Nao was, without question, a polite and respectful person.
But since the other party had greeted him with such cold arrogance, he saw no reason to act overly friendly or explain himself.
He simply frowned slightly and held Rear Admiral Buma's gaze, silently locking eyes with her. Neither showed any intention of speaking first.
The tension on the dock grew thick and awkward.
"Oi! Boss Nao!"
A voice suddenly rang out in surprise and excitement, breaking the silence of the port.
"Haha, I knew I'd find you here!"
Nao blinked and turned to look—
And saw none other than Kawakawa Shuma, that scrawny monkey of a kid, waving frantically while jogging over from a distance.
"Shuma? What are you doing here?"
Nao looked at him in confusion once he got close.
"It's only five o'clock. Shouldn't you still be asleep in the dorms?"
He clearly remembered the kid complaining all night about being exhausted and needing to turn in early.
"Heh… I've got trouble sleeping anywhere that's not my bed. Barely rested all night, ended up waking around 3 or 4."
Shuma scratched his head sheepishly.
"I was bored outta my mind, just wandering around, when I overheard a few female staff officers chatting."
"They were talking about a new recruit from HQ who requested to join a combat mission in the middle of the night. I was standing right there and thought—had to be you, Boss Nao! So I figured, why not? I signed up and rushed over too. Haha!"
He'd always looked up to Nao. Back when they first joined the Elite Camp, he'd called him "Brother Nao" just like Rosinante.
But after seeing Nao defeat the massive pirate Sano and take first place in the entire camp, his admiration had reached another level—he started calling him "Boss Nao" ever since.
"You really do show up at the right time, huh…"
Nao couldn't help but chuckle, half at Shuma, half at those poor overworked staff officers.
Working until 3 or 4 AM and only just getting off shift?
Being a direct subordinate to Kizaru really was suffering…
"Tch. Another one?"
On the deck above, Rear Admiral Buma finally spoke again. She glanced at Shuma, let out a cold snort, and sneered,
"Short and scrawny. So this is the level of HQ's elite recruits these days?"
"Heh…"
She clearly lost interest in even continuing the conversation with Nao, turning around and walking back toward the ship's cabin. As she passed her subordinates, she said coolly:
"Lower the rope ladder. If they want to come aboard, let them. Whatever."
"Yes, ma'am!"
With the rope ladder lowered, Shuma finally noticed the tension in the air. He leaned in close and whispered:
"Boss, what's with her? Doesn't seem like she's thrilled to have us here…"
Didn't the female officer tell you?
Nao glanced at him.
"I'm not too sure either. She does seem a bit unreasonably hostile."
"Should we even go up?" Shuma looked nervous.
"Feels like if we board her ship, we're walking into a death trap…"
"It's not that bad."
Nao shook his head lightly. After a pause, he smiled:
"Let's just get on board first. Don't worry—while I'm here, there's nothing to fear."
A 93-million bounty pirate's combat merit was right in front of him. He wasn't about to walk away over some petty drama.
"Okay!"
Shuma nodded quickly. He had full trust in Nao's strength and character. Just standing beside Nao gave him an overwhelming sense of security.
They climbed up the rope ladder. On board, the atmosphere remained icy. Every Marine they passed was cold and dismissive—clearly loyal to Rear Admiral Buma and taking their cues from her attitude.
A few minutes later—
A horn sounded from the harbor. The warship officially departed, sailing off into the vast open sea under the still-dark pre-dawn sky.
Sunlight slowly pierced through the night as dawn crept over the horizon.
After several hours at sea, the massive G2 fortress was long gone from view. They were now surrounded on all sides by endless waves, with not a single landmark in sight.
"Ugh… this is gonna be a rough few days."
Kawakawa Shuma leaned against the railing at the back of the ship, face scrunched in frustration as he let the sea breeze whip around him.
His personality was outgoing and sociable. From the moment he got on board, he'd been trying to befriend the ship's crew.
But every single one of them had given him the cold shoulder. At best, a half-hearted grunt. At worst, outright indifference.
Even the two who replied to him did so with such impatience that he could barely call it a conversation. The feeling of being completely isolated was torture to someone like him—worse than death.
And to make it worse—he was pretty sure the mess hall staff were in on it too. His breakfast had clearly been smaller than everyone else's. Half-full at best. His stomach was already rumbling again.
"Hungry?"
Just as Shuma was rubbing his belly in misery, a calm voice came from beside him.
He looked over—and his eyes lit up like he'd seen a savior.
"Boss Nao! Where'd you go? You disappeared without a word—I haven't seen you in ages!"
"I was busy, obviously."
Nao casually pulled out a few red bean buns and tossed them over.
"You rushed into the mess hall for breakfast and didn't even notice I never went in."
Nao, still stuffed from his feast of noodles and fried chicken, wasn't the least bit hungry.
"I'm saved!"
Shuma grabbed the buns and immediately tore into them. Halfway through his second bite, he mumbled through a mouthful of pastry:
"What were you doing, boss? Trying to find the ship's training room?"
This kid knows me too well.
Nao chuckled inwardly.
"Sorry to disappoint—not this time."
He shrugged and handed over a bottle of water.
"I was chatting people up. Took some effort, but I got some solid intel—on the Hawkeye Pirates' movements, and more importantly, on why Rear Admiral Buma's been so hostile."
"Huh?" Shuma's eyes widened.
"But… aren't all the Marines on this ship pretty hostile? Why'd anyone tell you anything…?"
"Just talk to the female Marines."
Nao gave him a strange look.
"What difference does that make?"
Shuma was totally baffled.
He'd tried talking to both guys and girls—and nobody had wanted anything to do with him.
"Can't figure it out?"
"Not really."
"Try thinking a little harder."
"...Boss, I've got nothing."
"Forget it. You'll understand in a couple years."
"Oh…" Shuma nodded obediently.
"Anyway, let me fill you in on Rear Admiral Buma."
Nao unscrewed a bottle of water and took a slow sip before continuing.
"I chatted up one of her longtime adjutants and got a good bit of info. Turns out, her hostility toward HQ elites like us isn't baseless."
Shuma stopped chewing and focused completely.
"This goes back to two years ago. Another batch of elite recruits from HQ came to the G2 Branch for their internship."
"Back then, Buma was already a rear admiral. Some of those recruits were assigned to her ship to take part in a mission—hunting down a pirate crew whose location had just been exposed."