Vikra Island Harbor
Finn sat on a stone pier overlooking the water, dressed in casual vacation attire instead of his usual uniform. He held a Den Den Mushi to his ear, a cigar smoldering between his fingers as he spoke.
"That's right, his strength was pathetically weak. Didn't live up to his reputation at all. Honestly, there was no need for me to handle it personally. You could've sent Tsuru and she would've taken him down."
On the other end of the line, Admiral Sengoku's laughter crackled through the receiver. "Really? It seems we overestimated him based on his perfect record. Though Tsuru will be furious when she hears you say that about her. Hahahaha."
"I don't particularly care if she's angry," Finn replied with a grin. "She can't beat me anyway. But after catching Craster, I'm feeling a bit of regret. If we'd let him become a Warlord, it actually might have been appropriate. At least he's manageable. Would've been easy to deal with in the future."
"Hehe, that's not entirely accurate," Sengoku countered. "Maybe he doesn't live up to the hype now, but he has potential to grow. That fruit ability of his is genuinely powerful, after all."
"Mm... fair point," Finn conceded after a moment's thought.
Craster was still essentially a rookie. Famous but weak, the type who'd fold against a real master.
But if they didn't deal with him now and gave him time to develop, he might genuinely grow into a formidable pirate. Better to lock him in Impel Down early and treat him as a fruit reserve, preventing future headaches.
"Where are you now?" Sengoku asked suddenly.
"Vikra Island," Finn replied, exhaling a stream of smoke. "We encountered a major storm and hail two days ago. Both warships took severe damage. I happened to pass near Vignola, where there's a Marine rest station, so I docked there for repairs. It'll take about a week. The place was boring, so I took a vacation for myself. Right now I'm at Vikra Island's harbor. Just disembarked and ready to enjoy the scenery."
"You just... gave yourself a vacation?" Sengoku sounded genuinely confused.
"As a Marine Admiral, isn't it perfectly reasonable for me to take time off?" Finn replied innocently.
"Isn't that a bit too leisurely?" Sengoku complained.
"Come to think of it, I haven't had a proper vacation in three years," Finn said, watching the crowds moving through the harbor.
Sengoku fell silent for a moment. Then his tone softened. "That's true. In that case, rest well."
"Thanks. Is there anything important happening at Headquarters?" Finn asked.
"Nothing critical. I was originally going to ask you to come back and help me sort through some documents the Fleet Admiral sent over, but... forget it. Enjoy your vacation."
"If you ask me, Admiral, you should give yourself a vacation too," Finn teased. "As far as I can remember, you haven't taken time off in five years. If you keep working this hard, you'll die from overwork. That would be a tremendous loss for the Marines."
"Are you cursing me, you little brat?" Sengoku shot back.
But his tone quickly turned wistful. "I'm used to it. I'm alone anyway. Wouldn't know what to do with myself on vacation. Might as well make myself useful to the Marines."
"Why not try asking out the Chief of Staff?" Finn suggested, his tone turning deliberately suggestive. "I hear the scenery at Fishman Island is spectacular. You could go see it together."
Sengoku fell silent for a long moment. Then his voice dropped dangerously. "Do you think that just because you became an Admiral, I can't discipline you anymore?"
"Hahahaha, of course not! I have the utmost respect for you, Admiral Sengoku!" Finn laughed.
"I'll make you suffer when you get back," Sengoku muttered.
After a brief pause, he continued more seriously. "New Year's is in two days. Don't stay out too long. We have a lot to arrange at the start of the year."
"Ah, I know," Finn replied. "You're going to assign me the World Conference escort detail. But as an Admiral, I don't actually need to deploy for that, do I?"
"No, but our Admirals will represent the Marines at the World Conference itself. You absolutely cannot be absent."
"Don't worry, I'll be there. As soon as the ships are repaired, I'll—" Finn paused mid-sentence, his eyes sharpening with sudden focus.
"What's wrong?" Sengoku asked curiously.
"Ah, nothing," Finn said smoothly. "Just spotted a beautiful woman in a bikini at the harbor."
Sengoku was too tired to call him out on the obvious deflection. After giving a few more instructions, he hung up.
Finn tucked the Den Den Mushi away, but his eyes remained fixed on a group of people disembarking from a newly arrived ship at the far end of the harbor.
He'd come directly from Vignola Marine Base on a small transport ship, so there were no warships in port. And since he was officially on vacation, he'd abandoned his uniform entirely. He wore a plaid shirt, beach shorts, and flip-flops, with sunglasses perched on his nose and a sun hat shading his face.
Sitting there like this, no one would recognize him as a Marine Admiral. He looked like just another tourist visiting Vikra Island, one of the world's most famous hot spring destinations.
His normally conspicuous height was less noticeable while seated, drawing no particular attention.
The reason he'd paused mid-conversation with Sengoku was simple: he'd recognized that ship.
The ship with the dragon-shaped figurehead and no other markings looked like an ordinary tourist boat. But in reality, it was the personal transport of Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army.
"Admiral, your frozen juice!"
Just as Finn watched Dragon and his hooded companions disembark in the distance, a voice called out behind him.
Finn smiled and turned. "I told you not to call me Admiral right now. I'm on vacation."
"Understood, Admiral," Hina replied with a grin, clearly having no intention of changing her form of address.
Hina was dressed like a beach beauty. She wore a white sarong skirt that covered one leg while leaving the other exposed from the calf down. Her upper body was clad in a rose-red crop top that left her midriff bare. She also wore sunglasses, and a cigarette dangled from her lips as she held two glasses of frozen juice.
She'd obviously been sent to run errands while Finn chatted with Sengoku.
"I've told you before, you're too young to smoke," Finn said, standing to accept the glass. "That's not something a kid should be doing."
"Although Hina only sixteen this year," Hina replied, exhaling smoke as she gave him a flat look, " Hina already a Lieutenant Commander at Marine Headquarters. Hina participated in three live combat operations, personally captured a pirate with a twenty-seven-million-berry bounty, and killed more than thirty people. So what you're saying, Admiral, is that Hina can kill people but can't smoke?"
The logic was airtight. Finn found himself speechless. Finally, he could only mutter irritably, "You're getting more sharp-tongued by the day. Where's your respect for an Admiral?"
"You said it yourself," Hina replied with a dismissive wave. "We're on vacation right now."
Too frustrated to continue arguing, Finn bit down on his straw and took a long sip of cold juice. His eyes tracked Dragon and his group as they disappeared into the crowd. After thinking for a moment, he said, "There are plenty of handsome guys on this island. You don't need to stick around with an old man like me. Go find yourself a romantic encounter. I'm heading to the hot springs. See you later."
Hina blinked, momentarily thrown. "When should we meet up? Where?"
If Finn had been planning to go sightseeing, she would've accompanied him. After all, regardless of anything else, Finn was genuinely handsome and heroic. Even if he was technically old enough to be called an uncle, he was still a handsome uncle.
But he'd specifically said he was going to the hot springs, and Hina was too embarrassed to follow him there.
"Whatever. We'll contact each other via Den Den Mushi," Finn said with a casual wave. "Who knows, I might even have a romantic date myself."
He turned and walked away in his flip-flops, sun hat tilted at a jaunty angle, cigar in one hand and juice in the other.
Hina stared after him for a moment, then called out, "Be careful, or Hina tell Sister Gion!"
"Little girl, don't forget I'm your direct superior," Finn replied without turning around, waving one hand dismissively behind him. "If you spread rumors, there will be consequences."
His figure quickly vanished into the crowd.
Hina took two sips of her juice, bit down on her cigarette, and turned toward the shopping district without bothering to search for him.
Finn drank his juice leisurely as he followed Dragon and his group from a comfortable distance, careful not to be noticed.
After a short walk, Dragon's party entered a large hot spring resort hotel.
Seeing this, Finn didn't hesitate. He walked right in.
Once inside, Dragon and his companions were nowhere to be seen. Finn considered searching for them briefly, then decided against it. He was mildly curious about what Dragon was doing here, but not enough to actively hunt him down.
Besides, now that he was here, how could he not enjoy the hot springs?
After purchasing an entry ticket, Finn walked into the bathhouse carrying a small wooden bucket containing towels, soap, and other amenities. He stripped down, rinsed off quickly, wrapped a white towel around his waist, and pushed open the door to the open-air hot springs.
The springs were arranged in terraced pools of varying heights, covering an area roughly the size of a playground. About ten people were already soaking in various pools.
Finn ignored the more crowded areas and made his way to a corner pool. He settled into the warm water with a contented sigh, draped a towel over his face, and leaned back against the pool's edge, preparing to take a nap.
As a Devil Fruit user, his cheat ability hadn't eliminated his weakness to water. He could feel his strength draining away as he soaked. But combined with the soothing heat of the spring, that weakness transformed into a pleasant, lazy exhaustion.
"What a wonderful place," Finn murmured, his voice thick with drowsiness.
Before he knew it, he'd drifted off to sleep.
About half an hour later, two figures entered the hot spring bath. One of them was Dragon.
Like Finn, he was naked save for a white towel wrapped around his waist. The distinctive tattoo on his face stood out in the steam.
Dragon glanced around the bathhouse, seemingly unconcerned about whether his identity might be exposed. He didn't notice Finn sleeping peacefully in the corner, face covered by a towel. He walked several steps to a nearby spring and settled in with a satisfied exhale.
The man beside him looked far more conspicuous. Even in the hot springs, he wore heavy makeup. This was none other than Emporio Ivankov, one of the Revolutionary Army's core officers.
"Are you sure it's appropriate for you to be in the men's bath?" Dragon asked, his tone lightly teasing.
Ivankov waved one hand dismissively. "If you want, I can give you an injection and then you can go to the women's bath next door openly and legally."
"Hahahaha, I'll pass," Dragon said with a laugh.
They soaked in comfortable silence for a while. Then Ivankov asked, "Why did you choose a bathhouse as the meeting place for that contact?"
"Here, everyone can be honest with each other," Dragon replied with a slight smile. "It shows sincerity."
"Ah, I see," Ivankov said knowingly. "It's part of West Blue gangster culture, isn't it? When those mob bosses conduct business, they prefer places like this. You've learned well."
It was true. Conducting meetings in bathhouses was a known element of organized crime culture. In a bathhouse, everyone was exposed, no one could hide weapons, and that vulnerability demonstrated trust and good faith.
Of course, if someone managed to conceal a weapon in particularly creative places, then all bets were off.
Dragon chuckled, settling deeper into the water.
Neither of them noticed the towel-covered figure sleeping peacefully in the corner pool, breathing slow and steady in the rising steam.
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