[New Skill Acquired: Mirror Flower, Water Moon (Kyoka Suigetsu)]
Type: Special Passive Skill
Description: Upon activation, you enter a stealth state and leave behind a perfect mirror image clone at your original position. The clone has no consciousness and dissipates after 30 seconds.
Your stealth lasts up to 5 seconds, but any offensive action will immediately cancel the effect.
Cooldown: 48 hours
"Mirror Flower, Water Moon…"
Looking at these lines of description, Nao felt a slight regret. He had originally thought the skill name would be related to Sōsuke Aizen.
Instead… it turned out to be LeBlanc's trick clone from a completely different universe.
"Well, it's an A-rank gift box. Expectations shouldn't be too high."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Still, it's pretty damn useful. In battle, five seconds of stealth can be used to launch a surprise attack. Enough to catch someone totally off guard…"
Although—something about it felt a little off.
How to describe it?
Hmm… A tanky frontliner like him… getting a rogue-type skill?
[ROLLING…]
Before the thought could finish, the second A-rank gift box—Gion's reward—had already started to open.
Nao snapped out of his musings and turned his attention back to the familiar spinning blue die.
[ROLL COMPLETE]
Reward Type: Consumable
A faint green vial appeared before his eyes, softly glowing with phosphorescent light.
Consumable?
Nao raised an eyebrow. That was a surprise—he couldn't recall ever pulling a consumable from a gift box before.
[New Item Acquired: Polyjuice Potion]
Type: Consumable
Description: A magical potion originating from the world of HP magic. Brewed over 21 days using ingredients such as 12 crushed lacewings, 1 ounce of crude antimony, and 2/3 ounce of moonlit dewgrass.
When a strand of hair or nail from a target is added to the potion, the drinker can perfectly transform into that person.
Transformation Duration: Up to 24 hours per dose
Current Uses Remaining: 10/10
Note: This potion only works for transforming into other humans. Using animal DNA may result in abominable mutations. Choose your target wisely.
Well now, that was unexpected.
"An item from the wizarding world…"
Nao's eyes lit up slightly as he looked at the glowing vial.
A potion that allows you to perfectly transform into someone else? That kind of thing had plenty of applications.
The only downside was the requirement of acquiring the target's hair or nail. A bit restrictive.
It was like a low-tier version of the Clone-Clone Fruit, though with its own advantages—anyone could use it, not just the user.
Ten charges was a decent number. Not bad at all for an A-rank reward.
[ROLLING…]
Just as he was thinking it through, the blue die flashed again.
The third and final gift box—Bellemere's reward—had begun to spin.
Nao's gaze sharpened, immediately shifting to it.
[ROLL COMPLETE]
Reward Type: Weapon
Item Acquired: Youmu's Dual Swords
Name: Roukanken & Hakurouken
Type: Weapon
Rarity: Epic
Description: Weapons originating from the Eastern Gensokyo worldview. Two swords, one long and one short. Both possess additional damage when used against Devil Fruit users.
Note: The quality of these dual swords, when converted to the current worldview, is slightly inferior to a Great Grade Sword, but superior to most Skillful Grade Swords.
["Cannot be upgraded"]
"Two more swords, one long and one short…"
Nao let out a helpless laugh. As a dual-wielding swordsman, this reward really did seem tailored just for him.
Unfortunately, it came a little too late.
If he had received these two swords during his time in the beginner village, he probably wouldn't have been able to sleep all night from excitement.
But now? He already wielded Yone's Twin Sword, a pair of Great Grade swords with the potential to evolve into Supreme Grade.
These new ones were practically useless to him.
Too precious to just hand in…
…But wait. Two swords?
Nao suddenly smacked a fist into his palm.
Why not gift them?
They were still superior to most Skillful Grade swords. And while Gion, who already had Konpira , might not care for them—Shia and Bellemere were both swordswomen.
These could be the perfect gifts.
Even a standard Skillful Grade sword could fetch tens of millions of Berries on the black market. These blades? Definitely worth over a hundred million each. An incredibly valuable present.
With weapons like these, their combat strength would rise a notch too.
Perfect. That's settled then.
Nao quickly made the decision.
No way he'd give treasures like this to subordinates—but to his girlfriends? That was just transferring from one hand to the other. Nothing to hesitate about.
As the golden light faded, the three rewards were officially his. The skill scroll activated immediately, while the other two items quietly entered his inventory.
Nao laid back down, hands behind his head, reflecting on the spoils.
Hmm…
Whose gift ended up being the best?
Hard to say. Really tough call.
...
The next day, early morning.
Nao woke up precisely at 5:30 AM and, precisely one second before his alarm went off, pressed it back down.
After a quick wash, he left the room feeling refreshed and headed straight for the Headquarters building.
Upon arriving at the Fleet Admiral's office on the top floor, the civilian aide responsible for secretarial work immediately brightened when he saw him. After a brief announcement, he enthusiastically and kindly ushered Nao inside.
Nao nodded with a slight smile and strode in. The aide, excited and nervous, rubbed his hands and, without needing to be told, promptly went to make tea and prepare snacks.
Nao had gradually grown accustomed to this kind of treatment.
Although he had been stationed in the West Blue for the past year, his reputation had spread far and wide. Now, even among the upper echelons of Headquarters, he enjoyed immense popularity, drawing a large number of admirers.
This civilian aide was clearly one of his fans.
Stepping into the Fleet Admiral's office, what surprised Nao was that, in addition to Fleet Admiral Kong behind the desk, two familiar figures were also sitting on the sofa.
Garp, and Aokiji Kuzan.
Kuzan sat upright, calmly reading a report. Garp, on the other hand… was his usual unruly self—even in front of the Fleet Admiral—leaning back, munching loudly on a basket of donuts.
As soon as Nao stepped in, Garp laughed heartily.
"Well, look who finally showed up! Hahaha, it's been a while, kid! Come, sit next to me!"
He smacked the sofa beside him so hard it sank a few inches. Kuzan nearly lost balance, tipping forward before catching himself.
After a helpless glance at Garp, Kuzan turned to Nao with a smile.
"Been a while, Nao."
"Vice Admiral Garp, Vice Admiral Kuzan."
Nao returned the greeting with a smile, but didn't sit right away.
Instead, he approached the desk, where Fleet Admiral Kong sat watching him with a warm expression, arms crossed.
Standing tall, Nao snapped a crisp salute.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, Rear Admiral and Vice Commander of the West Blue First Branch, Natsuya Nao, has followed Headquarters' orders and returned to Marineford for debriefing. I await your instructions!"
"No need to be so formal. Have a seat."
Kong waved a hand, chuckling as Nao sat beside Garp.
"Instructions, I wouldn't dare. In all these years, it's truly the first time I've seen an officer so reluctant to be promoted, taking almost three months to return. What… is the West Blue really that far from Headquarters?"
"Uh…"
Nao let out an awkward laugh. What could he say? That he didn't want to leave Gion?
Thankfully, someone saved him from the awkwardness.
"Never seen one so reluctant?" Garp scoffed mid-donut. "What about me? I've turned down the Admiral position three times! This kid's still got a long way to go!"
Seriously?
Kong shot him a glare.
Zephyr had already semi-retired, and this guy refused to step up—leaving Sengoku to carry everything. The poor man's hair had gone completely white. He even had to start secretly dyeing it…
"…"
After being glared at for a while, Garp gave an embarrassed laugh, pretending not to notice anything, and continued to munch on his donut…
"I'll settle accounts with you later."
Fleet Admiral Kong snorted, too lazy to argue with Garp anymore. With that interruption, he also let go of Nao, who was standing speechless beside him, and said gravely:
"The decision's been made," Kong said calmly. "As of today, you're officially promoted to Headquarters Vice Admiral. The logistics department will deliver your new uniform and ID shortly."
"And as for your next assignment…"
Nao straightened up slightly, hope flickering in his eyes.
Kong smirked.
"What, West Blue too boring for you? Thinking of trying out G1 Branch or G5 Branch in the New World?"
"Yes, sir."
Nao nodded honestly. "To be frank, sir, I spent a year in West Blue with barely a challenge. Only G1 Branch or G5 Branch could really interest me."
Kuzan rolled his eyes.
You've been in the West Blue for a year, you say? Didn't you spend half that time in the New World?
Sword-slashing "Drought. Fought Katakuri head-on. Wrecked Big Mom's cake castle, causing such a huge commotion, and you still claim it was boring?
"That's a good idea. If possible, I'd also like to grant your wish."
Fleet Admiral Kong said with a smile, but when he uttered such words, there was inevitably a twist to follow.
"But regrettably, the two branches in the New World currently have all their Vice Admiral positions filled. There's simply no spot for you. And Headquarters' arrangement for you was actually decided several months ago."
So that was it.
Nao felt a little disappointed. With Fleet Admiral Kong having said as much, it was clear he could only be assigned to one of the branches in the first half of the Grand Line.
He just wondered if he would be serving as a Vice Commander, or directly appointed as a Commander…
"Stop guessing wildly."
Garp chimed in again. "You're staying right here at Headquarters. So is Kuzan—we just pulled him back from a field base."
"From now on, unless there's some major emergency, you two are gonna be stationed here in Marineford."
…Eh?
Nao was stunned. He glanced at Aokiji, who merely shrugged with an indifferent expression, clearly already aware of this.
"…Garp's right," Kong admitted, holding back the urge to punch the grinning old man beside him. "Marine Headquarters is the most crucial stronghold. We need top-tier strength on standby."
"You'll be stationed here for the next few years, most likely."
Then, the old Fleet Admiral gave a sly wink.
"And don't worry about Gion. She's being reassigned to Headquarters too at the start of next year. I'm quite a sentimental person, and I personally witnessed that confession scene, so I couldn't bear to separate you two…"
Pfft!
Nao nearly spat blood.
So all his stalling… all the time he spent dragging his feet before reporting back—
Fleet Admiral Kong knew it all along?!
What happened to being strict and old-school?! When did he start acting like Garp!?
Still… the old man meant well.
And in truth, staying at Headquarters wasn't bad at all. More freedom, less paperwork. And when missions came? They'd be high-level—real challenges. Not like the small fry in the West Blue.
"Thank you, Fleet Admiral."
Nao gave a sincere salute.
Kong beamed.
"Go on then, Vice Admiral Nao. Us old-timers are on our way out—the future of the Marines lies with you young ones!"
...
When Nao stepped into the Headquarters building, it was already noon.
By this time, he had already changed into the brand new uniform personally delivered by the logistics department. The "Justice" coat looked even more impressive, and the epaulets, changed from Rear Admiral to Vice Admiral, declared to everyone:
—Natsuya Nao, as of today, had officially entered the ranks of Headquarters high command.
"This feels pretty good."
The sunlight shimmered over the plaza and harbor before him. In the distance, warships loomed, and cannons bristled. Nao exhaled deeply, feeling a sense of boundless freedom, like a fish leaping into a vast sea, filling his heart.
A bright and open future had paved a wide path, waiting for him!
Tap, tap.
At that moment, footsteps suddenly echoed from behind.
It was Aokiji, who had just finished his debriefing and walked out of the Headquarters gate.
Looking at the black-haired youth who had turned to face him, he was filled with emotion and walked closer.
"A Headquarters Vice Admiral at twenty. You really are something."
"Back when we were stuck on the Calm Belt, I figured you'd catch up to me someday… but I didn't think it'd be this soon. Wait, huh?"
His words suddenly trailed off.
With his unruly afro and modest 2.98m height, Kuzan blinked in confusion.
Damn it, when did this kid even grow taller than me?