A thick sea mist hung in the air, and the sound of rain whispered all around.
A blindingly white flash of sword light tore through the gloomy curtain of rain. As the downpour intensified and thunder rumbled overhead, three pirate ships were already cleaved into multiple pieces.
When the sea finally calmed, shattered planks floated everywhere. The pirates who had been swaggering and boastful only moments ago were now reduced to lifeless corpses bobbing on the surface.
Step.
Nao drifted down from the sky, his face expressionless, and stepped onto the deck as the Marines watched, dumbfounded.
"Have a group of people do a quick cleanup of the battlefield. We'll continue to move toward Headquarters at full speed in half an hour."
After giving the order, he strode into the cabin.
"Yes, Rear Admiral!"
Only then did the subordinates snap out of their shock from the scene they had just witnessed and respond in unison.
After Nao's back disappeared through the cabin door, the Marines looked at each other, feeling that something about the scene they had just seen was not quite right.
When did Rear Admiral Gion become so decisive and ruthless when she made a move?
Without waiting for either side to fire their cannons, she had used Geppo to fly into the air and killed all the pirates with a single sword slash, leaving no one alive.
This was in no way like Rear Admiral Gion's usual style.
It was more like…
It was exactly the same as their former Deputy, Vice Admiral Nao.
How strange.
...
Nao, who had already entered the cabin, was naturally unaware of his subordinates' murmurs.
He was walking down the corridor, his face looking even worse than before as he stared at the faint blue system panel in front of him.
This was because the "Special Vivre Card" item in his inventory was now grayed out.
And when his gaze landed on it.
A notification box popped up saying, "Vivre Card is bound to an abnormal body state and cannot be used for the time being."
"Does that mean… that the bond between the main Vivre Card and the secondary Vivre Card is my body, not my soul or consciousness, so I can't use this item because I'm not in my own body?"
The reason was easy to guess, and the mechanism seemed reasonable. After all, the raw materials for making Vivre Cards were the owner's fingernails and hair.
But…
Reasonable or not, this is a pain in the ass!
He couldn't get back to Headquarters right away, and this Marine ship still had at least two more days and nights of travel to get to Marineford.
By the time he got back… he might not be walking into a mere lover's quarrel, but into an unmitigated hellscape.
"This is bad…"
Nao sighed deeply and frustratingly ruffled his hair. If he had known this would happen, why would he have told Belle-mère those lies, just to fool her temporarily?
He looked at the quest log again.
[Do you want to rely on a cheat to get through it? That's too lame, young man! A true Sea King, even when facing the most brutal battle royale, should be open and honest and face his mistakes head-on!]
The title of "Sea King" was just bullshit, he still didn't think he had fallen to that level.
But…
The rest of the note wasn't wrong.
Nao stared at the note for a long time.
The root of this problem was his own fault, but he had only thought about relying on his overpowered charim skill to solve the problem in the simplest and most brutal way possible.
—Since when did I start becoming such an irresponsible person when it came to relationships?
For the past two years, whether using "Radiance Smile" or "Craftsman's Spirit," he had always respected his bottom line and never used such abilities on those he truly cared about.
But now, just to avoid a potential bloodbath, he had thrown a mind-control type skill at the woman he loved. What the hell was that?
From the corner of his eye, he noticed a system notification flash by. Looking over, he saw his stat sheet change into a different form:
[It has been detected that your current body is in an abnormal state. The corresponding data will be displayed based on the current body.]
[Name: Gion]
[Age: 26]
[Strength: 27]
[Agility: 28]
[Stamina: 19]
[Intelligence: 10]
[Charm: 13]
[Skills: Marine Six Powers (Advanced), Single-Sword Style Swordsmanship (Advanced), Firearm Shooting (Intermediate), Observation Haki (Advanced), Armament Haki (Advanced), Home Cooking (Advanced)]
…
He had completely turned into little rabbit's stats.
After not seeing her for a few months, Gion's basic stats hadn't changed much, but what was up with this "Home Cooking" skill that had suddenly become Advanced?
He clearly remembered it was only "Beginner" before.
Could it be…
That after he left, she'd been secretly practicing hard, dreaming of living together at Headquarters in the future—just so she could surprise him when they reunited?
He stopped in front of the captain's office, lips pressing together in a complicated expression.
After a long pause—
He closed the system panel, his gaze gradually becoming more resolute, and pushed open the office door.
He searched inside for a while and soon found the Den Den Mushi sleeping soundly in the desk drawer. He then took a deep breath and dialed the number for his home.
...
The sun was getting higher, and the sunlight was getting warmer.
But at this moment, the temperature in the large living room had dropped to a freezing point.
Bellemere sat on the sofa, hands clutching the hem of her shirt, looking unsure what to do.
Across from the coffee table, "Nao" sat with his legs crossed, drinking black tea with an expressionless face. His eyes were fixed on the swirling tea leaves in his cup, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Yukika and old Captain Natsuya were sitting far away in the other corner of the sofa.
It had taken a long time for the two of them to digest the fact that the two had swapped bodies from a distance. Now they looked at Belle-mère on the left and "Nao" on the right…
They were literally on pins and needles.
"So…"
Finally, "Shiryu of the Rain," who had been pacing back and forth, couldn't take it anymore and broke the deadly silence. "The raccoon incident happened again for no reason? Is Nao in your body right now?"
"It's highly likely."
Gion's voice was cold, her gaze never leaving the tea:
"Didn't expect you to know so much about us. I just never imagined Nao's tastes were… this diverse."
"…"
"Shiryu of the Rain" twitched a corner of her eye. After much hesitation, she frustratingly rubbed her forehead:
"Forget it. It's already come to this. Nao probably won't blame me if I take off my disguise. You've really misunderstood him, Rear Admiral Gion…"
As she spoke, her body changed. In just two or three seconds, she returned to her original appearance.
—The princess in a long court dress, with blue hair that reached her waist, and a refined and noble aura.
Oh no, it's her! Yukika, who had seen her in a photo, was startled.
The other two women sitting opposite each other across the sofa were both stunned and stared blankly at Shia.
"Have a daughter…"
The whispered words at the dining table earlier echoed in Gion's mind, and she gave a cold little laugh:
"No wonder you said that. Turns out he was hiding more from me than just that other one over there…"
"What do you mean 'hiding from you'?"
This air of a legal wife immediately angered Belle-mère, who was still in a daze. The chestnut-red ponytail girl looked up sharply and said angrily:
"Don't act like you're in the right! I should be the one saying that. You two… When did you two get together with that bastard behind my back?"
"A year and a half."
"Almost two years…"
They both spoke at roughly the same time.
Gion was stunned. She turned and looked at Shia, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Shia was speechless. She didn't dare to meet her gaze, so she avoided it by looking down, her teeth biting her lower lip. Her slender, jade-white fingers were intertwined on her thighs in a tangle.
For some reason.
Even though she was usually as cold and aloof as an iceberg in front of outsiders, when faced with Gion, the "official couple" whom the entire Marine knew about, or Belle-mère, the childhood friend who had grown up with Nao since they were kids…
She always had a sense of humility carved into her bones, like a secret lover who suddenly felt guilty and couldn't look up after being exposed.
"In other words, you two only met Nao after he joined Marine Headquarters, and it's only been a year or two…"
Belle-mère gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "I was the first one… He was engaged to me more than ten years ago… You two are the latecomers who ruined our relationship!"
A childhood friend?
Looking at the angry and unwilling chestnut-red-haired girl, Gion was completely stunned this time. She didn't say anything for a long time. When she lowered her head to sip her tea, her right hand, which was holding the teacup, trembled slightly.
Her mind flashed back to the winter two years ago, when she'd begged Sister Tsuru to assign her and Nao to the West Blue together—
Only to be stationed there alone, waiting at the First Branch base for over a month before Nao finally returned from "visiting family" in the East Blue.
Visiting family? What family?
From the very beginning, he'd been lying to her…
A wave of bitterness rose in her chest. Gion sniffed softly, lifting her teacup higher to hide the redness in her eyes.
At that moment—
"Daddy! Daddy!"
The sound of little feet came thumping down the stairs. Nojiko, still giggling from playing upstairs, rushed over and handed the den-den mushi to Gion.
"Here, someone's calling for you!"
...
In the captain's office—
Nao sat in a spacious sofa chair, his heart pounding, listening to the thumping sound of footsteps coming down the stairs from the other end of the line.
Nojiko seemed to be unaware of what was happening and was laughing happily. Perhaps the situation over there wasn't as bad as he thought?
The next moment—
The Den Den Mushi on the desk suddenly made a soft "KOCHA" sound and lazily closed its eyes.
What's going on? It was hung up right away?
Nao blinked, then immediately redialed.
Buru buru—
Kocha.
As soon as it connected, it was immediately hung up again.
He didn't give up and dialed a few more times. He even switched to Belle-mère's number, but without exception, they were all hung up the moment they connected.
It was over.
Nao finally gave up torturing the Den Den Mushi and leaned back against the sofa helplessly, a bitter taste in his mouth.
Damn it. They won't even give me a chance to confess and admit my mistake.
It seems I was too optimistic just now. The situation over there is probably already heading in an unpredictable direction.
Forget it. When the time comes, there's always a way forward. This wasn't something that could be explained over the phone anyway—better to wait until he returned to Headquarters and face it directly.
Knock knock.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door. Nao immediately snapped out of his thoughts and returned to reality. He straightened his clothes and his expression before saying faintly:
"Come in."
With a creak, the wooden door was pushed open, and the figure that appeared in the doorway made Nao freeze in an instant.
—It was a beautiful, pink-haired girl in pajamas, who was so sleepy that she couldn't keep her eyes open and was constantly yawning.
Hina???
Wasn't she transferred to G-1 Branch with Vice Admiral Chisio last year? Why is she on this Marine ship from the West Blue?
"What are you doing, Gion-sis?"
Little Hina didn't notice Nao's surprised look. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and mumbled as she walked over:
"Didn't we agree that you'd come and sleep with me? Why haven't you come over after showering for so long…"
As she spoke, she was already by Nao's side, pulling on his arm. "You can deal with the official documents tomorrow. Come on, the thunder outside is so loud, Hina can't sleep alone…"
Nao's expression suddenly froze.
The reason was simple…
A year had passed.
Hina, who was now fifteen years old, had grown in all the right places. Her figure was curvy and elegant, and being so close to her inevitably led to skin-to-skin friction.
And even a chest-to-chest collision.
"Phew…"
Nao closed his eyes slightly and took a breath.
Even though his identity allowed him to take advantage of the situation and even be reckless.
He held back.
"Hina ."
He opened his eyes, trying to endure the tingling sensation coming from his chest. He gently pushed away the soft and delicate body that was snuggling into his embrace and, with Hina's confused gaze on him, said seriously:
"Stop fooling around. It's me."
Huh?
Hina was clearly not fully awake yet. She tilted her head, her clear eyes staring at him, filled with a huge question mark.
"The incident on Gull Island is happening again."
Nao looked at Hina. "You know what I mean, right?"
"…"
It took two or three full seconds before Hina suddenly gasped in shock. "Ehhhhh?! Nao-nii?!"
"Yeah."
Nao sighed helplessly. "I don't know how it happened—didn't even run into that sea raccoon again. But somehow I ended up here, and Gion's already back at Headquarters."
"Anyway, never mind that."
Just thinking about Headquarters gave him a headache, so he quickly changed the subject. "Why are you on Gion's ship? Where's Vice Admiral Chisio?"
"Granny Chisio's still at G-1."
Talking business now, Hina answered obediently: "Things over there are getting tense. Granny says a huge war's about to break out. It's not safe for me to stay, so when Gion-sis's ship stopped by for supplies, she asked her to take me back to Headquarters."
Stopped by?
Nao understood instantly.
Right—West Blue and the first half of the Grand Line aren't connected. To cross the Red Line to Marineford, you have to go around through the New World. Stopping at G-1 for resupply was normal.
Still… "getting tense" and "about to break out into a huge war"—what was going on?