After all, when they first met, Nuo Xia was only just over 1.9 meters tall. Even though he has been growing slowly since then, he still has to stand on tiptoes when hugging Taotu.
Qingzhi swore that when he confessed his love during the investiture ceremony, he never laughed secretly when he saw Nuo Xia standing on tiptoes.
Because he pinched his thigh at that time.
But now...what the hell is this?
This guy's height is already much taller than my own afro. If I were a woman and wanted to talk to this guy, I would have to stand on my tiptoes...
Qing Pheasant's stunned look was noticed by Nuo Xia.
He laughed dumbly, and his heart felt light.
Speaking of which, when he first returned to Xihai, his height was 3.2 meters. After that, he grew for a while and then stagnated. It has been more than a month now and he has not grown at all.
Nuo Xia estimates that this is the limit of his height, and his current basic physical data is also fixed here:
Height: 3.40 meters.
Weight: 193 kg.
If he can ascend to the position of general in the future, there is no doubt that he will be the slender and tallest among the three generals.
After a few brief greetings, he and Qing Zhi said goodbye at the door of the building.
Not idle after that, Nuo Xia first went to the logistics department and received a house in the residential area behind the headquarters.
This benefit was actually something he could receive after graduating from the elite battalion and becoming a major general. However, he had been stationed in Xihai before, so he naturally did not have this need.
And now that he was left at the headquarters by his superiors, a place of his own was indispensable. After all, he was not married yet, so he couldn't stay in Taotu's house all the time.
The house is a two-story villa with an area of more than 500 square meters including the garden. It is spacious yet exquisite, and the decoration style is quite to Nuoxia's liking.
He looked left and right and was quite satisfied, so he decided on the spot.
After seeing off the accompanying staff from the logistics department, and just as he was about to pack his bags and move in, he suddenly saw a familiar figure coming in front of the apartment next door——
Karp, who had just finished lunch, opened the door of the courtyard leisurely with a shy belly and burping.
"..."
The two looked at each other through the fence and froze at the same time.
"Hahahahaha!"
Garp reacted first and burst into laughter, "Hey, hey, is there such a coincidence? Noxia! From now on, you and I will be neighbors!"
"...It's a bit of a coincidence, but I remember your previous residence was not here, right?" Nuo Xia was a little speechless, "When did you move here?"
He originally planned to take time out to visit his neighbors in the evening and get to know each other, but he didn't expect it to be this old man. Well...it saved him some effort.
"The previous house I got decades ago was too small..." Garp scratched his head, "It didn't matter if I lived alone before, but now, it's a bit crowded if I live there..."
What does this mean?
Could it be... Nuo Xia suddenly realized something and looked towards the front of the house along the cobblestone path of the Karp family's house.
I happened to see a little boy with black hair lying on the glass and looking here curiously.
It's Ace.
We haven't seen each other for a few months, but this little one has grown up a lot, at least he no longer has a pacifier in his mouth.
"Why does this little guy live with you?" Nuo Xia looked away and asked doubtfully, "Where is Lieutenant General Zhizi?"
"I've been assigned to the New World. The situation there is getting more and more complex, and we need resourceful senior management. In addition, that kid Sakaski is good at fighting, but his personality is too reckless and violent, and it's easy to get angry when his brain gets hot.
Above, someone needs to help him at this time."
Garp grinned, "And the only ones who can take care of these two things at the same time are Xiaohe and Zhizi."
Nuo Xia immediately understood.
"So before Lieutenant General Zhizi left, he entrusted Esto to your care?"
Nuo Xia rubbed her temples speechlessly and muttered in a low voice, "It's a shame that she can relax..."
"Huh? I heard it, you brat!"
Garp flew into a rage and punched Nuo Xia on the head, "You are too young to look after others. Don't think that I can't take care of my children when I am old. I have a lot of experience in raising children to become talents!"
Parenting to be successful?
Nuo Xia, who was hit on the head by an iron fist but remained calm as if nothing had happened, suddenly twitched at the corner of his eye.
Well, you are indeed experienced enough in this area...
The original intention is obviously to train future generations to become excellent navies.
As a result, the son became the head of the revolutionary army, the biological grandson clamored to become the Pirate King every day, and the god-grandson directly became Whitebeard’s son...
This education method may cause serious problems.
"Fortunately, Lieutenant General Zhizi is only temporarily stationed in the New World. He will eventually be able to come back and take over..."
Nuo Xia thought silently in her heart and stopped worrying about this topic. After thinking about it for a while, she lowered her voice a little and asked:
"Mr. Garp, do the Warring States General and Marshal Kong know Ace's identity?"
"I haven't said it yet." Garp shook his head, "It's okay to say that during the Warring States Period, Marshal Kong... Sometimes I can't figure out what he's thinking. It's best to keep Ace's identity a secret for now."
"I thought the same thing last time I saw Ace."
Nuo Xia glanced at the cute little boy with chubby cheeks behind the window, and said softly, "But then I thought about it carefully, maybe... making Ace's identity public is not necessarily a good thing?"
"Eh?"
Garp was stunned for a moment, then his eyes became thoughtful, "...What do you mean by this?"
"Positive publicity effect." Nuo Xiayi said simply, "Roger is the pirate who created the era of great pirates. Today, pirates are more prevalent in the sea than in the past, and he is inseparable from it."
"But what if the world knew that his son actually became a navy in the end?"
Nosha looked directly into Garp's eyes and said in a deep voice, "Both the headquarters and the World Government do not need to promote publicity. The mere existence of "Navy Ace" is the best satire on Roger.
It can not only attack those pirates who have dreams of so-called great secret treasures, but also increase the morale of our navy..."
"I understand what you mean."
Garp raised his hand to interrupt him, shook his head and said, "It's a good suggestion, but unfortunately, I will never adopt it."
"..." Nuo Xia was slightly startled, "Why? Wouldn't this be able to achieve multiple goals with one stone and make everyone happy?"
"But that kid won't like it!"
Garp pointed at the small figure behind the glass and grinned, "If it is made public, it will only make that kid criticized since he was a child. He will become an alien in the eyes of his peers and grow up in the shadow and exclusion."
!”
"Why should innocent children bear the responsibility of the previous generation?"
"Nosha, let me ask you, if you were the blood of the Pirate King and became a navy, what kind of environment would you have lived in since you were a child? If you grew up in such an environment, would you really be able to become an outstanding and qualified soldier?
Navy?"
"..."
Looking at Cap's piercing eyes, Nuo Xia fell into silence.
Having no father or mother in his previous life, being isolated and ostracized when he was young, and being bullied and violent by his peers, how terrible it is... He has experienced it himself, and naturally knows it very well.
"I see."
After a long time, Nuo Xia sighed softly and said to Garp, "It's because I didn't think well. Just pretend that I didn't mention what I just said and just let the status quo continue and let that little guy..."
Looking at the glass, Ace had climbed up the window sill and was smiling silly and cheerfully at him. Nuo Xia couldn't help but smile too, "Just spend your childhood happily and carefree."
Garp stood on tiptoe, smiled happily and patted his shoulder.
————————
All afternoon, Nuo Xia was busy cleaning the room and buying furniture.
By the time everything was done, it was completely dark. His hungry stomach was growling and he immediately went to the restaurant, where he happened to run into a group of friends from the elite camp.
"Ehehe... Nuo... Nuo Xia?"
"Idiot, I'm going to call you Lieutenant General Noxia!"
When the old friends reunited, at first because of the huge difference in their identities, the other students, except Rocinante, were a little hesitant.
But Nuo Xia was Nuo Xia after all. Infected by his friendly smile, the atmosphere quickly became warm and cheerful again.
Everyone talked about everything until eight or nine o'clock in the night, and then they said goodbye without finishing their thoughts.
Before parting, Luo Nandi secretly approached Nuo Xia alone and told him excitedly that he had completed registration and preparations and was about to participate in the graduation assessment at the end of the year.
"Great."
Nuo Xia hammered his chest hard and encouraged, "Work harder, little Rossi. With your strength, as long as you don't have stage fright, you will be at least a lieutenant colonel when you are awarded the title."
"It's not that exaggerated. Brother Nuo Xia, I, you, and that guy Xiliu can't compare..."
Rosinandi scratched his head in embarrassment and laughed, "I am very happy to have a major. Oh, by the way, the investiture ceremony will be held when the time comes. Brother Nuo Xia, you must come and see it!"
"Don't worry, no matter how busy I am, I will still find some time."
Nuo Xia also smiled.
He watched Rosinandi and others wave away, and he was about to turn around and go home to rest, but at this moment, an extremely strong burning sensation suddenly came from the center of his eyebrows...
This is an early warning reminder for a specially designed life card.
Nuo Xia immediately opened the system panel and looked at the new screen reminder that popped up in the life card in the backpack column.
Among the six distributed cards, the one belonging to Bellemere was burning at a speed visible to the naked eye...
What's going on?
Noxia's expression immediately changed. Didn't Bellmere already eat the Rust Fruit he gave her and become a Devil Fruit user? How could he encounter a life-threatening threat in a place like the East China Sea?
There was a chill in his eyes.
No time to think too much.
Seeing that the sky was dark and there was no one around, Nuo Xia immediately dodged into the woods behind the restaurant. At the same time, with a thought, he instantly activated the transmission function of the life card.
————————
East China Sea, Gargas Island.
This was originally an island with bustling commerce and trade, but since it was jointly occupied by two pirate groups passing by three days ago, it has become an out-and-out hell on earth.
The pirates plundered everywhere and indulged their desires wantonly. Countless families were broken up, corpses were scattered everywhere, houses were burned down, and the lively streets were turned into ruins...
It was under such circumstances that the warships of Branch 16 rushed here for emergency assistance, and a protracted battle broke out with the two big pirate groups.
The battle was extremely fierce, and more than 200 of the more than 500 naval soldiers were killed or seriously injured.
If Bellemere, as a second lieutenant of the navy, had not stopped the two pirate captains of the opponent alone and defeated them with difficulty in a hard battle that lasted for several hours, the number of casualties would have been at least doubled.
After the battle, the sky darkened, dark clouds piled up, and light rain fell, as if in silent mourning for the heroic souls who died on the ground...
Under the rain, Bellemeier clutched his bloody shoulder wound and limped along among the ruins.
There was little time to bandage and heal her injuries. Before the rain became heavier, she had to do her best to work with her comrades in the army to rescue as many surviving people as possible from the ruins...
"Hey, Bellemere!"
A familiar sailor couldn't help but persuade her, "You have done well enough just now, go and have a rest, and leave the rest to us!"
"How can that be done!"
The girl with a maroon ponytail glared at the guy first, then grinned, "Don't worry, I'm fine... Come on, give me a shovel!"
"You guy..."
The comrades knew that she was stubborn and could not be persuaded, so they had no choice but to shovel the extra engineers and throw them away.
"Thanks!"
Bellmer laughed heartily, but when she turned her back, she couldn't help but gasp in pain. She gritted her teeth, pushed back her sleeves, picked up the engineering shovel, and joined the excavation and rescue team.
Even though she was seriously injured, she was still much more efficient than other marines. When encountering large metal obstacles, she could use the power of the Rust Fruit to easily resolve them.
After fighting for half an hour, more than ten trapped people were rescued from the rubble.