When Noah opened his eyes again and slowly came to, the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Finally decided to wake up?"
A faint voice came from beside him, sounding both familiar and strange.
He turned his head in confusion and saw someone who looked exactly like him sitting in a chair by the bed, legs crossed as he idly picked at his fingernails.
Noah jolted in alarm. The fog in his mind vanished in an instant, and fully awake, he reflexively sat up and shouted, "Who are you?!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Noah froze. The voice coming from him was completely different from usual, clear and melodious as a bubbling spring.
He suddenly realized something even more terrifying than seeing a copy of himself.
"You've got to be kidding me..."
Noah took a deep breath and looked down. Sure enough, the first thing he saw was a more astonishing swell than the orange sea; below it was a slender waist that could be clasped in one hand, and long, snow-white legs...
A faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils. It smelled lovely, and for some reason reminded Noah of the gardenias that had bloomed in June in his previous life, serene and elegant.
He shifted slightly, and a rustling sound came from behind him—the sound of a justice coat embroidered with pale pink epaulettes brushing against the bedsheets.
"Phew..."
After a brief moment of shock, Noah quickly calmed down. He rubbed his brow helplessly, looked up at the "himself" beside the table, and tentatively asked, "Commodore Gion?"
"Mm."
The "Noah" by the table gave a slight nod. The gaze she turned on him held a hint of surprise, as if she hadn't expected such a young recruit to figure things out so quickly.
"Our bodies have been swapped." Momousagi habitually brushed the long hair behind her ear, only to find nothing there. "Do you know why, little guy?"
"That Beaver-Cat."
Noah answered without the slightest hesitation. "The Beaver-Cat species doesn't naturally have the ability to swap people's bodies. That one's different, so it must have accidentally eaten a Devil Fruit."
It was an easy conclusion to reach.
Besides, he remembered Shiryu mentioning that when the Beaver-Cats approached the warship, all the others had swum over on their own. Only the one he'd touched had been lazily sprawled on a raft, looking perfectly at ease.
A Beaver-Cat that couldn't swim?
He wondered silently, while across from him, Momousagi began to look genuinely surprised.
"Bingo!"
She snapped her fingers and said with a smile, "Exactly right. That's pretty much what I just got out of it, too. You're pretty smart. This is convenient—I won't have to waste my breath explaining what happened or calming you down."
"G-Got out of it?"
Noah stared at her, stunned.
Got what out of whom? A poor little Beaver-Cat?
"Hey, little Kuzan, you can come out now." Momousagi suddenly turned toward the hallway outside the room and called out.
"...Let me say this again: don't call me that when there are other people around."
Aokiji's voice came from outside, then the door opened.
The future Marine Admiral appeared in the doorway with an expressionless face, the chubby Beaver-Cat perched on his shoulder. "I'm older than you, and I outrank you. In front of our subordinates, I suggest you show me a little respect. It'll be better for everyone."
"I've always called Mr. Garp that, too."
"Never mind, then." Aokiji put the Beaver-Cat down and looked at Noah sitting by the bed, his gaze a little odd. "...Ah, we meet again, kid."
"Mr. Kuzan."
Noah hurried to his feet, but just as he was about to salute, Aokiji waved him to a stop. "There's no need to be so formal in private. Your attitude when we first met was pretty interesting... Oh, right, your name is Noah, isn't it?"
"Yes, Vice Admiral."
Noah nodded. This was the first time he'd looked Aokiji straight in the eye. Momousagi's body was a little over three meters tall, not much different from Aokiji—what fans in his previous life would call standard "Admiral height."
"I heard your conversation just now from outside."
Aokiji pulled a chair out from behind the table and sat down casually, interlacing his fingers and resting his chin on them as he watched Noah. "I'll fill in the remaining details. This little kitty accidentally ate a fruit that drifted in from the sea half a year ago, becoming a Paramecia-type Swap-Swap Fruit user."
"At first, it couldn't do much. It could only swap very small objects, like apples and bananas, or bread and cake."
He reached out and stroked the chubby Beaver-Cat's head. Though he was only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, his expression was as kindly as an eighty-seven-year-old man's.
"But after several months of tireless effort, the little guy's ability improved. It could even swap things much bigger than itself, including living creatures."
As Aokiji spoke, he somehow produced a few dried fish and carefully fed them to the Beaver-Cat. "And this time, swapping the bodies of two humans was its first attempt."
"According to it, it felt that Gion looked down on it, so it gave everything it had to prove what it could do."
"Wait, something's not right..." Noah suddenly felt that something was off. "Beaver-Cats can't talk, so how did you get all these details, Mr. Kuzan...?"
"Because this little guy's also a painting prodigy." Aokiji had expected the question. He smiled and pointed at the wall. "Look, I asked questions, and it answered with pictures. It's all there."
Only then did Noah notice the many comic strips scratched into the west wall, clearly by claws.
The art style was certainly unusual—on par with ONE's—but it really did tell the whole story in detail, like a proper tale.
"Impressive, Vice Admiral Kuzan." Noah looked at Aokiji in amazement. "You actually managed to put up with the sound of a little animal scratching at the wall."
"..."
Aokiji's eye twitched. He tried to ignore Noah's misplaced focus and bring the conversation back on track. "Anyway, there's something you need to understand. For the time being... you may not be able to get back into your own body..."
"What?"
Noah, who had seemed so calm just moments ago, could no longer keep his composure. "Why? Now that we understand what happened, can't we just have the little Beaver-Cat use its ability again?"
"If only it were that easy."
Momousagi shrugged. Looking relaxed, she leaned back against the chair.
"The little kitty says that using its Devil Fruit ability this time drained almost all its energy, and its head hurts a lot. It'll need to rest for quite a while before it can try again and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"How long is 'quite a while'?" Noah furrowed his brow, a sense of foreboding rising in him.
"At least a week if things go quickly. It could take more than ten days."
Momousagi studied Noah with interest. She seemed to enjoy seeing that familiar face pull a long one.
"In other words, young man, it looks like you won't make it to this practical assessment, huh?"
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