Half an hour later.
Dinner was served.
Five people and one oversized dog sat around the table. It looked lively—but the atmosphere was… oddly tense.
Nao and Gion sat side by side, both blushing, shoveling food into their mouths mechanically, heads bowed in embarrassment.
On the opposite side, Tsuru and Chishio sat whispering to each other, occasionally breaking into quiet laughter and sneaking meaningful glances across the table.
Only Hina seemed oblivious to the tension. She happily ate her fill, occasionally turning to feed bits of food to Sadaharu, who was sitting upright beside her, tail wagging like mad.
Sadaharu ate everything offered, face full of bliss. It wasn't hard to see how it had ballooned in size over the past few months…
Five minutes later.
"I'm full!"
Nao, who hadn't tasted a single bite, finally cleared his plate, pushed back his chair, and stood up. He bowed politely toward Shiba.
"Thank you for the meal, Vice Admiral! It's getting late—I'll head out now. I'll come visit again soon…"
"Sit," Tsuru said blandly.
"…Yes, ma'am."
Nao barely touched air before immediately sitting back down at lightspeed.
"You call that a meal?" Chishio snorted. "Barely enough to fill a molar. Hina, go refill your brother's plate."
Finally given the green light to take revenge, Hina excitedly picked up the plate and, in just a few seconds, successfully built a small mountain of food in front of Nao.
"Gion called me specifically to speak on your behalf. I thought she was just doing it out of old comradeship…"
Tsuru tapped a knobby finger against the table, eyeing Nao with an unreadable expression.
"Didn't expect things to go this far. Speak up—when did it start?"
"Not that long ago…" Nao stammered. "I mean, I've only known the Rear Admiral for half a year or so…"
"Exactly. Just six months, and you've already roped in the Headquarters' ice queen."
Tsuru narrowed her eyes, a hint of a smirk playing at her lips. "When Zephyr first bragged about you, I didn't see it. Turns out you do have some real skill."
"You flatter me, ma'am…" Nao laughed awkwardly, feeling his scalp tighten under her stare. "It's really not as serious as it looks. I mean, we haven't even officially defined our relationship yet…"
"Liar," Chishio snorted. "Tsuru said you're a better kisser than she is. That's not something that just happens—wait, why're you kicking me?"
She glared at Tsuru, then continued, "Don't tell me there's nothing going on between you two."
"There really isn't, Chishio-nee."
Gion sighed lightly.
"…Huh?" Chishio blinked. "I know how proud you are. If you hadn't accepted his confession, why would you let him kiss and grope you like that—"
What are these two even saying?!
Whatever Tsuru had whispered earlier, it was clearly way exaggerated. Gion bit her lower lip, head down, her face burning red all the way to her ears.
"It's because I didn't want to be the one confessing," Nao suddenly spoke up, forcing himself to take the blame. "So we agreed: she'd have to confess to me, and then I'd accept. Technically, our relationship's still unofficial…"
Pffft!
Two simultaneous spit-takes echoed across the table. Tsuru and Chishio stared at him in shock.
"You… you said what?!"
Really, you two are ruining the wise and composed image I had of you…
Nao sighed and wiped rice off his face.
"Is it really that surprising, Vice Admirals? Not to brag, but I am quite charming. If all the girls who wanted to confess to me lined up, the line would stretch from here to the port—OW! Why'd you kick me?!"
The indignant little rabbit beside him turned her head away with a huff.
"You've got guts, I'll give you that…" Chishio shook her head, then looked at Gion again. "And you actually agreed to that ridiculous condition? So when are you planning to confess?"
"When he outranks me." Gion pursed her lips and avoided looking at Nao. "And not just that—he has to be promoted to Vice Admiral upon graduation. Otherwise, he'll have to confess to me publicly."
"Ohhh…"
Tsuru and Chishio both let out long, drawn-out sighs of realization. Tsuru gave Nao a look of sympathy.
"So basically, that promise is worthless. In the end, you're still gonna be the one who confesses."
"You've really got that little faith in me?"
Nao grumbled in protest, counting on his fingers. "Do you two know how many pirates I've taken down these past few months? My record's stacked higher than Marineford's gates. Add that to my strength right now—I've got a real shot at making Vice Admiral right now if I take the graduation test!"
"Keep dreaming, brat."
Tsuru sipped her tea. "Even Sakazuki, as impressive as he was, had to serve for a year after graduation before he was promoted to Vice Admiral. Borsalino took half a year longer than that."
"I think I can break that precedent…" Nao mumbled stubbornly.
"Also," Tsuru added coolly, "the graduation assessment isn't something you can just apply for whenever you want. It's only held twice a year."
She gave him a sideways glance. "Lucky for you, the previous Elite Camp graduates is scheduled to take their collective graduation assessment by the end of the month. If you don't want to wait until next spring, you can join them."
"End of the month?" Nao blinked. "That's… next week."
He'd already planned to apply for early graduation this year, needing to beat the 180-day deadline for a side mission. But he hadn't expected it to be this soon.
"What, getting cold feet?" Chishio asked dryly, placing more food on Gion's plate. "Worried you won't pass the assessment and it'll affect your promotion?"
"Of course not. It's just a graduation assessment..."
Nao hesitated for only a second or two before striking his palm with his fist, making up his mind. "Since I can't apply for a solo graduation assessment, I'm definitely participating in this one!"
His Six Powers were already incredibly proficient, and his two types of Haki were well-mastered. His combat experience and training techniques were also considerably rich, far exceeding the expected limits for an Elite Camp recruit.
Continuing to stay in the Elite Camp would simply be him idling away in his comfort zone, utterly meaningless.
It's time for the invincible Lord Natsuya Nao to step out from under the protection of his teachers and truly enter the stage of this world!
"If I can achieve an unprecedented top evaluation in the assessment, then perhaps graduating as a Vice Admiral might actually be possible."
Chishio glanced between Gion and Nao, then smiled.
"Keep up the good work, kid. I look forward to the day of your graduation and promotion. No matter how busy I am then, I'll make time to come and watch."
"Same here," Tsuru said as she calmly set down her teacup.
Tch… the pressure's already starting to pile on.
"I'll do my best…"
Nao smiled bitterly, about to speak again—when something cool slipped into his hand under the table.
He froze and turned his head slightly.
Gion gave him a wink and a tiny smile.
Was she… encouraging him?
Nao's heart warmed, but before he could feel touched, he heard Gion let out a cold snort:
"After dinner, come outside and spar with me. I'm not convinced yet—I want to see for myself whether you really have what it takes to be a Vice Admiral!"