Being Young Is Great

Milgu steadied his breathing. Though he was always composed, he showed a rare look of exasperation.

Marine officers each had their own creed of justice, which they had made into plaques and hung in their offices.

Sengoku's was Reigning Justice.

Akainu's was Absolute Justice.

Kuzan's was Lazy Justice.

Kizaru's was Ambiguous Justice.

Vice Admiral Tsuru's was Pure Justice.

And Comil's was Composed Justice.

But no matter how composed he was, the abrupt turn from a Mythical Zoan to the dead-last Zoan fruit had made him choke.

Ma Qiao scratched his head and waved an apology.

He had accidentally said what was on his mind.

Fortunately, though, this balding old man was quite considerate.

He had known to turn his head in time when he sprayed his food.

Vice Admiral Comil waved the chef away to wash his face, then brewed two cups of coffee and brought them over.

After his brief bout of anger, there was already a hint of pity in his gaze as he looked at Ma Qiao.

He felt that the young man must have been unwilling to accept having eaten the legendary most useless fruit, and had consequently lost his senses and started imagining he could turn into a Mythical Zoan.

Having been through it himself, Comil understood that pain.

But...

A person's fate!

Of course, it depended on one's own efforts, but one also had to take the course of history into account...

More often, though, fate was already decided the moment you ate a certain fruit.

Comil remembered the days in his youth when he had slacked off and let his mind wander in the "Introduction to the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia" class at Marine Academy.

He also couldn't help thinking of that quiet top student in his class who was gentle at heart.

Kuzan.

That fellow was now the youngest Admiral.

The hottest person had eaten the coldest fruit.

The coldest person had eaten the hottest fruit.

The laziest person had eaten the fastest fruit...

This world really was a strange place!

Shaking his head, Comil offered a dose of empty encouragement he didn't even believe himself:

"The Penguin-Penguin Fruit... I've heard a few rumors about it too. Young man, you must never stop trying or give up on your dreams. There's no strongest fruit in the world, only the strongest ability user!"

Ma Qiao laughed. "That's true. I firmly believe it myself."

With that, he took the coffee and drained it in one gulp.

"Huh? Um... don't you think the coffee is bitter?"

Comil asked.

He had taken a liking to the young man before him, who was optimistic and cheerful, undaunted by setbacks and never gave up on himself.

"It's a little bitter."

Ma Qiao nodded. "It would be better with some erythritol."

"Erythritol? What's that?" Comil asked.

"It's a kind of seasoning from my hometown. It's hard to find now," Ma Qiao said with some regret.

"The hardest thing to find is the taste you remember from back then..."

Milgu shook his head and said wistfully, "I've been carrying a coffee cup for decades, but only a few people know that I don't actually like coffee at all. It's too bitter.

"But back then, Instructor Zephyr had a sweet, fizzy coffee that tasted wonderful. I've been searching for it ever since..."

"Is this what you mean?"

Ma Qiao silently took out a bottle of Big Bird Cola with its label torn off...

Ma Qiao had never dreamed that his trip to G-2 Base would end with him signing a contract to supply "sweet fizzy coffee."

All he had to do was tear off the "madeineastbulue" label and replace it with "Big Bird Manufacturing," and it would immediately meet the requirements for this publicly funded order.

Beli really was easy to earn!

Still...

Ma Qiao shook his head.

He hadn't expected Admiral Zephyr, who hated evil with a passion, to have such a gluttonous side.

Were carbonated drinks really suitable for soldiers?

Ma Qiao couldn't help thinking of a relative who had run a restaurant in his previous life.

He had been the chef personally chosen by the abbot of a nearby temple.

On holidays, the abbot and some eminent monks would go to his restaurant to eat, saying his vegetarian dishes were especially delicious.

Once, after a few drinks, he let the truth slip.

The relative told Ma Qiao there was no secret recipe for the vegetarian dishes. He simply added a couple of extra spoonfuls of lard when cooking.

The monks loved the taste.

By the same token, the cola in the cup of Instructor Zephyr, who had always advocated healthy eating and arduous training, wasn't called cola; it had become coffee.

The unscrupulous Instructor Zephyr had deceived his innocent students for more than twenty years.

The taste of the instructor's "coffee" that Comil had once sneaked a drink of remained vivid in his memory.

Tasting Instructor Zephyr's flavor again brought the middle-aged man to tears, and he cried like a five-hundred-jin child.

Aside from that, Comil explained his original reason for coming to see Ma Qiao.

He hoped—or rather, requested—that Garen take a secret psychological test.

Comil felt ashamed about it.

After all, a young man who could produce such delicious "sweet fizzy coffee" certainly couldn't be a villain, and his companion naturally couldn't be a bad person either.

Still, since it concerned the child of his old classmate Momonga, it was better to be careful.

Ma Qiao readily agreed.

It was only a psychological test. Wasn't that only natural?

In later times, psychological testing, assessing mental health, and screening out people with antisocial personalities were standard procedure even for jobs at large companies, let alone for joining the military or entering the civil service.

Since they hadn't investigated his previous three generations of ancestors, Ma Qiao already felt that the Marines' entrance screening was far too lax.

Seeing how cooperative Ma Qiao was, Comil felt even more ashamed.

What an upright and honorable group of young people!

Being young is great!

When Ma Qiao returned to the inn, Vivi had fallen asleep leaning against his door.

Only then did Ma Qiao remember that he had promised to bring back a late-night snack, but an uninvited old geezer had made him forget.

He carried Vivi in his arms to the bed.

Ma Qiao made do on the floor for the night.

The next day, Ma Qiao was awakened by a small, pale foot stepping on him.

Vivi screamed before he could.

"You creepy old man, what are you doing in my room?!"

"This is my room, all right?!"

Ma Qiao rubbed his face.

Sure enough, a man who won't act like a beast comes to no good end!

The ancients truly didn't deceive me.

After a simple breakfast, Ma Qiao called over Garen, who had spent the whole night practicing handstand push-ups in the next room.

Ma Qiao put a respectable-looking shirt on him.

With Garen's thick eyebrows and big eyes, even if he wore a waiter's outfit, he would still look like an underground operative.

Once he was properly dressed up, his righteous bearing was immediately striking.

Before long, Twitch arrived with Master Sergeant Qiangsen and the others to receive Garen.

Qiangsen was a veteran of G-2 Base.

Along the way, he complained indignantly that the officers were being so harsh on Garen.

Only then did Ma Qiao learn that psychological testing wasn't a required part of enlistment.

Seeing that no one else was around, Master Sergeant Qiangsen lowered his voice and said to the group, "Do you know who Major Tuya, the person in charge of the psychological test, is?"

Without waiting for an answer, he said mysteriously, "Major Tuya is a disciple of Staff Officer Tsuru from headquarters and a Truth-Telling Fruit user!"