Over breakfast, news that Momousagi and Noah had swapped bodies finally began to spread among their fellow crew members, with the parties involved giving their tacit consent.
The sight of the two collapsing on the deck together last night had already stirred plenty of curiosity. But no matter how people had speculated, no one had imagined the truth would be this absurd.
It was simply unbelievable.
An adorable little raccoon had turned out to be a Devil Fruit user. Touching it had swapped their bodies, and they would need ten days to half a month to recover. Who could they even complain to about that?
Noah had a sunny, outgoing personality and had always gotten along well with his comrades. He was the sort who was quite popular with both men and women.
Thus, when everyone learned that Noah would be unable to participate in this practical assessment, they could not help feeling sympathetic and regretful.
Some of the girls who had already held favorable feelings toward Noah were even more indignant. They joined forces to seek out Aokiji, asking him to postpone the assessment by a few days in the interest of fairness.
Unfortunately, Aokiji had gone out early in the morning, hugging the Beaver-Cat and riding his beat-up bicycle around the area. They searched all through the ship's cabins and still came up empty-handed.
Naturally, Noah knew nothing about what was happening outside. At the moment, he was in a small private training room, intently receiving one-on-one instruction from Momousagi.
Momousagi's attainments in swordsmanship were indeed no joke. After having Noah demonstrate the sword techniques he normally practiced, she keenly spotted several areas that could be improved and offered her own revisions.
Some of her insights into the principles of swordsmanship also cleared up several questions that had troubled Noah for a long time. It felt as though enlightenment had been poured directly into his head.
He cherished this rare opportunity. Thus, over these three days, aside from eating, drinking, relieving himself, and sleeping, he poured nearly all his time and energy into this tiny training room.
Even Momousagi could not help admiring such perseverance and drive. Compared to that, Noah's ability to grasp swordsmanship at a single hint and his considerable talent and comprehension seemed far less remarkable.
Besides swordsmanship, Noah also asked Momousagi about some issues concerning the Six Powers during those three days. She did not hold anything back or make excuses, answering each question in as much detail as possible.
Truth be told, in Momousagi's eyes, aside from Kami-e, which was fairly commendable and practiced enough that he did not seem like a recruit, Noah's other five Six Powers were utterly ordinary, riddled with openings, and beneath her notice.
She bluntly pointed out some extremely basic misconceptions, her tone much harsher than when she taught him swordsmanship.
Although Noah was a full meter taller than her, he still lowered his head obediently, kept a proper attitude, and humbly accepted her scolding like a student.
In truth, Noah normally would never have made some of those basic mistakes. But the circumstances were special, and there were two factors that could not be ignored.
First, the person alone with him was Momousagi.
Second, he himself was currently Momousagi.
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 before the opposite sex they liked, but excessive nervousness often backfired and made things worse.
As for the second factor...
Noah had to admit that, even after several days, he still could not adapt to Momousagi's body, whose base physical qualities were absurdly powerful. Many martial arts movements looked one way in his mind, only to turn into something entirely different when he executed them.
For example, a casual Rankyaku had blasted straight through an iron-plated wall and blown up the stove in the kitchen next door. The chef, who had been humming while stir-frying, had his hair and eyebrows burned off, throwing the entire ship into chaos.
Then there was Geppo. Noah had only meant to rise five or six meters into the air, but before he had even stepped twice, he found himself shooting through the roof like a human missile and arriving amid clouds hundreds of meters high...
He would never forget Momousagi below, staring up at the distant sky with a dumbfounded expression.
In short, the pilot was simply too unskilled. It was like an ordinary car owner accustomed to driving a Passat suddenly opening his eyes to find himself on an F1 racetrack. Embarrassing mishaps were inevitable.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed. Momousagi had been put through enough by him that whenever she woke punctually at five-thirty every morning, she would stare blankly at the ceiling and question her life for a long while.
As for Noah, although he had been exhausted, he had indeed benefited immensely.
Not only had the path toward deeper mastery of swordsmanship suddenly opened before him, but in terms of martial arts, the hellish training from some time ago had finally erupted with volcanic results after Momousagi's guidance and corrections.
Among the Six Powers, aside from Shigan, whose proficiency was the lowest and which remained at the beginner stage, the other four had all advanced over the past few days, reaching the elementary level.
Thus, on the morning of the fourth day, when the warship successfully arrived at Gulu Island, where the 329th Branch base was located, Noah returned to his room before disembarking. He found Momousagi trying her utmost to fall asleep and catch up on some much-needed rest.
"What is it?"
Momousagi poked half her head out from beneath the blankets, her expression lazy. "Say what you have to say, then get out. Don't disturb my sleep."
"Why not just give up struggling, Rear Admiral Gion? I know my body. Unless it's late at night, there's no way it can sleep during the day..."
He had barely begun when Momousagi shot him a fierce glare. Left with no choice, he gave up trying to persuade her and got straight to the point.
"About Rear Admiral Shizi... I will definitely do everything in my power to persuade her to return to Marine Headquarters."
"Didn't I say it would be a pleasant surprise if you manage it, but it wouldn't matter if you failed?" Momousagi pulled her head back under the covers, her weak voice drifting out. "There won't be any punishment anyway. Just do what you think is best when the time comes."
"How could that be!"
Noah's face turned solemn, his tone impassioned. "You said yourself that Marine Headquarters sent you personally to West Blue because they had placed their last bit of hope in you. If the mission truly isn't completed, even if there is no punishment on the surface, they will surely be disappointed and dissatisfied with you, won't they?"
"I, Romanov Noah, have received your guidance these past few days. I absolutely cannot stand by and watch something like that happen. I must do something for you!"
"Now that the chance to repay you is right before me, I must consider whether this may be the only opportunity in my life. In short... persuading Rear Admiral Shizi is a duty I cannot shirk!"
After delivering that cringe-worthy speech, his face did not redden, nor did he so much as gasp for breath.
"You can actually say something that embarrassing. You've really made me see you in a new light..."
A lazy voice came from beneath the covers, after which there was no movement for a long time.
Just as Noah began to wonder whether she had truly broken free of her biological clock and fallen asleep, Momousagi suddenly chuckled, and her voice came from beneath the blankets once more.
"Then good luck, young man. See you in five days."
"Yes, Rear Admiral Gion!"
Noah gave a crisp military salute. Just as he turned to leave, he suddenly remembered something. Drawing the long, narrow Kompira from his waist, he gave it a reluctant look. "One more thing. I nearly forgot to return this to you..."
"Not for now."
Momousagi cut him off directly, then rolled over and lazily closed her eyes. "I can't be bothered getting up to take it. Keep it with you for now. Oh, and remember to close the door when you leave. The wind is a little cold."
Before you continue