First Arrival in Loguetown

It would take a little over half a month to travel from Marineford to Loguetown without stopping.

That was only because Navy warships were fast, and because the Seastone beneath their hulls allowed them to pass directly through the Calm Belt.

Noki made use of those two-plus weeks to spar with Bogard almost every day.

Bogard had held an absolute advantage during the first few days, but as time passed, Noki's progress was astonishingly rapid. After roughly fifteen days, he was already almost evenly matched with Bogard.

He was a genius among geniuses.

Even Garp said that Noki possessed monstrous talent in swordsmanship.

In truth, it was not limited to that. Noki possessed monstrous talent in other areas as well.

He could not explain the exact reason. Perhaps Sakazuki's hellish training when he was young had laid the foundation, perhaps his physique was special, or perhaps there was some other, more fantastical reason.

During this time, Noki grew familiar with the Marines aboard Garp's ship and learned quite a few embarrassing stories about Garp's voyages.

At the same time, Garp charged him for letting him ride the ship—by making him cook in the kitchen every day.

Noki had originally refused.

However, Garp said, "My adjutant spars with you every day. Shouldn't you show some appreciation?"

Only then did he reluctantly agree.

Bogard truly had provided a great deal of help with his improvement in swordsmanship.

It was only right to offer something in return.

After the long voyage, Garp's dog-headed warship passed through the Calm Belt into the East Blue and finally docked at Loguetown's harbor.

Garp shouted in his booming voice, "Brat Noki, this is where we part ways. I'll contact you again later. Don't forget our agreement."

"Don't worry, Vice Admiral Garp. You should get ready to fulfill your side of the agreement too."

Noki slung the heavy pack over his back. It was stuffed with all kinds of things Ain had prepared for him.

A faint smile appeared on Bogard's usually cold face. "I really will have trouble adjusting without you to spar with. When you return to headquarters, don't forget to come find me. Then we'll settle who wins and loses once and for all!"

"Definitely!"

Noki jumped down from the warship and set foot on Loguetown soil.

A triangular archway stood at Loguetown's harbor, with the English words "logue town" written on it.

All sorts of shops lined the streets, and the crowds were dense. It was one of the most prosperous towns in the East Blue.

After delivering Noki, Garp had the warship leave the harbor and continue toward the Goa Kingdom, where Foosha Village was located.

Noki carried his large pack into town. Because he was exceptionally beautiful and wore the coat unique to Navy officers, passersby paid him special attention.

"What a beautiful Navy lady! Carrying such a huge bag, she's so strong."

"Idiot, look carefully. That's obviously a man."

"No way. How could a man be that pretty? Though judging by his build, he really doesn't look like a woman."

Noki could not be bothered to argue with the passersby. As he walked, a little blonde girl with big eyes suddenly darted out in front of him.

"Big sister, you're so pretty!"

Noki's lovely face darkened. "Don't call me big sister. Call me big brother."

"Oh, big brother, you're so pretty!"

"Can't you use a different word? Like... handsome."

The little girl blinked her aqua-blue eyes and tilted her tiny head. "But big brother isn't handsome. My daddy is handsome."

"Your daddy?"

Noki felt that the girl looked somewhat familiar, but he could not remember where he had seen her before.

"That little girl is Dadi's daughter. Dadi killed our boss, so if we can't kill him, we'll kill his daughter to get revenge!" Several vicious-looking pirates surrounded them.

Loguetown was the place in the entire East Blue where pirates appeared most frequently. Pirates ran wild here almost every day.

The residents had long grown accustomed to such scenes and hurriedly kept their distance.

With Marines and many bounty hunters stationed in the town, pirates did not dare act too outrageously, but minor disturbances happened often.

"Get lost, Navy woman! If you block our way, we'll kill you too!"

The weaker the pirates were, the less they knew of the world. They were often even more arrogant than great pirates with bounties over a hundred million.

"Woman?"

Noki sneered and reached for Golden Scale with his right hand. "Pirates... if you cannot be forgiven, then... you shall be killed without mercy!"

Everyone saw a flash of golden light. Noki, carrying that enormous pack, instantly changed positions and appeared behind the pirates. As he finished sheathing his sword, the pirates dropped to the ground almost simultaneously with several thuds.

Blood dripped from their necks onto the ground.

"Ah! Blood..."

The little blonde girl was terrified.

"Who dares bully my daughter?!"

A man wearing a brown cowboy hat and a gray cloak, with pistols hanging all over his body, charged furiously toward the little blonde girl.

The little girl grabbed his arm and shook it hard. "Daddy, there were bad guys just now. This big brother protected me."

"Oh? You are...?"

The man stared at the word "Justice" on Noki's back.

Noki turned around and smiled. "Navy Headquarters Rear Admiral, Loguetown Navy Branch's newly appointed base commander, Cudilia Noci. Colonel Dadi, it has been a long time. Have you been well?"

"I heard that Loguetown was getting a new Navy base commander, but I never expected it to be you. You became a rear admiral after only a few years apart? Impressive!"

"Daddy, you know big brother?"

"Noki was one of Daddy's juniors in the Navy."

The surrounding crowd erupted after hearing their conversation.

"That absurdly beautiful man is a Navy Headquarters rear admiral?!"

"The previous base commander only held the rank of Headquarters colonel. A rear admiral is a full two ranks above a colonel!"

"He's so young!"

"Loguetown's safety will be guaranteed from now on!"

Dadi took his daughter's hand. "I know where the Navy base is. Come with me, I'll take you there."

"Thank you."

Noki followed Dadi, and before long he saw the emblem of the seagull holding the scales of justice.

The Loguetown Navy base was not large, with several buildings surrounding a small training ground.

A bulletin board stood at the entrance, covered with pirate bounty posters.

Noki recognized four of them: Arlong, captain of the Arlong Pirates; Pirate Admiral Krieg; Kuro of a Hundred Plans; and Buggy the Clown.

"Mr. Dadi, are you here to collect a bounty?" The Marine on guard recognized Dadi.

"I'm showing your new commander the way around."

"Commander?"

The Marine looked up and saw a breathtakingly beautiful woman standing properly before him. "Could this young lady be our new commander?"

Noki's face darkened. "If your eyes are useless, I suggest you get rid of them."

Hearing his somewhat androgynous voice and noticing his relatively sturdy build, the Marine realized he had made a terrible mistake. He immediately straightened up into a military stance. "Commander, I didn't mean it. Please forgive me!"

Noki took out a transfer order stamped by headquarters and asked, "Who holds the highest rank in the base right now?"

"Ever since Colonel Weiss died of illness, Petty Officer Carter has been handling affairs."

"Take me to see him."

"Yes, sir!"

The Marine first helped Noki set his pack aside, then called over several others to help carry it.

Dadi said, "Noki, get busy. We won't disturb you any longer."

The little girl showed a hint of her sharp canine teeth. "Big brother, come play with me when you have time!"

"Sure."

Noki agreed with a smile.

In the corridor, Noki's gaze through the window was drawn to a young woman with short black hair.

"Commander, her name is Tashigi. She just joined the Navy and is a newcomer with tremendous potential in swordsmanship."

"She is indeed worth cultivating." Noki wholeheartedly agreed.

Tashigi held a wooden sword and fought three Marines by herself while holding the upper hand. She was a promising talent.

They arrived at the base commander's office.

Petty Officer Carter sat in a wooden chair with his head lowered as he sorted through documents.

"Petty Officer, the new commander sent by headquarters has arrived."

Carter hurriedly stood and saluted. "Rear Admiral, headquarters notified us half a month ago that you would be arriving. We did not know your exact arrival time, so we failed to welcome you properly. I hope you can forgive us."

"It is fine."

Noki sat in the base commander's seat, which had originally belonged to Carter and now belonged to him, then casually flipped through the documents on the desk.

Carter explained, "These are the various details regarding the Loguetown base that I organized for you. Some sections are not detailed enough, but I will complete them as soon as possible."

"This is already quite good. The base's finances, weapon supplies, personnel arrangements, and so on are all recorded clearly. You have worked hard."

Noki set down the documents and asked, "Are there any criminal organizations in Loguetown right now?"

"Other than the pirates who enter Loguetown every day, the only particularly strong criminal force is a group of bandits. However, they only collect protection money and have never harmed civilians."

"Bandits?"

"They are called Bartolomeo's group. Nearly all the towns around Loguetown are his territory, and his power is extremely strong.

Their leader, Bartolomeo, is the user of some kind of Devil Fruit power and is virtually unbeatable. The people we sent to eliminate him were no match for him at all."

"Do you know his exact location?"

"Not for the moment. Since he rarely causes trouble, we stopped monitoring him some time ago."

Noki nodded. "I understand. Go attend to other matters first. I'll take a careful look through these files."

"Yes."

Petty Officer Carter withdrew.

Although this was Noki's first time serving as a base commander, the Loguetown Navy base was relatively small, and its various records were convenient to compile, so it was not difficult to sort out the situation.

Noki finished reading the results of Petty Officer Carter's reports.

Overall, Loguetown lacked nothing. It had ample funding and abundant weapon reserves.

If there was one flaw, it was that there were too few capable people!

The only one who could truly confront powerful enemies was probably Noki himself.

The Marines trained lazily and spent very little time drilling each day. No wonder their combat strength was so poor.

Noki planned to first introduce stricter training. He had seen the drills at Navy Headquarters and intended to hold his subordinates to headquarters standards, rapidly raising their overall combat strength.

There were not many people anyway, so they would be easy to manage.

Perhaps the Marines would have trouble adjusting for the first few days, but they would eventually get used to it.

In addition, he wanted to promote Tashigi.

In theory, Tashigi's talent for swordsmanship might not be inferior to that of any Navy vice admiral.

After all, in the original story, even without the guidance of a famous master, she had become a somewhat renowned swordswoman.

Moreover, Tashigi possessed perseverance far beyond that of ordinary people and could endure hardship.

If he did not cultivate her, then who would he cultivate?

Thus, that afternoon, Noki gathered every Marine in the base onto the training ground for an address.

The Marines learned that their new base commander was a rear admiral from headquarters and the youngest rear admiral in history, and they all sincerely admired him.

Noki laid out the training plan he had created.

Of the twenty-four hours in a day, eight would be spent sleeping, two eating, ten training, and the remaining four for free time. The balance between work and rest was perfectly reasonable.

By rank, Petty Officer Carter should have been the one leading everyone's drills.

Carter was diligent and conscientious, but he had entered middle age and would find it difficult to achieve more.

Thus, to everyone's surprise, Noki exceptionally promoted Tashigi, who had only recently joined the Navy.

Tashigi's strength far surpassed that of ordinary Marines, something everyone had witnessed. But having a newcomer lead them still left the Marines unconvinced.

Even Tashigi herself lacked confidence. "Rear Admiral, you should let someone else take this position."

Noki had long expected that they would react this way. He smiled and said, "How about we make a bet? If, within one week, I can make Tashigi defeat every one of you by herself, then you will all be completely convinced by her. No one may ever bring up seniority again."

Carter was the first to agree. "I agree with the rear admiral's proposal."

"I agree too!"

"Me too!"

"..."

Everyone believed that although Tashigi was talented, one week was far too short. It was impossible for her to improve dramatically. If she could, then they would have no reason to remain unconvinced.

"Then it is settled. Until the wager is decided, Petty Officer Carter, you will temporarily lead everyone in training."

"Yes, sir!"

"Tashigi, stay behind. Everyone else may disperse."

"Rear Admiral, your expectations of me are too high. I'm afraid I cannot accomplish your goal..."

Tashigi lowered her head, her heart filled with unease. She feared that she would cause discord within the base and damage Noki's reputation.

Noki did not explain. He simply asked, "Do you have your own sword?"

"Yes!"

"Bring it here."

"Please wait a moment."

Tashigi hurried away, then hurried back carrying a sword. "Rear Admiral, this is my family heirloom sword. It is called Shigure and is one of the Fifty Skillful Grade Blades."

Noki casually pulled a wooden sword from a barrel beside the training ground.

"Now use Shigure and try to defeat me while I use this wooden sword."

"You mean it? I'm afraid I might hurt you..."

The corners of Noki's lips rose as he smiled faintly, revealing a peerlessly beautiful smile. "You do not yet possess the ability to hurt me. Make your move."

"Please be careful."

Tashigi adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, clasped Shigure's hilt with both hands, took a deep breath, and swung.

But Noki's blade was unbelievably fast. Before her first strike could even land, the wooden sword had already struck Shigure's blade.

Crack!

Tashigi's hands slipped from the hilt, and Shigure crashed heavily to the ground.

"What did you feel from that strike just now?"

"Fast, incredibly fast! And the force behind it was strong too. Vice Admiral, you're amazing."

Noki asked again, "Do you want to learn swordsmanship from me?"

Tashigi nodded vigorously.

"As my disciple, there is only one rule: you must always believe what your master says.

So don't doubt whether you can complete the tasks I give you anymore. If I say you can, then you absolutely can. Understand?"

"I understand!"