"Senior Mekao, come take a look at this. Doesn't the draft of this warship seem a little strange?"
One of the younger shipwrights lowered his voice as he approached the old craftsman. His eyes remained fixed on the Marine vessel docked at G-8's harbor. Despite being guarded by only a handful of Marines, the ship sat unusually deep in the water, far deeper than a standard warship of its class should.
Mekao tightened a bolt with his wrench before glancing toward the vessel.
"It's probably transporting some kind of high-density material," he replied calmly. "Don't ask too many questions about matters like this. It could very well be a classified mission from Marine Headquarters."
In truth, Mekao had noticed the abnormality the moment the ship entered the harbor. The vessel's displacement was excessive. If not for the deep waters surrounding Marine Base G-8, the warship might not even have made it into port safely.
From the old shipwright's perspective, Rear Admiral Saint Roselith Seraphina's vessel was clearly carrying something extraordinary.
Especially considering how heavily guarded the repairs were.
"There's definitely something inside that outsiders aren't supposed to see," Mekao muttered inwardly.
"I see…"
The younger shipwright finally stopped pressing the issue.
Still, as the repair work progressed over the following days, accessing the interior of the vessel became unavoidable.
"We'll need to inspect the internal support structure for this section," one of the mechanics said to the guards. "Is it alright for us to enter?"
The two Marines stationed outside exchanged glances.
Inside the ship rested an enormous amount of gold from Shandora, but Rear Admiral Seraphina had never issued strict orders forbidding the logistics crew from entering.
After all, they were here to repair the ship.
"You may proceed."
The mechanics nodded and entered.
Not long afterward
"Senior Mekao… come look at this."
A pale-faced junior shipwright hurried out from one of the lower cabins and grabbed Mekao by the sleeve.
"What is it now?"
Without another word, the young man dragged him inside.
The moment Mekao stepped into the storage chamber, his eyes widened.
Gold.
Mountains of gold.
The dim cabin glimmered with blinding golden light reflected from countless bars, ornaments, statues, and fragments of treasure stacked carelessly across the floor. There was simply too much treasure to properly contain within crates.
The entire room looked like the treasury of a kingdom.
"This…!"
Even Mekao, a veteran who had spent decades in Marine logistics, felt his breath catch in his throat.
"Gold! It's all gold!"
"This entire ship is carrying treasure!"
The junior's voice trembled with excitement.
"Keep your voice down, idiot!"
Mekao immediately covered the young man's mouth and glared at him fiercely.
"Do you want the entire fortress to hear you?!"
Gold was something capable of driving men insane.
Even Marines were still human.
"B-but Senior Mekao… this amount…"
The younger shipwright's eyes remained glued to the treasure.
"Have you ever seen this much gold before?"
"No," Mekao answered honestly.
"And that Rear Admiral… she's way too young."
The junior lowered his voice further.
"Have you ever heard of someone becoming a Rear Admiral at that age?"
Mekao remained silent.
Indeed, Saint Roselith Seraphina was absurdly young.
Even within the history of the Marines, such a youthful Rear Admiral was almost unheard of.
Combined with this massive shipment of treasure, it was only natural for suspicion to arise.
"…This matter should be reported privately," Mekao finally said. "Do not spread rumors. I'll speak directly with the Base Commander."
As one of G-8's senior shipwrights, Mekao possessed the qualifications to request an audience with the commander himself.
And so
A short while later, Mekao stood before the commander of Marine Base G-8.
Vice Admiral Jonathan listened quietly while stroking his beard.
"Commander, that is the situation."
"I see."
Jonathan's expression barely changed.
"You handled this properly. Continue the repairs as usual and do not spread word of this matter."
"As for Rear Admiral Saint Roselith Seraphina's identity, there is no issue with it. There is no need for suspicion."
"Yes, sir!"
Mekao saluted and departed.
After the old shipwright left, Jonathan leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
"Gold…"
"They arrived from the direction of Jaya."
"There are old legends about the City of Gold near that sea…"
Jonathan tapped the desk lightly.
"Did they actually discover Shandora?"
For a moment, even he felt tempted to investigate further.
But in the end, he shook his head.
"Sakazuki and Headquarters would not make a mistake concerning someone like her."
"It's best not to interfere with Seraphina's affairs."
Jonathan was famed within the Marines for his strategic brilliance. Had his combat strength been greater, many believed he could have rivaled Vice Admiral Tsuru for the position of Chief Staff Officer.
A man like him understood one thing very clearly
There were certain matters better left untouched.
"Kuina, that's enough for this morning."
The blazing sun had already climbed high into the sky by the time Seraphina finally ended the training session.
Excessive training was not beneficial, especially for someone still growing.
Kuina wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded obediently.
"Yes, Teacher."
Her body felt exhausted after hours of intense sword drills and Haki exercises.
Observation Haki training, especially, placed tremendous strain on mental stamina.
Dragging her tired body behind her, Kuina followed Seraphina back toward the dormitory.
"Kuina-chan~ come here for a moment."
Seraphina's voice came from inside the room.
"Teacher? Is something wrong?"
Fresh from washing up, Kuina entered with a towel draped around her neck. Droplets of water still clung to her short black hair.
"Sit."
Seraphina sat quietly on the edge of the bed and gently patted the space beside her.
Kuina tilted her head in confusion but obediently sat down.
The next moment
"Mmm…"
A soft sound escaped her lips.
Seraphina had taken her arm and begun gently massaging the tense muscles with precise pressure.
Her slender fingers moved skillfully across Kuina's shoulders and forearms.
"I recently learned a few proper recovery techniques," Seraphina explained calmly. "Post-training relaxation is important."
Her fingers slid lower, carefully massaging Kuina's calves.
"Teacher…"
Kuina's body visibly relaxed.
The soreness accumulated from days of relentless training gradually melted away beneath Seraphina's touch.
"Nn… ah…"
Her exhausted muscles loosened almost instantly.
Seeing Kuina practically melting into the bed, Seraphina blinked in surprise.
"Is it really that comfortable?"
"It really is…"
Kuina bit her lip lightly while nodding.
It felt incredible.
Her entire body seemed weightless.
"Mhm…"
Unable to resist, Kuina let out a quiet hum as she collapsed limply against the mattress.
Only after ensuring her apprentice's muscles had fully relaxed did Seraphina finally stop.
And just like that
More than twenty days quietly passed at Marine Base G-8.
During that period, both Kuina and Seraphina underwent astonishing growth.
The peaceful environment of the fortress allowed them to devote themselves completely to training.
Kuina's Observation Haki improved rapidly.
Meanwhile, Seraphina's understanding of swordsmanship became even sharper and more refined.
She could feel it clearly.
The next time she crossed blades with Dracule Mihawk
She would win.
"Rear Admiral!"
Bruce hurried toward Seraphina with unusual urgency.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku has contacted us."
"What is it?"
Seraphina looked up from the documents in her hand.
"He says Headquarters wants us to investigate an underground weapons trafficking operation on Paga Island."
Bruce's expression turned serious.
"It appears to involve smuggling Seastone."
At the mention of Seastone, Seraphina frowned slightly.
"Kairoseki…"
That changed things somewhat.
Ordinary weapons trafficking was already difficult enough to regulate in the world of One Piece. Unlike modern nations, this era did not prohibit weapon ownership.
Most kingdoms openly manufactured and traded arms.
Even the World Government itself conducted weapons transactions regularly.
The true issue lay with illegal military-grade resources such as Seastone.
A mineral born only in the seas of Wano Country.
A substance capable of suppressing Devil Fruit users completely.
"Tell Fleet Admiral Sengoku the warship repairs are not complete yet," Seraphina replied calmly. "We will depart once the ship is restored."
"That's what I told him," Bruce answered helplessly. "But Fleet Admiral Sengoku already arranged a temporary warship for us."
"It seems Headquarters is taking this matter very seriously."
Seraphina fell silent briefly.
Then she sighed softly.
"…Fine."
"Accept the mission."