Confession

Confession

Marineford Military Academy, cafeteria.

At a dining table, Sephiroth and Gion sat facing each other. After what had just happened, the atmosphere between them was somewhat awkward.

Seeing that the long-legged beauty before him seemed a little dangerous, Sephiroth immediately gave up on continuing his flippant banter. He focused on dealing with the food in front of him, picking up half a green apple and crunching into it by his mouth.

After a while, beside the long table piled with food, the white short-sleeved Marine shirt was already covered in grease stains. With his belly stretched round like Tokikake in the tenth month of pregnancy, he finally let out a satisfied burp.

Afterward, he casually took a white flower from a vase on the long table, used the end of its stem to pick his teeth, and held it at the corner of his mouth like a toothpick.

He casually swept his gaze around the cafeteria. When he spotted Gion eating at a table, he immediately gave a sly chuckle.

As if he had thought of something, he took another small white flower from the vase, held it in his hand, and walked straight over to the long-legged beauty's side.

Tokikake burped as he grinned and said cheerfully:

"Burp! Hey there, beautiful. Ever since I saw your lovely face, I've fallen hopelessly in love with you...

Please go out with me! Burp!"

The man's lecherous face wore an exceptionally brilliant smile. Between the lips he had spread into a grin, with the flower still clenched in his mouth, two front teeth were clearly visible—with a piece of green vegetable leaf still stuck to them.

Gion: (눈_눈)

Sephiroth: (⊙０⊙)

Gasp!!!

That smile was far too depressing. Not only were the two of them utterly stunned, but even the boys in the cafeteria who had been occasionally sneaking glances at Gion couldn't help drawing sharp breaths after hearing that confession. The same thought flashed through all of their minds:

This guy was insanely brave!

"Sorry, I refuse!"

After a brief moment of shock, Gion's answer was extremely decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

She did not even need to think about something like this. Her instincts had chosen rejection.

"Ahahaha! The confession failed!"

Tokikake still wore that cheerful expression. He scratched his head as though troubled, but did not continue pestering her. Instead, he turned around and left directly, looking rather carefree and uninhibited.

If only he had not been so ugly...

After more than a hundred Military Academy students finished lunch, they gradually returned to the training ground. Meanwhile, the ninety-odd students who still had not gotten anything to eat all looked listless. Some lay down, some sat around, and the atmosphere was rather gloomy.

Shuzo posted ten lists on the training ground's notice board before turning and shouting at everyone:

"Your class assignments are out—Classes One through Ten.

Come take a look yourselves, then bring your luggage to your class dormitories.

Hurry up. You still have classes this afternoon!"

Upon hearing this, the students hurriedly swarmed over and gathered around the notice board to check their class assignments.

Sephiroth looked around and discovered that he had been assigned to Class One. Moreover, many of the names on the list looked very familiar to him.

Tokikake, Gion, Smoker, Hina, Komei, Maynard, Domino, Daddy Masterson...

After reading the list, Sephiroth took his luggage and Autumn Leaf Blade for a stroll around the Military Academy, familiarizing himself with the surrounding area. Only then did he slowly head toward the dormitory district, complete the check-in procedures, and collect his room key.

The dormitory assigned to him was a standard double room, with a bunk bed, two desks, and a private bathroom.

This was the standard reserved for commissioned officers. Non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers did not receive such treatment. Clearly, those entering the Military Academy were already considered officer-class by default.

The people in the dormitory directly across the hall from his were Tokikake and Maynard.

When Sephiroth entered his dorm room, it was already filled with white smoke, and the scent of cigars permeated the air.

A young man with a somewhat fierce face, short silver hair, and a Marine uniform sat on the lower bunk. He had two cigars clenched in his mouth and was constantly puffing out clouds of smoke.

At the smell of cigar smoke, Sephiroth's long-dormant craving for tobacco suddenly returned.

Thus, with a grin on his face, he said to Smoker:

"Buddy, it's better to share than to enjoy alone. Give me one, will you?"

Smoker glanced at him without saying anything, but readily handed him a cigar and a lighter.

Sephiroth lit the cigar and took a long drag before knowingly asking:

"My name is Karl D. Sephiroth. What's yours?"

"Smoker."

"I was born in Water Seven. How about you...?"

"East Blue, Loguetown."

"The place where Pirate King Roger was executed, also known as the Town of the Beginning and the End...

Did you see Roger's execution with your own eyes?" Sephiroth asked casually.

At those words, a look of reminiscence appeared on Smoker's face, and his tone became somewhat low:

"Yes, and I saw it very clearly...

At the time, it suddenly began to rain. That man sat on the execution platform, smiling...

When someone asked where One Piece was, he laughed and said, 'Want my treasure? If you want it, you can have it all.

Go find it! I left all my treasure there...'

Back then, I never understood why he could die with a smile on his face..."

"The sight of his death has always lingered in my mind...

Later... I finally figured it out. Why would that random passerby ask about One Piece, and why would Pirate King Roger laugh as he answered the question?

That bastard passerby was definitely a plant Roger paid for!!!

Roger's real goal was to usher in the current Great Pirate Era!

Thanks to him, my hometown of Loguetown has become a complete mess, with pirates constantly showing up..."

By the end, Smoker's tone had unconsciously gained a trace of irritation.

Clearly, he too was filled with hatred for Pirate King Roger!

Sephiroth was also speechless over Roger's final words before his death.

Perhaps Roger's actions had been meant to allow the person chosen by fate to inherit Joy Boy's will and overthrow the rotten, nauseating World Government.

However...

The intention might have been good, but Roger had chosen the worst possible method!