9 -Journey to the headquarters

Leon and Hina were currently walking towards the marine headquarters to meet Sengoku.

Right now, they were at the market place on this island.

The majority of the people that reside on this island were elite marines that were chosen from all over the world's marine branches.

Therefore nearly 70%of them have had their families reside on this island, as such even though the marine cadets and officers were given their day to day provisions,

A normal market for trading had to be built for the normal family members and their day to day life.

Tsuru, even though she was given a residence near the marine headquarters, refused the offer and lived near the common people.

She liked the hustle and bustle of this place rather than having to be an uptight marine admiral all the time.

Leon and Hina were currently walking together alongside the road.

This was the residence area so the people had already started their daily chores.

Some already opened their shops and others went to do their odd jobs such as maintaining provisions, cleaning warehouses, ships, etc..

Little Kids were running around all over the streets and playing games

As Hina and Leon were walking through the street, many noticed them and greeted them.

Some even came to him personally and asked about his health.

The news of him, fainting had already spread among the people here as he was quite famous in the headquarters!

The news of Vice-admiral Tsuru having a grandchild was not hidden from the public. Therefore, being the grandson of one of the 'Top Dogs' in the marines came with its Perks and Drawbacks.

Also, there was a rumor that even the Marine hero 'Garp' and the current Fleet admiral of the marines 'Sengoku Gensui' regard him as their own grandchild which was another big news not only for the common people but for the whole marines in general.

There was also the rumor of him being quite hot-headed and some even called him a freak due to some incidents which gave him a bad reputation, but these were small rumors and the majority didn't care.

Leon didn't mind the popularity or the bad reputation about him nor did he denied the goodwill he got from the people.

He understood that most of the goodwill or asslicking he got from the people was not because of his popularity but because of the people that stand behind him.

As Leon and Hina turned a corner and reached the main area of the market. A bunch of people encircled them.

"Leon Kun! How are you? After we heard about your condition my family was very concerned. Especially my son! He was very worried about your health.

By the way, he works in the 15th division as a commander" an old man with a scruffy beard standing in the front gave Leon his heartfelt concern!

"I see, Thank you old man" Leon politely replied

"Shut up Assmin! See how weak he has become. Little Leon, you should rest more and if you have any problem tell your grandma to contact my daughter.

She is the eastern branch's Head doctor. She will heal you in a heartbeat" The kind' untie beside the old man showered her kindness upon him.

"Thank you for your concern" Leon replied with a sweet smile

"Yes!yes! No need to worry, Our little Leon is vice admiral Tsuru's grandchild! He will be the hope of our marines" A middle-aged dude shouted from the crowd

"Yea! Yea!" All the others approved with the kind gentlemen and started showing their concern to Leon.

"Fuck this shit I am out!" For a second, A beautiful thought appeared in Leon's mind but he digressed.

Hina was just standing beside him. She was used to this 'seeing people fawn over him' and she also liked the fact that Leon never let all this fawning get on his head and become some cocky kid with a superiority complex.

She was also surprised today. Usually, Leon would just ignore them with a smile or a nod and go away but today not only he was outright ignoring them he was also politely replying.

She understood his reactions before as he was, in the end, a 5-year-old.

Any other kid of his age might just outright get annoyed, irritated, frightened, or even start crying if suddenly a huge crowd of people surrounds them.

She was already quite impressed he didn't react like that and simply ignored them but today...

Hina looked at Leon conversing with the people. She couldn't quite put the finger on it, but he seemed a lot different.

"Maybe, Hina is just overthinking" Hina murmured to herself not knowing what to think of him.

Not only her even the crowd was surprised which is why they riled up even more than usual.

After some time the crowd slowly dispersed and people started going back to their work

"Leon kun, wait here for a minute. Hina wants to bye something from the nearby store" Hina after seeing the crowd get dispersed pointed towards the nearby alley.

"Ok, I will be near the grocery store" Leon complied

As Hina disappeared inside the alley Leon went towards the grocery store a few meters ahead

"Ojisan, give me a bottle of water. I am thirsty" Leon asked the middle-aged man sitting at the counter

"Here you go" The old man brought a little water bottle and handed it to Leon

"Ahh, This is good. My throat went dry with all the talking and why the hell am I feeling so hot today?" Leon complained about the weather as it was the summer season.

"Tch…It's hot because it's summer! But the season is not to be blamed here, seeing how in front of me, rather than a normal kid we have pig drinking water right now" As Leon was drinking his water he heard the sound of a guy commenting on him with a sneer

Leon looked in front of him and noticed 5 boys between the age of 15 to 17 years old with the marine dress on, looking at him with scorn. They were probably new cadets on patrol.

"How are you Little Porker?" The boy in the middle of the group asked with a grin on his face. He was the same guy who commented earlier.

The boy had medium brown hair and a height of 5'6"(5 Foot and 6 inches) with an above-average face.

Leon looked at the group with a serious face!

"Sorry, but who are you again?" Leon asked with a questioned look, genuinely not remembering the boy or the group in front of him.

But he figured he must have known them seeing their familiar way of addressing him or he should say making fun of him.

Following Leon's question, the expression of the group and the boy in the middle changed from scorn to anger.

"Heh! Pretend all you like because every time we meet, we show you who you are.

A fat privileged kid thinking he owns the world and walking around with people he can't even get close to, even in 100 years." The guy in the middle snarked back with a sneer on his face while pointing at Leon's body.

He was shaming him of his fatness

Leon didn't mind someone calling him fat because he was! He likes to eat a lot and has a big appetite so No shame in that.

"Mm..! I understand what you are trying to say, but you see I meet a lot of people every day. Just now a crowd of people surrounded me asking of my well being. You can ask the old man here.

So I honestly can't remember the faces of every random stray I meet on the street" Leon replied with a genuine questioned face while looking at them.

The faces of the 5 boys turned the color of red like a pig after hearing Leon's response. They didn't understand if he was trying to remember them or humiliate them.

The boy in the middle involuntarily looked towards the old man at the counter. To which the old man nodded his head agreeing with Leon further infuriating him.

"You damm kid!" the boy in the middle lost his patience and inched forward trying to grip Leon's collar.

"Shidou stop, Don't do it. He is vice admiral Tsuru's Grandson" The four boys beside him called out.

After all, they didn't want to lose their job of being a marine by hitting the child of one of the top brass in the marines.

"Swish" Suddenly, just as the guy extended his hand. Someone slashed towards his hand with a blunt object.

"Ah! Who the fuck?" Shidou instantly withdrew his arm but still got slightly grazed by the blunt object on his fingers

"Try to bully Leo one more time and we…we will fight you" A sweet voice of child came from behind Leon.

'Upon looking, A petite 5-year-old girl with pink hair tied into a ponytail on both sides of her head was talking back with a little nervousness in her voice as she stood in front of Leon'.

"What?" the guy looked at her with annoyance, while also looking at the main perpetrator who was standing beside her with a wooden sword in her hand while glaring at him.

Yes, the one who hit him was not the pink-haired girl but the girl that was standing beside her.

'A long purple-haired girl around the same age her companion with blue crystal clear eyes that were locked at him with a wooden sword in her hand, like he was some kind of prey'.

"Saeko, Saya!?" Leon exclaimed in surprise

'Leo, are you ok?" The purple-haired girl named Saeko asked him with a low but firm voice.

"Yeah, I am perfectly fine but what are you both doing?" Leon asked the girls as the looked ready to battle.

"We went to find you in your house but Tsuru Basan said you left early today. So we were just strolling down the market thinking we might find you.

Then we saw this douche bag standing here with his goons bullying you so we came running. Guess he still hasn't learned his previous lessons" This time the girl with the pink twin tails called 'Saya' replied while looking at those five boys with scorn

"Ah! I remember now, you guys are one of the many Fanclubs of Hina-nee! Even though she doesn't give you all a single moment of her day" Leon suddenly remembered their faces as this has happened before and shaking his head left and right as if pitying them.

"You fucking brat!" The guy Shidou got even more riled up hearing Leon answer. Same with the four beside him.

Seeing their expression both Saeko and Saya got tense and Saeko redied her wooden sword for any further action.

"You all stop it right now. You 5 are adults right?" The old man at the shop counter upon seeing 5 adult boys ganging up on kids tried to intervene.

"Shut up, old man! Do your job and what kid? Look at him. Does he look like a 5-year-old?. He looks like 12-year-old fatass claiming to be 5." The guy retorted back while pointing towards Leon.

"You know if you have that kind of attitude. Then forget Hina nee, even a normal girl would not give you guys a slither of her attention." Leon calmly replied looking at their enraged faces

"You should be ashamed of yourselves for calling yourself a marine. A marines job is to protect the people and clearly not to bully kids just because that kid roams around with the people you are a fan of." Leon continued shaming them

"Also one more thing, I don't think after today she will ever look at you guys like decent marines but rather hoodlums running around the street with the marine dress on" Leon didn't let up and berated them even more.

"You son of a…" Shidou, the guy in the middle tried to lunge at Leon because of the overflowing rage but was stopped by the shoulder.

"Let go! I don't care, I need to teach this privileged fucker a lesson right now!" The boy howled with anger

"Shidou! Shidou! Stop! Don't, look behind you!!" The Boys that were with him were shouting at him with a stuttering voice seemingly afraid of something.

"What?" the boy shouted back with rage while looking behind.

"Take your hand off..."The guy suddenly stood silent not knowing what to do or say.

"Hina-nee" Leon lightly called out to her as he had already seen her coming a few seconds back from the opposite direction which is why they didn't see her coming.

Hina was standing right behind the guy 'Shidou' while holding him back with her right hand placed on his shoulder.

For some reason, Her eyes had turned black. The prick in mouth had nearly broken and she had slight vein pop up on the side of her forehead.

In simpler terms, she looked really pissed...

"How old are you?" Hina asked in a cold voice

"Huh?" Shidou didn't process what she asked

"H-O-W O-L-D are you?" Hina repeated coldly. But this time, just as Hina finished her sentence, she clutched his collar bone so hard that he squatted down with pain.

"Aahhhh!" the boy wriggled in pain but couldn't overpower her single hand. The other guys who were supporting him till now stood back seeing their friend suffer in agony

Hina didn't let up and continued to clutch his shoulder. The people around the market came towards them listening to the shout.

"17! I am…17!" the guy somehow announced his age while wriggling on the ground and trying to remove Hina's hands with all his power but still the result was the same.

Hina was one of the best of the elites. She and her peers were personally selected and trained by the best trainer the marines could provide in its entirety, 'An Admiral'.

If some low rag runts were able to overpower her then it will be a shame to her teacher's name.

Hina didn't let up and simply lowered her force after hearing his answer.

"What is your name and rank?" Hina asked another question

"My name …is Tenuchi Shidou. I am a lieutenant junior in the 13th division, mam…" The guy replied with great pain knowing the difference between his and her rank even though she was only 15.

"Tell me what should Hina do here?" Hina coldly looked at him and asked him of his opinion on the situation he was currently in.

"I am sorry mam, I overstepped my bounds. Please spare me this time. This will be the last time I ever do something like this" Tenuchi begged her knowing that if she seriously complains about his behavior. He might get demoted or even terminated to join the marines.

'Hina had a very high reputation among her peers and even the higher-ups respected her, for the calm and rational decision making intellect she possessed, which also showed her potential'.

"Hina has seen you, runts, before, loitering around Leon kun. Were you doing this every time?" Hina raised her voice this time and questioned all 5 of them

They all started looking at each other not knowing what to say as they had done this before.

Instead, they all miserably looked towards the person whom they made fun of because depending on his answer they might lose their job of being a marine today!

'Leon looked at them with a sinister smile, giving the impression that 'He will make them pay!'

After a few seconds of watching their faces, Leon spoke" Hina nee, forget about it. They didn't really, do anything physical and we were just having a casual debate on who is your biggest fan? Of course i won, easily infact and because of that, the conversation got a little heated. Nothing major, isn't that right you guys?" Leon asked looking at the 5 boys with the sweetest smile he could muster.

"Yes," The group simply nodded with pitiful smiles on their faces as they couldn't retort to their savior even if they wanted to.

"What bullshit! Didn't they just tried to grab y… Aaa!" Saya who was standing quiet until now suddenly opened her mouth but was shut down with a light fist on her head.

"Saya, let's talk about it later ok!" Leon quickly calmed her down by patting her head a few times.

"You sure?" Hina looked at Leon and asked him seriously

"Mmm.." Leon simply nodded with a hum

Hina, who was still clutching Tenuichi's shoulder released her grip.

"You all directly go and report to your division officer and if I find you all doing something like this again. Then prepare yourself for a severe punishment" Hina ordered in a strict tone

"One more thing if I ever find you all near Leon kun again. Fan or not, I will personally take responsibility and break all of your bones! Is that clear?" Hina spoke with cold tone probably still a bit pissed at them

"Hai" the 5 monkeys stood up straight and saluted, then scurried off from there as fast as possible.

Leon looked at the crowd that has gathered to watch the show. Seeing Leon, Hina understood and started dispersing the crowd.

"Saeko, who was still standing silently in front of Leon with a wooden sword in her hand, Finally lowered her weapon and came near Leon.

"Let me see" Saeko stood in front of Leon and started examining him by touching him all over the body

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Saeko asked with concern even though she was there for most of the incident

"I am fine Saeko, No need to worry" Leon replied with a sweet smile while lightly patting her head.

'Saeko most of the time remained silent with an indifferent expression on her face but whenever it came to him, she was the No 1 person who would worry for him even for the simplest things'.

Leon already understood that so he simply let her examine him, however, she wished.

Saeko and Saya were the only friends Leon had made during these five years and he was grateful for having such great friends, who cared for him so deeply.

Otherwise, he had been given another name by the fellow group of kids of his age.

'Freak' is what they call him, though he didn't mind that before and now after his memories returned. He already forgot about that.

After taking care of the crowed Hina finally returned to Leon

"Leon kun are you ok? They didn't hurt you anywhere did they?" As soon as Hina returned her first question was about his health

"Hina nee, I am perfectly fine. Don't worry" Leon again tried to soothe the worries of the women beside him.

"How can I not? Hina has the responsibility of taking care of you as I was the one who suggested to go out together.

And what will Hina answer to Tsuru san, if something happened to you?" Hina exasperatedly replied in one breath

"Don't worry, she will understand! I have gotten in fights before. Hahaha" Leon tried to play it cool to lighten the mood

Hearing Leon's excuse. Hina just glared at him.

"Sorry!" Leon immediately shut up not wanting her wrath on him.

Hina then looked towards the two girls who were standing at Leon's side.

"Saeko chan and Saya chan right?" Hina asked the two girls as she had seen them with Leon before but didn't get to know them properly.

Both of them nodded their heads

"Ah! I still haven't introduced you three right? Let me!" Leon said

"You two this is the beautiful Hina nee of marine headquarters.

She is always cool, calm, and collected. The above-mentioned qualities don't apply at that time when she is truly pissed.

Also half of the marine gang members are on her side, Period" Leon introduced Hina in his own way. (Pic in comments section) (PICS)

Hina's eye twitched a little bit but she let him continue while Saeko and Saya were listening attentively because they were interested in her as a role model.

Especially Saeko, probably because of the ass-slapping Hina did a few minutes ago.

Saya had an expression of 'she already knew about her'.

"Hina nee, this girl with the twin ponytail is 'Saya Takagi'. She is cute and as energetic as she looks, and also has a brilliant brain. She can sometimes be mean to the people she doesn't know but, is very caring on the inside." Leon introduced Saya while pulling her closer to him. (PICS)

Hina gave a light nod at her introduction then looked at Saeko.

"Now Hina nee, This is the beautiful 'Saeko Busujima'. She might look the silent type but she just a little shy. She won't go out of her way for the people she doesn't care but for the people she cares about, she will break the damm way if she has to.

It might not amount much right now but once she matures! It wouldn't matter if it is her Beauty or her Blade. One look will be enough to kill anyone" Leon introduced Saeko

As he was lightly rubbing her head which she was certainly enjoying given the slight smile on her indifferent face. (PICS)

"Quite interesting friends" Hina replied with a light smile on her face as apparently a little interested in them

"So, are we going to the office or not because it's already pretty late?" Hina then reminded Leon of his main objective

"Ah! Fuck!" Leon blurted out loudly.

All three ladies looked at him blankly...

"I mean, Oh! How late I am? So, let's hurry up then, Shall we?" Leon ignored the looks and started heading towards the headquarters.