Commodore Gion, You Wouldn't Want...

In a private guest room.

Junichi's attention stirred, and he looked toward the door.

His Observation Haki sensed a familiar presence approaching.

"Gion?"

The presence made Junichi raise an eyebrow.

What was she doing here so late at night?

Bringing herself to his door?

"Are you asleep, Junichi?" As he wondered, Gion reached his door and knocked.

"Not yet. Come in."

Junichi considered it, then replied, curious about what she was up to.

If she wanted to talk about swordsmanship again, he'd turn her down immediately.

His swordsmanship lessons weren't free.

If Gion wouldn't pay in food, she could forget hearing another word from him.

"Sorry to bother you."

Gion opened the door and slipped inside, closing it quietly behind her.

She was worried someone might see her.

That would be hard to explain.

"Oh?"

Junichi's eyes lit up.

Gion was wearing a short black dress, its hem so high it nearly showed off her upper thighs.

Her long, pale legs were on full display.

Her calves were slender and straight, her thighs full and shapely.

It seemed she'd just come from a bath.

Gion's hair was slightly damp, and she smelled of shampoo and body wash, with an unusual, delicate fragrance mingled in that made her seem even more alluring.

"She even put on perfume?" Junichi wondered.

"Couldn't sleep tonight. Want to chat?" Gion asked with a beaming smile as she sat down, crossing her long legs and stretching them out right in front of Junichi.

They were so close he could almost reach out and touch them.

Junichi glanced at her legs, then focused on her face.

He noticed that Gion's gaze was a little shy, and she kept subtly avoiding his eyes.

At once.

Junichi, who had plenty of experience with women, could tell at a glance that she wanted something for nothing.

She thought she could distract him with her outfit and coax the rest of the swordsmanship lesson out of him.

"Heh..."

Once he understood, Junichi's lips curved into a faint smile.

This was great.

After all this time in the Pirate World, he could finally get some action.

And what if Gion didn't have that in mind?

Heh.

She'd come into his room on her own. What happened next wasn't up to her.

"Sure."

Junichi gave a casual nod, in no hurry at all.

"Shall we pick up where we left off this afternoon?" Gion asked tentatively.

"Sure," Junichi agreed at once, watching her performance at his leisure.

Gion's eyes lit up, and she immediately took it the wrong way.

He really was just a young man.

All it took was a little effort on her part to dress up, and he couldn't resist her charm.

His refusal during the day must have been an act!

At the thought, Gion grew incredibly confident.

"So, how do you make a breakthrough in your heart?" Gion asked eagerly. "And what does a breakthrough in your heart even mean?"

"It means finding your true self," Junichi began to explain.

Finding your true self, letting go of your obsessions, staying true to your will, achieving inner completeness—these all meant the same thing.

Going out to sea and tempering yourself was the orthodox, time-honored method, and it was safe enough.

But because it was so orthodox, it was also old-fashioned.

It couldn't meet everyone's distinct needs on the finer points.

As a result, every Great Swordsman had a completely different journey, perspective, and experience of life.

Passed down from one generation to the next, it seemed as though every Great Swordsman had something different to say, yet each had a point.

And some of their ideas even contradicted one another.

That left those who came later utterly confused.

But Junichi was different.

He had entered the realm of the Great Swordsman at its peak and completely understood its secrets.

Like building a house on high ground, he could describe its details and mysteries with the simplest words, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

That was why Gion listened as though a sudden enlightenment had struck her, deeply shaken.

"The path of a swordsman is one of addition: strengthen your individual style until there's nothing left to add. When you seek change, that's when you begin training to become a Great Swordsman."

Junichi slowly summed up:

"As for how to begin that training..."

He looked at Gion.

Gion sat up straight, listening intently, her expression utterly serious.

"For example, your style is light and swift, but you weren't born a swordsman with that style." At that point, Junichi's voice abruptly stopped.

Gion waited a long while, but he didn't continue.

She stared at Junichi in confusion, her expression urgent. "And then?"

"Then it's time for me to collect my payment." Junichi slowly stood and walked toward her.

"Huh?"

Gion froze for a moment, then sprang up from her chair and backed away to the door.

She gave an awkward laugh. "What payment? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"If you insist, I can give you Beli."

"How about thirty million?"

Junichi shook his head, his expression blank. "I don't take Beli. I only accept meat... You took a bath, dressed up, and came to my room at this hour. Weren't you prepared for this?"

"Nonsense... Utter nonsense!"

Gion panicked. She refused to admit it. "I was sweaty, and I washed up before coming over to show you respect!"

As she spoke, she turned and opened the door, hoping to escape this den of wolves.

She had a bad feeling that if this went any further, she might lose her virtue.

But behind her,

Junichi moved faster. He grabbed her wrist and pinned her against the door.

"Let go!"

Gion hadn't expected Junichi to use force. She snapped, "You're attacking a superior officer! Even the Fleet Admiral won't be able to protect you!"

"I don't see it that way. We both clearly want this." Junichi didn't care, reaching out with his other hand.

Gion's expression darkened. She gave a cold snort and punched at him.

Whoosh!

Invisible Armament Haki coated her fist.

But it was useless.

Junichi's hand was coated in Armament Haki too.

And his Haki was far stronger than Gion's.

Pop!

Their hands collided, and Gion's Armament Haki scattered like Utakata.

Junichi's large hand seized her soft, pale palm with pinpoint precision.

"You... Don't you dare!" Gion began to panic, suddenly realizing that Junichi was far stronger than she was.

She had no way to fight back.

"I'm not doing anything improper. I'm just collecting the payment I'm owed." Junichi held her two slender wrists in one hand and lifted them high.

That forced Gion to stand straight, head raised and chest thrust forward as she faced Junichi.

"Mm..."

Gion's face flushed. She was deeply uncomfortable in that position.

She glared at Junichi, grinding her teeth. "Believe me, I'll shout and let everyone on the ship know you're taking advantage of a superior officer!"

"Then go ahead and shout."

Junichi laughed and looked her over with interest. "Commodore Gion, dressed like this in my room—if you say I'm taking advantage of you, who's going to believe it?"

Gion's expression stiffened.

She'd overlooked that!

After dressing up and coming to Junichi's room, anyone would think she'd made the first move.

"Oh no!"

Gion panicked, never having expected things to turn out this way.

The young man had actually dared to make a move on her.

"Commodore Gion, you wouldn't want everyone on the ship to know you showed up in my room in the middle of the night, all dolled up, would you?" Junichi leaned close to her ear and said with a beaming smile.

"I'm not all dolled up... Mm!" Halfway through her protest, Gion's eyes widened in alarm.

She felt a hand slip inside her clothes.

A strange sensation spread through her body.

Gion's face flushed, and her strength left her.

She could only bite down hard on her lip and endure Junichi's advances, not daring to make a sound.