Shenlan, add points!

"Mission accomplished?"

Momousagi was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened abruptly. "Are you saying you actually persuaded Rear Admiral Shizi to return to Headquarters?"

"That's right."

In front of the living room sofa, Noah turned his head to glance at the old lady in the distance who was already packing her luggage, and chuckled. "Rear Admiral Shizi has made up her decision; she will set off tomorrow to report to Marineford."

"For real?" The voice of Momousagi on the other end of the line carried a hint of disbelief. "But before... didn't everything go wrong? How did you manage to do it?"

"Pure personal charm."

Noah didn't want to make the matter regarding Rouge common knowledge, so he gave a vague, perfunctory reply:

"You can ask Rear Admiral Shizi yourself when you see her later. Between the two of us, let's talk about the reward first."

"A reward is fine, what do you want?"

"How about Kotpira?"

"...Kid, if you want to die, I'll grant your wish directly; there's no need to be so subtle."

"I'm sorry." Noah rubbed his chin; the stubble was a bit prickly. It seemed Momousagi hadn't helped him shave these past few days. "I haven't thought of it yet. Can I come to you later when I do?"

"Fine, consider it an IOU."

Momousagi didn't hesitate and agreed readily. After a moment of hesitation, she asked again: "You haven't... done anything to my body that you shouldn't have these past few days, have you?"

"Of course not." Noah said, "Back home in the East Blue, there's a saying: once a man gives his word, not even four giant Sea Kings can pull it back."

"Kid, I remember warning you not to make up proverbs. Does your hometown really have giant Sea Kings?"

Damn, was I seen through again?

"...Anyway, I didn't do anything to wrong you. I can swear on my chest for that. Oh, although I don't have a chest right now."

"Same as before, if you want to die, you really don't need to be so subtle."

"I'm sorry." Noah apologized sincerely again, then brought up the question he cared about most: "Where are you right now?"

"In the bedroom, of course... Oh, you want to ask where the warship is?"

"Yeah."

"Still on the way. The voyage is going smoothly; we should arrive at Citrus Island by the morning of the day after tomorrow." Momousagi thought for a moment. "Are you planning to rush over to participate in the field assessment?"

"Of course. And while I'm at it, I have to beat that stinky raccoon dog... tsk, that guy hasn't slipped away already, has he?"

"Not at all. It seems to like Aokiji quite a bit; I've been seeing it napping on top of his head lately." Momousagi sighed. "Also, kid, even though your body is back to normal now, I must remind you: the warship won't stop or delay for your sake, and it certainly won't turn around to pick you up."

"I'm well aware of that, you don't need to worry."

Having reached this point, the conversation seemed to be drawing to a close, so Noah summarized: "Then goodnight. See you at Citrus Island, Vice Admiral Gion. I hope you can get a good night's sleep tonight without being woken up at 5:30."

"You have the nerve to say that..."

Mentioning this biological clock business made Momousagi's blood boil, but just as she started, the Den Den Mushi let out a soft "KOCHA" sound and was hung up.

This brat actually dared to hang up on her first?

Momousagi's willow-leaf eyebrows arched in anger. Just as she was about to call back to reprimand him, her hand suddenly stopped in mid-air. She stood there, stunned, her expression somewhat subtle.

She clearly remembered that when she first met this kid Noah, he was quite respectful toward her, and his attitude was incredibly proper.

When did it start... becoming so familiar and casual?

On the other side, in the living room.

After hanging up the phone, Noah stretched, feeling refreshed.

"Rear Admiral Shizi, I'll be heading out first!" he shouted toward the other side of the room at Shizi. "I just asked Vice Admiral Gion, and she said the warship hasn't reached its destination yet. I need to rush over immediately to participate in this field assessment!"

"Leaving right now?"

Shizi stopped her packing, glanced at him sideways, and said, "It's pitch black outside. How are you going to get there? Swim?"

"I'll go ask the 329th Branch for help." Noah shrugged. "All Marines are one family, right? Citrus Island isn't far from here; I can get there in two days. They must have the corresponding Log Pose in storage. I'll go borrow one and grab a small boat while I'm at it."

"Naive." Shizi sneered. "In the middle of the night, there aren't many people on duty at the 329th Branch. The current Branch Colonel, I remember his name is Bako, right? He's probably long asleep. Do you think he'll bother with you?"

"It shouldn't be that bad, it's just a small favor."

Noah scratched his head. "Besides, I'm a member of the Elite Training Camp at Headquarters, right? After I graduate, I'll at least be a Headquarters Major. That technically makes me the superior of a 329th Branch Colonel."

"You said it yourself, that's after you graduate. Right now, he has no reason to give you that much face." Shizi stared at Noah. "Is this field assessment that important to you?"

"It's very important." Noah nodded seriously. "So I really can't delay any longer; I have to rush over tonight."

"Understood."

Rear Admiral Shizi walked to the table, flipped through an address book, dialed a number, and after giving a few instructions into the receiver, she looked up at Noah again. "I've spoken to that kid named Bako. He's already gotten up in the middle of the night to head to the branch base to assist you with a ship and a Log Pose."

"So proactive?"

Noah was taken aback. Then, recalling the fawning look Bako had when he visited the 329th Branch disguised as Momousagi, he understood. "That makes sense. You are a Headquarters Rear Admiral, after all. With that guy's personality, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep soundly if he didn't run over there himself."

"It's Vice Admiral." Shizi glanced at him.

"Hmm?" This time it was Noah's turn to be stunned.

"Three years ago, after dealing with the matter of Shiki, the Headquarters intended to promote me to Vice Admiral, but I happened to resign and return to my hometown at that time, so I declined."

Shizi's expression was indifferent, as if she felt nothing about it: "So this time, when I return to Headquarters to report for duty, I will continue to serve as the Deputy Chief of Staff with the rank of Vice Admiral."

"I see..." Noah realized, "Then should I congratulate you? How about I go buy a gift now? What do you think about strawberries?"

"Cut it out." Shizi glared at him irritably, "I haven't even settled the score with you regarding Hina yet!"

After clearing up the misunderstanding with Garp, she had finally found a moment to check Hina's body, and the result was exactly as Noah had expected: it was the Ori Ori no Mi.

One could only say, was this destiny?

Noah felt that even if he hadn't made this trip, that Devil Fruit hidden in the pile of strawberries would have eventually been bought home because of Shizi's love for strawberries, and then accidentally eaten by Hina...

"That was purely an accident, how can you blame me..." Noah cried out in grievance, "Besides, Hina wants to join the Headquarters as a Marine. The Ori Ori no Mi is perfect for capturing criminals. Come to think of it, you should actually compensate me, right?"

"How about this: let's go by the lowest black market price for a Devil Fruit, knock off a zero, and you give me 100 million Beli, how about that?"

"I might as well call Bako right now and tell him not to go to the 329th Branch base, and just go home and sleep," Shizi said expressionlessly.

"Vice Admiral, I was joking."

"Oh, I was joking too."

The two stared at each other for a moment, then Shizi suddenly laughed, patted him on the shoulder, and said warmly:

"Alright, go on, kid. You need to hurry. Also, although Rouge has passed away... this time I truly owe you a favor. After returning to Headquarters, if you need help with anything, don't hesitate to come to me."

Another favor?

Noah was overjoyed. This trip hadn't been in vain. Although he had been thoroughly screwed over by the body swap at the beginning, he now had not only a favor from Momousagi, a future Admiral candidate, but had also formed a connection with Shizi, a Deputy Chief of Staff at Headquarters. It was truly a case of...

Hmm, how would one say that idiom in this world?

Even though Shanks had his arm bitten off by the Lord of the Coast, who knew if that wasn't actually a good thing?

Bidding farewell to Vice Admiral Shizi, he stepped out of the courtyard gate, and the starry sky beyond the white picket fence was exceptionally brilliant.

Noah took a deep breath of the fresh summer night air and looked back. He saw the light on the second floor was still on, and a small figure was leaning against the window, seemingly secretly watching his retreating back.

Little brat, still not resting?

He waved at the window, watched as the figure seemed startled and quickly shrank back, turning off the light, before he smiled and turned around, setting off on the road to the 329th Branch base's military port.

It was already around midnight, and the road was quiet and silent. On the country path, only his lonely figure remained, and the atmosphere was quite eerie.

To relieve the boredom of the journey, Noah opened his system panel. Looking at the six-figure sum of points, he grinned and shifted his gaze to the "+" symbol behind his attribute points:

"Shenlan, are you still sleeping? Come out and add some points!"

The first update written early in the morning. Thanks to book friends 160118213124720, Ou Guzhang, Shuizu___Jun, Huanlema1982, . , , , : : : : , and Tiantang Dubai No. 2 for their tips and support~