"Teacher Zephyr, Ain, Binz," as the sky gradually darkened, Taro, whose cheeks were flushed from drinking, stood up unsteadily, "I have to head back. See you next time!"
He first bowed to Zephyr, then reached out to the three of them. Seeing no reaction, Taro stepped forward, grabbed Zephyr's hand, and shook it vigorously. He did the same to Binz. When he reached Ain, he hesitated for a moment before gently grasping a few of her fingers and giving them a shake.
"Goodbye, goodbye, let's drink again next time!" Taro waved his hand, bidding them farewell.
"If you're drunk, just rest for the night and go back tomorrow," Ain said hesitantly, watching the staggering Taro.
"Ah, no, no. I promised Colonel Hina that I'd be back," Taro shook his head gently at first, then shook it hard twice to sober up a bit, revealing a bright smile. "A promise made must be kept!"
"Let him go," Zephyr spoke up, his eyes shining as he looked at Taro with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
Taro waved goodbye to them once more. Though his steps were stumbling, his speed increased as he rushed toward the shore.
"Teacher Zephyr, what did you promise him?" Once Taro was far away, Ain asked impatiently.
Zephyr's gaze lingered on Taro's departing back for a moment, then he looked at the Barrel of Wine by his feet, most of which had been finished by Taro alone. He said slowly, "We made a promise for a New World!"
"New World?" Ain repeated, pondering for a moment before looking up and asking, "Teacher Zephyr, is our next step to head to the New World?"
Zephyr was stunned for a moment, then looked at his two beloved students with a smile. "Yes, to the New World!"
...Walking out of the lounge, Colonel Hina's face looked a bit grim as she watched the sky grow dark. She crossed the deck to the ship's railing and gazed into the distance.
Just then, a staggering figure suddenly appeared on the distant hillside. With every step, he looked as if he were about to fall, but he never did. Instead, he maintained a fairly fast pace as he approached the shore.
"Hey, Colonel Hina, I'm back!" Through his drunken, blurry vision, Taro saw a figure standing on the ship. The pink long hair and red uniform were easy to recognize, so he waved his arms and shouted loudly.
Colonel Hina also recognized Taro. She propped herself on the railing and jumped off the warship. Just as she landed and steadied herself, Taro arrived unsteadily before her.
Hiccup. Taro lowered his head slightly and let out a drunken burp. "I'm back. Let's go back. I'm sleepy, I want to sleep."
As he spoke, his voice grew lower and lower, and his body unconsciously leaned forward.
Colonel Hina instinctively wanted to retreat. They were about the same height, and wearing high heels, she was even a bit taller than Taro. Just as she moved her shoulder, Taro's head had already come to rest on her left shoulder.
Colonel Hina felt her body stiffen instantly. Just as she was debating whether to slap Taro away, she heard the drunken Taro mutter, "Happy."
Colonel Hina's raised hand slowly lowered again.
"Ah, this is too much! This guy actually dares to lean his head on Miss Hina's shoulder!"
"Simply unforgivable! Miss Hina, you must teach him a lesson!"
Fumbudhi and Jango, seeing this scene from the ship, howled in anger.
"Bastards, shut up!" Colonel Hina shouted lightly, swinging her right arm back. "Kimono Feather Cage!" Her right arm instantly transformed into a row of iron bars, trapping the two on the ship before tightening. "Anything my body passes through will be locked!"
She glanced down at the already sleeping Taro. "If you dare make any more noise, I'll finish you off. Hina is very angry."
"I am willing to be Miss Hina's prisoner!"
"Me too!"
Fumbudhi and Jango, trapped by the iron bars, still didn't forget their cheeky remarks... "You little brat, the moment I look away, you disappear. See if I don't beat you to death!" Garp roared at Taro, "Fist of Love!"
A punch landed squarely on Taro's chest.
"Ouch, it hurts! Sorry, I was wrong, I won't do it again!"
Taro suddenly jolted awake from his dream, sitting on the bed huffing and puffing.
"Huh? It was a dream?" Taro was dazed for a moment, then let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, scared me to death!"
Then, in his grogginess, he felt a figure by the bed. He turned his head to look, and what met his eyes was a patch of crystalline skin and a deep cleavage.
Taro froze, realizing what he was seeing, and hurriedly shifted his body away. He then saw Colonel Hina bending over, her right hand half-raised and clenched into a fist, her face seemingly a bit... flushed?
"Ah, are you awake?" Colonel Hina also took a small step back as if startled, straightening her body, the flush on her face deepening. "Waking you up so early, Hina is sorry."
"Hmm? Are you sick?" Taro asked with concern, seeing Colonel Hina's unusual complexion. Then he suddenly reacted, "So early? It's already the next day? Are we back at Marineford?"
"Ah, no, I'm fine," Colonel Hina replied. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Yes, it's already the next day, but we aren't at Marineford."
"It's good that you're not sick," Taro nodded, then asked curiously, "Wait, that's not right. A whole night has passed, why aren't we at Marineford yet? Didn't it take less than a morning to get here?"
"Well, there's been a change in plans... Get out of bed first, we'll talk later."
After saying that, Colonel Hina retreated without looking back.
Taro: "..."
...Inside Hina's captain's cabin.
He flipped through the newspaper in his hand while listening to Colonel Hina's soft voice.
"In short, that's the situation. We now need to head out to support Smoker."
A flash of light crossed Taro's eyes. Things were developing unexpectedly... well.
"Of course, I have no problem with that," Taro said, smiling at Colonel Hina.
Seeing Taro's smile, Hina's expression changed again.
"Are you really okay?" Taro looked at Colonel Hina suspiciously.
No matter how dense Taro was, he noticed something was off. This older sister wouldn't have done something unspeakable to him while he was drunk yesterday, would she?
Thinking of this, his tone became a bit apprehensive. "After I came back yesterday, nothing happened, right?"
"No, nothing!" Colonel Hina shook her head in denial. Seeing Taro's gaze full of suspicion, her tone became firmer. "Nothing happened at all!"
Taro stared at Colonel Hina for a long time before sighing. "Alright then."
"If you say nothing happened, then I'll take it as nothing happened!"
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