"Hina?"
Seeing the little pink-haired girl suddenly pop out, Nao couldn't help but grin in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm obviously—"
Hina giggled, but before she could finish, a calm voice called from deeper inside the room:
"Let him in first."
"Oh, okay!"
Hina obediently stepped aside. Nao walked through the doorway and glanced into the room, spotting an elderly woman with snow-white hair in the kitchen. She was wearing loose home clothes, washing dishes, and shot him a sideways glance.
"Have you eaten?"
"That's your greeting?" Nao raised an eyebrow. "It's already past nine—I've eaten and digested it. Only lazy bums skip breakfast this late."
Seeing the familiar grandmother-granddaughter pair again instantly put Nao at ease. With a grin, he stepped out of his shoes and into the foyer. "Oh right, Vice Admiral Chishio, when did you—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
His eyes had just fallen on the dining table to his right… where four old-timers sat at each corner, hunched over bowls of noodles and slurping away.
The moment he spoke, all four paused at once, then slowly looked up at him, eyes squinting in unison.
Zephyr. Garp. Sengoku. Tsuru.
With the exception of Fleet Admiral Kong, just about every major Marine powerhouse was gathered in this one room.
Nao: "…"
Right then and there, he seriously wanted to slap himself.
Why did his mouth always run the second he saw someone familiar?
"Sorry, Instructor Zephyr…"
Nao instinctively stood at attention, preparing for a scolding. He was just about to start apologizing down the line when Zephyr waved him off with a laugh.
"Eh, you're not wrong. I did sleep in. At least for today, I guess I'm a lazy bum."
"And who's this?" Sengoku glanced at Zephyr with curiosity—this was his first time meeting Nao.
"Nao," Zephyr replied, smiling. "One of this year's recruits. He's been at HQ for less than a year."
"Don't let his age fool you. In the recent field assessment, he took down a pirate with a bounty over fifty million—all on his own. Kid's got potential. Might be the next Sakazuki or Kuzan."
"Oh?"
Sengoku raised an eyebrow, clearly interested. He looked Nao over with a bit more attention.
After all, Zephyr had trained countless students over the years, but it was rare for him to hand out praise like this.
Even Tsuru turned to give Nao a second look.
Being stared down by two living legends made Nao feel more than a little awkward. And honestly? A bit confused.
Was Zephyr seriously treating him like this just for placing first once?
Wasn't that a little much?
Zephyr, still chewing on a toothpick, caught the subtle reaction on Nao's face but didn't say anything. He just smiled faintly.
The kid really didn't get it.
From the moment Nao entered the elite camp, Zephyr had been quietly watching. The kid had a naturally sunny disposition, worked harder than most, and whenever he asked a question, it came with genuine sincerity and hunger.
All of it—rare, valuable traits.
And now, after dominating the field assessment, it had only confirmed what Zephyr already believed:
This kid was a damn good piece of uncut jade.
Still a bit hungry, Zephyr told Nao to grab a seat. As Nao sat down awkwardly among the group of elders, Zephyr kept slurping noodles while chatting with his old comrades.
Surrounded by old-timers, Nao felt like a Samoyed pup that had accidentally wandered into a den of white wolves—completely out of place, and with no way to join the conversation.
Thankfully, Hina took the seat next to him, giving him at least one person to talk to and break the awkwardness.
As they chatted, Nao slowly pieced together why he'd walked into this powerhouse gathering.
It was because of Vice Admiral Chishio.
She hadn't returned to HQ in three years. Just yesterday, she landed back in Marineford—and the moment she did, Garp dragged her into a reunion, using the excuse:
"It's been ages since we had Chishio's cooking! No way we're skipping out on her handmade noodles!"
And so—
These remnants of the Old Era, who hadn't gathered together in ages, were now crammed into Zephyr's office suite, slurping noodles with zero concern for dignity or image.
And Nao, who had only come to ask Zephyr a question, had walked right into the middle of it.
"You just got back yesterday?" Nao suddenly remembered something and leaned over to whisper to Hina.
Back when he was still on Gull Island, Chishio had already been packing. Since they had access to Marine ships that could cross the Calm Belt, they should've arrived earlier than him.
"Mhm," Hina nodded, then leaned in and whispered back, "Grandma made a detour. We stopped by there first."
"Oh…"
Nao got it instantly.
So Chishio still hadn't been able to let go of Ace. She'd made a special trip to the East Blue just to check in on her grandson.
Everyone at the table—except maybe Sengoku—probably knew already. But no one said anything. They just quietly acknowledged it and let it be.
"How's your Devil Fruit power coming along?" Nao asked in a low voice. "You can't swim anymore—getting used to that?"
"I'm doing okay!"
Hina blinked up at him, cheerful as ever. In the half-month since she'd last seen him, this big brother who used to tell her stories looked even more handsome.
She clenched her little fists confidently.
"Hina thinks this power is super useful for catching pirates! Big Brother Nao, I'm definitely gonna get into the elite camp and become a strong Marine—just like you!"
"Of course you will."
Nao smiled, ruffling her soft hair. Yep—still felt just as nice as before.
Now that he thought about it, the ripple effects from that one change involving Gion had spread way further than he expected.
Chishio and Garp had cleared up their misunderstanding and returned to HQ. Chishio had resumed duty as Vice Admiral and Deputy Chief of Staff.
Hina had eaten her Devil Fruit early, arrived at Marineford with her grandmother, and now had a perfect environment to grow in.
At this rate, she'd join the elite camp years ahead of schedule—and she'd be way stronger than in the original timeline.
Tch… poor Smoker.
Originally supposed to be in the same class as her, but now? He'd be stuck eating her exhaust fumes all the way to the top.
About an hour later, the casual lunch finally came to an end.
Sengoku and Tsuru had official duties and not much spare time, so after chatting a bit more, they said their goodbyes and left.
Chishio and Hina stayed behind to wash the dishes.
At the table, only Garp and Zephyr were left, sipping sake and casually chatting about this and that.
Hic…
Zephyr, cheeks flushed from the alcohol and looking a bit tipsy, suddenly turned and noticed Nao sitting there.
"Eh? Nao? Didn't I give you guys three days off? Why aren't you resting? What are you doing here?"
Finally!
Nao nearly cried with relief.
He'd been sitting there so long his butt had gone numb. If he'd known he was going to get ignored for over an hour, he would've waited until after lunch to show up!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin