Aokiji's shock was entirely justified.
After all, when they'd first met, Nao had barely broken 190 centimeters. Even after his slow but steady growth spurt, he'd still needed to tiptoe when hugging Gion.
And Aokiji swore—during that promotion ceremony when Nao confessed to her—he absolutely did not laugh when he saw the kid rising up on his toes.
Because he'd been too busy pinching his own thigh to stop himself.
But now? What the hell?
Nao's height had shot up to the point where he was towering over Kuzan's iconic afro. If Kuzan were a woman and tried to kiss him now, he'd be the one tiptoeing.
Nao caught the frozen look in his eyes and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The truth was, back when he first returned to the West Blue, his height had already reached 3.2 meters. It had gradually increased for a time before plateauing completely.
It had been over a month since he'd grown even a single centimeter.
Which meant this was likely his final height. His stats now sat at:
Height: 3.40 meters
Weight: 275 kilograms
If he ever made it to the rank of Admiral, he'd undoubtedly be the tallest and most elegant among the three.
After a bit more small talk, he parted ways with Aokiji at the building entrance.
Nao didn't waste time.
First stop: the logistics department. He headed to the residential zone behind Marineford HQ and was promptly handed the keys to his own house.
Technically, this was a benefit he could've claimed the moment he graduated from the elite camp and became a Rear Admiral. But since he'd been stationed long-term in the West Blue, there had never been a need.
Now that he was officially stationed at Headquarters, having a place of his own was essential. After all, he wasn't married yet—he couldn't just keep crashing at Gion's place forever.
The house was a two-story villa, with over 500 square meters including the garden. Spacious but not gaudy, with a clean, elegant design that was very much his taste.
After giving it a thorough once-over, he was more than satisfied and accepted it on the spot.
As soon as the logistics officer departed and Nao was ready to settle in—he saw a ridiculously familiar figure emerging from the house next door.
Garp, belly full from lunch and burping contentedly, strolled out of the gate without a care in the world.
"…"
The two of them locked eyes over the fence—and froze.
"BAHAHAHAHA!!"
Garp was the first to react, bursting into laughter. "Oi oi oi! is there really such a coincidence! Nao! From now on, you and I are neighbors!"
"…It is a bit of a coincidence, but I remember your previous residence wasn't here, was it?" Nao was a little speechless. "When did you move here?"
He had originally planned to visit his neighbors in the evening to get acquainted, but he didn't expect it to be this old man. Hmm… that saves some effort.
"My old house? That thing's from decades ago! Way too cramped now," Garp said as he scratched his head. "Didn't matter when I lived alone, but now… yeah, it's gotten a bit tight."
That caught Nao's attention.
What did he mean by "now"?
He glanced toward Garp's home, following the stone path into the yard—
—only to see a black-haired little boy, hands pressed against the window, curiously staring back at him.
Ace.
They hadn't seen each other in a few months, and the little guy had clearly grown—at least he wasn't sucking on a pacifier anymore.
"How come he's living with you?" Nao asked, puzzled. "What about Vice Admiral Chisio?"
"She was deployed to the New World," Garp explained. "Things are getting too chaotic over there. We need high-level strategists in place. That kid Sakazuki is a good fighter, but too hotheaded—he gets carried away too easily. Someone has to keep him in check."
He grinned. "And really, only Tsuru and Chisio are capable of handling both strategy and temper control."
Nao instantly understood.
"So she left Ace in your care before departing?"
He rubbed his temples. "Can't believe she actually trusted you with that…"
"Hah?! I heard that, brat!" Garp roared, slamming a fist down on Nao's head. "You think just 'cause I'm old I can't raise kids?! I've got plenty of experience in raising children successfully!"
Raising children successfully?
Nao, whose head had been hit by an iron fist but remained unfazed, felt his eye twitch slightly.
Yes, you certainly have a lot of experience in that regard…
Your original intention was clearly to raise all your descendants to be excellent Marines.
Yet, your son became the top leader of the Revolutionary Army, your biological grandson constantly shouts about becoming the King of the Pirates, and your adopted grandson went and became Whitebeard's son…
This parenting method, it seems, has huge problems.
"It's a good thing Vice Admiral Chisio is only temporarily stationed in the New World; she'll eventually be able to return and take over…"
Nao thought silently to himself, no longer dwelling on the topic. He considered for a moment, then lowered his voice a bit, asking:
"Garp-san, about Ace's identity—does Fleet Admiral Kong or Admiral Sengoku know?"
"Not yet," Garp said, shaking his head. "Sengoku might take it fine, but Kong... Honestly, I can't read that guy sometimes. Best to keep it quiet for now."
"I had the same thought last time I saw Ace," Nao nodded, gazing again at the smiling, rosy-cheeked boy behind the glass. "But then I reconsidered. Maybe… making his identity public wouldn't be such a bad thing?"
"…Huh?"
Garp's expression shifted. "What do you mean by that?"
"Positive propaganda effect," Nao said bluntly. "Roger started the Great Pirate Era. The current lawless state of the seas—he's the root cause."
"But if people found out that his son became a Marine?"
He stared directly into Garp's eyes.
"That alone—without any push from the Marines or the World Government—would be a slap in the face to Roger's so-called legacy. It would shatter the dreams of countless pirates chasing the so-called One Piece and rally morale across the Marines."
"…I get what you're saying."
Garp held up a hand, cutting him off with a shake of his head. "Good strategy. But I'll never agree to it."
Nao blinked. "Why not? Isn't this a win for everyone?"
"Because that boy wouldn't want it."
Garp pointed at the small figure in the window, now grinning ear-to-ear.
"Making it public would turn him into a target for scrutiny—an outcast. Kids would bully him, adults would whisper behind his back. He'd grow up in fear and rejection."
"Why should a child suffer for the sins of the father?"
"Tell me, Nao—if you were the son of the Pirate King but wanted to live as a Marine… what kind of childhood would you have? Could you really grow up healthy in that environment?"
"…"
Nao fell silent under Garp's piercing gaze.
In his past life, growing up without parents, being ostracized and bullied as a child—he knew too well how cruel the world could be.
"…You're right."
After a long pause, Nao let out a quiet sigh and nodded. "I wasn't thinking it through. Forget what I said—let's keep things as they are. Let that little guy…"
He looked at the window again—Ace was now climbing up onto the sill, waving and laughing brightly.
"…let him live a happy, carefree childhood."
Garp, standing on tiptoe, gave Nao's shoulder a firm, grateful pat.
...
Nao spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house and getting furniture set up.
By the time everything was done, it was completely dark. His stomach was rumbling with hunger, so he immediately went to the dining hall, where he coincidentally ran into his friends from the Elite Camp.
"Eh?! N-Nao?!"
"Idiot, you're supposed to call him Vice Admiral Nao!"
Seeing him again, the group was a bit stiff at first—after all, the gap in rank was staggering. Only Rosinante seemed completely at ease.
But Nao being Nao, his warm smile quickly melted away the tension, and the room was soon filled with laughter and conversation.
They chatted late into the evening—until 8 or 9 PM—before finally parting ways, still buzzing with energy.
Before leaving, Rosinante pulled Nao aside, grinning excitedly.
"I signed up already! Gonna take the graduation assessment at the end of the year!"
"That's great."
Nao gave his chest a solid punch. "Push through, little Rossi. With your strength, as long as you don't panic, you should at least come out of it as a Lieutenant Commander."
"Come on, don't oversell me," Rosinante laughed, scratching his head. "I can't compare to you or that monster Shiryu. I'd be happy just to make Lieutenant. Oh, and when they do the commissioning ceremony—you have to be there!"
"I will. No matter how busy I get, I'll make time."
Nao smiled back.
As Rosinante and the others waved goodbye and headed off, Nao turned to leave himself.
But just then—a sharp, searing pain erupted in the center of his brow.
This was a warning from his special Vivre Card.
Nao's expression changed slightly. He immediately opened his system panel and looked at the new prompt that had popped up in the Vivre Card section of his inventory.
He saw that among the six distributed sub-cards, the one belonging to Bell-mère was burning rapidly at a visible speed…
What's going on?!
Nao's gaze immediately turned cold. Hadn't Bell-mère already eaten the Rust-Rust Fruit he gave her and become a Devil Fruit user?
How could she still encounter a life-threatening danger in a place like the East Blue?
There was no time to think.
Seeing that it was dark and no one was around, Nao immediately flashed into the small grove behind the dining hall. At the same time, with a thought, he instantly activated the Vivre Card's teleportation function.
...
East Blue, Garga Island.
This was originally a bustling commercial island, but since three days ago, when it was jointly occupied by two large pirate crews passing through, it had become an undeniable hell on earth.
The pirates plundered everywhere, indulging their desires without restraint. Countless families were broken, corpses lay strewn about, buildings were burned to the ground, and lively streets turned into ruins…
The 16th Branch's Marine ship arrived as an emergency reinforcement under these circumstances, engaging in a protracted battle with these two large pirate crews.
The battle was extremely fierce. Out of over 500 Marine soldiers, more than 200 were killed or severely wounded.
And if not for Bell-mère, who had stood alone against the two enemy captains and fought them off after hours of brutal combat—the casualties would've been far worse.
After the fierce battle, the sky darkened, clouds gathered, and a light drizzle began to fall, as if mourning the heroic souls who had fallen on the ground…
Through the rain, Bell-mère, clutching her bleeding shoulder wound, limped with difficulty through the ruins.
There was no time to stop and tend to it.
Before the downpour worsened, she had to help her comrades pull as many civilians from the wreckage as possible.
"Hey, Bell-mère!"
A nearby Marine ran up. "You've done more than enough! Go rest! Leave the rest to us!"
"No way!"
The red-haired young woman shot him a glare—then grinned. "Don't worry. I'm fine. Hand me a shovel!"
"You really are something…"
Her comrade knew her stubborn nature and that he couldn't persuade her, so he simply tossed her a spare entrenching tool.
"Thanks!"
She gave a hearty laugh—but winced the moment she turned away. Biting down hard, she rolled up her sleeve and joined the rescue effort without hesitation.
Despite her injuries, she worked faster than most of the others.
Thanks to her strength—and her Rust-Rust Fruit, which let her dissolve large metal obstacles—they cleared debris at an astonishing pace.
In just thirty minutes, she had pulled over a dozen survivors from the ruins.
She watched as stretcher teams carried them away to medics. Her body was reaching its limit. The world was starting to blur.
They should all be rescued by now…
Slumping down beside a broken wall, she finally let herself rest, exhaustion flooding in.
Maybe just a quick nap wouldn't hurt…
She was about to close her eyes—
—when suddenly, a loud cry of a baby abruptly reached her ears…