The Bewildered Monkey Beneath the Bewilderment Tree

"Enough, enough! You can put me down now!"

"Keep bouncing me around and my bones are going to fall apart!"

His subordinates' enthusiasm was terrifying. Noah felt like a kangaroo, bobbing up and down in place. It took a full five or six minutes before they finally set him down.

"You guys..."

He gave the sheepish soldiers around him a helpless glare, took the coat his adjutant handed him, and draped it over his shoulders. Then he straightened and said in a firm voice:

"Clear the battlefield as quickly as you can. We leave for the base before dark."

"Yes, Rear Admiral!"

The response thundered from all around him.

After this battle, Noah's standing in their hearts had clearly risen to another level. They revered him almost like a god.

As the marines were about to disperse, one sharp-eyed soldier suddenly cried out in surprise, "Huh? What's that?"

Everyone, Noah included, turned toward the sound. Far off on the horizon, a streak of gold flashed faintly into view and shot toward them at breakneck speed.

"It's so fast!"

"What's coming this way?"

Many of them went on alert at once, raising their guns to aim at the beam of light headed straight for Rhodes Island.

But Noah raised a hand to stop them. He looked up at the sky, surprise in his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, Kizaru had said in his letters that his fleet would only just be entering the West Blue around now. Why had he suddenly appeared here alone?

Pop!

The golden light burst apart and faded, and Kizaru landed steadily on the ground. Noah had already strode forward to meet him, giving him a hug with a broad smile.

"Long time no see, Mr. Kizaru. I've missed you so much... What brings you here?"

*Huh.