The first half of the Grand Line, Marineford
The warship docked, and Garp disembarked with Chiga and a group of Marine soldiers.
Waving his hand to dismiss the soldiers, Garp turned to Chiga and said,
"Come with me, I'll take you to see Sengoku. You're the person he specifically asked to see."
Chiga responded and followed behind Garp towards the Fleet Admiral's office.
Along the way, Chiga felt a little emotional, surprised that his performance in the East Blue Marine branch had caused such a stir. This treatment was truly beyond his expectations.
Upon reaching Sengoku's office door, Garp didn't bother to knock. He pushed the door open with a clang and yelled,
"Sengoku! I've brought you the person you wanted! Got any senbei? I'm starving!"
"…" Chiga looked at the eccentric Garp in front of him, speechless. He thought to himself, He's really just like how he was portrayed in the manga, a one-track mind.
However, Chiga didn't dislike it, because such people were actually the easiest to get along with, having no ill intentions. Chiga recalled the Konoha higher-ups and various clan heads he had encountered during his time in Naruto—every single one of them had eight hundred schemes up their sleeves. Constantly scheming was truly exhausting, not to mention that as an Uchiha, he wasn't well-regarded by the higher-ups, and his life could be lost in an instant.
But with someone like Garp, if you treated him sincerely, he wouldn't mistreat you. Not just him, but many generals in Marine Headquarters were actually very easy to get along with. No matter how much their justice might deviate, it still leaned towards the "good" side. This was a significant factor in why Chiga preferred the Marines over pirates.
In his office chair, a vein popped on Sengoku's forehead. He had wanted to leave Chiga with an impression of a wise and dignified senior leader during their first meeting, but that was now completely ruined.
Struggling to control his emotions, Sengoku testily waved Garp to sit aside.
However, Garp didn't fall for it. He picked a booger from his nose, flicked it with his finger, and a shiny black booger landed on the little goat next to Sengoku. Instantly, a flamboyant beauty mark appeared on the goat's pristine white face.
"Garp!" Seeing his little pet suffer such a fate, Sengoku finally snapped. Just as he was about to erupt, a steady female voice rang out,
"Alright, you two, how old are you? Settle down, don't make young Chiga here laugh."
Chiga peeked his head out and saw a white-haired old lady sitting on the sofa. Beside her stood a tall, elegant woman.
The elegant woman had her long black hair casually tied back. She had a pair of peach blossom eyes with reddish pupils, a delicate nose, and a perfectly placed mole below her cherry lips that maximized her allure.
"Very beautiful," Chiga silently gave her five stars in his mind. Then he realized that these two should be Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Tsuru and her adopted sister, the future Admiral candidate, Gion (Momousagi). These two were also significant figures in the Marines.
While Chiga observed the two, Tsuru and Gion also noticed Chiga peeking out.
With just one glance, both were simultaneously drawn to Chiga's eyes. What kind of eyes were they? Circles of black ripples were distributed within them like a whirlpool, and purple light occasionally flickered in them.
Both of them instinctively released their Observation Haki. Then, they felt a powerful energy fluctuation and a pressure comparable to Conqueror's Haki emanating from those eyes.
"Terrifying newcomer," both simultaneously gave their assessment of Chiga in their minds.
It's worth noting that Gion's gaze lingered on Chiga's face for a moment longer, then she secretly nodded and looked away.
Chiga naturally sensed their scrutiny but didn't mind. He stepped out from behind Garp and approached Sengoku's desk, saluting Sengoku. A soldier should act like a soldier; this was something he had been taught on Blue Star.
"Good, very good!" Sengoku was very pleased. What was a model Marine? This was a model Marine! Strong talent, strong power, polite, respectful to superiors, and he even knew how to kill pirates! In contrast, what was that thing that only knew how to pick its nose just now? Sengoku declared that he didn't know such a scoundrel.
"Alright, new recruit Chiga, given your inherent strength, I'm prepared to make an exception and arrange for you to enter the Marine Headquarters Elite Training Camp. There, you will receive the Marines' most rigorous and elite education!"
At this point, Sengoku paused, looking directly at Chiga, and asked word for word:
"So, are you ready, Uchiha Chiga!"
Chiga was in a good mood at this moment. Coming here, he had the goal of understanding the power system of the pirate world, and the Marine Headquarters Elite Training Camp was undoubtedly very suitable for achieving this goal. Moreover, becoming a military officer would be a good experience.
"Yes, I am ready, Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" Without hesitation, Chiga gave his reply.
"Excellent. Then I'll arrange for someone to show you around the Headquarters."
"I'll do it, Fleet Admiral Sengoku. I don't have anything else to do anyway," To Sengoku's surprise, Gion suddenly spoke up and took on the task.
Sengoku looked at her in surprise. To be honest, Gion's status in the Headquarters was not low, and she was also Tsuru's sister. This time, sending Garp to pick up Chiga under the guise of giving Garp a vacation was already a bit over the top. Sengoku had originally planned to send a mid-level officer familiar with the environment.
Tsuru cast a meaningful glance at her adopted sister, thinking, The old girl can't hold back anymore. Garp continued picking his nose, sitting indifferently. What did this have to do with him?
Ignoring the gazes in the office, Gion said generously,
"I find young Chiga quite appealing, and I'd like to get to know him better. We'll surely have opportunities to work together in the future."
"Uh, since you've volunteered, go ahead. It's not a big deal," Sengoku approved.
Gion elegantly walked up to Chiga in her high heels, one hand on her hip. She smiled at Chiga and spoke in a slightly teasing tone,
"Well then, let's go. My name is Gion, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me from now on, little brother Chiga~"
This Gion is like a vixen. Don't call her Momousagi; call her Pink Fox instead, Chiga complained wildly in his mind, though he still returned a polite smile on his face.
"Then I'll trouble you, Sister Gion."