Gion went back.
She hadn't greeted Hina since she returned this time, rushing to find Chiga as soon as she got off the ship. Of course, she wouldn't tell Chiga about such things.
Chiga returned to his dorm, and as he opened the door, he saw three pairs of eyes staring straight at him.
"You're back, Chiga!"
"Who was that beautiful female officer just now? Can you tell us about her?"
"Yeah, yeah, it was an eye-opener. Those female soldiers can't compare at all!"
"…"
Chiga casually explained Gion's identity, and the three rascals started making a fuss again.
"What? A Marine Vice Admiral? My goodness, she looks so young!"
"Hiss, Boss Chiga actually knows such a beautiful female officer. As expected of you!"
"Boss Chiga, what's your relationship with her? Should we call her 'sister-in-law' next time we see her??"
"Boss Chiga, have a cigar. A friend of mine wants to know if our 'sister-in-law' has any older or younger sisters?"
Chiga looked speechlessly at the fawning Graves, then suddenly thought of something interesting. He nodded seriously and said,
"Hmm, she really does have an older sister. Not only is she a high-ranking officer, but she's also single!"
"Nani?!" Graves's mouth was practically watering. He turned around and pulled out a large box of cigars from under his bed, making Bridge's eyes go wide.
Handing the large box of cigars to Chiga, Graves rubbed his hands together, leaned close to Chiga, and asked,
"Uh… Chiga, I want, uh, no, my friend has also been single for many years. He's eager to find a soulmate. Do you think you could introduce him? Don't worry! If this works out, I'll definitely give you a whole box of treasured cigars, Boss Chiga!"
Chiga patted his shoulder and said solemnly,
"Don't worry! I'll handle it!"
" Chiga!" Graves was so touched by Chiga that he almost recognized him as his father on the spot.
Bridge also came over when he saw the scene.
"Graves, actually, I have a sister too, you see…"
"Get lost! Go look in the mirror first!" Graves looked at Bridge's short stature and a pair of hands as big as washbasins, his face full of disdain.
"Bah! What kind of aesthetic is that?" Bridge was dejected. He jumped onto his bed with his hands in his pockets and didn't make a sound. There was nothing he could do; he couldn't win!
Bins didn't have any particular thoughts. At this moment, he was twisting his body in front of a pot of cactus, a somewhat eye-watering sight.
The cactus in the pot continuously expanded as he twisted, and its thorns became sharper. This was Bins's Bloom-Bloom Fruit ability, allowing him to control nearby plants and accelerate their growth.
However, this ability seemed to require twisting his body to activate. The faster he twisted, the stronger the ability became. Chiga didn't know if every Bloom-Bloom Fruit user had to activate it this way, but Chiga maliciously thought, if a socially anxious person ate the Bloom-Bloom Fruit, they probably wouldn't activate their ability even if they were beaten to death in front of a crowd.
Bins was already sweating profusely from twisting. He stopped twisting and sat down to rest.
Chiga walked up to him and asked,
"Bins, do you have confidence this time? I've seen you working the hardest these past few days. What reward do you want if you win a spot?"
Bins thought for a while blankly and then said,
"To be honest, I don't have much confidence, especially with Chiga around. There are only two actual spots. But if I'm lucky enough to get one, I want a good bladed weapon!"
A good bladed weapon? Chiga remembered that in the movie, Bins had a sword with a green hilt on his back. Could it be that he obtained it during an assessment?
Perhaps Bins could indeed achieve a good result this time. Chiga patted Bins's shoulder and said,
"You need to have confidence in yourself. I think you'll definitely get a good ranking this time."
Bins stood up, somewhat overwhelmed. He hadn't expected Chiga to have so much confidence in him. Moved, he repeatedly thanked Chiga.
Chiga told him to relax a bit. Among these three roommates, Bins was the most honest. Fortunately, the others were all good and didn't bully him because of it. Even Graves, who looked most like a bully, only occasionally messed with Bridge, and of course, Bridge always brought it upon himself.
After reassuring Bins, Chiga turned to the other two and said,
"You two need to work hard these days too. Maybe we'll even be on the same ship after graduation."
Bridge and Graves pointed at themselves with confused expressions. Ever since they entered the training camp, one had been focused on smoking cigars, and the other on secretly smoking cigars. They weren't as dedicated to improving their strength as Chiga and Bins.
Chiga suspected that besides himself, the strongest person in the dorm was probably the usually quiet Bins.
"The sea isn't that safe anymore. The number of pirates is increasing, and the Marine's casualties have been rising these past few years. If we can be assigned to the same ship after graduation, we can look out for each other. I don't want to see any of our names appear on some casualty list in the future!"
These words were a bit heavy. Bridge and Graves fell silent, and even Bins seriously considered what Chiga had just said.
After a long time, Bridge, who was usually the most unreliable, was the first to speak.
"I understand, Chiga. Thank you. From now on, I will definitely train hard and smoke fewer cigars!"
Graves glared at Bridge, thinking, 'Where do you get cigars from? Aren't they all mine??'
After threatening Bridge with his eyes, Graves also stated,
"Boss Chiga, don't worry. Although I know it's hard to keep up with you in terms of strength, I'm quite good at handling firearms. It would be great if I could be a gunner on your ship in the future!"
Graves had always assumed in his heart that Chiga's future rank would be above Vice Admiral, and having his own warship was a given.
Bins didn't speak, just nodded firmly.
Chiga was also very pleased with everyone's reactions. If they couldn't even listen to this, then it would be no one else's fault if they were eliminated by this sea in the future.
Chiga also believed that he would definitely have his own warship in the future. The first group of people to join this warship would definitely have to be his own, and their strength couldn't be poor. At the very least, they had to have their own strengths. His current roommates were good candidates, both in terms of emotional connection and potential strength.
Extending a hand, Chiga looked at everyone and said,
"Very good. From now on, let's work hard together. Don't fall behind."
Bridge and the other two also put their hands on his, shouting in unison,
"Let's work hard together! Don't let Chiga leave us behind!"
Chiga looked at the other three in surprise. The others chuckled and said,
"After all, Chiga is just too amazing. If we can just avoid being left behind by you, that's enough to walk sideways in the training camp!"
Chiga was amused by their words and laughed. The other three also started laughing, and the laughter from the dorm grew louder, echoing out of the room.
By this time, it was late, and some dorms were already preparing to rest. Someone roared,
"Damn it, are you guys in heat in the middle of the night? Are you going to let people sleep or not!?"