Cover Story: Momonosuke, Part 11: "Grave of the Lecherous Peach"
"Father... I… I think I killed someone," Kuina's voice trembled. Koushirou adjusted his glasses, calmly surveyed the scene, and finally fixed his gaze on Momonosuke's curled-up hands. His brows instantly furrowed.
"It's not your fault," Koushirou shook his head slightly. "I noticed from the beginning that this child was sneaky and dishonest, never clear about his background. I only took him in out of pity. Never thought his own lust would be the end of him."
"That whetstone was heavy. You nearly slipped and fell to your death," Koushirou sighed, helping Kuina to her feet. Glancing at the moon outside the window, he decided to bury Momonosuke's body in an unmarked grave at the edge of the village. A tombstone? Of course not. Letting the brat rest in peace was already more than enough—he died shielding Kuina, after all…
...
"After Tomorrow…"
Nao stared blankly after reading the item's full description, muttering to himself, "So that's what it means…"
It basically granted two chances to rewind time, going back a full day to redo everything from that point.
But the price…
"At first glance, I thought it said 200,000 points…"
That string of zeros nearly gave Nao a headache. "Turns out it's two million? Completely unaffordable. All the points I've earned since the beginning probably add up to just about that."
It was absurdly expensive.
"As much as I want it, I guess I have to let it go."
Nao sighed. He wasn't the type to agonize over things—he just decided to pretend the item had never appeared in the shop at all. No point obsessing over something that would only weigh on his mind.
Unless… unless he could somehow get a discount coupon like the one he had when he bought Limb Regeneration.
Otherwise, there was no way he'd be able to afford it before the week was over.
[Memory Eraser Pen]
[Type: Consumable]
[Description: From the Men in Black universe. It appears to be an ordinary ballpoint pen. When it's pressed, all humanoid creatures who witness this change will have all memories from the past 24 hours erased.]
[Note: Remember to close your eyes or wear sunglasses when using it, otherwise you will also be affected by this effect.]
[Current Uses: 10/10]
["You can't just suspect a black man of being a thief because he's driving a nice car. I stole this car, but not because I'm black."]
A practical and cost-effective item.
At just 20,000 points, it was practically pocket change for Nao compared to the insane costs of upgrading attributes, which now started at 200,000 per stat.
He didn't hesitate—bought it on the spot.
[Dark Magician Girl Summoning Card]
[Type: Consumable]
[Description: Upon use, virtually projects Dark Magician Girl. Can be freely controlled by the player and cannot cause any damage or effect on the real world. Total uses: (3/3)]
[Note: A cheap, low-end summoning card. It doesn't seem to have much use, but as a man, one might refuse a vanilla monster with 3000 ATK, but who can remain indifferent to the cute and beautiful Dark Magician Girl?]
["My turn, I summon!"]
"Another one of these projection cards, huh…" Nao mused.
He thought back to his rookie days when he bought that Blue-Eyes White Dragon Summon Card, which he still hadn't used once. And now this new card didn't seem any more useful.
But it only cost 3,000 points. Practically a freebie.
Bought.
After going over the six items…
One was too expensive, two were completely useless, and in the end, Nao spent a total of 313,000 points on the remaining three items.
His point balance plummeted to a mere 20,000.
Flat broke.
But Nao didn't mind. Easy come, easy go. His attention was now fully focused on the newly acquired sword skill—Breaker's Edge.
"All right. Let's give it a try."
After a quick shower, Nao strode out of the bathroom, completely oblivious to the Lieutenant Junior Grade he had knocked into the sea with his soap, who was struggling desperately to climb back up the railing.
Walking straight to the stern of the ship, Nao thought to himself and suddenly activated Breaker's Edge. His body instantly dashed forward several meters.
Looking back, a dark red soul figure, identical to him, was distinctly left in his original spot.
Nao knew that this soul mark could only be seen by himself; it didn't exist in the perception of others.
Without hesitation, he turned forward again, leapt from the deck with a "whoosh", and took off across the ocean surface with Moonwalk—his body like an arrow loosed from a bow, skimming over the waves at breakneck speed.
Just how fast was he now at full power?
He startled flocks of seabirds, spooked schools of fish beneath the waves—faster than a cannonball by a long shot.
After nearly ten minutes had passed, he turned his head to glance back. The Marine warship had long since vanished beyond the horizon—at least 60 kilometers away.
"About time. I should head back."
As this thought crossed his mind, the second effect of Breaker's Edge was instantly triggered, and his figure immediately vanished from the sea surface without a trace.
In the very next instant—
—he reappeared at the stern of the ship.
Two Marines who had been sneaking drinks in the corner nearly wet themselves as they saw a tall figure appear out of nowhere.
"R-Rear Admiral Nao!"
One of them hastily hid the bottle behind his back, while the other awkwardly stepped forward with a forced grin.
"Th-this isn't what it looks like, sir! We're not drinking—this is, uh… malt beverage!"
The stench of alcohol was enough to knock someone out. They must have chugged at least a kilogram or so, and they were still spewing nonsense?
"Return the booze to the quartermaster. Then report to your disciplinary officer to receive your punishment."
Nao shook his head. No room for debate. Marines caught drinking on duty was a clear violation of regulations.
"Y-yes, Vice Admiral…"
The two saluted miserably and shuffled off.
They were part of the G1 Branch, and since its commander was none other than Akainu, regulations here were notoriously strict.
The two of them were guaranteed to get a harsh punishment.
Nao watched them leave, eyes calm and cold.
He might come off as approachable and friendly to his subordinates, a commander without airs—but that didn't mean he'd turn a blind eye to rule-breaking.
A lenient man cannot lead soldiers.
From the moment he became a Marine, Nao had embraced this belief.
"60 kilometers... and came back in an instant."."
He looked toward the far horizon where he had just been. Numbers on paper never conveyed the sheer force behind the ability. Only after trying it did he truly appreciate the terrifying potential of Breaker's Edge.
If timed right, this skill—both offensive and defensive—could become a deadly trump card in real combat.
"The points weren't wasted, that felt good."
He stretched lazily, looked up at the scorching midday sun, and decided it was time for a nap.
A real nap, alone.
He hadn't rested properly in ages—come to think of it, the last time he slept was probably back in the West Blue. Months ago.
If word got out about his monstrous constitution, it would probably cause another round of shocked admiration.
...
When he woke up, it was already dusk.
Nao, fully recharged after a solid eight hours, grabbed dinner in the mess hall and headed toward the training room.
Just as he stepped across the deck—
A sudden shout rang from the lookout above.
"Rear Admiral! Pirate ship approaching at six o'clock!"
"Hm?"
Nao blinked and turned toward the direction indicated by the watchman.
Sure enough, on the distant horizon, a flamboyant and gaudy pirate ship was closing in fast.
The Marines on deck had already taken their positions—but rather than anxious, their faces showed pity and disdain.
Another idiot who doesn't know when to quit. Charging a Marine warship head-on... Don't they know this ship is commanded by the legendary Rear Admiral Nao?
In just a few months, countless reckless fools had fallen to his blade.
But that smug confidence didn't last long.
As the pirate ship drew closer and the flag became clearly visible—everyone froze.
A pink top hat, fuzzy collar, bright red lipstick… waving skeletal hand…
"It's the BIG MOM Pirates!"
"Shit! Their territory is supposed to be way farther from here! Why the hell are they in this sea?!"
"All hands, prepare for battle!"
Luckily, everyone on board were elite Marines from the G1 Branch.
Despite the initial shock, they quickly regained composure and locked into position, their expressions alert and tense as they stared down the approaching pirate ship.
Nao stood at the front of the ship, hands gripping his twin swords, eyes narrowed, gaze locked on the pirate ship ahead.
Whole Cake Island was thousands of kilometers away from here. He didn't believe that the presence of the BIG MOM Pirates' ship here was a coincidence.
It was highly likely that they were specifically coming for him.
Was it to avenge Drought Dugalio?
Because the Beast Pirates were still embroiled in the Wano Country war and couldn't break away, they entrusted the BIG MOM Pirates, who were once allies, to act on their behalf?
The price paid must have been considerable. I wonder who's leading them…
Whoosh!
Suddenly, something shot into the air from the pirate ship, flying straight toward the Marine warship.
As it closed in, CRACK!—a deafening roar echoed through the air as two enormous bolts of lightning split the sky and slammed into either side of the deck.
In response—
Hum!
Nao drew his blades in a flash, unleashing a sweeping white arc of sword energy that cleaved both lightning bolts apart midair, scattering them into harmless sparks.
"Such precision in swordsmanship… No wonder he defeated Drought Dugalio."
A calm, deep male voice drifted down from the thunderclouds above.
At the same time, the enormous cloud began to descend until it hovered at sea level, parallel to the Marine ship.
Nao sheathed his swords and looked up, squinting into the light.
Standing atop the cloud were three figures. Leading them was a muscular man with crimson hair and stitched scars along his face, wrapped in a white scarf and clad in punk-style armor with pink tattoos across his left arm and chest.
He stood over five meters tall.
This was Charlotte Katakuri, Big Mom's second son and the highest-ranking of the Sweet Commanders.
Beside him was a bare-chested man with golden-orange hair styled like flaming blades, a sharp goatee, and a red cloak billowing behind him—Charlotte Oven, the fourth son and Katakuri's triplet brother.
The third was a silver-haired girl with a curvaceous figure and legs long enough to defy physics—Charlotte Smoothie, another Sweet Commander, still young but already frighteningly powerful.
On the deck of the pirate ship behind them, Nao also spotted the familiar faces of Perospero, High Fat, and Mont-d'Or—members of the Charlotte Family.
"Well, now. I'm flattered."
Nao's eyes shifted back to the towering figure standing atop the sentient cloud Zeus. With a light chuckle, he said:
"A dozen executives with bounties over 100 million, and half the Sweet Commanders, all deployed just to help the Beasts Pirates save face. Should I feel honored… or just really unlucky?"
But as he finished speaking—
He was surprised to see expressions of confusion flash across Katakuri and Smoothie's faces.
"Beasts Pirates?"
Katakuri turned to exchange glances with his brother Oven, both clearly baffled.
"You seem to have misunderstood something."
After a moment's pause, Katakuri lowered his gaze and said calmly:
"We're not here because of Kaido or Dugalio. We came on Mom's orders—to take you home and marry you. Future… Father."
Nao: "???"