Big Mom Makes Her Move

"Cover Story: Momonosuke, Part 8 — Kuina's Death?"

The mysterious brat had been living in Shimotsuki Village for nearly half a month. The dojo's students had gradually grown used to him, though few got along with him. Momonosuke felt like an outsider, alone and terribly lonely every day. Kin'emon and Kanjuro, whom he longed to see day and night, still hadn't come for him. Had they failed to travel through time?

That night, a dejected Momonosuke walked down a silent path, kicking pebbles as he went. Suddenly, he saw a young girl hurry past with a pile of clothes in her arms. Was she going to bathe? His spirits soared, and he quietly followed her. But she stopped at an old warehouse, where she set up a ladder and began struggling to bring something down from the attic...

That evening, Noah got together with his friends from the Elite Training Camp. He fulfilled the promise he had made at graduation: every instructor who came to pressure him into drinking was soundly beaten at their own game and left sprawled on the floor.

Instructor Brandon, whom Noah had singled out for revenge, drank so much that he lost his senses. As it happened, it was Valentine's Day, and in the middle of the night, he ran to Instructor Vivian's home to confess his feelings.

She kicked him straight out. Bare-chested, he passed out in the middle of the cold street and slept there all night.

When he woke in a daze the next morning, he found Sengoku, Tsuru, and the others standing over him on their way to work, their faces dark...

Noah had no idea he had inadvertently landed Instructor Brandon in trouble again. By dawn, he had already left Marineford and begun his return journey to Mary Geoise.