After dark and dinner, Finn returned to the dormitory and took a shower.
As soon as he walked out of the bathroom in his shorts, Momonga enthusiastically approached and threw an arm around his shoulders.
"Finn, are you ready for the fighting competition?" Momonga asked with a grin.
Finn laughed and nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan."
"Excellent! Let's go. I want to participate too. Let's have a match today. I heard from Onigumo that he lost to you!" Momonga said enthusiastically.
"As for technique, I still have a lot to improve," Finn replied modestly.
At that moment, Onigumo opened the door and stepped out. "Winning is winning. Let's go. I also want to see if Momonga gets defeated by you. Hahahaha."
Just like that, the three chatted and laughed, got dressed, and soon headed to the combat training room together.
Perhaps the seas were particularly unstable recently. Either way, there weren't many people here today. Only about ten.
However, what surprised Finn was that besides their current class, previous graduates had also come.
He recognized one of them immediately: Kuzan, who'd been hospitalized with him previously.
Next to Kuzan stood two people. One was Gion, who'd invited him to the kendo exchange competition earlier. The other was a man who looked like a seasoned veteran with a distinctly lazy air about him: Borsalino.
This was Finn's first time meeting Borsalino in person.
He could see the Vice Admiral was still quite young at this point, but his mannerisms had already developed that greasy, unreliable quality. Just standing there, he gave off the impression of someone you probably shouldn't trust with important tasks.
Kuzan noticed Finn's arrival and waved happily. "Hey, Finn! Long time no see."
Finn walked over with a smile, looked Kuzan up and down. "Seems your leg healed?"
"Well, I was discharged two days ago. Consider it an extended vacation," Kuzan said with satisfaction.
Gion looked slightly surprised. "You two know each other?"
Unlike Branch Captains like Finn who'd come from the North Blue, Gion, Kuzan, and Borsalino had all been Headquarters Marines from the beginning.
All three had backgrounds and connections.
Kuzan was a graduate of the third Officer Training Camp. He had a close relationship with Zephyr as mentor and student. His superior was the Marine hero, Vice Admiral Garp.
In addition to possessing a Logia-type Devil Fruit, the powerful Ice-Ice Fruit, his abilities were obvious to everyone. As long as he didn't do something catastrophically stupid, he'd definitely become one of the core senior officers in the future.
As for Gion, she was a swordsman who had a close relationship with Vice Admiral Tsuru, the Headquarters Chief of Staff. She served under Tsuru's command as well.
Also a Marine with an extremely bright future.
As for Borsalino, he served under Admiral Sengoku and was a graduate of the first Officer Training Camp. Need more be said?
He was already a backbone of the Marines, holding Vice Admiral rank.
The reason Gion looked surprised wasn't because Finn was unqualified for their company. She simply knew that Finn had just arrived from the North Blue and probably wasn't familiar with Headquarters personnel yet.
Kuzan smiled. "Well, when Finn and I were hospitalized, we shared the same ward."
"I see," Gion nodded in understanding.
Borsalino also looked at Finn now, speaking in his peculiar drawling tone. "Oh, Finn? Admiral Sengoku mentions you quite often. Today I finally meet you in person."
Though Borsalino's tone sounded somewhat provocative, Finn knew he meant no harm. The guy just spoke in that greasy manner naturally.
"Good evening, Vice Admiral Borsalino," Finn responded with a polite smile.
Borsalino nodded, then continued, "Admiral Sengoku also has a message for me to relay. He says you don't need to carry out any missions for the time being. During this period, you should focus on training here."
Finn's expression showed realization. He understood now that he hadn't been forgotten. Admiral Sengoku had been quietly taking care of him behind the scenes.
Kuzan and Gion looked slightly surprised hearing this. So Finn had quietly established a relationship with Admiral Sengoku?
It seemed he'd become one of Sengoku's direct subordinates in the future.
As for the special treatment, neither of them thought anything was wrong with it. After all, they themselves belonged to this "privileged class" and regularly enjoyed such considerations.
As beneficiaries, they naturally had no objections.
"Yes, I understand. Please convey my gratitude to Admiral Sengoku, Vice Admiral Borsalino," Finn replied with a smile.
"Alright, alright, enough of that. I heard you're fighting tonight, so I came to watch. Finn, you better win! If you perform well, I'll transfer you to my command. Don't worry, I have very few missions assigned. Even without Admiral Sengoku's protection, you'd have plenty of time to train," Kuzan said cheerfully.
Finn rolled his eyes at Kuzan. "Forget it. I don't think there's much future in following someone as lazy as you."
"Hahahaha! You're right, Kuzan. You're far too lazy. Finn is very hardworking. Don't lead him astray," Gion laughed.
Honestly, though they hadn't interacted much, Finn could already sense that despite being a beauty, Gion had a very straightforward personality. Easy to get along with.
"Hey, no matter what, I'm more motivated than Borsalino, right?" Kuzan complained indignantly.
"Huh? What do you mean, Rear Admiral Kuzan? I'm a Vice Admiral," Borsalino retorted with mock offense.
After some more small talk, seeing the time was nearly up, Finn said, "You all keep chatting. I need to get on stage."
After bidding them goodbye, Finn turned and left.
Only then did Borsalino speak softly, "Aren't you all curious why I'm really here? Truth is, this guy has genuinely caught Admiral Sengoku's attention. The Admiral asked me to come observe his performance. If he's good, he'll be assigned to my ship when the timing's right."
In the original timeline, Borsalino would gradually shift toward the neutral faction within the Marines over time.
But now, Borsalino still counted as one of Admiral Sengoku's direct subordinates.
He'd been brought up by Admiral Sengoku. While serving as Vice Admiral at Marine Headquarters, he also functioned as Admiral Sengoku's assistant.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, the two would go out on missions together.
When Borsalino said this, both Gion and Kuzan understood clearly.
As long as Finn worked hard, he'd become a member of Admiral Sengoku's faction in the future. A bright future indeed!
Though it was called "getting on stage," there was actually no formal arena.
Momonga was already warming up, ready to go.
There were no protective gear like boxing gloves. This was a real fight with minimal rules. As long as no weapons were used, the match continued until one party surrendered or fell unconscious.
Finn also removed the Justice coat draped over his shoulders and tossed it on a nearby seat. Simultaneously, he pulled off his shirt, revealing the white tank top underneath.
Beneath the tank top, his physique looked quite powerful. Though he didn't have explosive bodybuilder muscles, the definition was impressive.
"Nice build," Kuzan praised with a smile.
Borsalino, in his much more crude fashion, said, "Gion, aren't you tired of that Toki guy constantly harassing you with confessions? Why don't you just ditch him and find a boyfriend? I think Finn's a solid choice. Pretty handsome, right? Bright future... great body too."
Gion glared at Borsalino unhappily. "Senior, please don't meddle in my personal affairs. I don't have time for romance."
"Such an unromantic statement," Borsalino said with amusement.
Finn also did simple warm-ups, then walked toward Momonga.
Seeing this, Momonga restrained his movements and approached Finn.
After the two stood face to face, they simultaneously raised one arm and bumped fists in the air.
"Don't hold back," Momonga said with a competitive grin.
"I hope you'll go easy on me," Finn replied with equal good humor.
There was no referee or formal structure. Very casual fighting.
As both men retracted their fists, they each took a step back, symbolizing the official start.
Neither made the first move immediately. Both seemed to prefer waiting for an opening.
After maintaining defensive stances for a while, fierce light flashed in Finn's eyes. He pushed hard with both feet and lunged forward, taking the initiative.
Momonga's footwork was very agile. As Finn pounced, he shifted his body sideways and simultaneously swung a heavy punch toward Finn's head.
Finn turned his head and twisted his torso to evade, then drove a punch toward Momonga's chest.
Momonga was extremely fast. He caught Finn's arm, stopping the punch. Simultaneously, he pivoted and struck out. His powerful arm whipped like an iron rod toward Finn's chest.
This heavy blow brought a flash of success to Momonga's eyes.
However, at that moment, Onigumo, watching from the sidelines, showed helplessness in his expression.
As someone who'd fought Finn before, he understood very clearly the tactics and rhythm Finn excelled at using.
As long as Momonga was optimistic and careless, Finn would lead him into an unfavorable rhythm. This might be the starting point.
As expected, Momonga had thought this attack would at least interrupt Finn's offensive. It didn't. The guy seemed to have no pain response whatsoever. When he absorbed the strike, there wasn't even a moment of hesitation. Instead, he drove his elbow directly into Momonga's ribs.
"Oof..." Momonga grunted, somewhat winded from the impact.
Before he could counterattack, Finn's arm wrapped around his neck. Simultaneously, Finn hooked his heel and pushed backward, attempting to throw him to the ground.
Momonga had no time to think strategically. He suddenly grabbed Finn's neck to prevent falling. At the same time, his other leg came up in a knee strike, slamming hard into Finn's stomach.
Finn's face flushed red, but he didn't stop moving. He exerted force with his arms, absorbed the knee strike, and threw Momonga to the ground regardless.
"That guy... doesn't he feel pain?" Kuzan watched the battle with surprise evident in his eyes.
Momonga's counterattack had been very effective. For ordinary people, after taking a knee strike like that, there'd inevitably be a pause in movement. Momonga should have been fully capable of seizing that opportunity, breaking free from the hold, and readjusting his offense.
As it turned out, Finn simply didn't care!
Borsalino, standing nearby, whispered, "According to Admiral Sengoku, Finn seems to have already completed pain resistance training. Back in the North Blue, he was stabbed completely by Golden Lion Shiki, severely damaging his lung. Even in that condition, he still managed to launch an effective counterattack, scratching Shiki's face..."
"Scratched the Golden Lion?" Gion's eyes widened slightly. "That's..."
"Impressive, right?" Borsalino's tone remained lazy. "Admiral Sengoku believes this kid has extraordinary willpower. Combined with his dedication to training... well, you can see why he's interested."
On the floor, Momonga rolled away and sprang back to his feet, breathing harder now. He reassessed his opponent with more serious eyes.
This wasn't going to be as easy as he'd thought.
Finn stood ready, his expression calm despite the red marks forming on his torso from Momonga's strikes.