Chapter 5: A Very Cooperative Attitude
Tina's brow furrowed slightly. This was a man who didn't care about reputation? The theatrics were absurd.
He was just a branch captain. Was it truly necessary to have a personal, throne-like tiger-skin chair carried around? If this was his demeanor in the remote East Blue, what level of arrogance would he display after being promoted to Commodore at Headquarters?
Ian read the subtle shift in her expression—a flicker of disdain quickly masked by professional neutrality. She was dissatisfied.
So what?
He was heading to Headquarters to become a Commodore. The dissatisfaction of a mere Captain was inconsequential, a ripple in a pond. This was his territory, the East Blue. Here, he would make it abundantly clear who held the real power.
"Captain Ian," Tina began, her voice cutting through the silent tension, "before we depart, there is a standard Headquarters personnel review form that requires your completion. Some questions pertain to personal abilities and require your full cooperation. I will be conducting this review personally, on behalf of Marine Headquarters."
When she mentioned "personal abilities," her gaze intensified, lingering on him with pointed significance.
Personal ability review?
The annual reports submitted to Headquarters had always clearly and meticulously detailed his Devil Fruit. For them to send a Captain on a separate mission to conduct an "ability review" in person, so urgently… It confirmed his suspicions. Headquarters had specific doubts about his Human-Human Fruit.
This only solidified his resolve to keep his awakening a secret for now.
"Of course, no problem at all, Captain Tina," Ian replied, his tone light and agreeable. He spread his hands in a gesture of open confusion. "But how do you intend to conduct this review? You don't plan to have a sparring session with me right here in the hall, do you?"
"Of course not. This is merely a formal inquiry. I will ask the questions and record your responses." As she spoke, Tina raised a hand. Her adjutant, Morek, stepped forward smartly and handed her a notepad and pen.
"First question, Captain Jock Ian," she started, her eyes locked onto his, unblinking, searching for the slightest micro-expression. "The records indicate you consumed the Animal-Type, Human-Human Fruit. Please describe how you confirmed it was specifically the Human-Human Fruit, and not another Devil Fruit with similar properties."
Just as he thought. Tina's hidden mission was directly tied to the nature of his power. It was no coincidence she was here.
But that was fine. Whether here or at Headquarters, this interrogation was inevitable. He had long prepared a countermeasure.
"I didn't know at first," Ian began, his voice calm, his face a mask of earnest recollection. "After I… accidentally ate the fruit, I didn't feel any significant changes, aside from a slight increase in my physical strength. I thought I'd just eaten a particularly strange-tasting piece of produce."
He paused, as if digging through old memories. "It was a few years later that I came across a book—a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia. It recorded the names, abilities, and appearances of countless fruits. The Animal-Type Ox-Ox Fruit was shaped like a banana. The Logia-Type Flame-Flame Fruit was depicted as a swirling fireball. The Paramecia Ope-Ope Fruit was a vibrant red heart…"
He met her gaze squarely. "And the Animal-Type Human-Human Fruit I ate was shaped like a pale, gilled mushroom. It was a perfect match for the illustration. That's when I understood why I'd gained no overt, supernatural power or dramatic transformation. The fruit's effect was… ironically mundane."
His story flowed smoothly, punctuated by perfectly timed looks of reminiscence. There wasn't a single crack in his performance.
This reason, of course, was a complete fabrication, a narrative he had crafted long ago for this very situation. Devil Fruits with obvious, flashy powers needed little explanation. But a human who ate the Human-Human Fruit and could definitively identify it? That required a plausible story, and the myth of the Encyclopedia was a common enough legend to be believable.
From Tina's unchanged expression, she seemed to have detected no lie.
"Noted," she said flatly, scribbling in her pad. "Proceeding to the second question. A defining characteristic of a Zoan-type user is the ability to access three distinct forms post-consumption. Captain Jock Ian, please demonstrate these three transformations for the record. I am keen to observe them."
She fixed him with that unblinking stare once more.
"Okay!" Ian agreed without hesitation.
Then, silence.
The two of them sat motionless, staring at each other across the room. The only sound was the distant cry of a seagull.
Tina's eyebrow twitched slightly. "…"
Ian's face remained a placid blank slate. "…"
After a long, uncomfortable moment, Tina was the first to break. "Captain Ian. Your cooperation is required."
"I am cooperating," Ian said, leaning back in his throne. He glanced at Nami. "Nami, have I not been cooperative?"
Nami, suddenly put on the spot, stiffened. "You… you have been cooperative, sir."
The adjutant, Morek, scowled at Nami from behind Tina. "What kind of cooperation is this?" he interjected, his voice laced with impatience. "Apart from sitting there, there's been no change at all!"
"Hey. You."
Ian's finger shot out, pointing directly at Morek. His face darkened, the earlier nonchalance evaporating into a cloud of palpable displeasure. "What's your name?"
Morek straightened his spine, meeting Ian's gaze with rigid formality. "I am Lieutenant Morek, of Marine Headquarters. Adjutant to Captain Tina, here to assist in the completion of her mission in the East Blue."
Ian nodded slowly, a deliberately lazy gesture. Then, in a theatrically loud voice, he asked Nami, "Nami! My memory is failing me. What exactly does my letter of appointment say? What is the rank I am to assume at Headquarters?"
Nami, catching on instantly, stood at perfect attention, her voice clear and ringing. "Reporting, Captain Ian! You are to be appointed as a Commodore of Marine Headquarters!"
Ian leaned forward, his eyes narrowing and locking onto Morek with the intensity of a hawk sighting its prey. "Oh, a Commodore…" he mused, his voice a low, dangerous drawl. "Let me see… compared to a Lieutenant…"
Morek's mouth went dry. A cold sweat trickled down his spine as Ian's gaze seemed to pin him in place. The unspoken message was as sharp as a blade: Know your place. It is not your turn to speak.
Tina was sharp enough to catch the underlying threat immediately.
"Captain Ian," she said, her tone sharp and authoritative. "Mind your attitude. Following the chain of command is the duty of every Marine. Until you arrive at Headquarters and complete the official promotion ceremony, your active rank remains that of a Branch Captain. And I am a Captain of Headquarters. Remember your current position and continue to cooperate with this review. Do not prevaricate. Do not joke. I am growing increasingly dissatisfied with your conduct."
The hierarchy was clear. A Headquarters Captain held undeniable authority over a Branch Captain, even a celebrated one. She was pulling rank, and she wasn't wrong to do so.
Ironically, Ian didn't despise such tactics. He was, after all, a master of them himself.
"Okay. Very good," Ian said, a slow smile spreading across his face that didn't reach his eyes. "I am happy to cooperate. But you were the one who started the jokes, Captain Tina."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping. "You asked me to demonstrate my three forms. And I did. Human Form. Human Form. And… Human Form." He spread his hands wide. "I ate the Human-Human Fruit. What other transformation were you expecting? Should I suddenly turn into a giant baboon for your amusement? I'd love to oblige, but I'm afraid I simply can't."
Tina: "…"
She felt a headache coming on. He was clearly being obstinate, twisting her words with a logic that was just plausible enough to be infuriating. If she let this continue, the mission Headquarters had entrusted to her would be a complete failure.
"Very well," she conceded, shifting tactics. "Setting the transformations aside. After consuming the Human-Human Fruit, did you develop any special abilities at all?"
End of Chapter