"You're one to talk, Nao. You've been so obsessed with training that you've completely neglected Sadaharu."
Rosinante shot him a look of disapproval. "These days, Shiryu and I have been feeding him ourselves. He even got sick once, and Shiryu was so worried he personally took him to the vet at the infirmary—"
"Bullshit! I just happened to be getting my own checkup! Don't make crap up!"
Shiryu's voice came roaring from the balcony.
Rosinante rolled his eyes and didn't bother arguing. He turned back to Nao.
"Nao, did you go check on Mr. Brandon? How's he doing?"
"He's fine. He's already awake and doing okay. When I dropped by, he was eating and even invited me to join him."
Nao casually lied while giving Sadaharu's fluffy head a rough rub.
He didn't hold back quite enough—accidentally pulled out a whole tuft of white fur. Rosinante flinched in distress.
"Hey! Nao, at least be gentle with him!"
He scooped Sadaharu into his arms and fed him a piece of chicken from his pocket. "He's way more attached to me than to you anyway. If you keep treating him like this, he might not even recognize you as his owner anymore!"
"Oh yeah?"
Nao smiled slyly and snapped his fingers. "Wanna bet that if I give him a command right now, he'll turn on you and bite?"
"Tch. Don't be ridiculous—what do you think this is, the day we first picked him up? Dream on. Sadaharu's totally bonded with m—"
"Bite him."
CHOMP.
Sadaharu didn't hesitate. He sank his teeth in instantly.
And in the next second, a wail so loud it pierced the dorm walls echoed through the entire building and beyond.
"AAAGHH! SAAAADAAAHARUUUUU!!"
And thus, on that fateful day...
The Celestial Dragon, Donquixote Rosinante, once again ascended into the Screaming God Realm.
———
That night.
Now that his point balance had bounced back up, Nao decided to spend 40,000 points to raise both Strength and Agility to 21. His physical toughness jumped up a notch once again.
But now that both stats had entered the next threshold, the cost per upgrade matched that of Stamina—each point would now cost 50,000 going forward.
Over the next few days...
Training in the Elite Camp continued as usual. Nao temporarily shelved his plans for earning battlefield merit and promotions, focusing instead on improving his Haki and swordsmanship.
Progress was as fast as ever. After each grueling day of training, he could clearly feel himself getting stronger bit by bit.
His side quest, "Thousand Hearts (Ladykiller Legend)", was also progressing steadily.
Nao's name had now spread beyond the Elite Camp—he'd become somewhat of a celebrity around Marine HQ. More and more female Marines had started sneaking over to catch a glimpse of him during breaks, flooding his system log daily.
Sometimes he'd "conquer" a dozen or more in a day—on good days, several dozen.
Also…
With the sheer number of admirers piling up, the law of large numbers had kicked in—someone, somewhere, was bound to snap eventually.
That afternoon, the skies were clear.
"Who did this?!"
At the entrance to the training field, Nao stared up at the top of the empty wire fence, body going cold with rage.
His voice rang out as he shouted toward the gathered crowd, fists clenched:
"If you've got the guts, step forward and own up to it!"
—He'd only gone to the cafeteria for lunch. By the time he came back, someone had stolen his jacket.
Even Shia hadn't stooped this low!
The surrounding Marine girls, too shy to leave, looked at each other in stunned silence for a few moments—then, one by one, their eyes began to gleam.
Sometimes, all it takes is one bold pioneer to break the mental barrier.
Fortunately, Nao wasn't clueless. The weather was getting warmer anyway, so from that day on, he decided he'd only wear a T-shirt to training.
Never again would he give those dangerous women an opening.
"Boys," he said later that evening, walking home with his two friends after a rare night spent in the dorm, "when you're out in the world, you've gotta know how to protect yourselves."
"Oh, quit whining," Shiryu scoffed, puffing out a cloud of smoke. "You're just paranoid. I hang my jacket on the same wire fence every damn day, and no one's ever touched it."
"…."
Rosinante quietly turned to look at him, paused, rubbed his backside, and said nothing.
———
Time passed quickly.
Before he knew it, half a month had gone by.
Nao had spent the entire time buried in non-stop training, never leaving the Elite Camp. But then came something unexpected.
It was a misty, drizzling morning.
After morning roll call with Instructor Vivian, Zephyr stepped onto the podium and made an announcement: all recruits had officially passed the basics of the Six Powers. As the first academic year drew to a close, it was time to send them out for field training.
He didn't explain the details on the spot.
But by that afternoon, rumors were already spreading among the recruits.
"Three months of field internship?"
Nao looked up in surprise, a spoonful of borscht halfway to his mouth. "That long?"
"Yeah, apparently that's the standard," Rosinante replied with a nod. "We'll all be shipped out in a couple of days. Each of us will be assigned to different bases along the first half of the Grand Line—or some of the stronger branches in the Four Blues. Exact placements haven't been announced yet."
"In short, we'll be officially interning as Marines for the next three months," he continued. "Once we're recalled, Zephyr-sensei will rank us based on how we performed during that time."
"So basically, another final exam?"
Shiryu lit up a cigar with a smirk. "With three months out in the field, if you're lucky, you might land a few pirate-hunting missions. I bet our rankings will mostly come down to combat merit again."
"Yep, that's the main factor," Rosinante said. "But they'll also consider other things—commanders' evaluations, escort instructors' reports, stuff like that. Still, merit's the biggest part."
"Good."
Shiryu blew out a lazy puff of smoke, eyes narrowing in anticipation. "Didn't get to go all out during the last combat assessment. Been stuck in HQ for weeks. Time to finally stretch my muscles…"
"Shame we'll all be split up," Rosinante added with a pout. "Won't see each other for a few months. I'll miss you, Shiryu. How about you?"
"Shove off. I'd miss Sadaharu before I missed you."
"Ohhh? So you do miss him…"
The two immediately devolved into their usual bickering.
Across the table, Nao silently returned to his meal. No one noticed the gleam in his eyes.
Three whole months out in the field…
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to rack up bounty kills, build combat merit, and lay the groundwork for his promotion ceremony?
———
———
—Shia's Diary—
Day 29 with Nao. Weather: Sunny.
Ninth telescope gone. Damn it. Damn it damn it damn it.
Stupid Nao!
Also… why is it that sometimes, late at night, I see him leaving the training ground, only to return half an hour later smiling like an idiot?
I tried tailing him a few times, but I always lose him…
I swear—
I hate Observation Haki!
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin