Rapid Progress

At breakfast, the news that Momousagi and Noah had swapped bodies finally began to circulate among their colleagues on the ship, with the tacit approval of the parties involved.

In truth, the scene from last night where both of them collapsed on the deck simultaneously had already piqued the curiosity of many, but no matter how they had speculated before, none of them had imagined the situation was actually like this.

It was simply unbelievable.

That a cute little Beaver-Cat was actually a Devil Fruit user, and that one touch had caused them to swap bodies—with a recovery time of ten days to half a month—was enough to make anyone wonder where to even seek justice.

Noah had a sunny and cheerful personality and was quite popular among his colleagues, well-liked by both men and women alike.

Therefore, when everyone heard that Noah would be unable to participate in this practical assessment, they couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy and regret.

Some of the women who already held a favorable view of Noah were even indignant, and they even banded together to find Aokiji, requesting that he postpone the assessment by a few days for the sake of fairness.

Unfortunately, Aokiji had been out since early morning, hugging the Beaver-Cat and riding a beat-up bicycle to cruise around the area; they searched every corner of the cabins, but still came up empty-handed.

Noah was naturally unaware of everything happening outside; he was currently in a small, private training room, focused on receiving one-on-one guidance from Momousagi.

Momousagi's mastery of swordsmanship was truly no joke. After letting Noah demonstrate the sword techniques he practiced daily, she keenly spotted several areas for improvement and provided her own modifications.

Furthermore, her insights into the philosophy of swordsmanship helped Noah resolve several questions that had troubled him for a long time, giving him a feeling akin to a sudden, profound enlightenment.

He cherished this rare opportunity, so over these three days, aside from eating, drinking, and sleeping, he poured almost all his time and energy into this small training room.

This level of perseverance and drive made even Momousagi feel a touch of admiration. By comparison, the fact that Noah was quick to grasp sword techniques and showed impressive talent and comprehension seemed less surprising.

Beyond swordsmanship, Noah also asked Momousagi questions about the Rokushiki during these three days, and she did not hold back or shirk, answering each one as thoroughly as possible.

It must be said that in Momousagi's eyes, Noah's level of Rokushiki—aside from Kami-e, which was quite commendable and skilled for a new recruit—was otherwise very mediocre and full of openings, failing to impress her in the slightest.

She pointed out some very low-level misconceptions without any hesitation, her tone much harsher than when she was teaching swordsmanship.

And although Noah was clearly a meter taller, he still obediently lowered his head, maintaining a proper attitude and humbly accepting her reprimands like a student.

In fact, Noah wouldn't have made some of these low-level mistakes under normal circumstances, but there was no helping it; the situation was special, and there were two factors that could not be ignored.

First, the person he was alone with was Momousagi;

Second, he was currently Momousagi himself.

The influence of the first factor was easy to explain: he was only nineteen, after all. Young men always wanted to show their best side in front of the opposite sex they liked, but excessive nervousness often led to the opposite effect.

As for the second factor...

Noah had to admit that even after several days, he still couldn't adapt to Momousagi's body, which possessed superior base stats. Many physical techniques existed as one thing in his mind, but turned into something else entirely when he executed them.

For instance, a Rankyaku that was meant to be casual ended up blasting through the iron-clad wall, blowing up the stove in the kitchen next door and burning off the hair and eyebrows of the chef who had been humming while cooking, causing a chaotic scene on the ship.

Or take Geppo: Noah only wanted to leap five or six meters into the air, but before he could even take two steps, he found himself shooting through the roof like a human missile, reaching the clouds hundreds of meters high...

He would never forget the look of utter shock on Momousagi's face as she looked up from below at the distant sky.

In a word, his "pilot" skills were too poor. It was like a regular driver used to a sedan suddenly finding himself behind the wheel of an F1 car; naturally, all sorts of embarrassing mishaps were bound to happen.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Momousagi had been thoroughly exhausted by him; every morning at 5:30, when she opened her eyes, she would stare blankly at the ceiling and question her life for a long time.

As for Noah, although he was tired, he had truly benefited immensely.

Not only had the path to deeper swordsmanship opened up for him, but in terms of physical techniques, the hellish training from before had finally ushered in a volcanic eruption of results after Momousagi's guidance and corrections.

Among the Rokushiki, aside from Shigan, which remained at the entry level due to the lowest proficiency, the other four techniques had all advanced to the "beginner" level within these few days.

Therefore, on the morning of the fourth day, as the warship successfully arrived at Gulu Island, where the 329th Branch base was located, Noah returned to his room before disembarking to find Momousagi, who was trying her best to fall asleep and catch up on some rest.

"What is it?"

Momousagi poked half her head out from under the covers, her expression lazy. "If you have something to say, say it; if you have a fart, let it out. Don't disturb my sleep."

"Perhaps you should just give up the struggle, Vice Admiral Gion. I know my own body; unless it's late at night, I won't be able to sleep during the day no matter what..."

He had barely started his sentence when he was glared back by a fierce-looking Momousagi. With no other choice, he gave up on persuading her and went straight to the point:

"About Vice Admiral Shizi, I will do everything in my power to persuade her to return to the Headquarters."

"I already told you that if you succeed, it's a pleasant surprise, and if you don't, it doesn't matter," Momousagi said, her voice weak and listless from under the covers. "There's no punishment anyway, just handle it as you see fit when the time comes."

"How can that be!"

Noah looked solemn, his tone impassioned. "You said it yourself, the Headquarters sent you personally to the West Blue because they pinned their last bit of hope on you. If the mission isn't completed, even if there's no official punishment, they will surely feel disappointed and dissatisfied with you, right?"

"Since I, Romanov Noah, have received your guidance over these past few days, I could never sit idly by and watch such a thing happen. I must do something for you!"

"Now that the chance to repay you is right before my eyes, I must consider if this is the only opportunity I will have in my life. In short... persuading Vice Admiral Shizi is a duty I cannot shirk!"

After saying these cringeworthy words, he didn't even blush or lose his breath.

"To think you could say something so embarrassing... you've truly surprised me again..."

A lazy voice came from under the covers, and then there was silence for a long time.

Just as Noah was wondering if she had truly broken her biological clock and fallen asleep, Momousagi suddenly chuckled, and her voice came from under the covers once more:

"Then I wish you success, young man. See you in five days."

"Yes, Vice Admiral Gion!"

Noah gave a standard military salute. Just as he turned to leave, he remembered something, drew the long, narrow Kotpira from his waist, and took a lingering look at it. "There is one more thing, I almost forgot to return this..."

"No need for now."

Momousagi interrupted him directly, then rolled over and lazily closed her eyes. "I'm too lazy to get up and take it, so just keep it with you for now. Oh, and remember to close the door on your way out; it's a bit drafty."