Sitting at the dining table, Orion had just picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth when he suddenly stood up and changed his position, facing the door with his back to Vice Admiral Tsuru.
Vice Admiral Tsuru eyes remained on the newspaper as she calmly said.
"Don't worry, they won't die."
"I'm not worried about them dying."
Orion blinked, looking at the human-shaped clothes fluttering on the clothesline outside.
"I'm just curious about how they managed to offend you so much that you'd go to such lengths!"
"They didn't offend me much." Vice Admiral Tsuru cooperatively explained.
"I just walked into the yard and saw them ready to fight at any moment, so I scolded them a bit. Then Hancock came over, pointed at my nose, and told me to mind my own business, saying that whatever she did would be forgiven. She even kicked a kitten that followed me into the yard!"
Hearing this, Orion mouth twitched slightly. Hancock really had it coming. In Amazon Lily, she could act as she pleased since she was the Empress. But this was Marine Headquarters, and the person she was dealing with was Vice Admiral Tsuru.
One must know that Vice Admiral Tsuru was a fierce and formidable female Marine in her youth, fighting alongside Garp and Sengoku to capture pirates, embodying the spirit of a true heroine. Having fought alongside Garp and Sengoku all these years, she was certainly no pushover!
Even Doflamingo, who was notoriously arrogant in the original story, had to tone down his arrogance when facing Vice Admiral Tsuru. The reason was simple, Vice Admiral Tsuru was a user of the Wash-Wash Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit and she believed in pure justice.
She wouldn't hesitate to wash someone into clothes and hang them on the clothesline at the slightest provocation.
Most importantly, Tsuru is not only a Vice Admiral but also holds the position of Chief of Staff at the Navy Headquarters.
To put it simply, in the past, she was second only to Sengoku in terms of status within the Navy Headquarters.
Even the three Admirals had to show her respect.
However, all of that is in the past.
No one can escape the passage of time, and no matter how high Tsuru status was at the Headquarters, it is now almost impossible for her to defeat Hancock, the Empress who possesses all three types of Haki, and Gunko, who wields the Arrow-Arrow Fruit and hails from the Knights of the Gods, without sustaining any injuries herself.
Thinking this, Orion asked again. "What about Gunko? What did she do wrong?"
A cold glint flashed in Vice Admiral Tsuru eyes.
"She reported the contents of the Warlords meeting to the Holy Land right in front of me!"
"Got it~"
Orion nodded. "You took the opportunity while Gunko was communicating with the Holy Land to catch her off guard and give her a spiritual cleansing! And Hancock probably didn't expect that not only would you not forgive her, but you'd also act so decisively!"
After saying this, Orion devoured the food on his plate like a whirlwind, then put down his chopsticks, stood up, lifted his chair, and walked out of the living room to sit in front of Gunko and Hancock, who had been reduced to mere clothes.
Although they had been turned into clothes, both Hancock and Gunko remained conscious. They had seen Orion enter the courtyard earlier but chose not to make a sound, not wanting him to see them in such a humiliating state.
But to their surprise, Orion not only carried his chair over and sat in front of them but also leaned in close, examining them from left to right.
"Orion, I... I feel a bit dizzy! Could you ask Vice Admiral Tsuru to let me down first?"
Seeing that she couldn't avoid the situation, Hancock was the first to speak. Hanging upside down from the clothesline, she swayed back and forth in front of Orion, her voice intermittent and quite comical.
Gunko, also hanging upside down, closed her eyes decisively as Orion approached, adopting the attitude that if she couldn't see him, the awkwardness would be his problem.
"Fleet Admiral!"
"Fleet Admiral!"
Just then, a clamor of voices suddenly came from outside the courtyard gate. Immediately after, a group of more than a dozen Navy officers stumbled to the gate, but none of them entered.
"Huh?"
Looking up at the officers, Orion was taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise. Every single one of the officers before him was bruised and battered, clearly having just been beaten up.
"Fleet Admiral, you must stand up for us!"
The leading officer stepped forward, pitifully lodging a complaint.
"Rear Admiral Noah and Mihawk got into a fight. We were worried Rear Admiral Noah would be at a disadvantage, so we rushed in to help, but... but... that damned Mihawk started whipping us with wooden sticks!"
"We'd rather be cut down by the Supreme Grade swords than suffer such humiliation, Fleet Admiral!"
"That's right! We're your soldiers, Fleet Admiral. We'd rather die standing than live on our knees!"
"Fleet Admiral... Mihawk has gone too far!"
Hearing the officers grow more and more agitated as they spoke, Orion quickly intervened.
"Calm down, everyone! First, tell me what exactly happened. Did Rear Admiral Noah go after Mihawk for revenge?"
"Not exactly revenge!" The leading officer hung his head, his voice growing softer as he spoke.
"Rear Admiral Noah said he wanted to measure Mihawk swordsmanship."
"What?"
Orion thought he had misheard, his expression frozen in disbelief.
"Noah? Measure Mihawk swordsmanship?"
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Orion quickly understood. This was entirely in line with Noah temperament.
Noah was an officer who had been transferred to his command after Orion was promoted to lieutenant general. Because Noah had some natural talent, Orion often kept him by his side and introduced him to the basics of Armament Haki and Observation Haki.
Of course, none of that was important. What mattered was that under Orion guidance, Noah skills had advanced rapidly, and he had also picked up many of Orion habits, catchphrases, and mannerisms.
Having come to this realization, Orion glanced at the bruised and battered officers outside the courtyard gate and couldn't help but chuckle.
"If it's Noah measuring Mihawk swordsmanship, why did you all go along for the ride?"
"We wanted to measure it too, hehe~"
Hearing this, Orion mouth twitched slightly.
These officers weren't really interested in measuring anything, they were just eager to improve but had nothing better to do, so they decided to vent their frustrations on Mihawk alongside Noah.
As for the reason, it was undoubtedly because Noah former superior had died at Mihawk hands.
Thinking this, Orion stood up decisively.
"Let's go. This is a good opportunity to settle the matter between Noah and Mihawk."
As Orion left, Hancock and Gunko, who were hanging on the clothesline, panicked.
Gunko didn't show it too obviously, but every time the wind blew her up, her eyes would plead with Orion a little more.
Hancock, on the other hand, blurted out anxiously.
"Orion!"
"Huh?"
The sudden voice instantly caught the attention of the officers who had turned to follow Orion. Several of them immediately looked toward the courtyard.
Just then, a sea breeze swept through, lifting the two pieces of clothing on the clothesline high into the air, perfectly avoiding the officers' gazes.
"What was that?"
"Sounded like someone calling for the Marshal!"
"Must be hearing things! There's no one in the courtyard!"
"Probably, let's go!"
As they spoke, the officers quickly turned their attention back and hurried after Orion.
Hancock: "..."
Gunko: "..."
------------------------------
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