"Quick! Everyone strip off your clothes, tear a few holes here and there, then roll around on the ground a few times—and make sure to stomp on them, too!"
With a group of marines behind him, Luo Lan barked out the bizarre order.
The marines stared at him, utterly confused.
What the hell is he talking about…?
Still, an order was an order. Though bewildered, they hesitated only briefly before starting to follow his instructions.
One by one, the marines went shirtless, holding up their now-dirty and tattered Navy uniforms.
Luo Lan gave them a thorough inspection and nodded in satisfaction.
"Excellent. Now put your shirts back on. And your pants—take them off and do the same thing!"
…
While Luo Ln was issuing all sorts of strange commands on his end, the rest of the base was in full emergency mobilization.
It wasn't just the marines—logistics staff, laborers, even researchers—everyone was mobilized.
Under the orders of their department heads, they all began making their way to the far eastern edge of the island.
Given the layout of Rhodes Island, that area was the farthest point from Luo Lan's location. Forget Gion—even a full Admiral wouldn't be able to cover that distance with their Observation Haki.
With everyone relocated, Hina eventually made her way over to Luo Lan as well.
After all, she needed to make an appearance, didn't she?
"What the heck are you all wearing? Hina is shocked!"
It wasn't just the marines—even Luo Lan himself looked like a beggar, his clothes in absolute tatters.
"Sister Hina, with conditions like these, how clean do you think I could stay?"
Luo Lan pointed to the dilapidated building beside him.
…Fair point.
Living in a dump like that for a whole year—being ragged was probably normal.
"But if you all look like this, then…"
Hina looked Luo Lan and the others up and down, then glanced down at herself.
The contrast was… rather striking.
"Sister Hina, maybe you should strip too. I can rough up your outfit a bit?"
"Get lost!!"
---
An hour later.
A massive 5,000-ton Navy warship arrived.
Luo Lan couldn't help but be impressed. This world really had some serious firepower.
Triple-mounted cannons on all sides, plus twelve secondary guns at the bow and another twelve at the stern.
Even if they were all smoothbore muzzle-loaders, this thing far outclassed the old wind-powered ships of his previous life.
The ship didn't dock at the pier.
Well, the pier had been lightly smashed by Hina's own warship before, and Luo Lan hadn't bothered repairing it.
Even if it were intact, a vessel this size couldn't have docked there anyway.
So, they dropped anchor about a hundred meters from shore and used smaller boats to ferry people across.
"Hina, it's been a while!"
As soon as she disembarked, Gion strode right past Luo Lan, going straight for Hina.
It was as if he were invisible.
"It really has—over a year, right?" Hina nodded.
Though she and Gion weren't exactly best friends back at HQ, they were on good terms. After all, there were only a handful of women in the Navy who had made it this far. Naturally, they all knew each other and got along fairly well.
"You little punk!"
At last, Gion turned to face Luo Lan.
"Heh, sister Gion, did you bring what I asked for?"
"Don't get cocky. Just because Tsuru-san asked me to deliver it doesn't mean I'm handing it over without a good reason."
Of course, Luo Lan sighed inwardly. This woman was always a handful.
"I've just been bored out here and wanted something to tinker with to pass the time."
"Tinker? You? Don't make me laugh."
"Sister Gion, don't underestimate me like that!"
"Hmph. I'm not underestimating you. It's just that even Vegapunk researched this thing and got nowhere. And you think you can crack it? Ha."
Despite her mocking tone, Gion reached into her coat, pulled out a package, and casually tossed it over.
"Three sets of materials in there. I trust you know how to use them—I'm not going to spell it out."
"Come on, Hina, let's go to my ship. No way I'm stepping into that wreck of a building."
She had clearly seen the sorry excuse for a residence Luo Lan had been living in.
Once the two women boarded the small boat and headed back to the warship, Luo Lan opened the package.
Inside were several pieces of bark, emitting a faint but distinct fragrance.
So this… was the raw material for life paper?
What kind of tree did it come from?
Well, that didn't matter.
What did matter was that the science division he'd assembled on the island had a genetics research team.
If he handed this stuff over to them, could they clone the tree and grow it here on Rhodes Island?
…Yeah, that sounded doable.
But of course, that would have to wait until after Gion left.
Right now, the entire base had been cleared out for appearances' sake.
---
On the warship.
Inside Gion's private cabin, two cups of tea filled the room with a rich, fragrant aroma.
"By the way, Gion—congrats. I heard your promotion is about to come through?"
"What promotion? My rank's still Vice Admiral. All I got was the codename Momousagi (Pink Rabbit)."
Gion waved it off.
"Oh please, don't be so modest. That's not just any codename. It marks you as a candidate for Admiral! As soon as a vacancy opens up among the Three Admirals, you're next in line."
Hina rolled her eyes.
But Gion just shook her head.
She knew better than anyone that the title didn't matter.
What did matter… was strength.
Without the power of an Admiral, no amount of titles or nominations would secure the position.
On the other hand, with enough strength, she could rise even without being a formal candidate.
Admirals were the face of the Navy.
They were the peak of power on the seas.
Rank and merit didn't mean much when it came to that level.
And right now, plainly speaking…
She wasn't there yet.
"Enough about me. Let's talk about that brat. What's going on with him?"
"…And with you. What's your deal?"
Gion suddenly turned serious, her eyes narrowing as she stared into Hina's.
"I don't know what you mean," Hina replied, keeping her expression neutral even as her heart skipped a beat.
"Don't play dumb, Hina. I used Observation Haki when I arrived. That brat—his strength might still fall short of the elite Vice Admirals at HQ, but he's definitely not below a regular Vice Admiral."
"And you—you're at about the same level. Don't try telling me your body just happened to improve this much in a year."
Hina froze.
She had unlocked Observation Haki herself, but as far as she knew, it was only for sensing attacks or predicting enemy movements.
Could it also… detect someone's overall strength?
If she'd asked Luo Lan, he'd have told her the truth:
Yes. Absolutely.
And that wasn't all. Observation Haki had many unique uses, depending on how far you developed it.
Still, even though she was startled, Hina quickly realized something:
Gion had only commented on her and Luo Lan.
She hadn't sensed the 3,000+ others who had been relocated to the eastern edge of the island.
Just as Luo Lan had guessed, her Observation Haki couldn't reach that far.
"…Fine. Luo Lan's physical condition has been resolved, but he asked me to keep that confidential."
"As for me…"
"Ever since I awakened Haki, my strength's been growing fast. Maybe it's just… a breakthrough after years of foundation building?"
Gion frowned slightly at that answer.