"Hearing you want to change your tattoo, I came to lend a hand. You know, I'm quite talented at drawing. I can do tattoos, too. Want to give it a try?"
Arton walked up to Nami with a big smile.
"Hehe, of course," Nami replied. "Actually, I should've asked for your help from the start, Arton."
She glanced at the Diary Copy floating nearby, which was filming the scene in real time. Naturally, she was delighted to comply.
As Nami lay down again, Arton once more witnessed the intriguing compression and reshaping phenomenon. Nami noticed his gaze, and the corners of her mouth lifted mischievously.
"Is it nice to look at, Captain Arton?"
Pressing herself against the tabletop, she gave a slight wiggle, letting Arton vividly perceive the shake and arching her eyebrows in a seductive smile.
"Mmh, I must say, it's very nice indeed," Arton acknowledged. "By the way, Nami, you might consider growing your hair out."
He nodded, reflecting on how Nami in her more mature phase had long hair. At this moment, Arton couldn't deny that Nami had indeed grown more and more these past few days—she faintly had the bearing of her 'two-years-later' self. At least from his side view, Arton could sense the fuller maturity of her two little Namis.
"Long hair, huh… Got it."
"But I'm curious—do you think mine looks better, or is Kaya's better?"
Nami asked with a playful smile.
Hearing that, Arton reflexively turned to look at Kaya… specifically, her chest.
"Nami, what are you talking about?!"
"Ar- Arton, w-what are you staring at?"
Kaya, startled by Arton's direct gaze, instinctively lowered her head.
"I'm admiring something lovely," Arton said with a smirk. "Even though you're really strong, Nami, in that regard you're still no match for Kaya. If you two ever have kids, it's likely Kaya would be the one to feed them all plump and healthy."
Hearing that, Kaya lowered her head even farther. She understood perfectly well what Arton meant—namely, the two tools at her front that could be used for nursing a baby.
Nami, meanwhile, pouted. She knew full well she couldn't compare to Kaya in that department, but at the moment, she was practically defenseless! Couldn't Arton, if nothing else, tell a white lie or flatter her a bit?
'Maybe I should eat more papayas,' Nami thought, glancing down at herself.
"All right, enough shyness, Kaya," Arton said. "First help our Nami clear off the tattoo on her arm. Without merging with you, I can't use Medical Ninjutsu to erase scars."
He patted Kaya's shoulder, nudging her closer to Nami. Though still bashful, Kaya knew what to do. Placing her hand infused with healing chakra onto Nami's arm, she made the original tattoo fade away at visible speed, restoring the skin to a pure white.
Smoothie: "That tattoo was removed?! Interesting—now I can have Kaya remove my tattoo first, then have Arton carve a better one."
Gion: "She can remove tattoos? That's an incredible healing ability."
Viola: "If tattoos can be erased, then whenever you want a change, you could do it! And if Arton does the tattoo every time, each session could be filmed for the Diary, yielding a bunch of points!"
Baccarat: "Awesome. With this, there's no worry about scars on your body, hehe. That's yet another reason to become one of Arton's crewmates."
Galette: "Having such an ability means no need to stress over skincare issues, too."
Ain: "This is great. Now I don't have to fret about the scar on my thigh affecting Arton's view of me."
Sadi: "That's wonderful. So I can whip myself all I want now?"
Domino: "Sadi, what did you just say? I didn't hear clearly."
Sadi: "N-Nothing!"
In this pirate world, people's bodies are extraordinarily robust—small wounds heal quickly. Even large injuries can be treated, so they're not that big of a deal if you have a skilled doctor. But scars are a hurdle even top-tier fighters can't overcome. Ain, as Zephyr's disciple, ends up with near-commodore-level power, but she still can't fix the scar on her thigh.
Future Emperor Luffy, present-day Kaido, Whitebeard—none of them, despite their formidable might and having expert doctors, could remove the scars that remain forever. Remember, someone with Luffy's physique can regrow a lost tooth just by drinking milk. Yet a small scar remains on him for life. It shows how difficult scars are to erase in this world.
A tattoo can, in a sense, be considered a form of scarring. Once it's on, it's nearly impossible to remove—unless you override it with something bigger. Like the Sun Pirates covering up the Celestial Dragons' hoof brands with their pirate crest, or like Tesoro carving a massive scar across his back to hide the evidence that he was once a Celestial Dragon's slave.
So when the women now see that Kaya's Medical Ninjutsu can not only heal injuries but also remove scars, they can't help being shocked.
The most astonished among them is the Snake Princess, Hancock.
"Kaya's power can remove tattoos?" she exclaimed. "Does that mean… the thing on my back could be removed too?!"
Boa Hancock stared wide-eyed at her Diary Copy. Clenching her fists, her gaze sharpened again.
"I must, at all costs, find Arton," she murmured. "And have that Kaya remove the thing on my back! But how can I do that without anyone discovering it first… I can't possibly beg Arton for help, can I? No… I could never do such a thing. Once I accomplish my goal, I just have to turn Arton and Kaya both to stone."
Boa Hancock pressed her fists together, whispering her resolution.