Boom!
It was like a bolt of lightning crashing down, shaking Nao's mind to its core.
"Eh? Eh? Ehhhhh??"
He turned around abruptly, pointed to Nami, who was rubbing her sleepy eyes on the bed, and then pointed to himself.
"Wait, wait… I didn't hear that wrong, did I? Na… Nami just called me 'Daddy'!?"
"…"
Even Belle-Mère froze, completely stunned for several seconds.
"Da… Daddy~"
Little Nami blinked, then softly repeated it again, her words still a little slurred but, in the now-quiet bedroom, far clearer than before.
"Hey, you hear that? She really did call me!"
Now that he was sure, Nao was overjoyed. He rushed to the side of the bed, knelt down, and happily stared at the little pink and tender face from a few dozen centimeters away.
Seeing him get closer, little Nami, who was now fully awake, giggled and reached out with her little hand to scratch his chin.
Nao leaned in even closer, allowing his stubble to be rubbed back and forth by her soft, chubby little hand. His heart felt as sweet as honey.
"Look at you… grinning like that makes me want to punch you."
Belle-Mère, watching from the side, spoke in a sour tone. ""I've never heard little Nami say a word until now. I can't believe the first person she called out to wasn't me, but you…"
"Hahahaha, well, she was still a bit too young before."
Nao didn't bother hiding his pride—his smile was practically wide enough to split his face. "She's only just turned five months, right? But Belle-Mère, you know what this means? Hmm? It means she's obviously closer to me."
The girl with the chestnut-red ponytail flipped her hair, turned her head, and snorted, not wanting to talk to him anymore.
Everyone knows—no matter the country—that "Mommy" and "Daddy" are among the easiest sounds for a baby to make around five or six months old.
Whether it comes out as "Mommy" or "Daddy" first is pure chance—and usually slurred enough to be indistinguishable. But young parents can't help but turn it into a competition.
And clearly, the "invincible" Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Nao, and his childhood friend, were no exception.
...
In the end, little Nami's sleepiness returned, and Belle-Mère coaxed her back to bed.
Carrying the joy of being called "Daddy" for the first time, Nao lifted Nojiko onto his shoulders and stepped outside, full of energy.
"Woof! Woof!"
Sadaharu wagged his tail and followed—turning this father-daughter outing into a dog walk, too.
The residential area behind Marine Headquarters had over a hundred thousand residents. In any island country outside, it would be considered a large town.
Naturally, it had all kinds of facilities, including restaurants, coffee shops, amusement parks, parks, hospitals… Everything was there and very complete.
Marineford was always springtime, and after the sun came out in the morning, it dispelled a lot of the winter chill. Walking on the road, the air was crisp and clear, making people feel comfortable.
As soon as they entered the main street, there were various stalls selling snacks, such as fried skewers, barbecue, candy, milk tea, and a variety of other strange things that Nojiko had never seen before. Her eyes were not enough to take it all in.
However, perhaps because she had survived several battles, the little girl was unusually sensible for her age.
Even though she saw some foods she had never seen before and stared at them, drooling, she never once asked for them.
Is she just used to being frugal?
Nao noticed this right away, and it made him think of Nojiko from the original timeline—
That girl who, despite enduring hardship from childhood, grew into someone strong and optimistic. Who could stand her ground against Arlong's crew while still keeping her mother's tangerine grove alive…
"Are you hungry, Nojiko?"
He ruffled her short blue hair with a warm smile. "Which one do you want to eat? Just say it, and I'll go buy it for you."
"…Nao-san…"
Nojiko was a bit hesitant, but in the end, she couldn't resist the temptation of delicious food. She pointed to the ice cream cart at the street corner and whispered, "I… I want to eat that ice cream cone…"
Nao looked at the ice cream cart. The price list was full of dozens of desserts and sundaes, most of which were around 500 Berries.
The ice cream cone that Nojiko mentioned was at the very top of the price list and was also the cheapest one, costing only 100 Berries.
"Silly girl."
Nao chuckled, pinching her cheek as he led her over. "I'll have an ice cream cone, and also, one of each of the most expensive sundaes on the list."
"Eh?"
Nojiko's eyes went wide, and she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "No, no, don't buy so many… I… I can't eat that much…"
"Just try a little bit of each. Don't worry, I'll finish whatever you can't eat!"
Nao laughed heartily, pulling several 10,000-Berry notes from his jacket pocket.
As a Vice Admiral, his monthly salary alone was over 5 million Berries—not counting the 200 million the World Government had recently awarded him. To him, this was pocket change.
Soon, all the sundaes were prepared and packed up—but the stall owner handed the money back.
"What's this for?" He looked at the stall owner strangely.
"You… you're Vice Admiral Nao, right?"
The stall owner was a young woman in her twenties. When she saw him looking at her, she shyly lowered her head and said awkwardly, "You… you're my idol. I finally got to meet you in person. How could I possibly take your money?"
"Now, now—you shouldn't say that. It's hard enough running a small business."
Nao insisted on paying, but the young woman was more stubborn and refused to take the money. In the end, Nao had no choice but to leave with Nojiko and a large bag of ice cream desserts, under the stall owner's admiring gaze.
Around the corner, there were some tables and chairs made of rattan, with umbrellas to provide shade for passersby to rest.
They sat facing each other. Nao lined up the sundaes, and while Nojiko gulped at the sight, she didn't start eating—instead, she pushed a few cups toward him.
"Nao-san, you eat first…"
"Huh?"
Before she could finish her sentence, Nojiko's eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
She clearly saw that after Nao had finished arranging the sundaes, he took out the same paper notes, sat back on the rattan chair with his legs crossed, and flicked them with his finger.
The notes fluttered out like birds and, without a single miss, landed right into the cash drawer while the young stall owner was not looking…
Nao then turned his head and looked at Nojiko. "What were you saying just now?"
"That… that was amazing!"
The little girl completely forgot about the sundaes and couldn't help but sit up straight, propping herself up on the table with her hands. She looked at Nao's hands with nothing but adoration:
"How did you do that, Nao-san!?"
Children are like that. Talking about grandiose things is all just talk. All the glorious achievements, like being a Headquarters Vice Admiral or defeating many great pirates, were not as impressive to her as the scene she had just witnessed.
"Just a little trick."
Basking in her admiration, Nao happily showed off a few more sleight-of-hand moves, making her cheer over and over. By the time she finally started eating, the ice cream had already begun to melt under the sun.
The flavor was slightly affected, but Nojiko still ate it happily. She would try a strawberry one for a while, then a blueberry pudding, then chocolate, then cheesecake… Every now and then, she would hold up her cup with a face full of anticipation and hand it to Nao, wanting him to try some too.
Nao smiled and didn't hold back, sharing a taste of every flavor. He even deliberately ate the entire chocolate sundae in one bite, which made the little one feel both shy and angry, and she hit his arm several times with her little fists.
"Huh?"
The trio—the two people and one dog—were enjoying themselves when a slightly surprised voice suddenly rang out from not far behind them.
"How do you have time to be hanging around here? And whose kid is this?"
With that familiar accent, Nao didn't need to turn around to know who it was. He turned his head and, sure enough, it was Aokiji in a casual patterned shirt, holding a cup of coffee and looking at him with a face full of surprise.
"My family's here, so I took leave to spend some time with them."
Nao pointed to the empty rattan chair next to him. "Have a seat. What about you, Kuzan? Don't tell me you snuck out to goof off?"
"Of course not…"
Aokiji pulled up a chair and sat down, shrugging. "I have a mission in the New World at noon, and before I left, I really wanted a cup of coffee from the ICE Bakery, so I came to get one and to look around."
"Going to the New World? What mission?"
"It's nothing major. Sakazuki… The G-1 branch has been making some moves recently. They're a bit short-handed, so I have to go over there to help out. I won't be there for more than a few days."
Aokiji seemed reluctant to mention that name. After changing the subject, he looked up at Nojiko again and said with interest, "Speaking of which, you still haven't answered my question. Whose kid is this little cutie? Your relative?"
The G-1 branch is making some moves…
Are they going to make a move on the Big Mom Pirates or the Beasts Pirates and get revenge for the loss at the G-7 branch?
"Take a guess."
Nao smiled, ruffling Nojiko's hair. "Nojiko, this is my buddy. Just call him 'Kuzan-oniisan.'"
She obediently set down her sundae. "Kuzan-oniisan."
She actually called me that?
"She's sweet—but it should be 'uncle,'" Kuzan said, giving her a friendly smile before turning to Nao with a deadpan look. "Trying to take advantage of me? Just tell me already—don't make me guess."
"I can only sit here for a little while, and I have to leave soon. Don't make me wait, just tell me the answer."
"I thought you didn't like being called old."
Nao spread his hands and said with a smile, "As for Nojiko… such a cute little one, she's my daughter, of course."
"…Your daughter?"
Aokiji was stunned at first, then looked at him in disbelief. He even started to stutter: "W-when? How come I never heard Gion mention it? And she's… she's already so big?"
That's not right!
This little one looked like she was at least three years old, but how long had Gion and Nao known each other?
Less than two years! He was the one who introduced them, so he remembered it very clearly!
And…
Although little Nojiko was indeed incredibly cute, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she inherited their good genes in terms of her facial features and skin color, Gion and Nao both had black hair and black eyes. How could they have a blue-haired girl?
Nao looked at him quietly and then said in a low voice after a long time:
"Confused?"
Aokiji nodded eagerly.
"You'll find out soon enough," Nao sighed, rubbing his temples. "And when that happens, I might need you to help calm Gion down…"
What did that mean?
Aokiji looked bewildered. Before he could ask, Nao had already cleaned up the remaining sundaes on the table and happily walked away, holding Nojiko's hand.
"Something's not right, something's not right…"
He mumbled to himself, pinching his chin in deep thought. After a long time, he seemed to have thought of something and took out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket, dialing Gion's number.
But just as the call was about to connect, he looked at the distant figures of the two, one large and one small, and hesitated, canceling the call…
"Forget it. Better not get involved."
Aokiji, who had already imagined a bunch of ridiculous and melodramatic plots in his head, shrugged and stood up, putting his jacket on his shoulders. He walked towards the port, mumbling:
"After all, I can't afford to offend either of them…"
...
On the other side.
After a long walk with Nojiko until the little one was too tired to go on, Nao took her back home.
Nami was still fast asleep, and Belle-mère, who was there to look after her, had also fallen asleep next to her at some point. Seeing the scene of the mother and daughter sleeping together, Nao smiled silently. He bent down to cover the girl with a light blanket before carefully backing out.
His dad had also gone for his afternoon nap, which was his usual habit.
Yukika, who was still bothered by what Nao had said earlier, hadn't gone to sleep. She was waiting on the sofa and, as soon as she saw Nao walk in, she patted the spot next to her with an unfriendly tone:
"Come here."
"…"
Nao, who had tried to sneak away, failed. He had no choice but to turn around and give a dry laugh. "What is it, Mom?"
"What do you think?"
Yukika narrowed her eyes and sneered, "Stop being so secretive with me. Tell me, besides Belle-mère, how many other girls did you hook up with?"