Chapter 27: Roommates

Gion went back,

This time, she didn't greet Tsuru before coming to find Chika in a hurry. Of course, she couldn't mention this to Chika.

When Chika returned to the dormitory, he opened the door and saw three pairs of eyes staring at him.

"You're back, Senpai Chika!"

"Who was that beautiful female officer just now? Can you tell us, bro?"

"Yeah, tell us! Our horizons have been broadened. Those female soldiers are no match!"

"..."

Chika casually explained Gion's identity, and these three idiots started making a commotion.

"What? A Vice Admiral? My god, she looks so young!"

"Damn, Senpai Chika actually knows a beautiful female officer like her. You're amazing!"

"Senpai Chika, what's your relationship with her? Should we call her 'sister-in-law' next time we see her??"

"Senpai Chika, come have a cigar. I have a friend who wants to know if the sister-in-law has any sisters or anything like that?"

Chika looked at the flattering Glerfus with speechlessness. Suddenly, he thought of something interesting. He nodded seriously and said,

"Well, she does have a sister, and not only is she a high-ranking official, but she's also single!"

"What?!" Glerfus was practically drooling, quickly pulling out a large box of cigars from under the bed. Even Bridget's eyes widened at the sight.

Handing the large box of cigars to Chika, Glerfus rubbed his hands together and approached Chika, asking,

"Um... Captain Chika, I was thinking, um, my friend has also been single for many years and he's eager to find a soulmate. Do you think you could introduce him to someone? Don't worry! If this works out, I'll give you a big box of rare cigars!"

Chika patted his shoulder and said earnestly,

"Don't worry! Leave it to me!"

"Captain Chika!" Glerfus was moved to tears by Chika's response. He was on the verge of calling him "daddy" right there.

Bridge approached them, wanting to join in the scene.

"Glerfus, actually, I have a sister too, you see..."

"Get lost! Look at yourself in the mirror first!" Glerfus looked at Bridge's short stature and his hands as big as basins, with a disgusted expression.

"Pah! What do you know about aesthetics?" Bridge was struck by the blow, crossed his arms, and hopped onto his bed without saying a word. There was no way he could win this!

Binz didn't have any thoughts on the matter. At the moment, he was twisting his body in front of a pot of cacti, which was quite an eyesore.

The cactus in the pot expanded and its spikes became sharper as Binz twisted his body. This was Binz's Grow-Grow fruit ability, which allowed him to control nearby plants and accelerate their growth.

(T/N: In previous chapters, I have mis-translated Binz Devil Fruit as Lush-Lush Fruit instead of Grow-Grow Fruit. From now on, I will be referring Binz Devil Fruit as Grow-Grow Fruit.)

However, it seemed that this ability had to be activated by twisting his body. The faster he twisted, the stronger the ability became. Chika didn't know if every user of the lush fruit ability had to activate it in this way, but Chika couldn't help but think, what if a person with social anxiety ate the Grow-Grow fruit? They probably wouldn't be able to activate their ability even if they were beaten to death in front of everyone.

Binz was already sweating profusely from twisting and stopped, sitting down to rest.

Chika walked up to him and asked,

"Binz, do you feel confident this time? I've noticed how hard you've been working lately. If you get a good ranking, what reward do you want?"

Binz blankly thought for a while and said,

"To be honest, I'm not very confident. After all, with Captain Chika around, there are only two actual spots. But if I happen to get one by chance, I want a good sharp sword!"

A good sharp sword? Chika thought of the theatrical version where Binz had a green handle sword hidden behind him. Could it be that he obtained it during a previous assessment?

Perhaps Binz could indeed achieve a good result this time. Chika patted his shoulder and said,

"Have confidence in yourself. I believe you'll definitely achieve a good ranking this time."

Binz was pleasantly surprised and stood up. He didn't expect Senpai Chika to have so much confidence in him. Touched by this, he thanked Chika repeatedly.

Chika told him to relax a bit. Among these three roommates, Binz was the most honest. Fortunately, the others were also good and didn't bully him because of it. Even Glerfus, who seemed like a bully, usually only occasionally dealt with Bridge, but that was because Bridge brought it upon himself.

After comforting Binz, Chika turned to the other two and said,

"You two should also work hard during this period. Who knows, maybe after graduation, we'll end up on the same ship."

Bridge and Glerfus pointed at themselves in confusion. Since entering the training camp, one of them had been focused on smoking cigars, while the other was secretly smoking cigars. They weren't as concerned about improving their strength compared to Chika and Binz.

Chika suspected that besides himself, the strongest in this dormitory might be the usually silent Binz.

"The seas are not as safe nowadays. The number of pirates is increasing, and the casualties in the Navy have been growing over the 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 on some list in the future!"

These words were a bit heavy, and Bridge and Glerfus fell silent. Even Binz seriously contemplated what Chika had just said.

After a while, Bridge, who was usually the most unruly, was the first to speak,

"I understand, Senpai Chika. Thank you. From now on, I will work hard to train and smoke fewer cigars!"

Glerfus gave Bridge a glare, thinking, "Where did you get cigars? Aren't they all mine?"

He threatened Bridge with his eyes, but Glerfus also expressed his stance,

"Senpai Chika, rest assured. Although I know it's difficult to catch up to your level of strength, I have some skill in handling firearms. I would be satisfied to serve as a gunner on your ship!"

In Glerfus's mind, he always assumed that Chika's rank in the future would be above Vice Admiral, and it was only natural for him to have his own warship.

Binz didn't say anything, but he nodded firmly.

Chika was also pleased with everyone's response. If they couldn't take these words to heart, then they would have no one else to blame if they were eliminated by the vast sea in the future.

Chika also believed that he would definitely have his own warship in the future. The first group of people to enter that warship had to be his own people, and their strength couldn't be lacking. At least they had to have their own strengths. The current roommates, whether in terms of emotions or abilities, were good candidates.

Extending his hand, Chika looked at everyone and said,

"Very well, from now on, let's work together and not fall behind, alright?"

Bridge and the others also put their hands up and shouted,

"Let's work together! Don't let Captain Chika leave us behind!"

Chika looked at the other three in astonishment, and they chuckled and said,

"After all, Captain Chika is too amazing. If we can keep up with you, it's enough to strut around the training camp!"

Chika was amused by their words and burst into laughter. The other three laughed along, and the laughter in the dormitory grew louder, spreading through the room.

By this time, it was already late in the evening, and some of the dormitories were preparing to rest. Someone shouted angrily,

"Shut up!, it's already middle of the night? Can't you let people sleep!?"