Momousagi and Chaton of the Future

The katana is "Kompira," and with her connection to Vice Admiral Tsuru, this person is undoubtedly the famous "Momousagi."

As everyone knows, there isn't a single Marine officer with a color-animal epithet who is an easy target.

Momousagi is naturally no exception; she stands out as the sole woman among the color-animal bearers, the only female among the Admirals and Admiral Candidates.

Upon realizing that the person holding a grudge against him was Momousagi, Wood knew he had landed himself in serious trouble.

Leaving Momousagi herself aside for the moment, given her competitive nature, she would only choose to defeat Wood again at the place where she was beaten, rather than causing him trouble elsewhere.

But beyond "Momousagi," Wood's real problem was the young man named Kaji sitting before him.

Because this seemingly unremarkable Kaji would also become one of the color-animal bearers in the future.

In other words, he would at least become an Admiral Candidate, with the epithet "Chaton"!

Within the Marines, women are few and far between, and a stunning woman like Gion, with both looks and legs, is even rarer.

So when Gion first arrived at the Marine Academy, she naturally attracted a swarm of admirers.

And Kaji, the future "Chaton," was one of Gion's many suitors, and a fervent one at that.

"Senior Kaji, I think I made it very clear a few days ago—I have nothing to do with Gion.

Those rumors are completely baseless. Not only is it impossible for Gion to have any romantic feelings for me, she's probably itching to knock me flat right now!"

Kaji bit down on a toothpick, plopped himself down across from Wood with a swagger, and put on a fawning smile.

That's right, the imagined private duel didn't happen, and it couldn't happen here.

Not only were Wood and Kaji still training at the Marine Academy, where any unauthorized fighting would result in severe punishment.

Even if they did fight, Wood was nowhere near Kaji's level at this point.

Despite his ordinary appearance, Kaji had already mastered the "Six Styles" and would soon finish his training and leave the Marine Academy.

Top graduates like Kuzan and Kaji, though they had to start as common soldiers after graduation, would quickly be assigned missions by headquarters based on their strength and performance.

After completing those missions, they would be promoted at lightning speed, even skipping lower non-commissioned officer ranks.

"I know those rumors are fake. Do you think I don't know how hard it is to win Gion over?

But I have to say, Brother Wood, even though Gion hates you, at least she remembers you.

So I came to ask for your advice—if I shot Gion too, would she be just as fixated on me? I mean, my shooting scores are pretty good.

As long as I can make Gion remember me, even if it's with hatred, that's fine."

Hearing Kaji's words, Wood couldn't help but look speechless. There was no one quite like this simp...

"Let me clarify again—my gun hit Gion's... target! The target!

Please make sure to add 'target' when you talk about it, or it sounds like I did something unforgivable!"

"Yeah, that's right, I meant the target. Could your gun possibly hit Gion anywhere else?"

The car had already run straight over Wood's face, but seeing Kaji's sincere expression, Wood reluctantly believed the guy wasn't intentionally driving off-topic.

Beneath that prematurely aged face was a heart still pure as a virgin boy's.

"Gion isn't stupid. If you did it on purpose, she'd only hate you more, right?

And Senior Kaji, you're about to be officially enlisted in the Marines, right? I heard Gion really admires Vice Admiral Tsuru. Maybe if you earn some merits early and become an outstanding Marine officer, Gion might start to take notice of you?"

Upon hearing Wood's words, Kaji's eyes lit up, feeling this was a promising path, but he completely failed to notice that Wood had just used a question, not a statement.

In truth, both Kaji and Gion would eventually become Admiral Candidates, and during that time, Kaji would confess his love to Gion a hundred times, only to be flatly rejected each time.

There were probably many factors at play, but Wood felt that Kaji's looks were one of the major insurmountable obstacles.

Only shallow people focus on appearances; the beauty of the soul is what truly defines a person's worth.

Unfortunately, the world is full of shallow people, and if you could have it all, who would refuse?

Other things could be changed through effort, but when it came to looks, Kaji was probably out of luck for life.

After all, someone as handsome as Wood was pretty much born that way in the Pirate World.

"Good brother, I think you make a lot of sense, but as you know, I'm about to leave the Marine Academy and be formally enlisted. Before that, there's one thing I can't stop worrying about.

You know how it is—the Marine Academy has way more men than women, and Gion is such an outstanding woman, so..."

"So you're worried someone else will beat you to Gion, and you want me to keep an eye on her?"

Seeing Wood instantly catch his meaning, Kaji broke into a satisfied grin, marveling that Wood truly was the man he had his eye on—he hadn't even said it yet, and the kid had already read his mind.

As for Kaji's request, Wood had no reason to refuse, because he knew that someone with Gion's personality was a pure training maniac; there was no way she'd have a sweet romance with anyone at the Marine Academy.

Even if Kaji hadn't asked him, Gion would basically stay single for over a decade. A favor like this, handed to him on a silver platter, was too good to pass up.

As for whether Gion might take a liking to Wood, Kaji had considered that too. After all, the kid had the looks and was especially good with a gun—compared to him, Kaji, he was only a tiny bit behind.

But Kaji had also done his research: Wood had really pissed Gion off during the last test.

Gion was now training her gun skills every day, all for the purpose of getting her revenge in the next test, thoroughly beating Wood and reclaiming her pride.

With Gion hating Wood that much, there was no way she'd have any feelings for him—at least, that's what Kaji thought.

So Kaji felt that entrusting this task to Wood was the most reliable choice.

Having secured plenty of promises and a copy of "Six Styles" training notes, Wood left the cafeteria with a full haul.

Helping Kaji keep an eye on Gion and fend off other potential rivals—even if Wood didn't do it, no one else stood a chance anyway—so this reward was basically free money for Wood.

At the same time, Wood couldn't help but wonder: what was so great about Gion? She was so competitive and not gentle at all. Sure, she was good-looking and had long legs...