By the time they finished breakfast, news of the body swap between Nao and Gion had already started circulating among their fellow Marines on the ship, with the tacit approval of those involved.
In fact, the scene from the previous night, where the two had simultaneously collapsed on the deck, had already sparked plenty of curiosity. But no one had guessed that the cause was something so extraordinary.
It was simply unbelievable.
A cute little sea raccoon had turned out to be a Devil Fruit user. With just a single touch, it swapped their bodies, and now they'd need ten days or so to reverse it. Who could they even complain to?
Nao had always been bright and friendly, with a good reputation among his fellow Marines—popular with both men and women.
So when word got out that Nao wouldn't be able to participate in this live combat assessment, there was a general sense of sympathy and regret.
Some of the girls, who had long harbored affections for him, were even so upset that they banded together to ask Aokiji to postpone the assessment to be fair.
Unfortunately, Aokiji had already left at dawn, leisurely pedaling around on a rickety old bicycle with the sea raccoon perched on his shoulder. When the girls searched the ship to find him, they came up empty-handed.
Nao, of course, was unaware of all this. He was focused on a one-on-one training session with Gion in a small private training room.
Gion's skill with the sword was as impressive as her reputation suggested. After observing Nao demonstrate the sword techniques he had been practicing, she quickly pinpointed several areas for improvement and provided detailed guidance.
Her insights into swordsmanship helped Nao resolve some long-standing issues in his training, leading to a real "aha" moment.
Grateful for the opportunity, Nao devoted himself fully to these training sessions. Over the course of the next three days, aside from eating, sleeping, and taking care of other necessities, he poured all his time and energy into the little training room.
His sheer determination and drive even earned Gion's reluctant admiration. Compared to his incredible persistence, his surprisingly quick grasp of swordsmanship seemed almost less remarkable.
Aside from swordsmanship, Nao also sought Gion's advice on Rokushiki (Six Powers) techniques. She was equally generous with her guidance, offering clear explanations for his questions.
However, from Gion's perspective, aside from Nao's mastery of "Kami-e" (Paper Art), which was surprisingly proficient for a recruit, the rest of his Rokushiki techniques were riddled with flaws and barely passable. She pointed out these fundamental errors in a tone far stricter than when discussing swordsmanship.
Despite being taller than her in his original body, Nao humbly accepted her criticism, standing silently with his head bowed like a student.
In truth, many of these simple mistakes were ones Nao wouldn't usually make. But the situation was unique—there were two factors that couldn't be ignored:
First, Gion was present and watching him;
Second, he was in Gion's body.
The first was easy to explain. At nineteen, Nao was a young man, and it was natural to want to show his best side in front of an admired woman. But nervousness often backfired.
The second was even trickier. No matter how much time had passed, he simply couldn't fully adjust to the overwhelming physical capabilities of Gion's body. Many moves that were simple in theory became wildly unpredictable in practice.
For example, a casual Rankyaku (Tempest Kick) he executed unintentionally shattered a reinforced steel wall and incinerated a kitchen stove in the next room, leaving the chef—who was mid-song, flipping vegetables—bald and covered in soot. The ship was in chaos for the rest of the day.
Or the time he tried Geppo (Moonwalk), aiming to hover five or six meters above the ground, only to find himself rocketing into the sky like a human missile, breaking through the ceiling and soaring into the clouds hundreds of meters above.
He would never forget Gion's expression—staring up at the sky in disbelief, completely dumbfounded.
In short, his control was laughably poor—like someone used to driving a family sedan suddenly finding themselves behind the wheel of an F1 race car, causing all kinds of mishaps.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. By then, Gion was utterly exasperated. Every morning at exactly 5:30, Nao's finely tuned biological clock woke him up—no matter how she tried, she simply couldn't fall back asleep, leading her to stare blankly at the ceiling, questioning her existence.
Nao, though exhausted, felt a deep sense of accomplishment. Not only had he broken through several bottlenecks in swordsmanship, but his training in Rokushiki had also exploded into major progress.
Among the Six Powers, aside from "Shigan" (Finger Gun), which remained at the novice level, the remaining four techniques all advanced to the "basic" level during these three days.
On the morning of the fourth day, as the Marine warship reached the 329th Branch Base at Gull Island, Nao made a point of returning to the cabin before disembarking.
He found Gion still trying, and failing, to get some sleep.
"What now?" she mumbled, poking her head out from under the covers with a lazy expression. "If you've got something to say, say it. Don't interrupt my sleep for nothing."
Nao grinned sheepishly. "You might as well give up trying to sleep, Gion. I know my body too well. Unless it's the middle of the night, I won't be able to sleep."
She glared at him but gave up arguing, prompting him to cut to the chase.
"About Rear Admiral Chishio... I promise I'll do everything I can to convince her to return to the Marines."
"Didn't I already say it's just a long shot, and it's fine if it doesn't work out?" Gion sighed, her voice muffled from under the blankets. "There's no penalty for failure. Just handle it however you want."
"That's not good enough!" Nao's voice grew firm and resolute. "You said it yourself: the Marines sent you here because they were placing their last hope in you. If I don't complete the mission, even if there's no official punishment, people will surely feel disappointed."
"I'm Nao Natsuya. After receiving your personal training these past few days, there's no way I can just sit back and let this happen. I have to do something for you!"
"Now that the chance is right in front of me, I have to seize it. Convincing Rear Admiral Chishio is my duty!"
Having delivered this cringeworthy speech, he stood tall and proud, completely unfazed.
"…That's so embarrassing I'm actually impressed," Gion murmured sleepily from under the blankets, then fell silent.
Just as Nao was starting to wonder if she had finally fallen asleep, Gion let out a quiet laugh. "Good luck, kid. See you in five days."
"Yes, Rear Admiral Gion!"
Nao saluted smartly, then turned to leave. But just as he reached the door, he remembered something and drew the long Konpira sword from his waist, giving it one last, reluctant glance. "Ah, I almost forgot. Here's your sword back…"
"Keep it for now," Gion cut him off without even opening her eyes. "I'm too lazy to get up and take it. Just hold onto it until you leave. Oh, and don't forget to close the door behind you. It's a bit chilly."