"Little Hibari, Little Hibari!"
In front of the Akainu family's gate, Rorschach shouted loudly several times.
"Strange, is little Hibari not home? What a shame, I was planning to invite her to Shabondy for some fun."
There was no response, and Rorschach felt disappointed.
But just as he was about to turn and leave, he heard a hurried voice from inside the yard.
"Wait... wait, Rorsch-oni, I'm coming right away."
"Huh? So you were home, Hibari."
Rorschach scratched his head as he stood waiting at the slope of the yard gate.
He hadn't used his Observation Haki to scan the place beforehand.
In fact, in 'Marineford,' commanders are prohibited from using Observation Haki without reason. This place is a military base with many secrets.
Moreover, using Observation Haki to scan other people's homes is considered improper behavior.
For example, last month, Rorschach did this and ended up with a nosebleed.
In any world, you can never trust a girl when she says she's "coming right away."
Rorschach waited outside the Akainu family's yard for almost half an hour, nearly dozing off while standing.
Finally, little Hibari appeared, wearing a long fiery red princess dress, panting from exhaustion.
"What were you doing? I waited so long I almost fell asleep."
Rorschach yawned as he looked at Hibari's flushed face.
More than three months had passed.
And little Hibari was still the same.
Her face still carried some childish plumpness, and her big eyes still wandered sometimes.
And she still blushed easily.
"I was... I was taking a bath."
Hibari turned her head away, her ears burning red, speaking in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
"Ba... Bathing?"
Rorschach felt a bit awkward, lucky that he hadn't used his Observation Haki to scan her.
This reminded him of what he saw the last time he used Observation Haki.
He wonders if lightning has a special effect on Observation Haki, as he could not only sense others' emotions and pulses but also "see" images with extreme clarity.
For example, when he passed by little Hibari's house last time and unconsciously activated his Observation Haki, he saw very vivid images...
He quickly coughed to cover his embarrassment, remembering why he had come.
"Right, Grandpa Sengoku gave me a seven-day break to rest. So, I came to see if you'd like to go to the Shabondy Archipelago for a trip."
"Yes, yes! I'm tired of staying in Marineford! I want to go to Shabondy, play at the amusement park, and ride the bubble roller coaster!"
When Hibari heard that, her eyes lit up, and she started jumping with joy.
"Will Uncle Sakazuki agree to you going?" Rorschach asked, worried about Akainu's anger.
But Hibari grabbed his arm and pulled him outside.
"Don't worry, don't worry, we're just going to Shabondy, it's really close to Marineford, and also, you're with me, the new Marine commander, so nothing bad will happen to me."
Rorschach couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Where did you hear that from?"
"Grandpa Sengoku said it himself, and the entire Marineford knows. No need to be surprised, Rorschach-onisan, you're really special. By the way, is it just us going?"
"I'm planning to invite Law and Bepo too. They've been training here for three months, and it's time for them to take a break."
The two continued chatting as they walked side by side toward the recruits' training ground.
Since Rorschach came to Marineford, more than three months had passed.
During that time, he had been training almost daily with the high-ranking commanders at the headquarters.
Thanks to Zephyr's influence, who was the main Marine trainer, no commander refused to train with Rorschach.
These training sessions included prominent figures like the three admirals, Zephyr himself, Garp, Sengoku, and Vice Admiral Tsuru.
In addition to around thirty vice admirals from the headquarters, Rorschach had fought almost everyone.
The strength of these vice admirals varied, with some being so weak they couldn't withstand a single blow from Rorschach, while others were strong enough to injure him.
For example, the old captains tasked with executing demon extermination orders, like Ghost Spider, Fire Mountain, and Flying Squirrel.
But that was only at the beginning of his training.
Now, throughout the Marine headquarters, except for a few veteran commanders, Rorschach was no longer inferior to any officer.
What intrigued Rorschach was that he hadn't seen Jingard and Jackie in Marineford.
After asking Captain Tsuru, he learned they were still stationed at the G1 branch in the New World.
When Rorschach and his companion reached the training ground, they became the center of attention.
All eyes were on them, as if Rorschach had become the star of Marineford.
It's no surprise, given that since he began facing mid-to-high-level Marine commanders daily, a part of the training ground needed urgent repairs every day.
He continued fighting for three months straight, regardless of the weather, and was always seen in the corner, causing thunderstorms with his booming voice.
Even Fleet Admiral Sengoku, sitting in his office atop the fortress, was on the verge of a nervous breakdown from the constant sound of thunder.
He had long wanted to send Rorschach to one of the other island branches for training.
But there was no choice, as Marineford headquarters was the only place with enough commanders to train Rorschach.
"Brother Rorschach, look how they're admiring you," Hibari said with a proud smile, as if she were the one receiving the admiration.
Rorschach glanced around and realized it was true.
It wasn't just the recruits; even the trainers looked at him with respect.
In the past three months, Rorschach had grown tremendously, earning everyone's admiration.
Of course, the female soldiers nearby looked at Rorschach with even more heated gazes.
Those looks seemed like they wanted to devour him.
When Hibari noticed Rorschach glancing toward the female soldiers, she whispered in a displeased tone and quickly pulled his arm, dragging him forward.
Not long after, they reached the far-right corner of the inner bay.
There was an elite training camp consisting of less than thirty soldiers.
And the one in charge of training these elite soldiers was Zephyr.
But sometimes, when Zephyr needed to go to the hospital for asthma treatment, available commanders from Marineford headquarters would take over temporarily.
Today, the person training the soldiers was an old vice commander Rorschach knew well, one he had faced several times before.
"Vice Commander Flying Squirrel!"
Rorschach smiled as he stepped forward to greet Flying Squirrel.
Flying Squirrel had two small mustaches and always expressed himself with a serious, stern face.
He followed a strict work style and was considered one of the most disciplined commanders.
But when he saw Rorschach, a rare smile appeared on his face.
"Hello, Rorschach. How did you find time to talk today? Why aren't you training? Did Instructor Zephyr not assign someone to train with you? Do you want me to be your trainer today?"
"No, no, thank you very much, Vice Commander Flying Squirrel. Commander Sengoku asked me to take a few days off."
Rorschach felt a bit embarrassed.
This Marine elite had been incredibly kind to him.
"That's really unfortunate. I've learned a lot from fighting with you. Are you here for something specific?"
Flying Squirrel smiled and looked at Rorschach with admiration.
Whether they were hawks or doves, the commanders all liked Rorschach because he was a young man with strong will and incredible talent.
Although Rorschach was nominally under Sakazuki's command, his connection with the SWORD unit had made him a focus of attention for the top leadership on both sides, who wanted to recruit him.
"I came looking for Trafalgar Law. I want to take him to relax on the Shabondy Archipelago for a few days. What do you think, Vice Commander Flying Squirrel?"
"No problem! The boy has completed his training excellently, and it's fine for him to take a few days off."
(End of Chapter)
───────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"Power stones if you like them"
"If you want an early access join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"