"I didn't expect you to suddenly appear here. Back when I saw you in Marineford, you really gave me a fright," Nami said, leaning against the ship's railing.
The once-little girl had grown up into a beautiful, girl-next-door type. Nami now had delicate features and a shapely figure, with a particularly full and prominent chest, creamy white thighs beneath her denim shorts, and an aura of youthful vitality.
"Weren't you planning to become a Marine like Bellemere?" Kaguya asked. "Why did you suddenly decide to become a pirate?"
"Well..."
Nami's eyes wandered, her expression slightly unnatural. Her ten fingers nervously twisted together, looking like she wanted to speak but was too embarrassed to do so.
Kaguya said, "If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it."
"No," Nami said hastily, turning her head and biting her pink lip. "Actually, it's not like that."
"Then what is it?" Seeing Nami's bashful expression, Kaguya became curious.
Nami's cheeks turned a soft red, tinged with a hint of blush. She said, "Actually, I..."
"Hey, Nami! What are you doing?!"
At that moment, a noisy voice rang out. Luffy's head poked out from the second level of the ship, his big eyes staring curiously at Nami.
"Huh? Nami, why is your face red? Are you sick?"
Nami, both furious and flustered, stormed over and raised her hand to punch Luffy right on the head!
Bang—!
Ouch! Luffy cried out and tumbled down from the second floor, landing with a thud, headfirst, in a dizzy heap.
"Idiot! Don't eavesdrop on people's conversations!" Nami said angrily, waving her fist.
"What the heck!" Luffy climbed up from the ground, sitting cross-legged as he scratched his head in confusion.
With Luffy's interruption, the earlier topic was dropped. Nami couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Luffy walked over and said, "Back in Marineford, you were the one who saved Ace. I still haven't thanked you properly. Thank you so much!" He bowed deeply to Kaguya.
Kaguya said, "There's no need for that. I didn't do it just to save him. If you really want to thank someone, thank Whitebeard."
Pulling Ace back from the brink of death wasn't entirely Kaguya's own intention. She wasn't so kind as to save just anyone. A big part of why she acted was because of Whitebeard's request.
"No matter what, I still really want to thank you!" Luffy's eyes turned slightly red. "If it weren't for you, Ace... he would've..."
"I'm not here to listen to your thanks," Kaguya said. "But, if you really want to thank me, then help me with something."
"Something?" Luffy patted his chest and said, "No problem! As long as it's something I can do, I'll definitely help you!"
"Don't be so sure," Kaguya gave him a sideways glance and said playfully, "Don't jump to conclusions before you know what it is. Some things aren't as simple as you think."
Everyone was stunned, then immediately grew tense. During the war on the summit, in order to save the dying Ace, Luffy had once promised Kaguya that he would give up the Gum-Gum Fruit, give up "ONE PIECE," and never set foot on the Grand Line again. Was she bringing up that old promise now?
This could be bad.
Cold sweat beaded on Zoro's forehead. How had they forgotten about this? If she really pursued it, then they might not be able to return to the Grand Line, and the Straw Hat Pirates would lose their very reason to exist.
If it were anyone else, they might just refuse or play dumb, but Luffy was stubborn—once he made a promise, he would definitely keep it.
Secondly, the opponent was far too powerful, and even if they resisted, it would be of no use.
The others had clearly remembered this as well, their expressions turning somewhat grim. Only the carefree Luffy didn't notice anything strange. He clenched his fist and said, "That might not be true. If I promised, then I will definitely do it!"
Everyone held their foreheads in despair. Why did their captain have to be such an idiot? Couldn't he sense the awkward atmosphere at all?
To have survived and thrived on the Grand Line for so long under such a blockhead of a captain—they had truly endured a lot.
"Is that so?" Kaguya narrowed her eyes and raised the corner of her lips. "Then I'll say it. My request is..."
Everyone's hearts jumped to their throats. Luffy, on the other hand, remained casual and carefree. "Go ahead, I'm listening."
"Boil some water for me."
"Boil water?"
Luffy was stunned, and the others were also caught off guard.
What kind of strange request was that?
But as it turned out, even such a simple task could be botched when handed to Luffy. The blazing fire on the Thousand Sunny was the best proof of that. Fortunately, the fire was put out in time; otherwise, they might have had to spend the night in the sea.
Kaguya looked at the soot-covered Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates, finding it almost unbelievable. Even such a simple task could be messed up?
Even a child wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.
But in a way, this disaster-making ability might just be one of Luffy's unique traits.
After Luffy nearly burned down the entire ship, Kaguya gave up the idea of having him help. In truth, she also understood what was going through the minds of the Straw Hat crew—she simply chose not to mention it.
Chopper was hiding in a corner not far away, peeking cautiously at Kaguya. He swallowed nervously, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Ever since being frightened by Kaguya last time, he had been avoiding her. Every time he saw her, he would run away. Clearly, the trauma she had left him was profound.
"What are you doing, Chopper?"
Just then, a familiar voice rang in Chopper's ears. It was as if he had been struck by lightning. There was no sign of Kaguya in the distance anymore.
Chopper turned his head slowly like a rusted robot, forcing a stiff smile on his face. "H-hi..."
"Come take a bath with me?" Kaguya said with narrowed eyes.
"No, no..." Chopper waved his hooves frantically, laughing awkwardly.
Before Chopper could finish speaking, Kaguya struck his neck with a hand chop!
Thud—
Chopper's mind went blank as the world spun and he collapsed to the ground.
"Since you're not saying anything, I'll take that as a yes."
Kaguya, as if dragging a corpse, pulled the lump-headed, starry-eyed Chopper back toward the room.
Tonight, there would be food.
...
"Didn't you say it was just for a bath? I understand you boiling water, but why are you chopping scallions, ginger, and garlic?"
Kaguya turned around, looked at the Chopper tied up like a dumpling, and smiled brightly. "To remove the gamey smell."
"Y-you're going to eat me?!" Chopper's mouth dropped wide open, his eyes nearly popping out.
"You're only realizing that now?" Kaguya picked up a gleaming kitchen knife, her cold eyes gazing down at him with a wicked grin. "Don't worry, I won't make it too painful. But is braised okay?"
"Aaaaah—nooo, don't eat me!" Chopper screamed in terror, his little body struggling frantically.
"Just accept your fate," Kaguya said, grabbing his flailing antlers. "Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will come to save you."
"Aaaaah—help!" Chopper was so terrified he was about to cry.
"If you can give me a convincing reason, I won't eat you," Kaguya said, flipping the knife in her hand.
Chopper froze. "A convincing reason?"
"That's right," Kaguya nodded. "Tell me a convincing reason—for example, if you taste terrible, I'll let you go."
"I taste terrible?" Chopper was stunned, then unexpectedly got angry. "I do not taste bad!"
"You don't?" Kaguya asked, surprised.
"Of course not!" Chopper squirmed and shouted angrily, "I don't taste bad at all!"
"But you haven't eaten yourself before, so how do you know you don't taste bad?" Kaguya tilted her head, poking Chopper on the forehead. "Who knows? Maybe you do taste bad. Think about it—plucking the fur, draining the blood, skinning and deboning, removing the organs—all that blood and mess, it's so gross."
Chopper's mouth went dry. He swallowed nervously. "O-on second thought, maybe I do taste bad."
"Too late!" Kaguya said cheerfully. "There's a recipe for reindeer meat. It says to use fresh ingredients. You might be a bit tender, your muscle fibers a bit loose, and the texture might lack chew, but you seem surprisingly fresh."
"S-somebody help..."
"Sensei's still as fond of teasing people as ever," Nami said as she walked in holding a towel, body wash, and other toiletries. She sighed helplessly.
Back in Orange Town, Kaguya had taught Nami some basic self-defense and martial arts. So she was kind of her teacher—though the term was mostly used jokingly.
Kaguya let go of the nearly-traumatized Chopper and said, "While waiting for the water, there has to be something fun to do. Otherwise, it's just too boring."
"Hey, hey! So you were just using me to kill time?!" Chopper shouted indignantly after realizing he'd been tricked.
Kaguya turned back and said, "If you really want to be turned into braised venison, I don't mind tossing you in the pot."
Chopper shivered and looked like he was about to cry.
So scary!
From the outside, the Thousand Sunny didn't look particularly big, but despite its size, it was well-equipped inside. While it couldn't compare to the luxury of Kaguya's Noah, it was more than sufficient.
Take the bathroom, for instance. It was cleverly designed, with tiled floors and a fresh, elegant style. There was both a shower and a bathtub, and warm water flowed from the faucet, with a few flower petals floating on the surface—someone had clearly put effort into it.
"Phew..."
Nami soaked her body in the warm water, leaning against the edge of the tub, and let out a relaxed sigh.
"A bath really is the most comfortable thing. Whenever I'm tired, I love resting here. It really takes the edge off. That lecherous Sanji—he might be a perv, but he puts effort into stuff like this."
"It really is quite nice."
Whether this was intentional or not, or perhaps even a double entendre, it was hard to say.
As if sensing Kaguya's gaze, Nami looked down at herself, then raised her head and asked curiously, "What is it? Do I have something dirty on me?"
Kaguya withdrew her gaze and coughed lightly. "Nothing. I just didn't expect that after all these years, the little girl I once knew has grown into such a beautiful woman."
"Not at all, I'm still far from being as beautiful as Sensei," Nami said, holding up her index finger to make a comparison. "You're known as the most beautiful woman in the world."
Kaguya waved her hand. "That's just flattery from opportunists. There's nothing to be proud of in that."
"That's not true at all," Nami swam over and said with admiration, "More than ten years have passed, and you haven't changed at all. You're still so beautiful. I'm really envious..."
"There's nothing to be envious about," Kaguya said indifferently.
Suddenly, Nami reached out and hugged Kaguya from behind.
Kaguya was startled. "What's gotten into you?"
"Nothing, I just felt like hugging Sensei," Nami said playfully, resting her pretty face on Kaguya's shoulder with a grin. "No one has dared treat you like this before, right?" As she spoke, her hands mischievously gave a few squeezes. "It feels way better than Nojiko."
Kaguya felt a bit uncomfortable and quickly grabbed Nami's mischievous hands.
Nojiko?
A familiar image of the girl who often spent time with Nami surfaced in Kaguya's mind.
Nami leaned forward and blew gently into Kaguya's ear. "Sensei, want me to give you a massage? I'm actually really good at it."
Kaguya replied, "No need. I'm not used to being served by others."
"We're both girls. What's the big deal? But if Sensei is going to refuse..." Nami smiled brightly and said, "Then help me with a massage instead."
She then turned over and lay down on the smooth stone slab in front of the bath, resting her arms beneath her head and glancing back. "I'll be in your care then."
Kaguya didn't even know what to say. Was this girl always this shameless?
Still, she went ahead and gave her a massage. Her fingers pressed on Nami's skin with just the right amount of force—sometimes firm, sometimes gentle. Her technique was practiced and precise, showing the skills of a massage master.
No surprise there. Identifying meridians and pressure points was a core discipline of the Hyuga clan. And with her extraordinary ocular abilities, Kaguya was a true expert. If she ever opened a massage parlor, she'd surely make a fortune.
"Sensei, you used to massage me like this before. If only we could go back to those days."
Kaguya paused slightly upon hearing this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven