"Beaver-Cat's Name"

The two of them hadn't lied to him. The moonlight tonight really was beautiful.

The night sky was strewn with stars, a bright moon hanging high above and casting down a soft, gentle glow. The sea glittered beneath it, and the fleeting shadows of fish could vaguely be seen darting through the water.

There was no wind by his ears, no waves before his eyes—only tranquil silence.

Besides the three of them, there were other figures on the deck, mostly fellow Marine trainees who had come out for a stroll after dinner.

"This trip's been a little too smooth..." Rosinante lay against the railing, looking up at the silver moon in the night sky as he complained boredly. "We haven't even run into a couple of Sea Kings fighting or something. What a bore."

"It's a good thing we haven't." Shiryu sneered. "Seastone isn't omnipotent. If a Sea King surfaced nearby, it could still spot us at a glance. That'd be a real headache."

"What's there to be afraid of? With Vice Admiral Kuzan here, taking down a Sea King should be easy." Rosinante muttered. "And there's Commodore Gion too. I wonder if she could handle a Sea King with her strength."

"That would depend on the Sea King's size."

Shiryu was lighting another cigarette, making Noah's scalp tingle. He felt that one day, this guy's cigarettes wouldn't be measured in sticks or packs, but in lighters. Maybe he'd die someday when the stockpiled lighters filling his room exploded.

"If it accidentally capsizes the warship, we'll be fine. But if you sink and drown, don't blame us for not rescuing you in time."

Rosinante rolled his eyes.

Before joining the Marines, he had already eaten the Calm-Calm Fruit and become a Devil Fruit user. However, he rarely displayed his abilities in the Elite Training Camp, and only his two friends, Noah and Shiryu, knew that he was a complete non-swimmer.

Of course, Rosinante had another secret, one he had never revealed even to those two friends...

Perhaps he didn't want to bring up those painful memories from the past, or perhaps he didn't want his special identity to tarnish this hard-won friendship.

In short, throughout the entire Marine Headquarters Elite Training Camp, no one besides Zephyr knew that he had once been a Celestial Dragon born and raised in Mary Geoise. No one knew that his adoptive father was Admiral Sengoku either—that he was, in every sense, a "Marine young master."

As a transmigrator, Noah was naturally an exception. But since Rosinante didn't want to mention it, he respected his wishes and had no intention of deliberately exposing it.

"Huh, what's that?"

As the three chatted idly, a surprised cry suddenly came from the railing not far away.

Noah turned to look and saw that it was a young female Marine with pink hair. If he remembered correctly, her name seemed to be Carola. She stood on tiptoe, pointing excitedly toward the sea at three o'clock, as though she had discovered a new continent.

Following her finger, the three widened their eyes and searched the water for quite a while. Sure enough, they spotted some strange little creatures...

More precisely, it was a group of small Beaver-Cats. Their fluffy faces bore the same dark eye circles as raccoons, but their lower bodies had fish-like tails. They paddled leisurely across the sea as though vacationing in a swimming pool, looking utterly at ease.

"Beaver-Cats!"

Rosinante recognized the creatures and couldn't help sounding surprised. "Why are they in the Calm Belt? Aren't they afraid of being eaten by Sea Kings?"

At the same time, the Beaver-Cats noticed the approaching warship. They swam together to its side and curiously examined the Marines by the railing.

"Ooh, they're so cute!"

Quite a few girls were already starry-eyed. The pink-haired female Marine named Carola was still holding an unfinished rice ball, and she immediately broke it into several pieces and tossed them toward the little creatures.

Several Beaver-Cats leaped up and caught every piece of rice ball. Yet instead of swallowing them right away, they used their tiny paws to divide the rice balls into even smaller portions and distribute them equally among all their companions.

After eating, they licked their fluffy paws and remained floating on the water, bowing in unison toward Carola to thank her.

"Hahaha, they're so polite." Rosinante laughed delightedly and waved at the Beaver-Cats. "Hey, little guys, come up and play! I'll go get you something to eat!"

The Beaver-Cats looked at one another and chattered amongst themselves for a while. Seemingly reaching an agreement, they emerged from the water and, with astonishing jumping power, bounced their way onto the deck, lining up neatly along the railing.

Up close, the little creatures somehow looked even cuter.

Someone had gone to the dining hall and brought back some leftover food. The female Marines began coaxing and luring the little Beaver-Cats into their arms, then took the opportunity to pet and paw at them, making the whole deck look like a giant cat café.

Noah couldn't resist either. He reached out and stroked the head of the nearest little Beaver-Cat. The creature wore an expression of pure enjoyment, standing perfectly still and even squinting its eyes in comfort.

"This one seems to be their leader."

Shiryu beside him seemed to want to reach out as well, but ultimately held back. With a cold expression, he said indifferently, "Earlier, I saw the other Beaver-Cats dragging a raft around. This one was lying on it lazily like a king, without even swimming itself."

"Really?"

Noah lowered his head and carefully examined his little Beaver-Cat. Compared with the others, it looked about the same. Other than being a bit fatter, he couldn't find anything special about it.

"Come to think of it, I heard that Beaver-Cats can transform, temporarily taking the shape of anything."

With a cigarette hanging from his lips, Shiryu glanced at the little fat cat and suddenly spoke. "Hey, little thing, can you show us?"

"That's rude." Rosinante expressed his dissatisfaction from the side. "None of us have fed it. You should say please."

The chubby Beaver-Cat finally opened its eyes. It blinked its tiny eyes, nodded, and suddenly transformed with a pop, instantly becoming a cigarette identical to the one in Shiryu's mouth.

"Whoa!"

Noah was instantly stunned. He picked up the cigarette and squeezed it, finding that it felt no different from an ordinary cigarette. Just as he was marveling at it, there came another pop, and the cigarette turned back into a Beaver-Cat.

"Chirp chirp!"

The little creature glared at Noah indignantly, seeming to blame him for squeezing it too hard. Noah felt a little embarrassed and was just about to apologize when a slender, fair hand suddenly reached out from behind and lifted the Beaver-Cat up.

"It really can transform."

A pleasant, gentle voice, like a clear stream trickling over spring stones, sounded beside Noah's ear. He instinctively turned his head and saw Momousagi's exquisite profile, filled with surprise. "I thought the rumors were false. I never expected such a magical species to really exist."

"Commodore Gion!"

The moment she appeared, Rosinante and Shiryu could no longer remain leaning on the railing. They both straightened up and saluted her.

Noah did the same. Only after Momousagi waved casually, signaling them to lower their hands, did he ask softly, "Commodore Gion, is this your first time seeing Beaver-Cats too?"

"Yes."

Momousagi nodded with a smile. After only one glance at Noah, she turned her attention back to the Beaver-Cat before her and asked curiously, "Um... little one, can you transform into something else? Something more difficult than a cigarette?"

The plump Beaver-Cat hung upside down in midair. After scratching its head and thinking for a moment, it suddenly popped into the shape of a Marine Headquarters warship identical to this one.

However, it was tiny and miniature, only about the size of two palms, more like an exquisite model figurine.

"That's pretty impressive."

Momousagi stroked her chin, looking somewhat regretful. "What a pity it's so small. Sure enough, it still can't compare to the Clone-Clone Fruit user I met before..."

Pop!

The light blurred, and the Beaver-Cat returned to its original form. It looked a little anxious, hopping around on the spot as though eager to prove that it was something remarkable.

After scratching its ears and cheeks for a while, the little creature's eyes suddenly lit up. It slapped its forehead, turned toward Momousagi, and extended its right paw.

"What does that mean?" Momousagi found it amusing, but she still took the fluffy little hand and shook it up and down. "Do you have some other ability that requires you to hold—"

Before she could finish, the Beaver-Cat suddenly extended its left paw and hooked Noah's thumb.

Then, in the next instant.

Amid the cries of surprise around them, Momousagi felt her vision blur. It was as though everything around her was drifting away, while her body toppled uncontrollably backward toward the deck.

And before she completely lost consciousness, from the corner of her eye, she seemed to see Noah on the other side falling straight backward as well...