After Michael said those words, Gion wasn't the least bit surprised.
After all, ever since he set fire to that slave smuggling ship, Michael had completely changed into a different person.
The old Michael was low-key, smooth, and amiable.
The new Michael was high-profile, hot-tempered, and attacked anyone who crossed him.
Especially when it came to the Celestial Dragons and the World Government, his attitude screamed:
If you don't kill me, then I'm definitely going to kill you.
One couldn't help but wonder—if this continued, what impact would it have on the Navy... and even the world?
"Fine. It's your life, of course you're the one who gets to decide," Gion finally sighed, giving in. "As for the housing arrangements, I'll figure something out... Given the current circumstances, even if you wanted them to stay in the Navy dormitories, I wouldn't allow it."
"Gion, you don't think I'm going to cause trouble for the Navy too, do you?"
"Are you serious?" Gion glanced at Michael's handsome face, but then remembered his explosive temper and rolled her eyes. "What kind of top-secret unit shares barracks with regular troops?"
"Uh... well, when you put it that way, I guess you're right."
"I'm thinking... over on the Sabaody Archipelago, the Navy does have several large estates, all fully equipped—just needs a little cleaning up."
"Really? Not bad at all... Wait, hold on." Michael turned to Gion with a shocked expression.
"Why does the Navy have such huge estates? Is someone embezzling? I'm telling you, if that's true, they're practically slapping me in the face!"
"You're overthinking it. This time around, after we wiped out so many gangs, all those properties were confiscated. They used to belong to the underworld—now they're Navy property."
...
Sabaody Archipelago, inside a large estate.
Under Gion's arrangement, it had now been designated as the base of operations for the SWORD Secret Special Force.
At the moment, inside this estate, the young Marines were bored out of their minds.
This was an age full of youthful vigor, and being left with nothing to do was sheer torment.
As a result, Rosinante and the rest of the subordinates Michael had brought from Navy Headquarters were currently standing in the living room... locked in a staring contest with the eight-year-old Robin.
"Hina is very surprised. Did you say you're eight years old?" Hina looked utterly disbelieving. "And you've already joined the Navy?"
"Ahem, Hina, that's a bit of a double standard," Rosinante reminded her. "When Vice Admiral Tsuru decided to recruit you, you were only nine."
"Ah! That's right! Hina almost forgot!" Hina slapped her own forehead.
"You did forget, didn't you?"
Off to the side, Smoker muttered something and was immediately met with Hina's death glare.
Some things, like charisma, were clearly nurtured from childhood.
"And don't underestimate Robin either," Rosinante patted little Robin on the head. "I just asked around—although she hasn't been in the Navy long and is technically still a recruit, she's already taken over Michael's original position... which means she's now Vice Admiral Gion's adjutant."
"So in a way, the Rear Admiral was squeezed out of his job by little Robin and got promoted against her will..." Shu, ever the one with the oddest perspectives, chimed in. "These days, the brats out on the seas are getting scarier and scarier."
"You guys talking behind the Rear Admiral's back like that is just wrong." At last, T Bone, who had no flaws besides being ugly, spoke up in Michael's defense. "Judging from how Vice Admiral Gion treats him, it seems Michael really wasn't cut out to be an adjutant."
"Shh! Keep it down! Rear Admiral Michael is coming over! Who's that gorgeous blonde with him?"
"I know, I know! That's Stella! She was once a wandering singer rescued by Michael from a slave smuggling ship. Now she serves directly under him!"
Little Robin's innocent voice echoed through the room... and what followed—
Was a wave of intense curiosity from everyone else.
Everyone leaned in, eager for gossip.
Even the usually serious Rosinante and the ever-righteous T Bone were no exception.
"Honestly, just going by appearances, Michael and Stella are a perfect match." Rosinante looked at his big brother, clearly biased.
"Whether they match or not is one thing," Smoker pointed toward Michael and Stella who were walking over. "But look at them—they're not even holding hands."
"Shut up, Smoker! You emotionally stunted fool!" Shu smacked him from behind. "There are many ways for young men and women to express feelings! Not everyone goes around acting like all relationships are a battlefield like you do!"
While Rosinante, Smoker, and Shu were gossiping about their superior, T Bone dealt the final blow with his signature deadpan:
"You know, the way you three analyze relationships... it's like you're more qualified for love advice than being Marines."
"And since you're all such experts, I'm sure each of you has a girlfriend, right?"
Silence.
A deathly silence.
The one to break that silence was Hina—her boisterous laughter echoing with zero regard for decorum.
"Hahahaha! All talk and no game! You three sound like love gurus, but you're just a bunch of love-starved little boys!"
Her mocking laughter rang in their ears as their smug expressions turned into painful grimaces.
"Damn it, my heart hurts! How can someone's words be this cruel?"
"My heart doesn't hurt anymore... because it's already covered in rust... Oh, right. I ate the Rust-Rust Fruit. I am rust..."
"I'm smoke. What kind of smoke? The kind that 'cigarettes can't numb worldly pain, and liquor can't drown worldly sorrow.' That kind of smoke."
While the trio wallowed in their own brand of melodramatic misery, Michael and Stella had already walked into the living room.
Michael took in the chaotic scene before him. Although he had expected this much, he still took a deep breath before speaking:
"You brats look bored out of your minds, huh?"
"Rear Admiral Michael!"
Despite all their pride and personalities, they were still professional Marines.
They knew how to respect the chain of command.
Even Smoker did, though he hadn't yet grown into the kind of rebel who'd defy orders and run off to Loguetown.
"Alright, let me introduce them—Robin, Stella, starting today, you'll be members of the SWORD Secret Special Force too!"
"Robin, new recruit, Paramecia-type Flower-Flower Fruit user. She's only eight years old, but she's studied at Ohara and even earned a doctorate title."
"Stella, Lieutenant Commander from Headquarters, Logia-type Cloud-Cloud Fruit user. She never attended Instructor Zephyr's elite training camp, but she's a direct disciple of Navy hero Vice Admiral Garp."
"From today onward..."
"We're comrades working to change the Navy—and change the world!"
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