The Youngest Rear Admiral

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

Countless seagull flags bearing scales fluttered in the sea breeze.

A mountain-like military fortress stood here, with the two bold characters for "Navy" emblazoned across it. Its majestic and imposing aura inspired awe from afar.

Numerous Navy warships surrounded the crescent-shaped harbor, while countless armed Navy soldiers stood solemnly at attention, as if proclaiming dignity and peace to the world.

Inside Admiral Aokiji's office.

Aokiji wore an eye mask across his forehead, propped his chin on one hand, and let out a huge yawn. "Welcome. Starting today, you're a rear admiral under my command. Becoming a Headquarters rear admiral at such a young age is something only a handful can achieve in the Navy."

On the sofa, the stunningly beautiful young man sat with one leg crossed over the other, his left hand supporting his fair, jade-like cheek. "I thought I'd be assigned under Uncle Sakazuki."

"Ara ara, that was the original plan. But you know Sakazuki's personality. He was afraid people would gossip, so he turned it down. I happened to be there, so I took you."

"You aren't afraid people will gossip?"

"All three Admirals have an unusual relationship with you. If all of us were afraid of gossip, wouldn't nobody dare take you?"

"That's true. Thanks. If I'd been placed under Borsalino, who knew how he might've ordered me around?"

Kuzan took several bottles of liquor from a drawer. "Oh, right. Momonga and the others are going to your place tonight to celebrate your successful graduation. I'll be there too, so head back early and get things ready."

"Looking for another excuse to make me cook for you? You're all getting on in years. You ought to find yourselves wives already. You can't stay single forever."

Kuzan rubbed his messy hair. "Finding a girlfriend is too much trouble. I'd rather use that time to sleep a little longer."

"What about Momonga? Didn't he start seeing a Navy girl six years younger than him a few days ago?"

"You mean that girl Daya? The two of them had been getting along quite well... Do you remember that time we went to a restaurant before the final recruit assessment?"

"Yeah. That was when I first met Momonga's little girlfriend."

"Women like comparing themselves to others. Apparently, after she saw you, everything Momonga did started looking wrong to her. Not long after that, they broke up."

"That reason... Momonga must hate me to death. It wasn't easy for him to meet such a pretty girlfriend who could cook, too."

"Ara ara, so Momonga made up his mind that until he got married, he would never let you meet any of his female friends again."

"Since he's nursing a broken heart, I'll reluctantly go home and make something tasty to comfort him."

Noki left Kuzan's office and headed to the market behind the fortress to pick out ingredients for dinner.

"This fish looks good. I can make them squirrel-shaped mandarin fish."

Before crossing over, Noki had worked as a chef for a while. Being far from home also made him miss the dishes of his homeland, so he researched them from time to time and learned quite a few traditional Chinese recipes.

Food in the pirate world was mostly Western or Japanese cuisine. People like Noki, who were proficient in Chinese cooking, were exceedingly rare.

Noki had made many friends through his superb cooking. Navy officers and soldiers craved his food—it was both delicious and novel.

Noki was a focal figure at Marine Headquarters. Wherever he went, he drew countless glances, and he was popular with both men and women.

"Mr. Noki is getting prettier and prettier. Even I, as a woman, feel inferior."

"Watch your wording. Mr. Noki hates it most when people call him pretty. You should say handsome!"

"And Mr. Noki is already Rear Admiral Noki. From now on, we have to call him Rear Admiral."

"He's good-looking, capable, and has such a nice personality. I want to marry him so badly. I'd even be willing to be his mistress."

"Too bad the Rear Admiral already has a girlfriend."

"So what if he has a girlfriend? As long as they aren't married, there's still a chance."

"So what if they are married? There's still a chance."

"Sis, that way of thinking is dangerous..."

While the Navy girls chatted, someone had already put her thoughts into action.

A petite, delicate, and adorable Navy girl rushed up to Noki with a blushing face. Holding out a heart-shaped box of chocolates with both hands, she said, "Rear Admiral, please accept this. I made it myself."

Noki was long accustomed to such situations. The corners of his lips lifted slightly as he gave her a dazzling yet polite smile. "Sorry, I have a girlfriend. You should give it to someone who needs it."

The girl lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes. "Even if you reject me, please accept it. It's the sincerity of my feelings."

Just as Noki was about to refuse again, a beautiful woman with long, wavy aqua-blue hair leaned in beside him, reached out, and took the box of chocolates. With a radiant smile, she said, "I'll accept it for him. Thank you."

Recognizing Ain, the girl's face turned so red it seemed ready to explode. Steam practically rose from her head as she repeatedly bowed in apology. "Sorry, sorry, I disturbed you."

Ain was generous as well. Right in front of her, she opened the box and tasted a piece of chocolate. "It's delicious. Everyone has the right to like someone. I understand how you feel. I was just a little luckier than you—I got him, that's all."

Hearing that, the men all sighed that Ain truly was a gentle and considerate girl.

But the women sensed a trace of emotional devastation and faint desolation in her words.

In the end, Rear Admiral Noki was not a man they could have.

People were sometimes very contradictory creatures.

When they could not have something, they desperately wanted it.

But once they got it, it no longer seemed like such a big deal.

If Noki truly abandoned Ain and got together with any one of them, would he still be the same Noki?

Clearly not.

Because he would no longer be perfect. He would have lost the most important thing—loyalty!

Unless Ain abandoned Noki, but that was simply impossible. Even a fool would not throw away such an outstanding man.

Unable to bear the pressure, the girl who had confessed hurriedly fled.

Noki offered no explanation whatsoever for what had just happened. With an even expression, he said, "Kuzan and the others are coming to my house tonight. You should come too."

"Okay, okay! I get to eat my husband's cooking again."

Ain linked her arm with Noki's, then lightly pressed her red lips against his cheek, leaving her mark as if declaring her claim.

The Navy girls' hearts went cold, and they wisely dispersed.

Noki continued buying groceries with Ain.

"Boss, I'll take this chicken."

"Sure thing, sir. I'll bag it for you."

Ain pressed herself against Noki's arm, her red eyes blinking. "Are you used to the ability you just gained? Your body doesn't feel unwell, does it?"

Noki smiled faintly and reached out to rub the top of her head. "You've asked me more than a dozen times on the way back already. I only ate a Devil Fruit. Am I really that delicate?"

"I'm worried about you~"

When Noki first met Ain years ago, she had been a lively and energetic girl, completely different from the cold and melancholy image she displayed in his previous life's anime.

Noki guessed that perhaps the attack by Weevil had changed her temperament.

Now that the tragedy caused by Weevil had been prevented by him, Ain naturally remained that innocent and cheerful girl.

"By the way, Noki, I remember you once said you wanted to change swords."

"Yeah, but Navy pay is too low, and famous blades are the kind of thing money can't always buy. I haven't come across one that suits me after all this time."

"Oh~ Then if you got a famous blade, you'd definitely be really happy, right?"

"Of course. Why are you suddenly asking that?"

"It's nothing, nothing. I just thought of it and asked casually."

"Oh."

After buying the groceries, Noki went home to cook.

Along the way, Ain said she needed to go home and prepare some things, so they separated for the time being.

Noki put on an apron and showed off his skills in the kitchen. His knife work was clean and swift. With the knife in his right hand and the ingredients held down by his left, combined with the swordsmanship he had learned, he sliced so quickly that afterimages appeared.

He removed the fish's scales, gills, fins, and innards.

With a sweep of his kitchen knife, several sword energies flashed past, carving neat and beautiful patterns into the fish.

Time passed quickly while he cooked.

In the blink of an eye, a bright full moon hung high in the sky.

Bang! Bang!

Several knocks sounded at the door.

Noki ran to open it. The first thing he saw was Vice Admiral Momonga, with his mohawk and handlebar mustache. He looked serious and stern on the surface, but he was actually a very interesting man.

Momonga carried a bag of liquor and chuckled. "I could smell the food from outside the door. Little Noki, your cooking is still as good as ever."

Right behind him was a short, plain-looking man.

"Vice Admiral Tokikake, you came too?"

Noki's relationship with Chaton was average, but he was quite close to Gion. He and Gion addressed each other as siblings.

"Hehehe, I remember you and Miss Gion are especially close. Maybe I'll run into her here."

Noki smiled helplessly. "Sister Gion told me you've already confessed ninety times. You still won't give up?"

"The pursuit of love has to be persistent from beginning to end. Maybe Miss Gion will agree next time."

"Forget it. Feelings are not something you can force."

Behind them, Vice Admiral Dalmatian, with his spotted dog head, pushed forward. "Can't you chat after going inside? Don't block the doorway."

"Sorry, sorry." Tokikake gave an embarrassed laugh.

After Vice Admiral Dalmatian came Hōshō, Onigumo, Doberman, and Strawberry, four more vice admirals. Kuzan arrived last.

In one small house, nearly half of Marine Headquarters' famous commanders had gathered.

The tableware inside was neatly arranged.

After the officers sat in a row, Momonga immediately opened a bottle of liquor. "Noki, we came to celebrate your becoming the youngest rear admiral in Navy history. As tonight's star, shouldn't you finish a bottle first as a toast?"

Kuzan had specially chilled all the liquor with cold air.

Seeing so many people staring at him, Noki could find no reason to refuse. He simply took the bottle and gulped it down.

It was actually everyone's first time drinking with Noki. Before this, he had always turned them down with all sorts of excuses. They had not expected him to be so straightforward this time.

Noki truly did not have a habit of drinking, but he figured that with his excellent physique, he should be able to handle this much alcohol.

Sure enough, after the first bottle, he was not drunk at all. His lovely face was merely flushed red, making him especially adorable.

Men liked egging each other on when they were together. Even vice admirals and admirals from Marine Headquarters were no exception.

It was everyone's first time seeing Noki drink, and they especially wanted to see what he looked like drunk, so they all urged him to have another bottle.

"No. How can I be the only one drinking? Everyone has to join in."

"Fine, fine. We'll drink together."

The vice admirals drank three cups with him.

Noki's cheeks became even redder, though fortunately, his mind remained fairly clear.

If this continued, he would sooner or later get drunk.

The vice admirals grew even more expectant.

They had only ever seen Noki in his usual high-spirited state. They wanted to see just how much different he would be when drunk.

After another three cups.

Noki's consciousness blurred. He lowered his head and fell into unusual silence.

Everyone guessed that he was drunk.

After all, everyone acted differently when drunk. Some made a scene, some became chatterboxes, and the silent type was quite common too.

Satisfied, the officers began tasting the dishes Noki had carefully prepared.

"This fish already makes me hungry just looking at it. It's sweet and sour, and it really is delicious."

"This chicken soup is good too. The flavor is rich and fragrant. You're pretty impressive, Noki."

Click.

The door to Noki's house opened.

Ain walked in carrying a long wooden case. She saw that the officers had already started eating, while Noki sat silently with his head hanging down, completely motionless.

"Little Ain is here." The officers were too busy eating to notice the dense killing intent rising around them.

Ain set down the wooden case. Purple light shimmered from her right hand, and a chilling smile appeared on her delicate face. "You old men, what did you do to my Noki!?"

Though every one of the officers was stronger than Ain, at this moment they were like ordinary men, hurriedly passing the blame when trouble came.

Tokikake shouted the loudest of all. "It was all Momonga's idea!"

As Ain moved closer and closer, Momonga shrank his neck and explained with a bitter smile, "He just got drunk, that's all. How would I dare do anything to him?"

"So you got my man drunk?" The killing intent in Ain's eyes did not lessen.

"No, no, absolutely not. He drank voluntarily. Kuzan, isn't that right?"

"Ara ara, beautiful little Ain, it's perfectly normal for a man to have a few drinks when he's happy. Don't get worked up."

"I see."

Ain's killing intent immediately vanished. Calm and composed, she walked past the officers and came to Noki's side, touching his cheek. "So hot. He really did drink too much."

Catching Ain's scent, Noki instinctively fell into her arms, landing right on a soft "cushion."

Ain's lovely face reddened slightly. She gently placed Noki's head on her lap and let him rest against it.

All the officers were old bachelors.

Momonga immediately felt that the food on the table no longer tasted good. The public display of affection made him want to cry.

Seeing everyone staring at her, Ain turned her head and said haughtily, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a couple?"

The old officers blushed and lowered their heads, silently continuing to eat.

After a little while.

Noki's drunkenness faded, and he woke up again. When he opened his eyes, all he could see was Ain's ample chest.

He slowly sat up.

Momonga asked curiously, "How did you sober up so fast?"

Noki raised his right hand, and a wisp of faint black smoke emerged from his fingertips. "My ability seems to have absorbed all the alcohol in my body..."