Early the next morning, Finn stood in the hallway holding his Admiral's cloak, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion. He yawned, scratched the back of his head, and shuffled into the courtyard, ready to head to the office.
After waiting in the morning sunlight for what felt like an eternity, Finn's patience finally snapped. "Hey! We're going to be late! Are you still fussing around in there?"
"If you're in such a hurry, go ahead without me! I haven't finished my makeup yet!" Gion's voice drifted out from inside the house, completely unbothered.
That's right. Ever since Gion had been transferred back to Marineford, she'd completely ignored the headquarters' offer of separate housing and moved directly into Finn's residence instead.
She called it "saving the department money."
Finn certainly hadn't objected to such an arrangement, so now they lived together at headquarters.
When Queen Stussy had gotten wind of this development, she'd reportedly been so furious that she couldn't eat for three days. Whether that was actually true remained uncertain.
Originally, Finn had planned to assign Gion as commander of the G-5 base in the New World shortly after her arrival at headquarters. However, since Sakazuki had taken over as Admiral and was now managing New World operations, he'd discussed it with Finn and suggested sending Kuzan to G-5 instead.
That's right. Kuzan was now the base commander of G-5.
Considering that Kuzan held the rank of Admiral Candidate but lacked experience with independent command, serving as G-5's base commander was an excellent opportunity for him.
Since Sakazuki was so invested in Kuzan's development, Finn certainly couldn't object, so Kuzan went to the New World and Gion stayed at headquarters, taking over Kuzan's previous responsibilities.
"You're beautiful and you've got a great figure. You're gorgeous even without makeup. Why do you need it? If you don't hurry up, I really am leaving!" Finn shouted toward the house again.
"Then go! I have plans with my girlfriends after work today. How can I possibly show up without makeup?" Gion's voice held no trace of urgency whatsoever.
Finn gave up trying to hurry along this vain woman. He threw his cloak over his shoulders with a practiced motion. "Fine. I'm leaving."
"Bye... hahahaha, Admiral Kurotora." Gion's teasing, slightly mocking voice floated out from the house.
Finn's previously good mood evaporated instantly. His expression darkened.
That's right. After extensive discussions with Fleet Admiral Kong, Admiral Sengoku, and the others last night, Finn had been forced to choose from a terrible list of code names
He'd finally settled on the relatively acceptable "Kurotora" (Black Tiger).
Although he wasn't particularly satisfied with it—it felt a bit too edgy, like something a teenager would come up with.
He'd intended to delay the decision, give everyone more time to brainstorm something better, but Fleet Admiral Kong and Admiral Sengoku had no interest in wasting any more effort on the matter.
In their words: "It's just a code name. Use whatever. As long as you're strong enough, no one will dare mock you."
Of course Finn understood that was the truth. But when it happened to him, it still felt uncomfortable.
Sengoku made it sound so easy. Why didn't he accept a code name when he had the chance?
If Finn were the one naming him, he'd have slapped him with something like "Jolly Buddha Admiral" and see how he liked it. Then would he still be spouting that casual advice?!
But in the end, there was no escape. He'd become Admiral Kurotora.
If he'd known it would come to this, he should've just gone with "Fujitora" (Wisteria Tiger).
Ignoring Gion's continued teasing from inside the house, Finn made his way through Marineford's morning streets toward his office.
The moment he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of Hina watering the potted plants by the window. A pot of freshly brewed tea sat steaming on his desk, and the entire room had been meticulously cleaned. Documents that had been scattered across his workspace the previous day were now organized into neat stacks, sorted by category.
Seeing this, Finn's mood improved considerably. He smiled. "Good morning, Hina."
This was exactly why Finn had kept Hina as his secretary for so many years. She wasn't just beautiful and pleasant to look at; she was also incredibly efficient, demonstrated excellent judgment, and remained fiercely loyal.
Just as Finn was mentally praising her competence, Hina turned around with a teasing smile. "Good morning, Admiral... oh, excuse me. Admiral Kurotora."
Finn picked up his teacup and took a sip, his voice flat. "I'm warning you. If you keep that up, I'll send you to work in the Calm Belt."
"What do you mean 'keep it up'?" Hina said, feigning innocence. "That's the code name you chose yourself, Admiral."
"I had to pick the least terrible option from a pile of garbage names," Finn grumbled.
He was starting to regret not standing his ground like Admiral Sengoku had done years ago. Why had he even agreed to a code name in the first place?
He'd become an Admiral several years before Sakazuki. He shouldn't even be counted among the new generation of Admirals, right?
But it was too late for regrets now.
Compared to the previous few days, Finn didn't have much work scheduled for today. He'd arrived early and settled into his chair, content to drink tea and read the newspaper.
"Crocodile..." Finn murmured softly as he scanned an article.
After receiving his Warlord title, Crocodile hadn't entered the New World again. Instead, he'd gone to Alabasta.
King Nefertari Cobra clearly disliked having him there, but due to the Warlord system and Crocodile's considerable strength, the king couldn't simply expel him.
Fortunately, at least for now, Crocodile didn't seem to be causing trouble in Alabasta. On the contrary, he'd taken up residence in one of the kingdom's port cities and was actively fighting off pirates who tried to invade, even more diligently than the Marines stationed there.
If you didn't know better, you might think he was trying to rehabilitate his image.
Since Crocodile was behaving himself in Alabasta, Finn had no intention of stirring up trouble. Now wasn't the right time anyway.
He turned the page and continued reading.
When Finn reached an article about an employment agency on the Sabaody Archipelago, his expression hardened. "Hina, tell Rear Admiral Maynard to gather some men and sweep the Sabaody Archipelago. Shut down this employment agency."
"Yes, Admiral." Hina responded immediately, jotting down the order.
Finn's fingers drummed against the armrest of his chair. "Also, have the Intelligence Department investigate the background of this agency. See if there's any connection to Doflamingo."
"Understood, Admiral." Hina recorded the second instruction.
Finn continued flipping through the newspaper, his previously dark expression gradually relaxing.
"Oh?" He made a small sound of surprise, then murmured, "Dragon really does love the East Blue, doesn't he? Has CP found out where the Revolutionary Army's base is yet?"
The newspaper reported that a journalist from the World Economic News had photographed Revolutionary leader Monkey D. Dragon at the port of a Kingdom the East Blue. Speculation suggested the Revolutionary Army might be planning to incite unrest in the kingdom.
Finn imagined CP agents were probably already scrambling toward the East Blue in a frenzy.
But thinking it over, Dragon wasn't careless enough to let himself be photographed at a port by accident. Given his caution, this had to be intentional.
There was probably some scheme involved.
Still, this wasn't Finn's jurisdiction, so he'd only asked out of curiosity.
"No," Hina answered, shaking her head. "Dragon wouldn't let anyone find their base so easily. However, we've learned the name of their headquarters island. It's in the New World. Baltigo, also known as the Island of White Soil. Like Punk Hazard, it has no magnetic field and can't be located through conventional means."
"I see." Finn wasn't surprised. He simply nodded and continued reading.
The rest of the news wasn't particularly interesting. Mostly entertainment gossip, like the singer Cindry falling off stage and dying during a performance. Her body had been stolen shortly afterward. Rumors suggested the famous doctor Hogback was responsible, though nothing had been confirmed.
Moria had gone off to do his own thing, so why was Hogback still causing trouble?
They probably couldn't work together anymore, could they?
Finn didn't bother reading more of the gossip. He folded the newspaper, and Hina picked up a Den Den Mushi to relay his earlier orders.
Finn had just pulled out a cigar and was about to light it when a knock sounded at the office door.
"Come in," Finn called casually.
The door opened, and Jinbe, the large blue Fish-Man, walked in from the hallway.
Finn blinked in surprise. "Didn't you go back to Fish-Man Island?"
Jinbe grinned. "I'm back."
"Already?" Finn asked, genuinely surprised.
You left yesterday morning, didn't you? And you're back this morning? Are you insane?
Though thinking about it more carefully, Fish-Man Island actually wasn't far from Marineford. It only took half an hour by ship to reach the Sabaody Archipelago, and the distance from Sabaody to Fish-Man Island was only ten thousand meters. For a Fish-Man like Jinbe, especially a whale shark Fish-Man, that probably wasn't much of a challenge.
"I swim fast. I'm a whale shark Fish-Man, hahahaha." Jinbe laughed heartily.
As he spoke, he shrugged off the backpack on his shoulders. "Admiral, Queen Otohime asked me to bring you this gift."
He reached into the bag and pulled out a colorful pearl the size of a fist, its surface shimmering with iridescent hues.
Finn had been about to politely decline, to say it was inappropriate to accept gifts, but the moment he saw that massive, beautiful pearl, his mind changed instantly. "Her Majesty is far too generous."
He didn't particularly care for such things himself, but Gion and the others loved them. The black pearl he'd brought back from Fish-Man Island last time had been immediately claimed by Gion.
After learning about that, Stussy had complained bitterly to Finn, saying he'd never given her any gifts at all.
This time, Jinbe had brought this one back, which meant Finn could give it to Queen Stussy.
But at that moment, Finn also noticed Hina's eager gaze fixed on the pearl. He rolled his eyes helplessly and said to Jinbe, "Visit Fish-Man Island more often when you have time."
Jinbe paused, then nodded knowingly. "I understand, Admiral."
Finn shifted gears smoothly. "How's your brother? Is he doing well?"
Jinbe's expression turned somewhat helpless. "After learning I'd joined the Marines, Big Brother Tiger wouldn't even let me in. He just gave me a few words of advice and sent me away..."
Otherwise, he wouldn't have returned so quickly. At the very least, he would've spent a few days drinking and catching up with his brother.
Finn nodded, understanding dawning.
Tiger had probably already made up his mind to attack Mary Geoise. In the original timeline, he'd told Queen Otohime and King Neptune about his experiences as a slave.
But this time, he'd likely kept it hidden. After all, Fish-Man Island was developing positive relations with the Marines right now. Why create complications?
And as for sending Jinbe away, he probably didn't want to implicate his brother in what he was about to do.
Finn didn't say much more. After chatting with Jinbe for a few more minutes, the Fish-Man excused himself and left.
Finn stared at the closed door, then glanced at the colorful pearl sitting on his desk. He murmured softly, "Mary Geoise..."
"What about Mary Geoise, Admiral?" Hina asked curiously.
"Nothing." Finn smiled faintly. "Nothing at all."
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