Buying groceries wasn't much of a challenge for a group of grown men.
But for the vendors at Marineford's market, it was downright unbelievable.
The Hero of the Marines and a Marine Admiral, accompanied by a Rear Admiral and a Marine family member, shopping for groceries.
Not just rare—it was unprecedented.
As a result, what should have been an ordinary grocery run turned into a spectacle, drawing a crowd.
The commotion only ended when the men fled with their groceries in hand.
"Did you just escape a famine?" Tsuru, standing outside the house, teased them with an amused tone.
"Grandma Tsuru, don't even start," Michael waved his hand dismissively, thoroughly exasperated with Garp and Sengoku. "You'd think with their high ranks, they'd at least cover their faces before going shopping. I felt like we were animals in a zoo being gawked at!"
"Yeah, yeah! Uncle Michael's right!" Ace chimed in, nodding vigorously.
Tsuru looked at Sengoku and Garp, both visibly embarrassed.
If even Garp, the unruly troublemaker, was embarrassed, the situation must have been truly overwhelming.
"Alright, at least you managed to bring the groceries back… They've already arrived. I must be the last one." As she spoke, Tsuru gently pushed forward a little girl who had been hiding behind her.
"Go on, Kujaku, this is Rear Admiral Michael, the one you admire so much."
Michael looked down and locked eyes with the golden-haired girl.
Within a second, Kujaku pulled down her pink cap to hide her face.
"H-h-h-hi, Rear Admiral Michael, I've liked you for a long time."
"...Wait, hold on." Michael quickly cut off the girl's highly misleading words, then gave Tsuru a helpless look.
"Grandma Tsuru, your granddaughter nearly gave me a heart attack! I'm not a lolicon—I would never lay a hand on a little girl!"
"What are you thinking you brat? Kujaku just idolizes you," Tsuru shook her head.
"Your fight against Shiki at Marineford is her favorite story."
Michael let out a sigh of relief.
As long as he wasn't being framed as a lolicon criminal, he could handle it.
Only then did he take a proper look at Kujaku—she seemed about the same age as Ace.
Moreover, given the relationship between Tsuru and Garp, it's likely that Kujaku and Ace knew each other too.
Sure enough, seeing the shy Kujaku, Ace immediately stepped in front of Michael.
"Kujaku! You! Are you trying to steal Uncle Michael from me!?"
"...Tch, why are you always in the way, Ace?"
"Hmph, you sneaky little schemer! Don't think I don't know—you've always had ulterior motives towards Uncle Michael!"
"Rear Admiral Michael is strong and handsome! So what if I have ulterior motives!? When I grow up, I'm definitely going to be his bride!"
"I—I—I can also be Uncle Michael's mmmph—!"
Listening to the increasingly bizarre argument between the two brats, Michael broke out in a cold sweat and covered their mouths.
Good grief!
No wonder people say kids' words are both innocent and lethally cruel.
In just a few sentences, they'd already painted him as some degenerate who preyed on both little girls and boys!
Even Sengoku and Garp were now looking at him differently.
"You two old geezers, don't believe the nonsense spouted by these kids!"
With that, he scooped up both children, pushed the door open with his foot, and hurried inside.
"Compared to others, Michael is far too mature," Tsuru said with a smile, watching his retreating figure.
"Only at times like these does he seem like a young man in his early twenties."
"Hahaha, Tsuru, you think so too?" Garp laughed heartily. "To be honest, I've always treated Michael like someone my own age."
"That's because you're childish."
Sengoku rolled his eyes and followed Michael into the house.
"Did ..... did he just called me childish?"
"Garp, Sengoku wasn't insulting you—he was just stating facts."
*****
Once inside, Sengoku and Garp quickly delivered the ingredients to the kitchen before rushing back out.
Not because they were afraid of Rouge of course.
But because they were eager to watch the drama unfold.
In Garp's living room, Zephyr—who had arrived earlier—and the future Three Admirals were now sitting face-to-face.
The future Three Admirals hung their heads low—one clenching his fists, another pressing a hand to his face and the third picking up a cigar only to slowly set it back down under Zephyr's glare.
Meanwhile, Zephyr—with his short purple hair—crossed his arms and stared at his three proudest students.
"Borsalino, how many times have I told you not to rely too much on your Devil Fruit powers! Yes, your Pika Pika no Mi is formidable, but never forget—your own body is the only thing that will never betray you."
"Kuzan, if you keep wallowing in guilt over the Ohara incident, I swear I'll punch some sense into you!"
"As for you, Sakazuki... I've got nothing left to say. If you keep disregarding the lives of your comrades and civilians in battle like before, I'll personally put you down!"
The scolding reduced the future Three Admirals to the status of three naughty grandsons.
And yet, Zephyr had every right to berate them like this.
Even they had to admit he wasn't wrong.
After all, he was their mentor.
But the future Three Admirals also shared another defining trait...
They'd take the criticism to heart—and then stubbornly ignore it.
'Damn right, but I sure as hell ain't changing'.
Zephyr probably understood their mindset too.
In the end, all his words just turned into a sigh.
There was no helping it. If a strong man's convictions could be changed so easily, he wouldn't deserve to be called strong.
Just like his "No Killing" principle.
Garp, Sengoku, and Tsuru had tried persuading him since their younger days.
Even Fleet Admiral Kong had advised him multiple times—all to no avail.
"Zephyr-sensei, long time no see."
Suddenly, Michael's voice rang out beside Zephyr.
Turning his head, he saw Michael giving him a slight bow.
"It has been a while... You've been hiding your true self quite well, kid."
Michael simply smiled without confirming or denying.
When he first joined the Marines, as a Devil Fruit User, he had naturally entered Zephyr's new recruit training camp.
At that time, Michael, whose mind was solely focused on "survival," had been hiding his true strength, maintaining a mediocre performance in the rookie training camp.
Zephyr, however, always believed Michael had the potential to go much further and was deeply frustrated by his lack of progress.
"But this is good—at least you have a brain."
"Take this point—you're already far better than those three."
Hearing Zephyr's praise, Michael instinctively glanced at the future Three Admirals.
Sure enough, the three of them were glaring at him with resentment.
Michael inwardly panicked!
That old bastard Zephyr was using him to put down these three petty guys!
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