What to Do If I Accidentally Became Momousagi

When Noah opened his eyes again and slowly regained consciousness, what met his gaze was an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Finally decided to wake up?"

A faint voice drifted into his ears, sounding both familiar and strange.

He turned his head in a daze, only to see a person identical to himself sitting on a chair by the bed, legs crossed, idly picking at his fingernails.

Noah was struck with horror, the lingering fog in his mind instantly dissipating. Now fully awake, he instinctively flipped up to a sitting position and barked sharply:

"Who are you!"

The moment the three words left his lips, Noah froze—because the voice that came from his own mouth was completely different from his usual one; it was like the sound of a clear spring, melodious and pleasant.

He suddenly realized something far 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 to enter his sight were waves more astonishing than an orange sea, and below that, a waist that could be spanned by a pair of hands, and long, snow-white legs...

A faint, delicate fragrance drifted into his nostrils. It was pleasant, inexplicably reminding Noah of gardenias blooming in June from his past life—serene and elegant.

He moved slightly, and a rustling sound came from behind him; it was the sound of a Justice cloak, embroidered with pale pink epaulets, brushing against the bedsheets.

"Hoo..."

After a brief moment of shock, Noah quickly regained his composure. He rubbed his temples helplessly, looked up at the "himself" by the table, and asked tentatively: "Vice Admiral Gion?"

"Mm."

The "Noah" by the table nodded slightly, her gaze filled with a hint of surprise, as if she hadn't expected this young recruit to react so quickly.

"Our bodies have been swapped." Momousagi habitually reached up to tuck her long hair behind her ear, only to find nothing there. "Do you know the reason, little one?"

"That raccoon."

Noah gave his assessment without a moment's hesitation. "The raccoon species doesn't possess the innate ability to swap bodies. That specific raccoon is a special case; it must have accidentally eaten a Devil Fruit."

It was an easy conclusion to reach.

Furthermore, he remembered Shiryu mentioning that when the group of raccoons approached the warship, the others had all swum over on their own, except for the one he had touched, which had been lying lazily on a bamboo raft, looking perfectly at ease.

A landlubber among the raccoon species?

He thought this to himself silently, while across from him, Momousagi was truly beginning to feel surprised.

"Bingo!"

She snapped her fingers and said with a smile, "Your answer is completely correct, much like what I managed to interrogate out of it earlier. You're quite clever, which is good—it saves me the effort of explaining the ins and outs and having to soothe your emotions."

"Inter... interrogate?"

Noah was slightly stunned.

Interrogating whom? A poor little raccoon?

"Hey, little Kuzan, you can come out now." Momousagi suddenly turned her head and called out toward the corridor outside the room.

"...I repeat, you are not allowed to call me that when there are outsiders present."

Aokiji's voice came from outside the door, and then the door was pushed open.

The future Marine Admiral appeared in the doorway, expressionless, with that chubby raccoon squatting on his shoulder. "I am older than you and hold a higher rank. In front of subordinates, I suggest you show the appropriate respect; it's better for everyone."

"I've always called Mr. Garp that way, too."

"Never mind, then." Aokiji set the raccoon down and looked at Noah, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, his gaze slightly peculiar. "...Ah, we meet again, kid."

"Mr. Kuzan."

Noah stood up quickly, and just as he was about to salute, Aokiji waved his hand to stop him. "In private, there's no need to be so formal. Your attitude when we first met was quite interesting... Oh, right, your name is Noah, isn't it?"

"Yes, Vice Admiral."

Noah nodded. This was the first time he had looked Aokiji in the eyes at eye level; Momousagi's body was over three meters tall, much like Aokiji's, fitting the standard "Admiral height" in the eyes of fans from his past life.

"I heard your conversation earlier from outside."

Aokiji pulled a chair from behind the table, sat down casually, crossed his hands to support his chin, and stared at Noah. "Let me fill in the remaining information. This little cat accidentally ate a fruit that drifted in from the sea half a year ago, and since then, it has become a Paramecia Swap-Swap Fruit user."

"At the beginning, it couldn't do much; it could only swap very small objects, like apples and bananas, or bread and cake."

He reached out a hand and stroked the head of the chubby raccoon. Despite being only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, his expression was as kind as an eighty-seven-year-old man's.

"But after months of tireless effort, this little guy's ability has improved, and it can now swap things much larger than itself, including living beings."

As Aokiji said this, he pulled some dried fish from somewhere and carefully fed them to the raccoon, continuing, "And this time, swapping the bodies of two humans was its first attempt."

"According to it, it felt looked down upon by Gion, so it gave its all, wanting to prove its ability."

"Wait, hold on..." Noah suddenly felt something was wrong. "Raccoons can't speak human language. Mr. Kuzan, where did you get such detailed..."

"Because this little guy is also a genius at drawing." Aokiji had anticipated this, smiling and pointing to the wall. "There, I asked the questions, and it drew the answers. It's all there."

Only then did Noah notice that there were many comic strips on the west wall, clearly scratched out with claws.

Although the art style was somewhat eccentric—comparable to that of ONE-sensei—it did indeed tell the story, expressing the ins and outs of the matter in great detail.

"As expected of Vice Admiral Kuzan." He looked at Aokiji in amazement. "To be able to endure the sound of an animal's claws scratching against the wall."

"..."

Aokiji's eye twitched as he struggled to ignore Noah's skewed focus, steering the conversation back on track. "In any case, there is something you must understand. For the time being... you might not be able to return to your own body."

"What?"

Noah, who had been calm just a moment ago, could no longer maintain his composure. "Why? Since we've figured out the situation, can't we just have this little tanuki use its ability one more time?"

"If only it were that easy."

Beside him, Momousagi shrugged, leaning back lazily against the chair.

"The little kitty says that this time it used its fruit ability, it exhausted almost all of its energy, and its head hurts quite a bit. To ensure it works perfectly again, it will need to rest for quite a while."

"How long is 'quite a while'?" Noah frowned, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

"A week if it's fast, maybe ten days or more if it's slow."

Momousagi studied Noah with interest; she seemed to find it quite amusing to see that face of hers wearing such a bitter expression.

"In other words, young man, it looks like you won't be making it to this practical assessment, will you?"