Don't Take Kizaru for Just Any Monkey!

That night.

Xia Luo finally met his new roommate, Borsalino.

Led by Layton, Borsalino entered the dormitory. He stood three meters tall, looked somewhat lecherous, and carried himself with a carefree air.

As Xia Luo and Borsalino sized each other up, Layton proactively stepped forward to introduce them:

"Borsalino, this is the roommate I just told you about, Captain Xia Luo from the West Blue branch."

"Xia Luo, this is the Borsalino I mentioned."

After several seconds of silence.

"Nice to meet you, Borsalino."

Xia Luo spoke first. He wore a smile, but made no move to rise and welcome him, remaining calmly reclined against the sofa.

Borsalino narrowed his eyes, his tone exceedingly punchable. "How scary. My roommate is actually a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user."

Xia Luo smiled without warmth. "You're not bad yourself. The Glint-Glint Fruit—I'm quite envious of it."

Their first meeting was already a clash of blades, the air thick with gunpowder.

"Uh... well, you two talk. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving first. Bye-bye."

Seeing the situation, Layton immediately sensed trouble. He did not dare involve himself in a confrontation between two big shots, so he decisively slipped away.

Borsalino walked over and sat on the opposite sofa, crossing his legs in a lazy posture. "Ha, that's exactly what I wanted to say. I'm very envious of you too."

Xia Luo teased, "By the way, is 'I' your catchphrase? You really do look like you aged in a hurry."

Borsalino's mouth twitched slightly before he smiled. "Hehehehe, thank you for the compliment. Perhaps this is the charm of maturity."

"Ha, maturity? If you say so. Well then, uncle, good night."

Xia Luo chuckled, ending the conversation as he got up and returned to his room.

There was nothing wrong with sixteen-year-old Xia Luo calling Borsalino uncle. After all, the latter was already twenty-six this year, the oldest in this batch.

But Borsalino did not see it that way. As far as he knew, Xia Luo was only three or four years younger than him, about the same age as Sakazuki, the Magma-Magma Fruit user. Yet Xia Luo had actually called him "uncle." Was he deliberately provoking him?

Borsalino half-squinted as he looked toward Xia Luo's room, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Interesting. He had barely enrolled, and conflict had already begun. How scary~

Little did he know that Xia Luo was also looking toward the door, thinking:

Borsalino, what kind of person are you? Do you truly care about the World Government and the Marines? Do you really believe they can represent justice and preserve peace?

The night passed without incident.

The next day.

When Borsalino got up, he found Xia Luo's room door wide open. Xia Luo was already gone, and he had no idea where he had gone.

He glanced at the clock on the wall.

Borsalino began to question his life. "Did I get up late? But it's... not even eight yet."

"And there are still five days until school starts. What a perfect chance to relax. Does he really need to be in such a hurry to show himself off?"

"He's grinding way too hard!"

Although he said that, a sense of urgency and pressure still rose in his heart.

Even though he constantly said things were scary and could knock out little kids with every punch, looking carefree and unserious, he was not truly giving up!

Elsewhere,

Xia Luo, who had gotten up at five, was practicing the Six Powers with the Poop-Throwing Gorilla on the back mountain.

"Poop-Throwing Gorilla, that's not the right way to exert force..."

"Wrong, wrong. That's not how Soru is used. Watch me."

"Why are you so stupid?!"

"Forget it. Practice slowly by yourself, and make time to develop your Fruit ability too."

"Remember, physical strength is the most important thing. If your body is weak, no matter how strong your Fruit ability is, it'll only amount to that much."

Xia Luo could not say he had high hopes for the Poop-Throwing Gorilla. He merely hoped it would not be too weak. It would naturally be best if it could stand on its own; otherwise, he could just keep it as a pet.

After saying that, Xia Luo stopped paying attention to it and began studying his Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability on his own.

His current level of development of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was far too low, not even reaching LV2.

Although that had much to do with him obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit only recently, that was precisely why he needed to put in even more effort.

Moreover, as the number of skills and talents he possessed grew, he increasingly felt that he did not have enough time. He had two Devil Fruit abilities alone, and each required a great deal of time to improve.

Not to mention physical arts, staff techniques, the Six Powers, Observation Haki, and later Life Return and Armament Haki, while he also had to find a way to awaken Conqueror's Haki and so on.

"Take it slowly. There's still time." Xia Luo took a deep breath and comforted himself.

Near noon.

Xia Luo brought the Poop-Throwing Gorilla to the Marine cafeteria and was just about to eat.

"Hey, did you hear? Half a month ago, Admiral Zephyr's family was attacked..."

"I just heard. Apparently, Admiral Zephyr's wife and child were brutally murdered by pirates. The culprit was actually a pirate Admiral Zephyr had once let escape because he hadn't dealt the killing blow!"

"The admiral who doesn't kill... sigh!"

Bang!

A Marine slammed his hand onto the table and said furiously, "Damn pirates! They even dared murder an admiral's family. They're utterly lawless!"

His words instantly resonated with everyone. A wave of condemnation toward pirates rose in the cafeteria. Some hotheaded people did not even finish their meals before leaving, saying they would head out to sea to kill pirates and avenge Zephyr.

In the blink of an eye, half the cafeteria had emptied. When Borsalino arrived and saw the vacant seats, he could not help saying:

"The people at Headquarters are so scary. There are so few people here at mealtime. Are they all secretly grinding? Just as hateful as that Xia Luo!"

At that moment, a voice came from behind him, making his pupils contract sharply. His body tensed, and his expression became extremely unnatural.

"Borsalino, speaking badly about someone behind their back isn't a good habit."

"Hehehehe, Xia Luo, you're here too? What a coincidence. When did you arrive? Did you just get here?"

Borsalino forced himself to remain composed. As long as he was not embarrassed, the embarrassed one would be someone else.

Xia Luo looked at him with a half-smile. "I've been here since before you entered."

"Oh ho ho ho, is that so? I didn't notice." Borsalino's eyes shifted. "Eh, why is there a gorilla here?"

"It's called the Poop-Throwing Gorilla. It's my pet, and you could say it's my companion too."

"How scary~ Such a muscular gorilla must be very strong, right? I really want to see what it can do." Borsalino's old habit flared up again.

Then, stroking his chin, he furrowed his brow in thought. "So Headquarters allows pets. That seems rather interesting. Hmm, I suddenly want to raise one too."

Xia Luo held back a laugh. "I think you should raise a monkey. You're better suited to raising monkeys. You two would make a fine match."

How did that saying go again? Don't take Kizaru for just any monkey!

Besides, Monkey was also monkey, so people said Kizaru was Luffy's second uncle. That actually did not seem wrong.

"Right? Actually, that's what I was thinking too. Gorillas aren't quite suitable for me."

Borsalino first expressed his agreement, then suspiciously asked:

"But why do I feel like your words sounded strange? Are you thinking something rude?"

Xia Luo suppressed his laughter and waved his hand in denial. "No, no. How could I be? I sincerely recommend it."

"Is that so? Thank you for the suggestion. I'll consider it carefully."

Borsalino could not be bothered to dwell on it any longer and was about to sit down to eat.

Suddenly, he turned to look at the entrance. "Oh, Sakazuki is here too."