After sitting for a while, Momonga and Onigumo went about their own business.
Kuzan had already sorted out his work for Admiral Sengoku. Since he had nothing pressing today, he stayed to chat with Finn for a while.
Speaking of which, before Finn came, Kuzan genuinely lacked a friend like him at Headquarters.
He couldn't discuss much with Borsalino. There was even less to say to Sakazuki.
Gion was a woman, pursued by many Marines. Kuzan didn't want too much contact with her to avoid misunderstandings and complications.
As for Dragon, he was too serious, always urging Kuzan not to be so lazy whenever they met.
Therefore, though Kuzan had good relationships with many people, there wasn't much depth to them.
On the contrary, after Finn arrived, the two could often get together and chat. Their friendship developed rapidly.
Additionally, Finn worked hard and quickly became an elite seedling of the new generation. There was no difference in status between him and Kuzan. The two conversed and communicated as equals, which was very pleasant.
Rosinante was peeling fruit for Finn, his "good brother," while Finn chatted with Kuzan.
After talking for a while, Finn suddenly asked, "By the way, Kuzan, I have something to ask you."
"What?" Kuzan responded casually, raising his hand to pick up an apple and eating it himself.
"After becoming a Devil Fruit user, do you sometimes feel hungry and thirsty?" Finn asked.
Kuzan's eyes lit up. He looked Finn up and down with some emotion. "You've reached that age, Finn, but your injury isn't healed yet. Don't think about these messy things for now, okay? Besides, I'm not experienced with this either. After you recover, I'll take you to see Tokikake. Though he's ugly, he's very popular and a veteran of the red-light district..."
Finn froze momentarily, then his expression darkened. "What are you thinking? Your thoughts are too dirty, aren't they?"
"Didn't you ask me whether I felt hungry or thirsty?" Kuzan looked at Finn with a confused expression.
"In your mind, 'hungry and thirsty' only means that? So this is the kind of Kuzan you are. One day I'll use you as a model and write an autobiography..." Finn rolled his eyes.
"I'm a Vice Admiral of Marine Headquarters. Due to confidentiality regulations, you can't write lies about me. Do you want to face a military court?" Kuzan glared at Finn.
"Don't worry, I won't write about classified things. I'll give you some face, okay? I'll call you 'Ice' in the book. I've already thought of a title: 'Young Ice.' It suits your fruit ability perfectly," Finn complained.
After some nonsense banter, Finn's expression turned serious. "Honestly, haven't you ever felt it? That sensation... that hunger and thirst, like something's always missing?"
Ever since eating the Press-Press Fruit, Finn had felt this way occasionally.
He didn't know what caused it. He'd asked Zephyr, but since Zephyr wasn't a Devil Fruit user, and Devil Fruit abilities were so strange with such bizarre side effects, he couldn't provide a good explanation.
This time, Finn suddenly remembered and asked Kuzan.
Kuzan frowned slightly upon hearing this. After thinking for a while, he said, "No..."
"Really? I might be overthinking it. It might have nothing to do with abilities or anything like that," Finn nodded.
Kuzan thought for a moment. "Maybe it's a side effect of your Devil Fruit ability? You'll get used to it and be able to control it gradually."
After a brief pause, Kuzan continued, "Devil Fruit side effects aren't just being hated by the sea and becoming landlubbers. Behind every powerful ability, there are also flaws. For example, Shiki's Float-Float Fruit makes him vulnerable to force majeure like storms. In a storm, he becomes weaker than average. For example, after I ate the Ice-Ice Fruit, I often feel lethargic, so I developed this lazy personality..."
"I always feel like you're making excuses for yourself..." Finn looked at Kuzan with some suspicion.
But this was just a joke. Kuzan's lazy behavior was genuinely affected by his fruit's ability. His body temperature was very low, leaving him seemingly unmotivated for anything.
"Side effects?" Finn murmured again, finally accepting it as the reason for now.
He'd also wondered if there was something special about his body, but he hadn't found anything unusual during hospitalization and physical examinations. Everything appeared normal.
"Once you gradually develop your abilities and gain deeper understanding, perhaps the situation will improve significantly. This is the case for most Devil Fruit users," Kuzan said calmly.
"I hope so," Finn smiled.
Though what Kuzan said made sense and sounded reasonable, he always felt the truth might not be so simple.
Two weeks later, Finn recovered as expected. After completing discharge procedures, he immediately rushed to Chief of Staff Tsuru's office to prepare for reporting to duty.
After being at Marineford so long, he'd finally found his organization. This was the first time he'd been officially classified into a sequence!
He wore the black suit Zephyr had given him, with the Justice Coat over his shoulders. He looked handsome and elegant, like a promising young man.
As he walked along the road, Marines would occasionally glance at Finn, then whisper to their companions.
At first, Finn thought it was his handsomeness attracting attention.
As he continued walking, he seemed to hear some murmuring.
"Did you see that? That's Commodore Finn. I heard he's getting promoted to Rear Admiral soon. He's the Chief of the Sixth Officer Training Camp. Quite impressive."
"How could that not be impressive? After all, he's the man who beat up the Fleet Admiral!"
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let him hear you."
Finn's expression darkened considerably. I heard it!
Damn it, so everyone at Marineford now knew he'd beaten up the Fleet Admiral?
Could he still stay in the Marines?
For a moment, Finn wondered if it was too late to become a pirate now.
He always felt the bright future he'd been building in the Marines for years had all been ruined by that bastard Garp!
He hoped the Fleet Admiral would be magnanimous. After all, Kong still had to sit in that position for more than ten years. If he was genuinely tricked by Garp, Finn feared he might have to remain at Rear Admiral for more than ten years... That would be too miserable!
Chief of Staff Tsuru's office was on the third floor of Marineford's Fortress of Justice, where the Intelligence Department was located.
Finn was contemplating his bleak future in the Marines all the way, and unknowingly walked to the office door.
Just as he was about to reach out and knock, he found the door wasn't tightly closed and there was a gap. Then he heard a burst of hearty laughter.
"Bwahahaha, Tsuru, please help me and find more information about Roger. He seems to have disappeared at sea recently."
In an instant, Finn was so enraged he didn't even care about his gentlemanly image in the Marines. He kicked the door open.
When he made this move, Chief of Staff Tsuru and Vice Admiral Garp in the office were stunned.
"Finn?" Tsuru was surprised at first, then looked at Finn in confusion. What was happening?
On your first day of work, you kick your direct supervisor's door open?
"Garp! You bastard, I'm going to fight you!" Finn pulled Sōzai from his waist. Without another word, he slashed at Garp on the sofa.
Garp was startled and instinctively dodged, rolling over the sofa. Just as he moved, Finn chopped the sofa in half with one strike.
"What are you doing? Finn, I didn't provoke you, did I?!" Garp shouted quickly.
This guy was also interesting. He didn't use his status to pressure Finn, just asked in panic.
"How dare you ask? Now all of Marineford knows that I, Finn, a Commodore, beat up our Fleet Admiral. How can I face the world again? How can I face the Fleet Admiral again? I'll fight you to the death!" Finn cursed.
Then he kicked the bisected sofa away and rushed forward with sword in hand.
Garp also let out a strange cry, explaining as he ran, "Didn't I think you were very impressive? You can't blame me for saying that, right?"
"I am your junior!" Finn roared.
Garp couldn't stand it anymore. Though he was indeed guilty, with his strength, he could easily suppress Finn. But because he felt genuinely ashamed, he didn't even consider it.
At this moment, Finn was also blocking the door. In a panic, Garp smashed through Chief of Staff Tsuru's office window and jumped out from the third floor of Marineford.
Then Finn also lost all rationality. He actually stepped on the windowsill, swinging his sword and trying to chase after him.
At that moment, Chief of Staff Tsuru grabbed Finn's wrist, activated her power, and said with a hint of amusement and helplessness, "Alright, Commodore Finn, just vent your anger..."
Chief of Staff Tsuru was the user of the Wash-Wash Fruit, which claimed to wash away all evil, filth, violence, and other chaotic things.
Her ability, combined with her words, quickly calmed Finn down as soon as she spoke.
"I'm sorry, Chief of Staff, I..." Finn said quickly.
Tsuru didn't seem to care about anything, even though Finn had destroyed the sofa in her office.
Maybe it was because she'd been friend with Garp for so many years that she'd gotten used to his antics?
Anyway, she wasn't angry at all. She even said with slight amusement, "It's time someone taught Garp a lesson, otherwise he'll be completely lawless..."
But after a brief pause, she glanced at the scene outside the window and said with a hint of amusement, "Though it seems you're going to be famous again. After beating up the Fleet Admiral, you forced the Marine hero to jump off a building..."
Simultaneously, there was a crowd of onlookers staring at the broken third-floor window with shocked eyes.
Well-deserved reputation!
The Commodore who dared to fight the Fleet Admiral was different. As soon as he was discharged from the hospital, he forced the heroic Vice Admiral Garp to jump off a building?