The G-17 Branch was quiet that afternoon.
A sea breeze slipped through the office window, clearing away some of the stuffy air.
Aiden had his legs up on the large desk, not caring how he looked. He spun a pen in his hand and stared at the ceiling, bored out of his mind.
Most of the base's work had already been pushed onto Smoker and Issho. As the commanding officer, his only job right now seemed to be breathing.
Just as Aiden was wondering if he should leave early and go to the cafeteria to find something good to eat...
"Ding."
A clear system notification rang in his mind.
Aiden's unfocused eyes immediately became alert.
A line of light blue text appeared before him:
[Detected: The Roka Kingdom has obtained security guarantees through official channels and is no longer under military threat from the Blacksteel Empire.]
[Victor's Regret: Obsession with Protection] is completed. [Reward: You can choose one more item from Victor's remaining selectable rewards!]
"Hm?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow, put his legs down, and sat up straight.
"It's only completed now?"
He was a little surprised. It had been several days since he pretended to strike Friedrich down with lightning in the Blacksteel Imperial Palace. At that time, he had checked his status panel and found that the mission still had not been completed. He thought something had gone wrong.
"It seems simply killing a king doesn't count as true protection."
Aiden touched his chin and thought about it. "Did the system only count the mission as finished once the Blacksteel Empire's new order was established, or only after that country completely lost the ability and reason to invade?"
Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, maybe the newly appointed government was smart enough, or perhaps the neighboring countries had reached some sort of agreement.
But no matter what, the result was good.
Victor was a monster. There was no doubt about that. To gain status, he hadn't hesitated to turn innocent people into crystal statues, creating countless tragedies.
But ironically, everything that monster had done started from his desire to protect the poor homeland the world had abandoned.
Aiden remembered the strange feeling he had when he learned the truth. This world was rotten, and Victor had tried to fix one tragedy by creating even more. In the end, he had become another problem that had to be removed.
Now, the threat of the Blacksteel Empire was gone, and the Roka Kingdom finally had a chance to recover. Victor's twisted dream of saving his country had been fulfilled by the person who killed him.
"I guess this counts as fate."
The weight that had been sitting in Aiden's chest finally disappeared.
Aiden let out a long breath and leaned back in his chair. His whole body felt lighter.
"Alright, since the mission is done, let's look at the reward."
Aiden called up the long-forgotten [Victor's Selectable Rewards] list.
The light screen opened, and five lines of text came into view:
[Option 1: Physique Improvement (Advanced)]
[Option 2: Haki Improvement - Armament (Advanced)]
[Option 3: Haki Improvement - Observation (Advanced)]
[Option 4: Skill Improvement - Carving (Master)]
[Option 5: Skill Improvement - Noble Etiquette (Master) - Acquired]
Looking at the poor list, Aiden couldn't help but curl his lip.
"Tsk, there really is nothing good to choose..."
The first three options were useless to him right now. His physique had already surpassed Victor's by far, and his two types of Haki were already too strong for an advanced reward like this to matter. At most, it probably wouldn't even make a splash.
As for the fifth option, he had already chosen it.
So, the only choice left was—
Aiden's gaze fell on the fourth line.
"Carving?"
Aiden didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He was a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral with the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. What did he need to learn this for? To set up a street stall in the Sabaody Archipelago and sell figures after retirement?
"Forget it, having more skills never hurts. If I don't want to be a Marine in the future, at least it's a useful craft."
Aiden comforted himself and casually clicked confirm.
"Buzz—"
A warm feeling spread through his mind.
Knowledge about reading materials, controlling pressure, and shaping stone and wood quickly settled into his memory.
There was no strange pain or huge change. Aiden only felt that his fingers had become more sensitive. When his fingertips touched the surface of the desk, he could almost picture where to cut to bring out the wood grain.
"That's it?"
Aiden stretched his ten fingers. Looking at the empty office, he suddenly felt an urge to try it.
It was like getting a new toy. If he didn't test it right away, it would bother him.
Aiden picked up the Transponder Snail on the desk and shouted.
"Moore!"
Not long after, there was a knock on the office door. Captain Moore walked in with a serious face and saluted. "Base Commander! Please give your orders!"
"Go find me a stone," Aiden ordered.
"Huh?" Moore froze for a moment. "A stone?"
"Right. Find me a good piece of stone," Aiden said. "Something solid enough to carve."
Although he was completely confused and didn't understand what Aiden wanted a stone for, Moore still trusted him completely and answered loudly, "Yes! I'll do it right away!"
In this world, pirates preferred things that shone at first glance: diamonds, gold, rubies, and sapphires.
To them, an uncarved stone was just another rock. It couldn't be worn around the neck to show off, and it couldn't be exchanged for many Berries.
Its value depended on what someone could make from it.
Because of this, this piece of white stone, which was actually very good quality, had been left in the corner of the warehouse to collect dust ever since it was seized from a defeated pirate crew. Even the quartermaster in charge of counting the loot hadn't paid much attention to it.
No one expected it to be useful today.
"Thanks, Moore. This is a good stone."
Aiden patted the slightly cool stone with satisfaction and smiled at Moore. "If there's nothing else, go back to your work. I want to work alone for a while. If there are no particularly urgent military reports, don't let anyone bother me. If there are, go find Issho."
"Yes!"
Although Moore was still wondering why Aiden was suddenly interested in stones, seeing Aiden in a good mood, he didn't ask further. He saluted and backed out, closing the door behind him.
After waving Moore off, Aiden quickly picked up the paper knife on the desk.
"I don't have a proper carving knife, but it's not a big problem."
Black Haki instantly wrapped around the ordinary paper knife. The previously normal blade instantly became sharp enough to cut through metal.
"What should I carve?"
Aiden looked at the perfect piece of stone in front of him, but his mind was completely blank.
"Forget it, I'll just do whatever I feel like. I'm just testing it anyway."
The blade touched the stone.
A small trail of white dust fell away, and the hard stone gave way easily under Aiden's hand.
At first, he just cut at random, feeling out the control brought by the new skill. With every cut, he could remove the extra parts with surprising precision, leaving clean lines behind.
Gradually, Aiden stopped thinking so much.
He stopped trying to decide what to carve and simply let his hand move.
Time passed.
The sunlight outside the window moved from the corner of the desk to its edge.
When the final cut fell, he blew away the stone dust covering the surface.
A figure stood on the stone base.
Wavy long hair fell casually over her shoulders. Even in plain white stone, the shape of her uniform and posture were clear.
She had one hand resting on the long sword at her waist, her head tilted slightly, and a faint, knowing smile on her lips.
Aiden had even carved the tiny beauty mark at the corner of her mouth with the tip of the knife.
That expression, proud and relaxed, as if she was going to reach out and knock him on the head in the next second, was simply—
"This—"
Looking at the work in his hands, Aiden was stunned.
Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral, now codenamed "Momousagi", Gion.
Aiden held the cold stone, a little lost in thought.
He didn't expect that when he stopped thinking, the clearest image in his mind would be her.
Aiden rubbed the figure's face lightly with his thumb.
"Long time no see, Gion."
Aiden smiled without realizing it and muttered to himself.
It was a strange feeling. It wasn't some dramatic longing. It was quieter than that, something that only surfaced when everything else around him went still.
Just as Aiden was caught in this rare quiet moment.
"Bang!"
The office door was pushed open roughly.
Not even knocking—there was only one person in the entire G-17 Branch who dared to do this.
"Aiden! I need you for something!"
Smoker's raspy voice came in along with the strong smell of cigar smoke.
"Holy shit!"
Aiden jumped at the sudden noise. He felt like someone had caught him hiding something he absolutely did not want seen.
Swish!
Almost by instinct, Aiden moved his hand.
In the next instant, the Gion figure disappeared from his hand, stored away in the deepest part of his storage ring.
To cover up his awkwardness, Aiden quickly grabbed the stone dust and small chips on the desk. He rubbed them between his fingers, his eyes darting around as he pretended to be focused on studying the stone dust.
Smoker stopped right after walking through the door.
He looked at the messy white powder all over the desk, then looked at Aiden, who was sitting straight, looking serious but clearly avoiding eye contact while holding a handful of powder. His brows furrowed deeply.
"What are you doing?"
Smoker pointed at the table full of powder with a weird expression. "Holding a grudge against a rock? Or are you doing something weird?"
"Cough... Nothing."
"Testing my grip strength. You know, as a strong fighter, I need to keep my hands under control."
Aiden brushed the powder off his hands and quickly changed the subject. Feeling guilty, he raised his voice, "By the way, what are you running in here in such a hurry for? Didn't I tell you that Issho can handle all the matters of the base now, and you shouldn't bother me unless it's really important?"
"Tsk, look how scared you got."
Smoker rolled his eyes and clamped his cigar back in his mouth. "I didn't say I came to make you work. Do you think everyone is like you, thinking about how to slack off all day?"
Seeing Aiden relax a little, Smoker walked to the desk. He leaned forward with his hands on the desktop, looking a bit—awkward.
"It's about something else."
Smoker paused, his eyes drifting away slightly. "The recruit training ship led by Instructor Zephyr has arrived to patrol the nearby waters. Hina happens to be on Instructor Zephyr's ship too."
"Oh?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow and replied casually, "Instructor Zephyr is leading the team? That's a good thing. Speaking of which, we haven't seen him in a while. Since they're in the nearby waters, they should be coming to our G-17 Branch for supplies next, right?"
Aiden proudly patted the desk. "After all, we're currently the largest branch in the first half of the Grand Line, and we have the most supplies. It only makes sense for them to dock here and rest up."
"Instructor Zephyr and the rest aren't planning to dock here."
Smoker shook his head and exhaled a smoke ring, hiding a hint of unease in his eyes. "He said this is an actual combat patrol mission. He doesn't want special treatment, nor does he want your grand welcome ceremony to scare the new recruits."
"I see..." Aiden clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Then there's nothing we can do. We'll just have to wait for next time."
"However, they're a little short on supplies on the ship." Smoker paused and put out his cigar, as if he had finally made up his mind. "Instructor Zephyr contacted me and asked us to send a ship with some supplies over. I'm planning to take a ship and bring them some supplies. I came to report this to you."
"Report?"
Aiden looked at Smoker like he was looking at an alien, even reaching out to touch his forehead. "Are you sick?"
"Sending supplies to Instructor Zephyr—would I really say no to that or something? You can decide this kind of minor thing on your own, so why did you run over here just to report to me?"
Aiden pulled his hand back, muttering with a weird expression. "What is wrong with you today? You seem even weirder than me."
Smoker swatted Aiden's hand away, ignoring the "even" in Aiden's words. His face was a bit stiff, but he still forced himself to ask, "Cut the crap. I'm just asking, do you want to go together?"
"Go together?"
Aiden instantly slumped back into his chair. He looked at Smoker like he was an idiot. "For a small errand like delivering supplies, can't you just send your subordinates? Or let Moore lead a team."
Aiden waved his hand, looking like he didn't want to be bothered. "Do you just love making things complicated? Do we need to make a trip ourselves for this sort of small thing?"
Smoker choked on his words.
He gritted his teeth and said, almost desperately, "Well—since you're not going, could you make some bento boxes in advance for me to take over?"
"Bento boxes?"
Aiden froze, as if he had just heard an unbelievable request.
"Yeah, make a lot. Preferably the kind—we used to eat all the time back in boot camp."
Smoker's voice grew quieter and quieter, his eyes starting to wander toward the ceiling.
The office suddenly went quiet.
Aiden, who had been slouched in his chair, quickly sat up straight.
He looked at Smoker, replaying the conversation in his head.
"Wait."
Aiden's mouth curled into a playful smirk. "Say that again."
"Huh?" Smoker froze, asking without thinking, "Say what again?"
"The one you said right when you came in."
"The recruit training ship led by Instructor Zephyr—arrived in the nearby waters—"
"No, no, a bit earlier." Aiden cut him off, the smile on his face growing wider. "You said—Hina is on Instructor Zephyr's ship too, right?"
Smoker's body instantly went stiff.
"Oh."
Aiden dragged out the syllable, teasing him openly. "So that's what this is all about."
He stood up, walked up to Smoker, and looked him up and down. "I knew it. Since when did delivering supplies require you to personally run over and report? And insist I tag along too."
"So you had other motives all along! You want to use the excuse of delivering supplies to go see a certain pink-haired Captain, and use the bento I make to win her over, right?!"
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
Smoker choked on his smoke. His tough, lined face instantly flushed dark red.
Since he had already been exposed, he stopped pretending. "What else could I do?! It's all that woman Hina's fault!"
"She was arguing over the Transponder Snail, demanding to eat your food! Saying she hadn't had it in a long time and missed it so much! She annoyed me so much I had no choice but to come ask you!"
Smoker gritted his teeth, looking like a victim himself. "If that woman goes crazy, you know how much trouble it is! I'm doing this to maintain internal unity within the Marines!"
"Pfft, hahaha—"
Looking at Smoker trying so hard to defend himself, Aiden couldn't hold it back and laughed out loud.
The quiet mood from earlier disappeared right away.
"Alright, alright, for the unity of the Marines."
Aiden laughed loudly, throwing an arm around Smoker's stiff shoulders and pushing him outside. "Since it's for Hina, then as her old classmate, I definitely have to help."
"Besides—"
Aiden's eyes lit up with mischief. "Since she wants to eat my food, it would be better for me to go over and cook it myself. I haven't seen Hina in a long time either, so this is a perfect chance to—cough, catch up."
"You bastard—you're just going to laugh at me, aren't you?!"
Smoker growled, looking like he was about to explode.
"Hahaha, don't say that. Go, go, let's go prepare the supplies!"
The two of them quickly disappeared down the hallway.
A moment later, Captain Moore hurried to the door with a document that urgently needed a signature.
He had been looking for Captain Smoker to sign it, but after searching around and not seeing him, he heard from the guards that Smoker had come to the Base Commander's office. He had no choice but to gather his courage and knock on the door.
"Reporting!"
He called out but no one answered, yet the door was left ajar.
Moore pushed the door open. He looked at the empty office, and then at the pile of expensive stone turned into fine powder on the desk.
His head was full of confusion.
"Was the Base Commander practicing his grip strength?"
Moore scratched his head, looking at the pile of powder in complete confusion. "But—why did he insist on finding a good stone to practice on? Does a good stone have a better feel?"