78: Chatterbox

"Ahhh, what's the big deal? Come here, give me a kiss!"

Vivian grinned mischievously, stretching out her massive hand toward Kizaru.

A cold sweat ran down his back.

If he let her grab him like a doll and plant a giant wet kiss on him, his dignity as an admiral would be utterly destroyed.

"Stop messing around!"

Kizaru barked in a rare moment of seriousness, slapping her hand away before she could snatch him up.

For once, the Ageless Admiral wasn't smiling.

"Hehehe, relax, it was just a joke!"

Vivian giggled, backing off slightly.

"Here, let me introduce you to my new little sister!"

She bounded off toward one of the newly arrived warships, leaving Kizaru rubbing his temples in exasperation.

Some days, he seriously wished he could travel back in time and punch his younger self.

Why had he flirted with her in the first place?!

"Kizaru-san.."

A sharp voice called out from behind him.

Kizaru flinched.

Whenever Nami was angry, she always used that tone—and his full name.

She had long since accepted that he was a certified scumbag, but the idea of him flirting with a giant was beyond even her expectations.

Kizaru coughed awkwardly.

"Ahem. Vivian was just my subordinate back in the day. That's just… her personality! I swear, I never made a move on her!"

Kizaru spoke with an air of righteousness, but unfortunately, using the same tricks too often made them ineffective.

Not only was Nami immune to his antics, but even someone as naive as Hancock had seen through him before.

Before Nami could even open her mouth, however, Vivian came dragging along a grumpy-looking female giant, dressed in a super short qipao and a fur cape.

"Hey, Boss Kizaru, this kid here is Geltz, from the warrior village of Elbaf!"

Vivian patted Geltz on the shoulder. The newcomer was half a head shorter than Vivian, but still terrifyingly huge compared to normal humans.

Even at three meters tall, Kizaru barely reached Geltz's knees.

"I already told you, I haven't agreed to join the Navy yet!"

Geltz looked down at the "tiny" Kizaru with a hint of disdain.

As a warrior of Elbaf, the world's strongest country, her pride was practically visible.

Even though she knew Kizaru was stronger, Geltz refused to bow her head so easily.

BANG

Unfortunately for her, Vivian wasn't one to spoil brats.

She smacked Geltz on the head with a flick of her finger—so hard that Nami flinched in terror.

If Nami had been on the receiving end of that hit, she probably wouldn't have survived.

"OW What the hell was that for"

Geltz's eyes welled up with tears, but she only dared to glare at Vivian.

Even though they were about the same age, Vivian was undoubtedly one of the strongest Giant Vice Admirals in the Navy.

With her mastery of both types of Haki, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Even if she weren't a giant, only Vice Admiral Garp and Admiral candidates Gion and Tokikake could consistently beat her.

Even in Elbaf, Vivian was renowned as a warrior.

At one point, the King of Elbaf even considered having Prince Loki marry her—a move that would have solidified ties between the Giants and the World Government.

The Navy and the Government had been thrilled at the possibility.

After all, trading one Giant Vice Admiral for an alliance with Elbaf was an amazing deal.

Who could have expected the whole thing to fall apart because Vivian outright refused

Had it not been for Kizaru's protection, she would have definitely been punished for rejecting such a golden opportunity.

"If you don't like it, fight back"

Vivian sneered.

The warrior culture of Elbaf was simple and direct—if you had a problem, you settled it with violence.

"I'LL KILL YOU"

Geltz was so furious that her chest trembled, and without hesitation, she swung her massive battle-axe straight at Vivian.

"Heh Bring it on"

Vivian laughed wildly, completely ignoring the fact that they were in Marineford, and clashed with Geltz using her massive odachi.

The watching Marines panicked and fled in every direction.

A falling giant could crush dozens of people under sheer weight alone.

CLANG

Vivian's odachi clashed with Geltz's battle-axe, creating a deafening metallic screech that sent several Marines sprawling just from the shockwave.

It was obvious that Vivian wasn't taking this seriously.

If she had, she wouldn't have even needed Armament Haki—her raw strength and technique alone were enough to crush Geltz.

"I'M NOT LOSING TO YOU"

Geltz's face turned red as she pushed back with all her might.

"Tch What a naive little brat"

Vivian cackled, completely ignoring the fact that she wasn't much older herself.

She was just about to put Geltz in her place when—

"That's enough, If you two keep this up, I'm gonna get mad."

Kizaru sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration.

Ever since rejecting Prince Loki's proposal, Vivian had been doing whatever she wanted.

With Kizaru shielding her, neither the Navy nor the World Government could punish her outright, but they certainly weren't happy with her attitude.

As a result, she had completely given up on being a proper Marine, becoming the second-biggest slacker in the Navy—right behind Kizaru himself.

This wasn't even the first time she had picked a fight in Marineford.

If she weren't so ridiculously strong, and if she weren't the unofficial leader of the Giant Vice Admirals, Fleet Admiral Sengoku wouldn't have bothered calling her back to Marine Headquarters.

"Roger that… Hey, Geltz, did you hear that Boss Kizaru's getting mad—no more fighting"

Vivian grinned playfully and stepped forward, effortlessly snatching Geltz's battle-axe away with her bare hands.

Furious, Geltz tried to retaliate with a punch, only for Vivian to grab her wrist and twist it backward. Forced to turn around in the direction of the twist, Geltz could do nothing but glare at Vivian over her shoulder in frustration.

"I just don't know what to do with you. Come on, I'll treat you to a meal."

Kizaru shook his head. Finally, the two meatheads had stopped fighting—any longer, and things would've gotten out of hand.

"Oh Boss I want a hamburger steak"

Vivian cheered, trailing behind Kizaru like an oversized little girl.

Now free, Geltz didn't dare provoke Vivian any further. Elbaf's giants were violent, but they weren't idiots. She knew she couldn't win against Vivian, and she wasn't foolish enough to ask for another beating.

Still, she quietly marked this down in her mental ledger—one day, she'd get her revenge on that damn woman.

Meanwhile, Nami, who was walking beside Kizaru, shot an equally unhappy look at Vivian.

It wasn't uncommon for women to have rivalries, and in a way, this was another kind of competition. Back when she met Gion, they had hit it off instantly. If Gion hadn't already been Vice Admiral Tsuru's sworn sister, Nami would've probably made her an honorary big sister on the spot.

But with Vivian, Nami found herself disliking her more and more.

Her hair was annoyingly long, but not long enough—pick a side already.

She could've at least cut it short, but no—she had to keep it at that irritating in-between length.

And the worst part She had the audacity to have hair that was the exact shade of gold that Nami loved.

It pissed her off.

From head to toe, from clothes to shoes, from personality to the way she spoke—everything about Vivian got under Nami's skin.

Luckily, Kizaru had been walking fast from the start, as if he had no interest in talking to Vivian at all.

Nami had to jog just to keep up, but for once, she didn't mind.

That was, until she realized why Kizaru was walking so fast.

"Boss Boss is it true that HQ is really going to war with the Whitebeard Pirates"

"Boss What does Fire Fist Ace look like"

"Boss—"

"...I'm so sorry, Sentomaru. I'll never call you a chatterbox again."

Nami wanted nothing more than to cover her ears and block out Vivian's nonstop chatter.

She had thought Sentomaru was the biggest loudmouth in the Navy, but compared to Vivian, he was practically a stoic, mysterious man of few words.

And the worst part Vivian wasn't just a chatterbox—she was an aggressively friendly one.

After a while, when she realized Kizaru was ignoring her, she shifted her focus to Nami.

"Nami, how long have you been following the Boss"

"Nami, why do you smell like oranges"

"Nami—"

Expressionless, Nami quickened her pace, but against a giant's long strides, her "little short legs" were useless.

Even if she ran so fast her feet sparked against the ground, there was no escaping Vivian.

"Is she a Den Den Mushi in disguise"

On the verge of tears, Nami decided to copy Kizaru—she emptied her mind, pretending not to hear a thing.

Sure enough, after getting bored, Vivian turned her attention to Geltz, who was reluctantly trailing behind.

Just as Nami was about to enjoy watching Geltz suffer, she froze in horror.

Geltz was... actually keeping up.

The two of them were chatting away like old friends.

They were both chatterboxes.

As the endless stream of "blah blah blah" filled the air behind her, Nami's soul nearly left her body.

For the first time in her life, she was absolutely certain—there was no way she could allow Vivian to stay by Kizaru's side.

One Vivian was already unbearable.

If she stayed, it'd be a buy-one-get-one-free deal with Geltz included.

Who the hell could survive that

"Agh"

Lost in her misery, Nami suddenly smacked into Kizaru's back.

For some reason, he had come to a stop.

Not far ahead, in the middle of the plaza, workers were busy constructing the execution platform.

At this rate, it would be finished in a day or two.

"...What's wrong"

Nami waited for a moment, then couldn't help but ask,

"What is it?"

She glanced in the direction Kizaru was looking. Aside from the unfinished execution platform, there was nothing noteworthy.

"It's nothing. Let's go report to Fleet Admiral Sengoku first."

Kizaru shook his head. He had a decent relationship with Garp, and thinking about how, in a few days, Garp would have to stand beneath the execution platform and watch Ace be put to death—it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

But when Kizaru stepped into Sengoku's office and saw Garp sitting there, the old Navy hero was as carefree as ever, as if he wasn't bothered by Ace's impending execution at all.

"Ahahahaha! Now that Vivian is back, you're in for a headache, Kizaru."

Garp laughed gleefully from his spot on the couch, clearly recalling the lasting impression Vivian's chatterbox nature had left on him.

"Yeah, and I still have to take her out for a meal later. You want to come?"

Kizaru replied sourly. If he had known Vivian would return this soon, he would have taken his sweet time escorting Jinbei to Impel Down before coming back.

"Pfft, no way in hell. Don't even think about dragging me into this mess!"

Garp stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth and glared at Kizaru.

He didn't mind chatting with the younger generation—but not with Vivian. Absolutely not.

The last time Kizaru had tricked him into taking Vivian on his ship for a short voyage, he had nightmares for a week. Every night, he dreamed of a hundred Vivians surrounding him, all talking nonstop.

It was pure torture.

"What's so bad about a lively young girl?"

Vice Admiral Tsuru, who had been resting with her eyes closed, spoke calmly.

At that, both Kizaru and Garp instinctively shut their mouths.

Compared to Tsuru's infamous lectures, Vivian's chatter was nothing. Even someone like Doflamingo, a born criminal, couldn't withstand Tsuru's lectures—they were practically a mental attack.

"If you two have so much free time to chat, why don't you help me with some paperwork?"

Sengoku tapped his desk, grabbing a document and casually feeding it to his pet goat. Within seconds, the paper was gone.

"The weather's nice today. I think Dalmatian just got back—how about a trip to the hot springs tonight?"

Kizaru pretended not to hear Sengoku's suggestion and instead turned to Garp. Asking him to do paperwork was wishful thinking.

"If you two don't have any actual business here, get out! Stop getting in my way!"

Sengoku slammed his desk in frustration. If these two idiots were even a little more diligent, his job as Fleet Admiral wouldn't be half as exhausting.

Kicked out of the office, Kizaru took the two female giants to the Navy mess hall for dinner.

Although called a "mess hall," the dining area reserved for high-ranking officers was far from ordinary.

To accommodate the two giants, as well as several of Kizaru's fellow "slackers," he had no choice but to book the entire place.

Sixty chefs took turns cooking for over two hours just to feed the two giant women and a group of famously big eaters from Marine Headquarters.

"The last time we all drank together like this was for Instructor Zephyr's birthday, wasn't it?"

Dalmatian mused. Among the Vice Admirals present, aside from him, there were Comir, Maynard, and Bastille.

With the addition of Vivian, the sole female giant Vice Admiral, this group made up most of Kizaru's so-called "Slacker Faction."

Unlike the traditional Hawk and Dove factions, which had clear ideological goals, Kizaru's faction was more of a loose collective of people who followed his lead.

Even Kizaru's fiancée, Gion, wasn't considered part of it.

Interestingly, most giant Vice Admirals, including Gion, didn't officially belong to any faction—they were their own separate force.

Vivian, however, was the exception.

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