Kizaru and Akainu

Marineford, recreation district,

The future Marine Admirals, Kizaru and Akainu, were aimlessly strolling down a street.

Both were dressed casually. Kizaru wore a yellow shirt, a white knit cap, and a pair of brown sunglasses.

Akainu wore a red shirt that exposed his incredibly muscular chest, the left side covered in a rose-petal tattoo.

He wore a white Marine cap pulled low over his brow. His stern expression gave him the air of an underworld boss.

Compared to Akainu, Kizaru looked like some street punk.

Kizaru was peeling a banana in his hand. He glanced at the brooding Akainu beside him and said,

"Sakazuki, it's a rare day off. Can't you cheer up a little?"

Akainu adjusted the brim of his cap, which nearly covered his eyes, and said in a low voice,

"I still have several sets of training to finish today. We'll eat quickly, then I'm going back to continue training!"

Kizaru shrugged, finished the banana in three bites, and casually tossed the peel onto the ground.

Akainu frowned slightly. He bent down, picked up the banana peel, and held it in his palm. Then his hand turned a vivid red, thick smoke rose up, and the peel was reduced directly to ash by the terrifying heat, scattering into the air.

"Borsalino, you should pay more attention to your image. Some people call you Yellow Monkey behind your back."

Kizaru gave a laugh, seemingly unconcerned, but a flash of brilliant golden light streaked across his brown lenses.

"How rude. But it doesn't matter. We've always been treated like monsters, so I'm used to it!"

As he spoke, Kizaru clasped his hands behind his head and quickened his pace forward.

Akainu, following behind him, suddenly said,

"I already taught them a lesson."

Kizaru paused, the corners of his mouth lifting as he drawled in a somewhat exaggerated tone,

"Oh~ Sakazuki, you're a little too hot-tempered... Did you use your Devil Fruit ability?"

"No. There was no need to use it against people like that."

"True. I couldn't beat you without using my Devil Fruit ability."

"You couldn't beat me even if you did."

"..."

The usually flippant Kizaru was rarefully choked speechless. He ignored Akainu, shoved his hands into his pockets, and began whistling.

The two walked silently for a while before finally stopping in front of a barbecue restaurant.

"Grrr~"

Kizaru abruptly turned to stare at Akainu and asked in "confusion,"

"Sakazuki, did you hear some strange sound?"

Akainu's face darkened to a reddish black. That sound had clearly come from his stomach, and Kizaru was obviously mocking him.

It couldn't be helped. The food at the Marine Academy was decent, but anyone would get sick of eating it every day!

Akainu glanced at the tempting advertisement posted outside the barbecue restaurant, gritted his teeth, and turned to leave without a word.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't go! I really feel like having barbecue today. Eat with me just once, okay? My treat!"

Akainu stopped and glared back at Kizaru. Just then, the scent of grilled meat drifted out from the restaurant. He sniffed it and said in a deep voice,

"Fine. But don't eat too much. Teacher Zephyr said too much grease will affect training!"

Kizaru held his forehead and sighed, then waved his hand helplessly.

"All right, all right. Let's indulge just this once. Come on!"

Inside the barbecue restaurant, at a table in the corner,

Gigue and the other two sat around a grill. Ginny rested her chin in both hands, her large eyes unblinking as she stared at the sizzling pork belly on the grill. Pouting, she said,

"Brother Gigue, how much longer until it's cooked? I'm starving!"

Gigue smiled and flicked Ginny's smooth forehead with a finger, teasing her,

"I think you're just craving it! Wait a little longer. Why can't you learn from Kuma and be more patient?"

Hearing Gigue praise him, Kuma scratched his head awkwardly and said timidly,

"Big Brother Gigue, I'm actually a little hungry too..."

"...Fine, I'll add some more charcoal. Don't blame me if it gets burnt!"

Ginny rubbed her cheek against Gigue's arm and said sweetly,

"I'd never blame Brother Gigue. Even if the meat really gets burnt, I can eat it all!"

Gigue chuckled and was about to speak when a melodious voice rang out from the entrance,

"Boss! Do you have any seats left? Give me a large serving of beef, with a nice balance of fat and lean meat!"

A slightly muffled voice followed,

"And two bowls of white rice!"

"Sakazuki, you really do love rice."

At the mention of Sakazuki's name, Gigue paused as he added charcoal and looked toward the entrance.

A waiter from the barbecue restaurant had already enthusiastically gone to greet them. Led by the waiter, Kizaru and Akainu ultimately sat at the table beside Gigue's group.

Kizaru dropped into his chair and stretched lazily. He turned to Gigue with a smile and asked,

"Young man, you seem to have been looking at me this whole time. Do we know each other?"

Gigue did not hide it and replied with a smile,

"My apologies, that was rude of me. I just felt that you had a distinctive air about you, so I couldn't help looking a few extra times."

"Cough, cough..."

Akainu suddenly coughed twice and silently glanced up at Kizaru.

Kizaru seemed quite interested in Gigue. He automatically ignored the matter of his "distinctive air" and asked,

"You look a little unfamiliar, young man. Did you just arrive here?"

"Yes. We came to enlist."

As soon as he heard that Gigue and the others had come to enlist, Kizaru immediately moved his chair beside Gigue's. After sitting down, he struck up a conversation with effortless familiarity,

"What a coincidence. Maybe we'll become classmates. Let me introduce myself—I'm Borsalino, and that one over there is Sakazuki."

Gigue glanced at Akainu. Sakazuki nodded slightly, a somewhat stiff smile appearing on his face.

After briefly introducing himself and the others as well, Gigue said with a smile,

"Then it seems the two of you will be our future upperclassmen. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kizaru waved his hand.

"Forget this upperclassman nonsense. The two of us are a bit unpopular at school. Once you get in, you might end up wishing you could stay far away from us~"

"Oh? Why is that? I think the two of you are very easy to get along with."

"Well, we're called monsters at school. Who would want to hang around monsters? So the two of us can only stick together for warmth."

"Is that so?"

Gigue used his chopsticks to turn over a slice of meat on the grill and said softly,

"Perhaps we're the same kind of people..."