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"Hina, Gion mentioned earlier that you need strong swordsmanship to have a chance of understanding the Transparent World," Zephyr said, shaking his head as he tried to persuade Hina to abandon this idea.
"Although you can use a sword now, you don't have talent in swordsmanship."
As Hina's former instructor, Zephyr was quite clear about what Hina excelled at and what she struggled with.
"Instructor Zephyr, Hina can do it as long as she's willing to work hard!" Hina replied seriously.
"Besides, that man Ikki must have methods that Hina can master."
Although she had some complaints against Ikki, she quite recognized his talent for teaching others the way of the sword. The fact that someone like her, who didn't know how to use a sword, could master swordsmanship in such a short time was proof enough.
"But..." Zephyr began, wanting to say something more.
Seeing that Zephyr wanted to continue arguing, Hina pursed her lips and said, "There's one thing that Vice Admiral Gion hasn't mentioned yet."
"That man Ikki prefers teaching women over teaching men. Especially mature women."
"He once said that both Hina and Vice Admiral Gion were his favorite types. If Hina is allowed to go, Ikki will be more likely to agree to teach her."
As soon as she finished speaking, the eyes of the surrounding Marine officers became extremely strange.
Sengoku opened his mouth slightly, his searching gaze falling on Gion.
Gion nodded helplessly, confirming Hina's statement.
"Indeed, that man does have this... preference," Gion admitted.
"But he's still a gentleman. Although he has a hobby of having us pose as models for his paintings, he doesn't actually get handsy."
"Probably... it's just visual enjoyment."
As she spoke about this, Gion's face turned slightly red.
For Hina, Ikki might have just been enjoying the view. But for her, she and Ikki had engaged in real combat.
Tsuru narrowed her eyes and stared at Gion. She always felt there was something unusual about Gion and secretly decided to talk with her later.
"What?!" Chaton suddenly exclaimed.
"Damn it! That Ikki didn't just have a romantic relationship with Gion—he actually made Hina pose as a model too?"
"What an enviable guy... No, what a disgusting guy!"
Chaton jumped up from his seat excitedly, clutching his face in anguish.
"Huh? What do you mean? Vice Admiral Gion and Ikki are in a relationship?" one officer asked in confusion.
"Are you kidding? That cool Vice Admiral Gion actually..."
"Our Marine beauty just fell for some other man?"
"Damn it! I obviously still wanted to pursue Vice Admiral Gion!"
"Hey! How dare you say that to her face? Aren't you afraid the Vice Admiral will cause trouble for you?"
"Why would I worry about trouble? I'm already a complete failure now!"
"That man is in a romantic relationship with Vice Admiral Gion, and he still asked Commodore Hina to model? What a joke! There should be a limit to greed!"
Chaton's words were like flipping a switch, and the Marine officers who had been silent began discussing Ikki once again.
Some showed envy, others showed jealousy.
Tsuru rubbed her temples and looked at Garp after seeing Gion's slightly flushed face. Garp nodded, confirming what Chaton had said.
'So that's why she was so agitated earlier,' Tsuru thought to herself.
Not only Tsuru, but Kizaru and many other Marine officers realized it instantly. No wonder Gion had been furious with Kizaru—it turned out the two of them were already together.
Gion pursed her lips, wanting to refute, but thinking about her relationship with Ikki, there really wasn't much point in denying it. After all, what was done was done.
'Vice Admiral Gion... is she really with that man? You've got to be kidding!' Hina looked at Gion in disbelief, unable to imagine that Ikki and she were already lovers.
But seeing that Gion had no intention of refuting it, she had to believe it.
"Ahem, alright everyone, please quiet down," Sengoku said, knocking on the table in front of him.
"The matters between Gion and Ikki are their personal affairs, and there's no need for us to discuss them extensively. Additionally, Hina, I'll carefully consider your suggestion and give you an answer later."
"Next, let's continue discussing the Shichibukai, the Whitebeard Pirates, and Marine operations."
Upon hearing this, the Marines all returned to their seats, and the previously noisy conference room became quiet instantly.
At the same time, on the other side.
Aboard the Explorer, in the gym.
CLANG!
With a crisp sound, Ikki placed the heavy dumbbell on the ground. He picked up a towel from nearby and wiped the sweat from his body.
Kalifa, who had just entered the gym, saw this scene and immediately used her Devil Fruit ability to summon cleaning bubbles that enveloped Ikki.
When the bubbles dissipated, Ikki's body felt completely refreshed.
"Thanks, Kalifa," Ikki said with a smile.
Kalifa smiled back at him, the corners of her mouth turning upward.
"Sister Kalifa, please use your ability on me... just once," Perona's voice came from the corner of the gym.
Ikki and Kalifa turned around to see Perona, wearing tight workout clothes, struggling to lift a barbell. It was hard to imagine that her small frame was holding a barbell nearly the same size as her body.
"You lack the determination to exercise and grow stronger," Kalifa said mercilessly, pushing up her glasses.
"Rather than cleaning the sweat off your body, I'd rather add some weight to help you find new motivation."
As soon as she finished speaking, Perona's expression immediately fell. Frustrated, she wanted to throw the barbell aside.
But before she could drop the barbell, Ikki came to her side, placing his hands on her weights and pressing down hard.
"Wait a minute, Captain! It's going to break—don't press down!"
"What's going to break?" Ikki asked.
"My waist! My waist!"
"Your waist?" Ikki looked at Perona's slender waist with a devilish smile. "Well, I think it can be strengthened."
He continued pressing down with that same demonic grin.
With tears in her eyes, Perona was forced to continue her training under Ikki's guidance. He didn't stop until the nutritional supplement she had taken began to take effect.
Finally, Perona collapsed completely on the ground, motionless.
"Really, it's not that dramatic," Ikki said, shaking his head.
"Others don't get nearly as tired as you do when they exercise."
He grabbed Perona by the waist and lifted her from the ground, intending to carry her to the hot spring.
"By the way, Kalifa, are you interested in getting the Demon Slayer Mark now?" Ikki suddenly asked.