"An Admiral's seat? Not even a dog would want it."
"All day long you're buried in garbage paperwork, dragged off to Marineford just to get yelled at."
"Your life isn't your own anymore. Being a Vice Admiral is way more chill."
Noah grumbled reflexively, face full of disdain.
He happened to glance at Kuzan and realized, oh right, there was an actual Admiral standing right beside him.
While Kuzan silently agreed with everything Noah said, that didn't stop a wave of irritation from boiling inside him.
"Then what do you want?" Kuzan asked through clenched teeth.
Back in the day, he thought being an Admiral was a dream job.
Now that he was older and wiser, the title didn't seem all that appealing anymore.
"How about this, didn't you recently get a Devil Fruit?" Noah asked. "And I heard you got your hands on a top-tier blade ages ago."
"I just happen to need something to hang on my waist as an accessory."
Noah pondered what Kuzan actually owned.
The guy lived like a broke hermit.
Who knew how much of his salary went toward saving wayward girls or buying drinks in sketchy bars?
He and Garp were both proud members of the paycheck-to-paycheck club.
So Noah had to dig deep to think of anything valuable Kuzan had.
Honestly, it was tragic how poor this man was.
"An… accessory?"
Kuzan blinked, stunned.
That sword he'd found was one of the 12 Supreme Grade Meito, legendary among swordmasters.
And Noah wanted to use it as a fashion statement?
If any great swordmasters heard that, they'd probably try to kill him on the spot.
"…Fine," Kuzan agreed anyway.
He wanted to see for himself just how strong Noah had become.
For years, this guy had kept a low profile. And lately, he'd felt different.
"Hina, go tell the training field to clear the space," Noah said, turning back to his secretary.
This wasn't exactly a big win for him, but overall, it wasn't a loss either.
"Yes, sir!"
Hina nodded excitedly.
She'd joined Noah's crew years ago, drawn by his reputation…
But up to now, he had never once shown his true strength.
She, on the other hand, had grown a lot — from a pure combatant to someone who could juggle fieldwork and admin like a pro.
News of their duel spread through Marineford like wildfire.
After all, battles between Admirals were rare.
Even more so when it was someone from the Navy's new generation.
The strongest Vice Admiral in the Navy.
To many, Noah was the next in line for Admiral.
Plenty of Marines looked up to him like he was already there.
"Noah's gonna fight Kuzan?"
"Did something happen between them?"
Even Garp postponed his trip to follow Sengoku to the training ground.
They arrived to find Marines crowding the high walls all around the arena.
Anyone not on a mission was already here.
"It's not a feud," Sengoku said, rubbing his temples.
"They made a bet, over paperwork."
He explained what Hina had told him.
Garp and Zephyr exchanged looks, both speechless.
Unbelievable. These two were really going to fight over some documents?
And they'd dragged the entire base into it?
"How strong is Noah, really?" Garp asked Sengoku.
He tried to recall but realized he had no idea.
Noah had hidden his strength a little too well.
"Very deep," came a lazy voice beside them.
A man in a yellow checkered coat and sunglasses stepped forward, his very presence radiating sleaziness.
"Borsalino? You know?" Sengoku turned to Kizaru, surprised.
He didn't expect Kizaru to have any insight on Noah.
"Nope," Kizaru shrugged. "No clue."
Sengoku's face went blank.
Then why did you chime in?
Kizaru looked innocent, but the truth was, Noah never trained.
He rarely took dangerous assignments.
Trying to judge his power based on his past record was pointless.
When they first met, Noah had just been a promising little Marine recruit.
Six months later, he'd become a Vice Admiral.
None of the standard power metrics applied to him.
Trying to estimate his strength the usual way would just insult your own intelligence.
"Let's wait and see. If Noah accepted the challenge, he must be confident," Zephyr said.
Noah had studied under him for a while.
He'd taught the kid how to use Haki.
And in just a few months, Noah had mastered both Armament and Observation Haki.
The moment he did, he disappeared. A total prodigy.
"Yeah, you two just hush and watch," Tsuru muttered, giving Garp and Sengoku a sharp glare.
One by one, the entire field filled with spectators.
Marines from all ranks stood shoulder to shoulder, buzzing with anticipation.
Two figures stepped onto the training ground, both wearing eye masks.
A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.
They looked so alike, even the way they wore their eye masks was identical.
"Kuzan-nii, you're already here, so no backing out now," Noah grinned.
"Relax. I brought the goods," Kuzan replied casually.
His aide walked up with a sheathed blade and a jewel-like box. Inside was the Devil Fruit.
Noah gave a satisfied nod. At least Kuzan had come prepared.
"These are two boxes of cigars," Noah said, pointing beside him.
"Oh, and Hina's here too."
Hina blinked in confusion, feeling a bit awkward at being used as a bet.
But at the same time…
This was the first time she'd ever been fought over.
Two men, high-ranking men at that, competing for her?
It was like something out of a romance novel.
Just thinking about it made her heart race.
She'd be bragging about this for years.
"Looks like you're serious about this," Kuzan said with surprise.
This guy really didn't know fear.
If he lost, and Hina went with Kuzan, Noah's life would be miserable.
"Of course I'm serious," Noah replied with a smug smile.
The look on Kuzan's face made the onlookers whisper.
Wait, guaranteed win?
Was this fight rigged or something?
What was a Vice Admiral so cocky for?
Even Admirals had to give Kuzan respect.
Yet Noah treated him like he was just some old sparring partner.
"You better not cry when you lose," Kuzan muttered, heading to the center of the field.
Noah raised an eyebrow. Someone's getting worked up.
Still, no pressure.
This whole thing was just so he could slack off more in the future.
"Hina, hold on to the sword and Devil Fruit," Noah said.
"Vice Admiral Noah, are you sure about this?" Kuzan's aide hesitated.
Even Hina looked uneasy.
This kind of setup made it feel like Noah was planning to cut and run.
Was he trying to ditch the bet?
"What's the problem?" Noah rolled his eyes.
"Either way, Hina ends up giving the prize to the winner."
If he lost, even Hina herself would go to Kuzan.
Forget the treasure, his secretary would be transferred too.
Kuzan's aide hesitated a moment longer, then finally handed the items over to Hina.
She climbed the stands and stood beside Sengoku and the others.