Kizaru and Akainu

Marineford, Recreation Area.

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

Both were dressed casually. Kizaru wore a yellow shirt and a white beanie, with a pair of brown sunglasses on his face.

Akainu, on the other hand, wore a red shirt, revealing incredibly muscular pecs. His left chest was covered in a tattoo of rose petals.

He wore a white Marine cap, pulled low, and his expression was stern, giving him the aura of a yakuza boss.

Compared to Akainu, Kizaru looked like a loafer.

Kizaru was peeling a banana, and he glanced at the somber Akainu beside him, saying, "Sakazuki, today is a rare day off. Can't you be a little happier?"

Akainu adjusted the brim of his cap, which was almost covering his eyes, and said in a low voice, "I still have a few training sets left today. I'll eat quickly and then go back to training!"

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

Akainu's brow furrowed slightly. He bent down, picked up the banana peel, and held it in his palm. Immediately, his hand turned bright red, and a thick plume of smoke rose as the peel turned to ash under the intense heat, scattering into the air.

"Borsalino, you should watch your image. Some people are secretly calling you 'Yellow Monkey'."

Kizaru chuckled, seemingly unbothered, but a flash of golden light glinted across his brown lenses.

"How rude! But it doesn't matter. We've always been treated like monsters anyway, we're used to it!"

Saying that, Kizaru put his hands behind his head and quickened his pace, walking ahead.

Akainu, following behind, suddenly said, "I've already dealt with them."

Kizaru stopped in his tracks, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly, and he said in a somewhat exaggerated tone, "Oh~ Sakazuki, you're a bit too hot-headed... Did you use your ability?"

"No, there was no need for that against those people."

"True, I wouldn't be able to beat you if I didn't use my Devil Fruit ability."

"Even if I used it, I still wouldn't be able to beat you."

"..."

The usually flippant Kizaru was uncharacteristically silenced and stopped talking to Akainu, putting his hands in his pockets and whistling.

They walked in silence for a while, finally stopping in front of a barbecue restaurant.

"Grumble~"

Kizaru suddenly turned his head and stared at Akainu, asking with a "confused" expression, "Sakazuki, did you hear a strange noise?"

Akainu's face turned a dark reddish-black. The 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 good, but you couldn't eat it every single day!

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

"Hey, hey, hey, don't go! I really want to eat barbecue today. Come with me, my treat!"

Akainu stopped and glared back at Kizaru. Just then, the aroma of grilled meat wafted from the restaurant. He twitched his nose and said sternly, "Alright, but don't eat too much. Teacher Zephyr said that too much grease affects training!"

Kizaru sighed, putting a hand to his forehead, and waved dismissively, saying, "Okay, okay, just this once. Let's go!"

Inside the barbecue restaurant, at a corner table, Gigue and his two companions sat around a grill. Ginny propped her chin in her hands, her large eyes fixed on the sizzling pork belly on the grill. She pouted and said, "Brother Gigue, how much longer until it's cooked? I'm so hungry!"

Gigue chuckled and flicked Ginny's smooth forehead with his finger, teasing, "I think you're just greedy! Wait a little longer. Can't you learn from Kuma and be more patient?"

Hearing Gigue's praise, Kuma sheepishly scratched his head and weakly said, "Big Brother Gigue, I'm actually a little hungry too..."

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

Ginny nuzzled Gigue's arm with her face and said sweetly, "I would never blame you, Brother Gigue! Even if the meat gets burnt, I can eat it all!"

Gigue let out a soft laugh and was about to speak when a melodious voice rang out from the restaurant entrance, "Boss! Any seats left? A large portion of beef, with both lean and fatty parts!"

A slightly muffled voice followed.

"Two more bowls of white rice!"

"Sakazuki, you really have a thing for rice."

Hearing Sakazuki's name, Gigue paused his stoking of the fire and looked up towards the entrance.

The barbecue restaurant's waiter had already enthusiastically greeted them, and under the waiter's guidance, Kizaru and Akainu ended up sitting at a table next to Gigue and his two companions.

Kizaru plopped down onto a chair and stretched. He turned his head, smiled at Gigue, and asked, "Hey there, young man, you seem to have been staring at me. Do we know each other?"

Gigue didn't try to hide it and replied with a smile, "My apologies, that was rude of me. I just found you had a unique aura, so I couldn't help but look a few extra times."

"Cough, cough..."

Akainu suddenly coughed twice and quietly glanced up at Kizaru.

Kizaru seemed very interested in Gigue. He completely ignored the comment about his aura and asked, "You look a bit unfamiliar, young man. Are you new here?"

"Yes, we're here to join the Marines."

Upon hearing that Gigue and his companions were here to join the Marines, Kizaru immediately moved a chair over next to Gigue. After sitting down, he struck up a conversation like an old friend, "What a coincidence! Perhaps we'll be classmates. Let me introduce myself, my name is Borsalino, and that guy over there is Sakazuki."

Gigue glanced at Akainu. Sakazuki gave a slight nod, a somewhat stiff smile appearing on his face.

After a brief introduction of themselves, Gigue smiled and said, "It seems you two will be our seniors. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kizaru waved his hand and said, "Seniors, shmeniors. We're a bit of loners at school. Once you join, you'll probably be wishing you could stay far away from us~"

"Oh? And why is that? I feel quite comfortable interacting with you both."

"Ah, we're called monsters at school. Who would want to hang out with monsters? So, we just stick together for warmth."

"Is that so?"

Gigue flipped a slice of meat on the grill with his chopsticks and said softly, "Perhaps we're the same kind of people..."