Nao felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Why was this happening?
Was the universe playing tricks on him?
First, the regular assessment had been canceled—fine.
Now, even the real combat assessment was off the table?
—What kind of sick joke was this! He'd been counting on this exam to finally prove himself, to break out of his perpetual ranking rut with a spectacular performance!
His eyes were blank. After a long pause, he suddenly bolted upright from his chair and lunged toward the sea otter-cat, which was busy munching on some fish snacks.
"Turn me back, you little brat!"
Nao's voice was filled with fury. "No energy, no stamina—that's all just an excuse! You pull something this outrageous and then sit there stuffing your face like nothing happened?"
The plump sea raccoon froze in place, looking up at him helplessly.
"…Seriously," Kuzan (Aokiji) muttered, taken aback by the outburst.
After rubbing his forehead in exasperation, Kuzan shook his head. "It probably wasn't lying. My guess is, it didn't anticipate the consequences. Just cut it some slack—it's just a little critter. What ill intentions could it possibly have?"
"Not that simple, Vice Admiral Kuzan!" Nao ground his teeth. "At the very least, it deserves some punishment…"
Just as Kuzan was wondering what he meant, Nao abruptly swiped the remaining fish snacks from the little sea racoon and popped them into his own mouth.
"You're already this fat, and you're still eating? Dream on!"
Kuzan: "…"
Gion: "…"
"…I can see you care deeply about this combat assessment," Kuzan said with a slight cough, as he tried to ignore the sea racoon pitiful gaze. He turned to Nao and continued:
"I did consider postponing the assessment for a few days so you two could switch back to your bodies, but this mission involves taking an entire ship of several hundred people out to sea. It's not feasible to delay that long…"
"There's no need to explain," Nao sighed, waving his hand while chewing the fish snacks. "I understand, Vice Admiral Kuzan."
Seeing Nao Natsuya's obvious disappointment, Kuzan wasn't sure what else to say. After all, he was just a temporary instructor, filling in at the last minute, and wasn't exactly a master of pep talks.
"How about I participate on your behalf?"
Gion, who had been silently observing, suddenly spoke with a teasing smile. "Even though I can't bring out my full strength in your body, in this new recruit assessment, taking first place shouldn't be a problem..."
"No way!"
Before she could finish, both Kuzan and Nao cut her off in unison.
"Hey—" Gion pouted and gave them both a playful glare. "Interrupting a lady mid-sentence? That's quite rude, you know."
"Apologies," Nao said softly, bowing his head slightly. However, his tone remained firm: "But that's absolutely not an option, Rear Admiral Gion. It's true that I want to prove myself in this assessment, but if it's not my own strength doing it, then no matter how good the final result is, it would be completely meaningless."
"That's very true," Kuzan nodded in agreement.
"Besides, if Gion were to participate, it wouldn't be fair to the other recruits. Not to mention, you've got your own mission to focus on, right?"
"Oh, right, I nearly forgot about that…"
Gion suddenly snapped her fingers as if something dawned on her. Then, her eyes sparkled as she turned her gaze toward Nao.
"Uh…" Nao felt a chill run down his spine. "Rear Admiral Gion, you're not thinking of making me… fill in for you on a mission, are you?"
"Why not?"
Gion grinned mischievously. "Right now, no matter how you look at it, you're me. Filling in for me on one assignment shouldn't be a big deal, don't you think?"
"But… but I'm only you in appearance!" Nao protested, almost in tears. "If the mission is important enough to need you personally, it must be incredibly difficult. I don't have the strength for that…"
"Ah, you're mistaken there."
Gion gently pinched the cheek of Nao's borrowed face, a smile playing on her lips.
"The reason Headquarters sent me here has nothing to do with strength. What they needed… was just my face."
"…What do you mean?"
Being pinched on the cheek didn't hurt, but the realization that it was Gion inside his body made Nao feel distinctly uncomfortable.
"Have you ever heard of Rear Admiral Chishio?"
Gion retracted her hand and asked lightly.
Nao racked his brains, even digging into memories from his past life, but eventually shook his head honestly. "No."
"You're new to Headquarters since last year. It's normal you haven't heard of her."
Gion crossed her legs, though the motion seemed to brush against something, causing her to adjust her posture with a slight grimace.
"Chishio is quite a big name. She served alongside Admiral Zephyr back in the day and was once one of the top strategists at Headquarters."
"Like Vice Admiral Tsuru?" Nao, absorbed in the conversation, didn't notice her subtle movements.
"Exactly. More precisely, before her retirement, Rear Admiral Chishio was Tsuru's deputy and helped her carry out many crucial operations."
Gion's expression darkened slightly. "But for some reason, three years ago, she suddenly left without notice. Only after returning to her hometown in the West Blue did she formally submit her resignation, saying she was getting too old for her role and wanted to retire peacefully."
"At the time, the execution of Gol D. Roger at Loguetown in the East Blue had just happened. The Marine thought the seas would settle into peace, so after a token attempt to persuade her to stay, they agreed to her resignation. But what happened afterward, you know as well as I do…"
Gion left her words hanging, but Nao understood. He nodded lightly.
Three years ago, the Marine publicly executed Gol D. Roger, intending to use it as a show of force to stabilize the seas and solidify its control over the Grand Line.
No one anticipated that Roger's final words would ignite a frenzy for the "One Piece," plunging the world into the Great Pirate Era.
The world had since grown even more chaotic and tumultuous.
"In short, ever since the start of the Great Pirate Era, the pressure on Headquarters has only increased," Gion concluded. "Right now, they're desperate for talent. They can't just leave a brilliant strategist like Chishio to retire quietly at home—especially since she's younger than my sister, and far from elderly."
"But no matter how many Den Den Mushi calls or letters were sent, it was as if they vanished into the void. In the end, it was Zephyr himself who finally got through to her. However, even then, she politely declined."