The Invincible Me Has Returned, Practical Assessment!

The ship was even more desolate than Noah had imagined.

Walking from the deck into the cabin, he heard not a single sound, nor did he see a flicker of light.

T Bone held his saber in his hand, following closely behind him. His expression was slightly tense, his eyes scanning the corners and walls constantly, guarding against a sudden ambush from behind.

"There really isn't a soul here."

After patiently checking every room in the cabin, Noah returned to the entrance with a frown.

"But there are no bloodstains, no signs of a struggle, some bedding is still turned back, and the food in the kitchen is still warm..."

This was even more bizarre.

Clearly, this pirate ship had been full of people just a few hours ago, but what could have happened to make everyone on board vanish, leaving the ship to drift alone on the sea?

Swish!

Just then, the sound of wind being torn apart rang out suddenly.

In the dim light, a black shadow could be vaguely seen leaping down from the top of the mast, heading straight for them.

"Who goes there!"

T Bone's expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to raise his sword to strike, Noah reached out and stopped him.

Thump.

The black shadow landed on the wooden deck with a soft sound. T Bone looked closely and realized it was just a black cat.

The cat was chubby, its fur sleek and shiny; it was clear from its appearance that it was well-fed and well-cared for.

It landed on the deck, stretched lazily, and then lifted its head to curiously examine the two strangers before it.

"This little guy, you scared me."

T Bone finally let out a sigh of relief. He squatted down, smiling as he stroked the black cat's head, then turned to look at Noah. "Mr. Noah, what should we do now?"

"If there's no one on the ship, there's no reason for us to stay. Let's go."

Noah looked somewhat disappointed. After casting one last glance around the empty deck, he pointed to the pirate flag fluttering on the mast. "Tear it down and bring it with us; it might come in handy."

"Yes, sir!"

T Bone hurried to follow the order. By the time he climbed the mast and jumped down with the torn flag, Noah had already returned to the speedboat, bringing the black cat along with him.

"This cat must have been abandoned on the ship by the pirates. You're so kind-hearted to save it..."

T Bone smiled as he returned to the speedboat, but before he could finish his sentence, he saw Noah suddenly grab the black cat by the neck and, with an expressionless face, press it into the seawater.

"Eh?" T Bone was shocked. "What... what are you doing?"

"Too naive, kid."

Noah spoke with the tone of a seasoned veteran, earnest and grave. "This world is very dangerous. You never know if a harmless-looking little kitten is actually a hidden Devil Fruit user—"

His gaze sharpened, and his voice rose an octave:

"In my opinion, this guy might just be the mastermind behind this ghost ship!"

"..." T Bone's mouth hung slightly open, left in a state of disarray in the sea breeze.

Mr. Noah was handsome, kind-hearted, and considerate to his subordinates... he was perfect in every way, exactly the kind of superior he had dreamed of.

But why, all of a sudden, did his train of thought go so wrong?

Why hold such great malice toward a poor little kitten?

Watching the black cat struggling desperately in the seawater, T Bone finally swallowed hard after a long while and spoke weakly:

"But it's been soaking in the seawater for so long, and it doesn't look weak or powerless at all. Should... shouldn't that mean it isn't one?"

"Is that so?"

Noah glanced at the little black cat still struggling to resist, pulled it back out, and placed it on the deck, shaking his wet right hand as if nothing had happened. "Hmm, I suppose you're right."

"So, it's fine. Let's continue on our way."

T Bone: "..."

Around four o'clock in the morning, the speedboat carrying the two men and one cat finally arrived at Celeste Island.

This was a medium-sized island shaped like a crescent moon. In the north, there were towering, isolated mountains, with several towns nestled at their feet, and a few small villages scattered sparsely along the coastline.

At the southernmost tip lay an excellent natural harbor, filled with ships of all kinds.

Noah searched under the moonlight and soon spotted the distinct, standardized warship of the Navy Headquarters.

Further away in the town, flames soared into the sky. Even from several kilometers away, one could faintly hear the sounds of battle and shouting drifting from the depths of the night.

"Mr. Noah, my mission to escort you here is complete, so I should be heading back."

T Bone gave Noah a standard military salute and grinned. "These past two days with you have been a pleasure. I hope we have the chance to meet again on Gulu Island!"

"Haha, same here. Go on then."

Noah patted the young man's shoulder cheerfully and watched as he steered the speedboat away.

The other party would eventually become a Colonel at Headquarters, likely because he had once trained in Zephyr's Elite Training Camp. Noah figured he wouldn't even need to go to the 329th Branch himself; perhaps in a few years, he would be able to see this kid again at Marineford, this time as a fellow disciple.

Once the speedboat vanished from sight, Noah stepped onto the pier and headed straight for that familiar warship at top speed.

He couldn't wait to participate in the live-combat assessment, but before that, he had to find Aokiji to report in before he could officially enter the fray.

Additionally, he felt he should report the encounter with that ghost pirate ship at sea a few hours ago to his superiors; such a bizarre incident might hide some incredibly important intelligence behind it.

However.

After boarding the warship, he realized he might as well have stepped onto another ghost ship; whether it was the deck or the cabins, everything was empty, and not a single soul was in sight...

"What's going on?"

After walking a full circle and returning to the deck, Noah rubbed the stubble on his chin, frowning in confusion. "This shouldn't be right. Where is everyone? Where did they go?"

The two hundred or so peers from the Elite Training Camp were definitely not on the ship at this time, as they had all landed on the island for the live-combat assessment, but what about Aokiji? What about the accompanying instructors from Headquarters?

Leaving the warship completely unmanned—weren't they afraid the pirates on the island would fight to the death and seize the opportunity to sneak aboard and burn it to the ground?

"Hey, what do you mean by 'where did everyone go'?"

Just then, a lazy voice, familiar to the point of being unmistakable, suddenly drifted down from above, accompanied by a teasing chuckle. "What's the matter, young man? Am I not a person?"

Noah was slightly taken aback.

He slowly turned around and looked up at the second floor of the cabin, locking eyes with a pair of clear, clean, almost peach-colored eyes.

One stood below, looking up;

One stood above, looking down.

It was exactly like that scene when he had first met the owner of those peach-colored eyes on this very warship, just as they were leaving Marineford.

"Rear Admiral Gion..."

After being momentarily dazed for a second or two, Noah quickly regained his composure. He looked at Momousagi's exquisite, smiling face and shrugged helplessly.

"It's the middle of the night, could you please not suddenly speak from right above my head? It's really startling, you know?"