NOVEL WEB Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Three months later
Time flew, and three months passed in the blink of an eye.
Ever since Sephiroth became a target of Hawk-Eyes, he immediately abandoned his alias as the Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro. A fight with the world's greatest swordsman, he knew, was not yet due. He wasn't ready to face Hawk-Eyes—not now.
Meanwhile, the technology for creating Devil Fruit-eating weapons was successfully traded for a whopping two hundred billion Berries, a substantial investment that promised great returns. Therefore, in his free time, Sephiroth also began to self-study knowledge in the field of biology in this world, hoping to fully understand the Lineage Factor through this—the key to his grand ambitions in the future.
As for the Umbrella Corporation, because Jim used his Baku Baku no Mi ability to create a memory alloy metal that could not be artificially synthesized, it held extremely high industrial value. When mixed into weapons, the metal could significantly enhance their performance, providing an unparalleled advantage. Thanks to this, the Umbrella Corporation's revenue began to skyrocket, making up for the capital deficit caused by the initial expenditure of two hundred billion Berries to acquire the technology.
On another note, after Tesoro reached a secret agreement with a certain government official, he also began trying his hand in the gambling and entertainment industries as well as the intelligence industry—a clever diversification of business. Overall, all of the Umbrella Corporation's businesses were developing in a positive direction, making Sephiroth consider whether he should resign from the Marines after graduating from the Marine Academy and focus solely on building his own career as a successful underground merchant.
However, this was merely a thought. He still needed the Marine platform to provide him with convenience, opportunities, and legitimacy. At least, for now.
Inside the First Class classroom at Marineford Military Academy.
After a grueling morning training session, most of the Military School Students in the class were sound asleep, sprawled across their desks, soft snores filling the room. It was clearly class time, but the stage was empty, with no instructor standing there to teach. Next week was the final integrated exam for cultural theory courses, and the relevant cultural theory courses had been completed last week. Therefore, all afternoon classes were replaced with self-study sessions, allowing the Military School Students to review at their leisure.
"Sephiroth..." Hina, who was sitting behind the silver-haired youth, poked him with the slender, fair index finger of her right hand.
"What's the matter...?" Sephiroth, who had been lying on his desk, lazily flipping through his textbook, showed a bewildered expression and turned to look at the pink-haired girl sitting to his left behind him.
Holding her textbook, Hina said with a hint of embarrassment, her cheeks faintly flushed: "Um... Hina has some questions she doesn't quite understand... Could I ask for your help?"
"What questions...?" Sephiroth asked, his drowsiness slightly fading.
"It's like this... In a naval battle, there are three ships of different models, chasing each other and heading towards Island A, but a sea tornado appears halfway..." The pink-haired girl opened her textbook and pointed to a comprehensive practice problem after the lesson, which looked complicated.
"Oh, this one! It's actually quite easy..." After a quick glance at the problem, Sephiroth already had an idea of how to solve it. Instantly, he turned around, placed his hand on Gion's desk, grabbed a piece of scratch paper and a pencil, then began to explain to the pink-haired girl patiently.
"So that's how it is... Hina understands!" Hina smiled broadly, her eyes sparkling.
"What about this problem?" Gion suddenly interjected, her voice overly sweet, which immediately put Sephiroth on guard.
"For this problem, we can first make an assumption..." Sephiroth began to explain.
...
Gion stared at the two people in front of her, and an inexplicable feeling of annoyance arose in her heart. Sephiroth was too patient with Hina!
"Little Brother Sephiroth, I also have a lot of things I don't understand! Tell me about them too! ... At worst, I'll repay you with my body later!" Gion said, a playful smile on her lips.
Sephiroth glanced at Gion, who was sitting directly behind him. After hearing her overly sweet words, he immediately retorted bluntly: "Get lost!" Sephiroth could swear that with the big-legged senior's terrible personality, the 'repayment with her body' she mentioned probably referred to chicken, duck, fish, beef, lamb... or some other type of meat, but definitely not the meat on her own body—this woman was utterly unpredictable!
After being brutally rejected, Gion wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, she propped her chin in her hand and said with a feigned sad expression: "Heh! Men are indeed heartless creatures. They often do this and that to you, but in the end, they always draw their swords and show no mercy!"
"Hey! What nonsense are you spouting?!" Sephiroth's face darkened as he immediately retorted, feeling his patience tested. "If I'm fighting you, should I just let you hit me without fighting back?" This woman's poison was getting stronger and stronger! He really couldn't take it anymore! He felt like he was going to suffer internal injuries from holding it in!
How about... Sephiroth thought, his eyes glancing out the window. During this week's holiday, he'd ask Kaji, the old professional, to take him for a stroll around the Red-Light District...? After all, the Umbrella Corporation was now on the right track, and he wasn't short of money. As a big Boss, he should start spending money and enjoying life! He'd rather go to the Red-Light District than deal with Gion. Not because Gion wasn't beautiful or anything... Sephiroth just felt that if he truly provoked this woman and something happened, there would definitely be big trouble later on. What if, one day, his relationship with the Boa Sisters was exposed? Given this woman's future strength and status, he couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't use the excuse of eliminating pirates to cause trouble for them. After spending time together, he was very certain that Gion, this woman, had her own strong opinions and was incredibly proud. She would absolutely not be like Boa Hancock, who would agree to any excessive demands from him...
Gion opened her textbook and stared at a problem, then spoke to him again in a half-joking, half-flirtatious tone: "Little Brother Sephiroth, I really don't know this problem!"
Suddenly!
Sephiroth felt the back of his hand on the desk sink as Gion's upper body leaned slightly forward, pressing down on his hand. The strong pressure made Sephiroth unable to break free. He tried several times but failed. This woman Gion was truly fierce!
"Hmph! I really don't believe you! Let me see..." After helping Hina solve her problem, Sephiroth turned to look at Gion's textbook and began explaining to her, giving in to the woman's insistence.
"Hehehe! Little Brother Sephiroth, how about we study in the small forest near the school tonight?" Gion teased him again, a meaningful smile on her lips.
"..." Sephiroth opened his mouth, almost agreeing, but he held back. If he dared to say "Okay!", this woman Gion would definitely abandon him all night, leaving him shivering in the small forest—this wasn't the first time he'd seen her antics! Time had ultimately smoothed all his rough edges, turning him into a somewhat reserved person in the face of Gion's teasing.
It's decided!
After school, tonight he was going to the Red-Light District!
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