So-called Love at Second Sight

The warship was currently cutting through the Calm Belt.

Thanks to the research of the famous scientist Vegapunk, the standard-issue warships of the Marine Headquarters in recent years had all been reinforced with Seastone at the hull, allowing them to bypass the notice of those massive Sea Kings.

From then on, the Marines were able to traverse the Calm Belt directly without needing to detour through Reverse Mountain, traveling between the Grand Line and the Four Blues at the fastest possible speed.

In the early morning, the sea surface was as clear as a mirror, stretching out into the horizon, with a faint mist shrouding the surroundings.

Noah, having finished breakfast in the second-floor mess hall, had just stepped out of the cabin when he bumped into Rosinante and Shiryu.

"I just asked the old helmsman on board; we'll exit the Calm Belt tomorrow night. As long as we sail through the West Blue for another three or four days, we'll reach Celeste Island."

Rosinante rubbed his hands together, his handsome face filled with anticipation.

"Hey, Noah, Shiryu, how about we form a three-man squad once we land and go around hunting down those officers? Taking out ordinary pirates is no fun at all!"

"I have no objections."

Noah shrugged; in truth, he had been thinking much the same thing.

"To be honest, I actually wanted to work solo."

Shiryu, puffing on a cigarette, glanced at Rosinante. He seemed to consider it for a moment before saying indifferently:

"But considering you're a bit of a blockhead who's prone to getting tricked or lost, I'll reluctantly agree and protect you while I'm at it."

"Tch, arrogant jerk."

Rosinante was naturally dissatisfied with this response, and the two began to bicker and scuffle as they walked.

It wasn't until the three of them passed through the long corridor and arrived at the training room located at the stern of the ship that they finally settled down.

The training room on this warship was exceptionally spacious and bright, large enough to accommodate fifty or sixty people training simultaneously.

It seemed that Zephyr had specifically ordered it to be renovated in advance, all so that the disciples participating in this field assessment wouldn't completely waste the ten-plus days spent on the journey back and forth.

"Huh, why are there so many people here so early today?"

Seeing the bustling figures inside, the three of them subconsciously stopped in their tracks. Rosinante scratched his head, looking bewildered:

"There weren't even that many people coming for extra training yesterday, strange..."

Normally, having seven or eight people in the training room at this hour would be the limit, but now, at a glance, there were at least forty or fifty people. Even more bizarrely, the vast majority of them were women.

"It's easy to guess. Look over there."

Shiryu, standing to the side, extinguished his cigarette butt and gestured with his chin toward the corner in the northeast.

Noah and Rosinante followed his gaze and happened to see Momousagi, with her tall, lithe figure, leaping high amidst a wall of people. With a cold, sharp expression, she unleashed a Rankyaku toward another young female Marine opposite her.

Swish!

The sound of wind being torn apart echoed as the Rankyaku left a deep gouge in the iron-plated wall.

The girl, who had barely managed to dodge the strike with all her might, gasped for air, her face filled with pleasant surprise.

"I dodged it! I finally dodged it!"

She cheered aloud, rushing forward in excitement, and actually wrapped her arms around Momousagi's neck, hanging off her:

"Thank you for your guidance just now, Rear Admiral Gion!"

"You're welcome."

Momousagi smiled as she set the excited girl down, stretched her neck slightly, and looked around at the rest of the 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, ringing out clearly through the large training room.

"Me!"

"Me, me!"

"Pick me, Rear Admiral Gion!"

The room was instantly filled with incredibly enthusiastic responses. Momousagi picked one at random, and the lucky girl chosen turned bright red with excitement, pushing past her envious colleagues to stand opposite Momousagi.

"Rear Admiral Gion, please teach me!" She took a deep breath and bowed respectfully.

"Please."

Momousagi watched her with a smile, then her figure suddenly flashed and vanished from where she stood.

The next instant, she reappeared behind the female Marine, delivering a hand-blade strike toward the girl's shoulder.

Noah and the others were confused at first, but after watching for a while, they gradually understood.

It was clear that Momousagi was using these sparring sessions to provide specific guidance based on each person's strengths and weaknesses.

As a prodigy of the younger generation with immense personal strength, her level of instruction was naturally top-tier. Coupled with her constant smile, lack of airs, and great approachability, it was no wonder she had attracted so many onlookers and even people vying to participate.

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

Noah was a bit puzzled and subconsciously looked toward Momousagi again. As luck would have it, she had just finished guiding a Marine and turned to look in their direction.

Their gazes locked in mid-air for a brief moment.

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

They were eyes of a near-peach hue, clear and clean, shimmering with a hint of orange luster in the faint light filtering through the porthole.

Though it was somewhat inappropriate, Noah inexplicably recalled the sea of orange from his childhood, the way it rippled under the autumn breeze.

Only, this sea of orange was currently looking at him with a trace of intrigued appraisal and a faint, lingering smile.

Noah instinctively lowered his gaze to avoid that sea of orange, but he quickly realized he was staring at waves even more astonishing than the sea, and he panicked, hurriedly turning his head away.

The iron wall in front of him was pitch black and slightly greasy, and from the faint reflection visible, Noah discovered that his cheeks... seemed to be flushed and burning.

You have to be kidding me; did he actually feel his heart skip a beat for Momousagi just now?

Noah immediately denied this; he had always considered himself a sufficiently rational person, firmly believing that falling in love only happened through long-term companionship, and that love at first sight was something that simply didn't exist for him.

Although, to be precise, this was his second time seeing Momousagi up close, so perhaps it should count as... love at second sight?

But he had clearly spent nearly half an hour yesterday on the deck looking up at Momousagi as she stood above him, and during all that time, his heart hadn't stirred in the slightest, let alone felt any attraction.

Something wasn't right, something was definitely wrong.

Noah shook his head, casting those messy thoughts out of his mind, and after taking a few deep breaths, he finally managed to calm his expression back to its normal state.

When he turned back around, he saw that Momousagi had already turned away to continue instructing other marines, leaving him with nothing but a tall, slender back.

Shiryu and Rosinante, who were beside him, were completely absorbed by the sparring and instruction on the field and hadn't noticed his abnormality at all.

Noah breathed a small sigh of relief, and after thinking silently for a moment, he suddenly used his free daily detector on Momousagi.

[Character: Gion]

[Age: 24]

[Strength: 23]

[Agility: 25]

[Stamina: 14]

[Intelligence: 8]

[Charm: 11]

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

[Estimated Conquest Success Point Reward: Ambiguous Relationship/100,000 points, Romantic Relationship/250,000 points]

[Note: As the younger sister of Vice Admiral Tsuru and a pride of the new generation of marines, she stands at the pinnacle in terms of both background and potential. Interestingly, however, this "flower on a high peak" in the eyes of all marines seems to have little interest in men, preferring young, cute girls instead?]

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