbled several steps from the backlash, nearly collapsing.
And in that instant, the imitation Murakumogiri—his fake Supreme Grade sword—snapped in half.
Impossible...!
Regaining his footing, Whitebeard clutched his bleeding side, gasping for breath, eyes locked on the unscathed Nao across from him. Dread and disbelief filled his chest.
Of all the people he'd imitate, Whitebeard had always been the strongest.
And after repeated practice and honing, he'd refined that form into his most powerful transformation, reaching nearly one-third of the real Whitebeard's strength.
Yet even that—
Was completely and utterly overwhelmed by this Marine brat?!
Just then.
His eyes flicked to Nao.
And in that moment, he saw it: a faint glint of mockery in the boy's gaze.
His stomach dropped. A chill shot down his spine.
Shit.
This whole time, Nao had been toying with him.
Apart from the brief moment he got serious when the Whitebeard form first appeared—he hadn't gone all out. Not once.
He hadn't taken this fight seriously at all.
How?!
The last he remembered, reports said this kid fought Shichibukai William to a standstill—a battle that raged for days before barely securing victory.
But that was less than a year ago!
And now, he was this strong?
He couldn't win.
He had to run.
That decision took only an instant.
When Nao's twin blades came slashing again, the fake Whitebeard let out a desperate roar and unleashed the full power of the Quake-Quake Fruit, knocking Nao back.
Then—
SHWIP—!
His body blurred, morphing once again into the ghostly blue Phoenix. With a flap of his wings, he shot toward the horizon.
Trying to run?
Nao looked up and let out a bored sigh.
"Already tapped out? That was barely an hour... I seriously overestimated him."
He hadn't even gone full throttle yet. This was just the warm-up.
Lame.
SWISH!
Suddenly, from the clouds above, a white blur streaked down.
The plump white pigeon that had been quietly circling high above—transformed in an instant into a majestic white hawk.
Its razor-sharp eyes gleamed coldly. With a piercing screech, it shot forward like lightning, tearing through the sky.
SHLICK—!
It struck.
The hawk's sharp beak pierced clean through the back of the fleeing Phoenix.
"ARGH!!"
Caught completely off guard, the Phoenix let out a shriek. Though the wound quickly sealed itself with blue flames, the shock of impact caused a momentary drop in altitude—and slowed him down just enough.
In that exact moment—
Nao vanished from sight, leaping into the sky with Moonwalk, soaring toward his prey.
In a flash, he appeared behind the Phoenix.
The shapeshifter turned in terror—just in time to see Nao grin.
His right hand snapped out, grabbing the thin, elongated neck—
—and SLAMMED it downward.
THUD!
The Phoenix crashed through the treetops and slammed into the earth with a deafening boom, carving a crater over ten meters deep.
Flickering embers of blue flame sputtered from its wings—before finally extinguishing. The Phoenix form collapsed.
Dead still.
Nao landed softly, stepping into the haze of dust. He approached the crater's center and stared down at the unconscious figure lying in a crumpled heap, spread-eagle like the kanji for "tree" (木).
The pirate who had impersonated Diamond Jozu and infiltrated the Paradise region of the Grand Line—
—had finally reverted to his true form.
His entire body was covered in dark green scales. He wore a green leather mask and sported a blazing orange afro like fire. His tongue was long, forked like a snake's, dangling limply across his chest.
He looked bizarre. Almost… reptilian.
Like a chameleon.
"…Gamenio."
Nao raised a brow but didn't seem surprised.
Gamenio the Chameleon, user of the Copy-Copy Fruit.
A former crew member of the Whitebeard Pirates, Gamenio had once carried a bounty of 300 million Berries.
His power was terrifying—he could imitate not just someone's face, but their Devil Fruit, swordsmanship, and fighting style, too.
A step above the Imitation Fruit. A true nightmare to fight.
Cold-blooded and ruthless, Gamenio had caused plenty of trouble for Marine bases in the New World. After a falling-out with Whitebeard, he had defected and vanished.
Now here he was, in Paradise, taking mercenary work to overthrow kingdoms for pay.
If he hadn't run into Nao, he might've caused a massive upheaval across the Grand Line.
"A real pain in the ass."
Nao considered finishing him off, but thought better of it. Instead, he called back Little Luo, who reverted to pigeon form and perched on his shoulder.
Grabbing Gamenio like a sack of trash, he dragged him back to the capital of Kagaya.
The Copy-Copy Fruit was far too dangerous to leave loose on the seas.
Better to throw him into Impel Down and let him pick up soap for Dugalio the Drought.
...
By the time Nao returned to the city wall, the battlefield had already undergone a total transformation.
With Gamenio defeated, the six pirate crews—now leaderless—had scattered in fear.
The rebels, never anything more than a ragtag mob, fled or surrendered in droves as the royal army closed in.
In just moments—
The Kingdom of Kagaya's crisis had been resolved.
"Nao!!"
"You did it! That was amazing, Nao!"
As he arrived at the walls, the Marine Elite Camp recruits swarmed him, cheering loudly for their hero—who had literally descended from the sky to save the day.
Even during their time in camp, Nao had always been the brightest star—thanks to his charm and sheer overwhelming strength.
But now? His legend had reached a new height.
He had become the undisputed core figure of this generation of Marine elites.
"Nao!"
Rosinante ran up, grinning despite his injuries, and pulled Nao into a hug.
"Been a while, Rosinante."
Nao punched him lightly in the chest with a grin.
"It's been over half a year. Looks like you've improved—you were holding your own against an 83 million bounty pirate!"
On his way here, Nao had seen it himself: Rosinante, teamed with another rookie, forcing a pirate captain with an 83 million Berries bounty into retreat.
Just months ago, during the recruit assessment, Rosinante had barely defeated a West Blue pirate worth 30 million.
"That's because you and Shiryu both graduated early," Rosinante said, rubbing the back of his head. "I figured I had to work harder to catch up. But… I'm still nowhere near your level. You even beat Drought Dugalio from the New World…"
In the distance—
Momonga, freshly bandaged, watched them with a dazed expression.
The first time he met Nao was when he and Onigumo had visited the Elite Camp to check on Zephyr. Back then, Momonga had already been a Rear Admiral—and Nao was just an unknown recruit.
Now?
Barely a year later, Nao had already caught up in rank—and in terms of strength and influence, had left him in the dust.
That same pirate who beat him into the dirt while disguised as Jozu—
Nao had taken him down in less than two hours.
Terrifying.
"This guy… he's destined to become one of the leaders of Marine Headquarters…"
Even Momonga couldn't tell how far someone like Nao—just twenty years old—could go.
But one thing he knew:
When the time came to appoint a new Admiral, Nao would be a top contender.
...
Nao had arrived in the Kagaya Kingdom aboard a Marine warship, accompanied by two other Rear Admirals and over a thousand elite troops.
They watched as Nao leapt off the ship ahead of them, using Moonwalk to rush toward the royal capital at full speed.
But by the time they finally arrived, they were stunned to find the battle already over.
All that was left for them to do was clean up the aftermath—rounding up the remnants and capturing any rebels who had slipped through the cracks.
The two Rear Admirals looked at each other and gave wry, helpless smiles.
Same rank. Same age. All hailed as part of the promising new generation…
Yet somehow, the gap between them and Nao felt impossibly wide.
...
Back at Marineford—
The recruits of Elite Camp completed their extremely dangerous practical assessment and were given leave.
Nao was first called by Sengoku, who praised him with satisfaction, stating that his performance in the sudden incident in Kagya Kingdom was quite perfect, and another significant merit was added to his official record.
Counting his previous merit for defeating Drought Dugalio, Nao was now just one step away from being promoted to Vice Admiral.
Later that night—
In Zephyr's office, Nao finally met with his mentor, who had returned from visiting his family's grave.
Upon learning just how close his entire class had come to annihilation, Zephyr was both horrified and guilt-ridden—but his respect for Nao only deepened.
"…I know I've said this before," Zephyr muttered, pouring Nao a rare glass of sherry, "but damn it, you're something else. If you hadn't rushed in when you did…"
He shook his head.
"This can't happen again. From now on, I'll personally lead every single practical assessment. No exceptions."
Nao didn't reply.
Zephyr, in his prime, was Admiral-level. He had every right to say that.
But heroes grow old.
Even Zephyr couldn't have imagined that one day, as his strength waned, he would lose his right arm to some no-name punk—
and watch helplessly as that punk butchered all of his students.
Well—
If even crows know to repay kindness, then when that time came, Nao—who owed Zephyr so much—would be the one to protect him.
"I'll be returning to Mary Geoise tomorrow, Sensei."
Nao smiled, pulling a shard of his special Vivre Card from his coat and handing it over.
"Things are going to get busier. I might not be able to visit for a long time. Take this. Think of it as me staying here with you."
"Tch. No need."
Zephyr huffed, setting the sherry down.
"You may be my favorite brat, but you've given me more headaches than Garp and Sengoku combined. If you stayed nearby, I'd lose ten years off my life."
Still, he tucked the Vivre Card away carefully.
Nao relaxed and checked his bag. There were only two shards left.
He'd already given one each to Bell-mère, Gion, Shia, and Rosinante. One had been left at home. Zephyr's made six.
That left just two more.
And he doubted he'd be giving those to anyone anytime soon.
Girls? Even less likely.
His "harem" was already quite full. It wasn't like he'd be falling for anyone new anytime soon… right?
Right.
A Dual-Wielding Swordsman only needs three scabbards.
[Author's Note: Gamenio is not my OC! This character was personally designed by Eiichiro Oda for a One Piece stage play in Osaka over ten years ago. He never appeared in the main anime or manga, but he is officially canon.]