Nao pushed through the crowd with a puzzled look.
As he passed, the new recruits on either side instinctively stepped aside. A few nearby even flushed slightly.
"…Nao."
"N-No… Nao… Nao…"
—These voices came from male Marines. Their tone was completely different from how the girls usually said his name.
Nao didn't notice the subtle difference. He looked past the crowd and saw, amid flashes of blades and crossing steel, two figures locked in fierce combat.
The one with his back to him was Shiryu. His opponent wore a Justice cloak—clearly a Marine officer from headquarters. The man had a cigarette dangling from his lips and, despite Shiryu's wild attacks, moved with ease, controlling the pace of the fight completely.
But their speed was too fast, and with bodies flickering back and forth, it was hard to make out the man's face clearly from several meters away.
"That's a pretty big gap in strength."
With Nao's eye for combat, he immediately saw through the situation and raised an eyebrow.
Shiryu was still a recruit under a year in the camp, sure—but to suppress him this easily, the guy had to be at least at captain-level.
So who was this guy? And why was he fighting Shiryu?
Looking around at his fellow recruits—who were all cheering Shiryu on with rare unity—it was clear something more was going on here.
He glanced to his right and saw Instructor Brandon—173cm tall—straining on tiptoes trying to get a glimpse.
"…"
Feeling mildly sympathetic, Nao walked over, gave him a gentle pat, and asked quietly what was happening.
"We're being looked down on…"
After just a few exchanged words, Nao got the full picture. He looked back at the field with a frown.
"Captain Onigumo, huh? Freshly returned from deployment, already acting like this?"
"Sure, he'll be a powerhouse in the future—maybe a vice admiral. But how did he have this little self-awareness when he was younger?"
Publicly mocking the current batch of recruits, right in front of them, and ignoring Onigumo's attempts to calm the situation down… it was as good as direct provocation.
They were all part of the elite training camp, the same "family" under Zephyr. Within Marineford, under Zephyr's banner, they were supposed to be natural allies with tightly aligned interests.
As a graduate and senior, coming back for a visit, the least he could do was carry himself with some dignity.
Even if he didn't care about making friends, at least don't burn bridges. These were future connections—what was he thinking?
"Good thing Zephyr isn't here," Nao muttered. "Otherwise this idiot would've caught a taste of what a real 'Iron Fist of Love' feels like…"
On the field, the duel continued—but Shiryu was clearly flagging.
He still hadn't landed a single hit. His stamina was shot, and he was gasping for breath. His speed and strength were fading fast.
"He's almost done…"
Nao narrowed his eyes. "And that's with Onigumo holding back. He might be a jackass, but his strength really is no joke. Elite camp graduate indeed…"
He wondered—how did he himself compare?
Curious, and not wanting to waste a free opportunity, Nao quietly activated a scan.
[Name: Onigumo]
[Age: 24]
[Strength: 16]
[Agility: 15]
[Stamina: 12]
[Intelligence: 5]
[Charm: 0]
[Skills: Marine Rokushiki (Intermediate), Seven-Sword Style (Intermediate), Observation Haki (Beginner), Armament Haki (Beginner), Life Return, Self-Discipline (Intermediate)]
[Estimated Affection Reward: …Let's not even look at that.]
Nao closed the window with a look of distaste and glanced at Onigumo again.
"…So that's where I stand now, huh?"
"Didn't realize the gap had flipped already."
Even a headquarters captain like Onigumo now had lower stats than him—and by a solid margin.
"Once I push my swordsmanship and Haki to the next level… I'll be eligible for a rear admiral commission at minimum after graduation."
"And if I stack enough war merits? Who knows—maybe I'll skip ahead to vice admiral. Maybe even outrank Pink Rabbit (Gion) one day…"
The always-humble Nao, offering a very modest estimate of his future prospects.
Boom!
Shiryu, finally drained of strength, was sent flying by a wave of sword aura. He crashed hard into a white maple tree, shaking down a storm of leaves.
"Guh…"
He clutched his chest and coughed harshly, struggling to his feet. Just as he tried to charge again, his knees gave out and he dropped to one knee.
"You've reached your limit," Onigumo said coldly. "I gave you plenty of chances. If you still can't even leave a scratch… dragging this out is meaningless."
"You want me to go all out, activate Haki, and leave you broken on the floor? Is that what you're after?"
Shiryu glared, his face dark with frustration.
"…Still, I'll admit. You've got some bite."
Onigumo lit a fresh cigarette, took a drag, then added:
"Your temper's kind of like mine. I like that. Tch… I guess I went a little far lumping you all together earlier."
"Even in the worst batch of recruits, there's always going to be one or two who aren't completely hopeless."
He exhaled smoke with a smirk.
"But if this is the best you've got, it's not enough to make me take those words back."
His smugness was showing again. The recruits around them instantly erupted in fury:
"Bastard! Don't act like you've won something!"
"Just beating Shiryu doesn't give you the right to judge all of us!"
"Get lost! You're not welcome here!"
Onigumo didn't react. Instead, he flopped lazily back onto a nearby rock, cigarette in mouth, looking over the furious rookies like they were ants. A cruel smile tugged at his lips.
His irritation from earlier—over wasting his time and missing Zephyr—seemed to have melted away.
Now that he'd vented in a fight, and stirred the pot a little, his mood had improved for reasons he couldn't explain.
Momonga, watching this unfold, sighed deeply.
Just as he stood to step in, hoping to defuse the situation and apologize on Onigumo's behalf—
A handsome black-haired boy suddenly pushed his way to the front of the crowd.
"Excuse me, foot there, thanks—coming through, sorry—"
Nao.
He didn't look at Onigumo at all. Instead, he headed straight for Shiryu, bent down, and helped him up gently.
"Still in one piece? Want me to help you get patched up?"
"I'm fine," Shiryu said gruffly, pressing his chest and frowning. "That guy's a loudmouth, but he pulled his punches. Just surface wounds. I'll be fine after some rest."
"…You're not going up there, are you?"
"I wasn't planning to." Nao shrugged and tilted his head toward the recruits behind him.
"But after seeing you get tossed like that, I got a little pissed."
"Also, uh… can I really just walk back into the crowd now like nothing happened?"
Shiryu paused. He followed Nao's gaze—
And saw the crowd of recruits looking toward them, faces full of surprise and hope.
Expectant.