Love at Second Sight

The warship sailed through the Calm Belt.

Thanks to the research of the renowned scientist Vegapunk, standard Marine Headquarters warships in recent years had been fitted with Seastone components along their hulls, allowing them to avoid drawing the attention of large Sea Kings.

The Marines could now cross the Calm Belt directly, without detouring around Reverse Mountain, traveling between the Grand Line and the Four Blues at the fastest possible speed.

In the early morning, the sea was as clear and boundless as a realm of sky, with a faint mist shrouding the surroundings.

Noah had just finished breakfast in the second-floor dining hall when he left the cabin and ran into Rosinante and Shiryu.

"I asked the old helmsman aboard. We'll leave the Calm Belt tomorrow night, and after another three or four days sailing through West Blue, we'll reach Celeste Island."

Rosinante rubbed his hands together, anticipation written all over his handsome face.

"Hey, Brother Noah, Shiryu, how about the three of us form a team after we land and hunt down those officers everywhere? Taking care of ordinary pirates is no fun at all!"

"I don't mind."

Noah shrugged. That was more or less what he had been thinking too.

"To be honest, I'd rather work alone."

Shiryu had a cigarette between his lips. He glanced at Rosinante and seemed to consider it for a moment before saying blandly,

"But considering that you're a dense kid who's easily fooled and likely to get lost, I'll reluctantly agree. I'll protect you while I'm at it."

"Tch, you arrogant bastard."

Naturally dissatisfied with that response, Rosinante started bickering with him, and the two soon began roughhousing again.

They did not settle down until the three of them passed through the long corridor and arrived at the training room near the stern.

The training room on this warship was exceptionally spacious and bright, large enough for fifty or sixty people to train at once.

Apparently, Zephyr had specifically arranged for it to be renovated in advance, so that the disciples participating in this combat assessment would not completely waste the dozen or so days spent traveling back and forth.

"Huh? Why are there so many people here so early today?"

Seeing the bustling figures inside, the three instinctively stopped. Rosinante scratched his head, looking completely baffled.

"Hardly anyone came for extra training yesterday. Weird..."

Normally, seven or eight people in the training room at this hour would have been the limit. Yet at a glance, there were at least forty or fifty people now, and even stranger, the overwhelming majority were female Marines.

"Isn't it obvious? There, look over there."

Shiryu stubbed out his cigarette and jerked his chin toward the northeastern corner.

Noah and Rosinante followed his gaze just in time to see Momousagi, tall and slender amid layers of onlookers, leap high into the air with a cold expression and launch a Rankyaku at another young female Marine opposite her.

Whoosh!

The slash tore through the air, leaving a deep dent in the iron-plated wall.

The girl who had barely managed to evade it with all her strength panted heavily, her face full of delight.

"I dodged it! I finally dodged it!"

She cried out in joy and rushed forward, wrapping both arms around Momousagi's neck and hanging from her.

"Thank you for your guidance just now, Commodore Gion!"

"You're welcome."

Momousagi smiled and set the excited young girl down. She rolled her neck slightly, then looked around at the other female Marines.

"So, what about the rest of you? Does anyone else want to spar with me?"

Her voice was crisp and pleasant, like a babbling spring echoing softly through the vast training room.

"Me!"

"Me, me!"

"Pick me, Commodore Gion!"

Enthusiastic replies instantly erupted from all around. Momousagi casually selected one person, and the lucky girl immediately flushed red with excitement. She squeezed past her envious colleagues and stepped before Momousagi.

"Commodore Gion, please instruct me!" She took a deep breath and bowed respectfully.

"Please."

Momousagi smiled at her, then her figure suddenly flashed and vanished from the spot without a trace.

When she reappeared an instant later, she was already behind the female Marine, chopping the edge of her hand toward the girl's shoulder.

At first, Noah and the other two were utterly confused, but after watching for a while, they gradually understood.

Clearly, Momousagi was using sparring matches to offer specific guidance based on each person's strengths and weaknesses.

She herself was immensely strong, one of the most gifted figures of the younger generation, so her instruction was naturally superb. On top of that, she always wore a smile, had no airs about her, and was exceptionally approachable. No wonder so many people had gathered to watch and were even competing for a chance to participate.

But... why was she only picking female Marines?

Noah found it rather puzzling and subconsciously looked at Momousagi again. By sheer coincidence, she had just finished instructing another Marine and turned to look in his direction as well.

Their gazes met in midair for an instant.

Since catching a distant glimpse of her on the deck yesterday, this was the first time Noah had clearly seen the color of her eyes.

They were almost peach-pink, clear and pristine, carrying a touch of orange brilliance in the faint light filtering through the portholes.

Though it was somewhat inappropriate, Noah was inexplicably reminded of the orange sea from his childhood, rippling beneath the autumn wind.

Only, this orange sea now held a faintly curious appraisal in her gaze, along with a barely perceptible smile.

Noah instinctively lowered his gaze to avoid that orange sea, only to quickly realize that he was staring at waves even more breathtaking than it. Flustered, he hurriedly turned his head away.

The iron wall before him was pitch-black and faintly oily. In the vague reflection upon it, Noah realized that his cheeks... seemed to be slightly red and hot.

You've got to be kidding. Had he actually fallen for Momousagi in that instant?

Noah immediately denied it. He had always considered himself rational enough and firmly believed that feelings could only grow over time. Love at first sight simply did not exist for someone like him.

Though, strictly speaking, this was his second close encounter with Momousagi, so perhaps it counted as... love at second sight?

But yesterday on the deck, he had looked up at Momousagi standing high above him for nearly half an hour, and not the slightest ripple had stirred in his heart during all that time, much less anything like attraction.

Something was off. Something was definitely off.

Noah shook his head, tossing those messy thoughts out of his mind. After taking several deep breaths, he finally calmed his expression back to normal.

When he turned back again, Momousagi had already turned away and resumed instructing the other Marines, leaving him only her tall, slender back.

Shiryu and Rosinante were completely absorbed by the sparring and instruction taking place on the field, and neither noticed anything unusual about him.

Noah felt slightly relieved. After silently pondering for a moment, he suddenly used today's free detector on Momousagi.

[Character: Gion]

[Age: 24]

[Strength: 23]

[Agility: 25]

[Endurance: 14]

[Intelligence: 8]

[Charm: 11]

[Skills: Rokushiki (Advanced), One-Sword Style (Advanced), Firearms Shooting (Intermediate), Observation Haki (Intermediate), Armament Haki (Advanced)...]

[Estimated point reward for successful pursuit: Ambiguous relationship / 100,000 points, Romantic relationship / 250,000 points]

[Note: As Vice Admiral Tsuru's younger sister and one of the new generation of Marine prodigies, she stood at the pinnacle in both background and potential. Interestingly, however, this aloof flower in the eyes of all Marines seemed to have little interest in men, preferring young, cute girls instead?]

A new week—this newbie humbly asks for recommendation votes, QAQ!