The Ope Ope no Mi mission ended in failure.
Admiral Sengoku was summoned to Mary Geoise and subjected to a thorough dressing-down. However, with Doflamingo's involvement in the entire affair, the World Government had a rough understanding of what actually happened.
More importantly, Sengoku was a seasoned political operator. He skillfully redirected blame where it belonged. The World Government bore some fault too. After all, if they hadn't concealed the Ope Ope no Mi's true immortality power, Sengoku wouldn't have ended up in this mess.
In the end, he was scolded and nothing more. Not a big deal.
As for Trafalgar Law, the current wielder of the Ope Ope no Mi, his identity was concealed by Admiral Sengoku. Law wouldn't be sent to Chief Instructor Zephyr for standard training. Instead, Sengoku seemed prepared to personally train Law as his "adopted grandson."
Early morning, Finn's residence in Marineford.
Finn stood in front of the bathroom sink wearing only a pair of shorts, brushing his teeth. His physique was impressive, muscles tight and defined from years of combat and training.
As he finished brushing and began washing his face, Gion wandered into the bathroom in a daze. She'd clearly just woken up, wearing one of Finn's white short-sleeved shirts. The garment was oversized on her, hanging down to mid-thigh.
She wasn't wearing pants at all. Her long, pale legs moved with unconscious grace as she walked past Finn without a word.
Finn glanced at her briefly, then returned his attention to the mirror. They'd been together long enough that such sights had lost their novelty.
Gion didn't seem to register Finn's presence at all. Or perhaps she simply didn't care. She walked directly to the toilet behind the sink without closing the door and sat down in a sleepy haze.
Even after Finn finished washing his face and turned off the faucet, he could still hear the sound of running water from behind him.
"Hey. You over there on the toilet. The one known as the most beautiful woman in the Marines. Could you please pay some attention to your image? I'm still standing here while you're peeing." Finn picked up a towel and wiped the water from his face, his tone carrying helpless exasperation.
Turns out goddesses aren't fairies after all. They also need to eat, drink, and use the toilet like everyone else.
Don't be fooled by Gion's glamorous exterior. She was known as the flower of the Marines, with countless suitors chasing after her. Only after she and Finn established their relationship in recent years had those admirers finally backed off.
But in truth, Gion had quickly revealed her true self after moving in with Finn.
For instance, she was incredibly lazy. Aside from dressing herself up beautifully for work, she couldn't manage anything else. The moment she got home, clothes and pants went flying everywhere. When she needed something to wear later, she'd search frantically, sometimes unable to find even her own pajamas. That's when she'd just wear Finn's clothes instead, like now.
Her sleeping posture was atrocious. They'd go to bed peacefully, but when Finn woke up in the morning, Gion would either be wrapped around him like an octopus or she'd have rolled up the entire blanket, leaving him completely exposed.
Good thing his physique was strong, or he'd have caught a cold long ago.
Then there was how she'd evolved to the point of not needing to maintain her "goddess" image around Finn at all.
Sometimes Finn got off work slightly later than her. When he arrived home, he'd find Gion sprawled on the sofa, her beloved sword Konpira tossed carelessly on the floor. She'd be reading a romance novel in one hand while picking at her toes with the other, completely natural and unashamed.
Or Finn would be sitting quietly in the yard reading a newspaper when Gion would walk past while watering the plants, then fart loudly without any embarrassment whatsoever.
In short, around Finn, Gion had no image burden. She didn't care about her goddess temperament one bit. She simply did whatever felt comfortable.
Of course, Finn had gradually gotten used to Gion's behavior. Though he felt she was becoming increasingly shameless, there was also something warm about it.
He knew their relationship had reached a point where hiding anything was unnecessary.
Gion finished her business, cleaned up, and washed herself. Then she walked to Finn's side, bumped him away from the sink with her hip, turned on the faucet, and washed her hands. "People have urgent needs. I had to pee the moment I woke up. Was I supposed to hold it?"
"I suppose you have a point," Finn muttered.
After washing her hands, Gion began washing her face and brushing her teeth. While squeezing toothpaste onto her brush, she asked, "There aren't any meetings today, and headquarters seems quiet. Are you heading to the office early?"
"No rush. I'm not going to the office today." Finn turned and walked out of the bathroom.
He made himself a pot of tea in the kitchen, then found a clean white shirt to put on before searching for clean pants.
Gion poked her head out of the bathroom, toothbrush still in her mouth. "So it's a day off? Since you're not in a hurry, why don't you wait a bit? I'll make you a proper meal. It's been forever since we had breakfast together."
After Finn pulled on his pants, he smiled. "All right. What are you making?"
"Buttered bread, hot milk, and coffee?" Gion thought for a moment, then smiled. "Sound good?"
"What kind of feast is that?" Finn shot her an unimpressed look.
Gion ducked back into the bathroom to rinse the toothpaste from her mouth, then stuck her head out again. "You shouldn't eat anything too heavy in the morning. This is already pretty good, okay?"
Finn ignored her, opening the bedroom door and preparing to head out to the courtyard gate to retrieve the newspaper.
Gion hadn't expected him to just leave. She thought he was sulking a bit. A flush crossed her cheeks. "Hey!"
Finn paused, turning to look at her. "What?"
"At worst..." Gion's voice dropped, embarrassment coloring her tone. "You can add me to your breakfast?"
She immediately pulled her head back inside, then her voice drifted out again. "Does that count as a feast?"
Finn stood frozen for a moment. Was this woman seriously trying to seduce him first thing in the morning?
After a brief pause, Finn closed the door. It wasn't about the newspaper. The main thing was that skipping breakfast affected your health. Health was important...
Hearing the door close, Gion peeked out again. She saw Finn sitting on the edge of the bed, removing the clothes he'd just put on.
"What are you doing?" Gion asked, confused.
"What do you think?" Finn glared at her. "Waiting for breakfast, obviously."
"Hahahahaha! Old pervert." Gion laughed, the sound bright and teasing.
"I'm doing this for my health." Finn's expression was completely shameless. "As a Marine Admiral, if I'm healthy, I can accomplish more and better serve the world. Therefore, this isn't just a personal matter. It's a global concern. Do you understand? This is official business."
"Official business. Right." Gion grinned.
Two minutes later—no, two hours later—Finn opened the door again.
He walked out stretching, moved through the living room, and reached the entrance. Opening the front door, the scent of green plants in the courtyard and fresh morning air rushed into his lungs, refreshing him immediately.
"Nice weather today." Finn glanced at Marineford's cloudless sky.
He walked to the courtyard gate where a newspaper sat waiting in the mailbox. He retrieved it and turned back toward the house.
When he entered, Gion was already toasting bread in the bread machine. Various jams sat arranged on the table.
Finn said nothing, simply settling onto the living room sofa and opening the newspaper.
Whether major events were occurring could usually be determined from the front page headlines. If they were filled with entertainment gossip or trivial matters, nothing serious was happening.
Today wasn't particularly noteworthy. Charlotte Katakuri, a commander of the Big Mom Pirates, had defeated Whitey Bay, the Ice Witch and captain of an independent division under Whitebeard.
Then the Great Maelstrom Spider Squard had arrived in time to rescue Whitey Bay. The Big Mom Pirates claimed the small-scale victory.
Recently, battles of various sizes between the Big Mom Pirates, the Beasts Pirates, and the Whitebeard Pirates had been constant, with victories and losses on all sides. Finn naturally didn't pay much attention to this news.
"Anything big happening?" Gion asked curiously, bringing over bread spread with jam and butter along with hot milk. She set everything on the small table in front of the sofa.
Finn folded the newspaper. "No. Just Charlotte Linlin and Kaido's alliance fighting against old man Whitebeard."
"Same old, same old." Gion picked up a piece of bread and started eating.
"Come to think of it," she said after swallowing, "I heard from Admiral Sengoku yesterday that the higher-ups are pressuring us again about Fisher Tiger and the Revolutionary Army."
"Ah. If you calculate the timeline, there's still half a year left." Finn's tone was casual. "I wonder if Jinbe's gotten it done yet."
"Should be soon, right?" Gion replied.
She let that topic drop and asked instead, "Are you going out?"
"Yeah. Heading to the New World this afternoon." Finn nodded, eating his bread and drinking milk.
"Where to?" Gion's curiosity was genuine.
"To see Smoker. He wants the Gold-Gold Fruit. And Dragon. We have business to discuss." Finn's voice was quiet.
Smoker's situation was straightforward. The Gold-Gold Fruit was going to him.
Originally, delivering a single Devil Fruit didn't require Finn to go personally. He could've sent someone else. But Dragon had requested another meeting, saying he wanted to discuss retrieving the treasure buried beneath the Red Line.
Thinking the timing was right, Finn had agreed and decided to make the trip to the New World.
Gion nodded without pressing further. Instead, Finn asked, "What about you? If you're free, want to come along?"
Gion considered for a moment, then shook her head. "No. I've been planning to have Doberman step down as G-7 base commander and transfer him back to Headquarters. Vergo can't follow you anymore, and you really need someone capable. I need to figure out who should take over at G-7."
Finn had no objection to Gion handling these arrangements. He felt it was time to bring Doberman back anyway. Casually, he suggested, "What about Saul? If he's suitable, I could promote him to Vice Admiral. Let him serve at G-7 for two years, then bring him back to command the Giant Squad."
"Saul isn't suitable." Gion shook her head firmly. "He's strong and qualified, but his thinking isn't sharp enough. G-7 doesn't need just a strong Vice Admiral. It needs a smart one, someone who can handle complex operations. That'll make everything easier to manage."
Finn had no argument with that assessment. After swallowing his bread, he thought for a moment. "Then transfer both Doberman and Saul back to Headquarters. Appoint Momonga as the new G-7 base commander. He was previously managing operations in the Calm Belt, so he's already familiar with the region. We can trust him with the position."
"Momonga?" Gion considered it, then smiled and nodded. "All right. That works."