Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted at the mouth of the alley, growing louder by the second. Amid the noise came the clash of swords and the furious roars of pirates.
"Someone's ambushing us from behind! Watch out, boys!"
"Who's this little brat? Sick of living?!"
"Everyone, turn around! Take him down first, then we'll go after those Marine girls!"
…
What's going on?
The two short-haired girls, who had been just about to activate their distress calls, froze in surprise. They instinctively turned toward the source of the commotion.
At that moment, the clouds parted in the night sky.
In the faint moonlight, they could just make out a handsome black-haired young man weaving effortlessly through the mass of pirates. His face was set in cold focus, and his movements were swift and precise.
Wherever he passed, blood spattered, pirates wailed, and bodies fell at his feet.
Within minutes, the clamor died down. The alley's mouth was strewn with the dead and wounded—pirates lay everywhere.
Only one person remained standing—the black-haired young man.
"Whew, done."
Nao let out a long breath, then glanced at a pirate clutching a leg wound, groaning miserably. He casually ended the man with a quick slash, then noticed the three figures deeper in the alley.
It was too far and the dim light made it hard to see their faces, but the white Marine uniforms were unmistakable. They were definitely his comrades.
"Finally found the others."
Nao grinned, sheathing his swords and striding deeper into the alley.
He'd hurried to the building engulfed in flames, hoping to find clues. But by the time he got there, it was deserted—nothing left but ashes.
Frustrated, he'd noticed a group of pirates charging down the street nearby.
Free combat experience handed to him—he'd have been a fool not to take it.
And so, he'd followed and cleaned them up. He hadn't expected to rescue a few fellow recruits along the way. A happy accident.
As he got closer, the faces of the three figures grew clearer.
Nao immediately recognized two of them—the short-haired girls. One was Monica, and the other seemed to be… Loran?
He wasn't completely sure. Monica he knew fairly well—she'd arrived at Marine HQ the same day he did, and they'd chatted several times. But Loran… his memory was fuzzy.
Still, he vaguely remembered that these two girls, like Shia, were among the ones who had been charmed by "him" back when Gion (Momousagi) had possessed his body.
In other words, they were also secretly enamored with him… Huh?
Nao's steps suddenly halted.
It was then that he finally noticed the third person, standing just behind Monica and Loran.
A beautiful girl with waist-length blue hair stared at him impassively, her gaze cold.
"…"
Nao massaged his brow, headache building.
For a moment, he really wished he could turn back time ten seconds, kill the pirates, and slip away unnoticed.
But now… he was practically right in front of them. There was no way to turn back without looking ridiculous.
"Nao!"
Thankfully, Monica broke the awkward silence by rushing forward, her face lighting up with genuine delight.
"Weren't you still on Gull Island? How did you get here?"
"As soon as I got my body back, I set sail right away," Nao shrugged. "I was worried the test would be over by the time I arrived. Looks like I was lucky."
"We're the lucky ones!" Monica's eyes sparkled as she gazed at him.
"If you hadn't shown up just in time, we'd have been finished."
"There were at least twenty or thirty pirates, and a few of them were big shots with million-berry bounties. But you wiped them out so fast! Hey, what's with you? When did you get this strong?"
"There were big shots in there?"
Nao rubbed his stubbled chin, frowning thoughtfully. "Really? They all went down in one hit—I didn't even notice…"
Monica and Loran both "tch'd" in unison, clearly unimpressed.
"Anyway, enough bragging."
Nao cleared his throat, deciding he might've sounded a bit smug, and shifted the topic.
"Let's focus on the important stuff. What's going on with this test? Everywhere I've gone, I've seen the pirates being aggressive, while you guys are the ones struggling. What gives?"
This question had been bothering him the whole way here.
Two hundred Elite Camp recruits from HQ, and they were being overwhelmed by just over five hundred West Blue pirates?
What was going on here?
"They had way too many reinforcements," Monica sighed, seeing his confusion and explaining.
"At first, we had the upper hand completely. Even split into small groups, we were beating them easily. By the end of the first day, most of the pirates were dead or hiding."
"But last night—well, it's past midnight now, so technically yesterday—a ton more pirates suddenly appeared in the town. Conservatively, at least two thousand. And among them, there are thirty or so officers."
"If we were still at full strength, we might barely manage. But after fighting for a day and a night, everyone was exhausted. There's no way to handle this many enemies at once."
Monica spread her hands.
"So, yeah. Most of us have been forced to retreat or request extraction. Some are already out of the running."
"Two thousand pirates? That many?"
Nao was taken aback. "But Vice Admiral Kuzan said there were only five hundred or so on the island. Where did the rest come from?"
"Who knows?"
Loran gave a bitter laugh. "But Vice Admiral Kuzan and the instructors must know. They haven't called off the assessment, probably because they want to see how long we can endure under these new conditions."
"I see…"
Nao's eyes narrowed as he thought it over. Then he asked, "What about the others? Did you see anyone else while you were escaping?"
"No. The town's pretty big, and we've all been spread out since the beginning," Monica said, shaking her head. "Honestly, if you hadn't shown up, the three of us wouldn't have lasted. We were already preparing to send a distress call and leave the battlefield."
"That's you two,"
A cold voice spoke from behind them. "I never intended to leave. I don't need anyone's rescue."
"Shia!"
Monica glanced at her reproachfully, then turned back to Nao with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about that, Nao. Shia's always been a bit aloof, not great with strangers. And since she's been ranking near the top of the test, she's gotten a bit proud and standoffish."
"But once you get to know her, she's actually really nice. Please don't take it personally."