Sakazuki

Noki picked up his wineglass and slammed it onto the table. "Let's keep drinking! Today, I'm definitely drinking every last one of you under the table!"

"Still as competitive as ever."

Momonga raised both hands in surrender. "You have a way to rapidly absorb the alcohol in your body. We definitely can't outdrink you. I'm done, anyway. If people on the street see me drunk and word gets around, my chances of finding a girlfriend will drop again."

"Ahem, I have official duties tomorrow. It's better to stay sober."

"I've been planning a new confession strategy lately. I need to maintain my image."

"As pillars of the Marines, how can we possibly get drunk...?"

Every officer present was sharper than the last. Knowing they couldn't outdrink him, they hurriedly came up with excuses to refuse.

Ain tugged at Noki's sleeve and pouted. "Drinking is bad for your health. I don't like seeing Noki all drunk."

"Don't worry. I don't like drinking either. I was just annoyed that those old geezers were deliberately laughing at me."

Killing intent surged in Ain's eyes again, and her smile gradually froze. "So they really were bullying you, right? How dare they bully my man!!?"

None of the officers dared have any contact with Ain. One touch would make them twelve years younger; a few more, and they would turn into children!

Better not provoke her.

"Um... I had a wonderful meal today. Thank you for the hospitality. I'll be leaving first."

Momonga grabbed his coat and fled ahead of everyone else.

The other vice admirals hurriedly followed, offering their farewells.

Only Kuzan remained calm as he continued eating. "Ara ara, Ain, you really are a good wife."

Ain blushed deeply and fidgeted. "A-Admiral Kuzan! Don't say things like that! Noki and I aren't married yet."

Kuzan smiled faintly. Tired of sitting, he leaned sideways and lay down. "Speaking of which, according to the Devil Fruit encyclopedia, the Dark-Dark Fruit seems to be the nemesis of all Devil Fruits. If developed properly, its strength shouldn't be underestimated."

"Yeah. I'm planning to find Borsalino and have him spar with me."

Noki remembered that the Dark-Dark Fruit was said to absorb even light. There just happened to be a light man nearby, so wouldn't it be a waste not to make use of him?

"A clash between light and darkness is a rare sight. Remember to call me over to watch. I'm quite interested."

"Sure."

"..."

Kuzan stayed a while longer, then left when he saw that it was getting late.

Ain stayed behind to help Noki clean up the dishes.

Noki happened to notice a wooden box standing by the door. "Ain, did you bring this?"

"Yep."

After washing the last bowl in the kitchen and arranging everything neatly, Ain trotted into the living room, picked up the wooden box, and shyly offered it to him. "This is my graduation gift for you. Hurry up and open it."

"Oh, thanks."

Noki laid the wooden box flat on the table and carefully opened it. A sharp weapon lay silently within.

Noki grasped the golden hilt and drew the blade. A bright gleam flashed through his eyes as he praised it repeatedly. "What a beautiful jian-shao hamon."

"This sword is called Golden Scale. It is one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades. Legend says its name came from the faint golden sheen that always shimmered across its bright blade. Its maker wished to give it the hope of yearning for light, so he named it Golden Scale."

"Every one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades is worth at least ten million. How could you afford it? This gift is too expensive."

Seeing how reluctant Noki was to put the sword down, Ain beamed. "Golden Scale was a trophy Zephyr-sensei obtained long ago. I remembered you saying that you wanted to change swords, so I specifically asked Sensei to sell it to me.

"But Sensei said I had also contributed greatly to the battle where he obtained this sword, so he refused to take my money."

"I see. Did you have this scabbard specially made?"

"Mm-hmm. I had originally prepared five million Beli as a deposit for the sword. Since I didn't need it to buy the sword, I spent all the money on the scabbard."

"You silly girl."

Five million Beli was no small sum for a Marine.

After all, even a fleet admiral only earned 1.2 million Beli a month.

Not to mention that Ain was only a colonel.

Noki's nose stung with emotion. He reached out and pulled the beauty before him into his arms. "I'll carry this sword with me forever. I'll definitely make it the finest famous blade in the world!"

"Noki... As long as you like it."

Ain pressed her head against the man's chest, closed her eyes, and silently enjoyed the deep warmth he gave her.

A long while passed.

Nestled in Noki's arms, Ain murmured like a cat, "I... don't want to go back tonight."

"Hm? Didn't we agree to save that for our wedding day...?"

"Dummy husband~ I never said I wanted to do that. If you think you can't hold back, I'll turn you into a child~"

There was a double bed in Noki's bedroom, fitted with the best mattress and pillows. It was soft and comfortable to lie on, making one feel as though they were surrounded by marshmallows.

Most of this house and its furnishings had been left behind by his late father, Vice Admiral Cudilia Rogers.

Noki had spent a great deal of money on the mattress. Back in the recruit camp, training had been grueling every day, and he had loved sleeping and resting the most. To sleep more comfortably and soundly, he had even specifically replaced the original hard mattress.

Noki was fairly confident in his self-control. After all, he had had plenty of contact with girls ever since he was young.

So he did not deliberately keep his distance from Ain. Instead, he moved closer and took the girl's soft body into his arms.

Ain also liked being held by him. It gave her a great sense of security. After so many years together, she had long regarded Noki as the family member she trusted most.

As for her parents...

They had died long ago. Like Noki, she was the child of martyrs.

Perhaps it was precisely because they shared the same fate that they had gradually come together.

Night fell.

The two of them slept soundly.

Ain unconsciously turned over and burrowed into Noki's embrace like a kitten. Still seeming uncomfortable, she moved her face closer and only relaxed after feeling his breath.

The next morning.

The two were awakened by a knock at the door.

Then came a stern, cold voice. "Noki, are you awake?"

"Uncle Sakazuki?"

"Admiral Akainu!"

Both of them panicked at the same time.

Noki was not related to Sakazuki by blood. He called him uncle because his father, Rogers, had been extremely close to Sakazuki and had entrusted Noki to him before carrying out an extraordinarily dangerous mission.

Sakazuki had no children of his own and had always treated Noki like a biological son. Since Noki was very young, he had put him through all kinds of brutal training, helping him build a solid physical foundation and taking great care in every aspect of his life.

Fortunately, Noki had lived up to expectations and had never embarrassed him, always achieving outstanding results.

Even so, Sakazuki was still dissatisfied with Noki, because he often heard from Zephyr about all sorts of irresponsible behavior. Every now and then, he would come over and scold Noki.

Sakazuki had always opposed Noki dating Ain.

Today was their first time living together, and Sakazuki had caught them immediately. Their luck was truly terrible.

"Noki, should I hide?"

Ain had often heard of Admiral Akainu's fearsome reputation. On top of that, he had always been Noki's guardian, which made her somewhat afraid of this iron-blooded general.

"No need. Let's tidy ourselves up first. Once I open the door, just walk out openly. Leave the rest to me."

"Will that work?" Ain was worried.

"Of course! A man can't say he can't do it. Uncle Sakazuki may be harsh, but he still follows rules. It's not illegal for me to have a girlfriend. At most, he'll scold me a little."

"All right."

Afterward, Noki called out, "Please wait. I'll be right there."

About ten minutes later.

Noki opened the door, with the neatly dressed Ain behind him. "Uncle Sakazuki, what brings you here?"

Akainu's face darkened when he saw Ain. "I heard about your performance in the recruit assessment. You did well."

"Admiral Akainu."

Ain lowered her head and greeted him.

"Mm..." Akainu's expression was as dark as water. "Noki and I have some matters to discuss. Go home first."

"O-Okay." Ain looked back at Noki worriedly.

Noki winked at her, signaling that he was fine. Only then did Ain leave reluctantly.

Akainu entered the house, dropped heavily onto the sofa, and set his cap on the table. "You've only just become a mere rear admiral, yet you're already so arrogant and complacent. I told you before that having a girlfriend was fine, but you needed to know moderation. Yet today, you let her stay the night. You clearly don't take my words seriously!

"If you put all the time you spend fooling around in romance into training, you might already be a vice admiral!"

Noki explained, "Uncle Sakazuki, it's not what you think between Ain and me. Admiral Kuzan and Vice Admiral Momonga came to my house for dinner last night.

"After dinner, she voluntarily helped me tidy up the place. We finished too late, so she only stayed over for the night."

"Hmph. Mentioning Kuzan and the others makes me angry. As your elders, they don't set an example by urging you to train and study. Instead, they fill your head with bad ideas and habits all day long. I must go reason with him another day!"

"Ahem, Admiral Kuzan and the others have helped me quite a bit. For example, I learned most of my swordsmanship from Vice Admiral Momonga. They may indeed have some bad habits, but I've always been disciplined. You can rest assured."

"Don't think I don't know that going home to sleep during training hours is a bad habit you learned from Kuzan."

"I do that to make the best possible use of my limited energy."

"If you saved the energy you spend dating, I think you could make even better use of it."

"..."

How had they somehow circled back to that again?

He realized that Akainu was no longer merely opposed to him having a girlfriend. He loathed it, as if he wanted Noki to remain single for the rest of his life.

There were quite a few unmarried admirals and vice admirals, but most of them were simply too lazy to look for someone or couldn't find anyone. None of them were as radical in their opposition as he was.

More than once, Noki had suspected that Sakazuki might have been hurt by a woman in the past.

Akainu sighed. "Fine. I have no right to interfere in your private life. I only came to remind you. I heard you ate a Devil Fruit?"

"Yeah, the Logia-type Dark-Dark Fruit."

"How far have you developed it?"

"I haven't had time to develop it yet. I plan to find Admiral Borsalino and test its abilities first."

"Borsalino? He does indeed have unique insights into Devil Fruit development, but I seriously doubt his teaching attitude. He always looks lazy even during real battles. If he taught students, wouldn't he just lead them astray?"

"You misunderstand. My Dark-Dark Fruit differs from ordinary Logia types. I'm not looking for Admiral Borsalino to teach me. I only want to spar with him, because I think my ability has a certain restraining effect on his. Perhaps I can gain some insight from the battle."

Akainu said, "Having an admiral serve as your sparring partner? You certainly have influence."

"It's nothing. We're just friends."

Noki's friendship with Kizaru had begun on the day Zephyr came to his door to thank him.

Kizaru had always disagreed with Zephyr and rarely respected him.

Yet Zephyr had willingly gone to personally thank a child, which greatly piqued his interest.

So, during an accidental encounter, Noki had gained the chance to speak with Kizaru alone.

Noki had deliberately wanted to befriend him, so naturally, he said what Kizaru liked to hear. For example: Kizaru was stronger than Zephyr, and his Devil Fruit development was extremely successful.

Kizaru enjoyed listening to him, and over time, the two became familiar with each other.

Bang! Bang!

Someone else had come to visit Noki.

Noki opened the door and stared. "Sister Gion, Vice Admiral Tsuru?"

Gion smiled warmly. "Little Noki, congratulations on becoming a rear admiral. Your rank is almost catching up to your big sister's.

"Time passes so quickly. When I first met you, you were still a little baby. Now you've grown into a real man. When are you and little Ain getting married?"

"Uh... There's no rush for marriage." Noki glanced into the room.

Tsuru was observant. "Admiral Sakazuki is here too?"

"Yeah."

Noki invited Gion and Tsuru inside first.

"Vice Admiral Gion, Chief of Staff Tsuru, you came too."

Sakazuki's gaze was unfriendly. He felt certain that Noki dating was related to the influence of these two women.

Gion was not afraid of him at all. She lifted her chin and puffed out her chest. "Did you scold my little Noki again?"

"I was merely advising him to improve himself."

Akainu snorted coldly, checked the time, and picked up his cap to put it on. "I've said everything I came to say. I have matters to attend to. Noki, don't forget what I told you."

"Uncle Sakazuki, take care." Noki walked outside to see him off.

"Phew~"

After Akainu had gone far enough away, Noki let out a long sigh of relief.

Gion pinched his collagen-filled cheek. "It's only been a few days, and you've gotten prettier again. You've grown into such a great beauty, little Noki~ Want to learn makeup from your big sister?"

Tsuru smiled. "Gion, if you dare teach Noki how to wear makeup, Sakazuki will fight you to the death."

Noki's face darkened. "Sis, how many times have I told you? Don't call me a beauty. I can tolerate you saying I'm pretty, but beauty is my final bottom line!"

"Got it, great beauty~"

"What a beautiful scabbard. Did you get a new sword?" As a swordswoman, Gion was naturally more sensitive to the presence of blades.

"Yeah, Ain gave it to me. It's called Golden Scale."

"Golden Scale, one of the Twenty-One Great Grade Blades like my Kimpira? Did little Ain give you a token of love?"