"No wonder he's Zoro-aniki's captain!"
On deck, Johnny marveled.
The man was terrifyingly diligent.
He'd heard they'd just fought the Marines—and even before the Marines showed up, Zoro-aniki and Luffy-aniki had put themselves through a conditioning session so hard they were limp afterward.
And after eating his fill, Luffy still had energy to spare.
"Scary as hell," Johnny muttered.
He could see even Zoro-aniki's face was barely holding together.
To them, Zoro was a super training maniac.
And he still couldn't out-grind the rubber man!
"Yeah, he's… energetic," Nami said, curling her lip not far away.
"Nami-neesan, are you Luffy-boss's woman?" Johnny asked, curious.
Nami almost choked on her own saliva.
"W-what are you talking about?! We're just captain and navigator… ordinary crewmates!"
"Ah, that so?" Johnny scratched his head. "I thought you were, you know, that kind of close—since you were stuck together just now."
To the point of forgetting the crew around you.
Among pirates, that wasn't uncommon.
A pirate captain has it all—strength, wealth, women.
Why else do so many want to be captain?
"That was an accident!" Nami really regretted it now. Why had she gone and grabbed Luffy like that? One hug and look at the mess. If she hadn't, nothing would've happened!
"Heh-heh, what's so hard to admit?" Usopp chimed in, slinging an arm around Johnny. "Yesterday afternoon Luffy pulled Nami into her room, so, you know."
"That was…" Nami was at a loss.
She and Luffy were actually studying in there!
Thunk, thunk!
Two bonks sent Usopp and Johnny flying.
No way. Absolutely not!
She would never like that infuriating Luffy!
But when she glanced toward him, his face in her mind only grew clearer.
These last few days—ever since yesterday—accidents kept piling up. Everything that could happen, did.
Enough. Don't look!
Nami decided to take a shower and calm down, wash off all the random stuff. She felt sticky, and who knew how much of Luffy's sweat he'd left on her.
Afterward she lay on the bed, mind blank, staring at the charts pinned everywhere. Unbidden, the day's events replayed—along with what Usopp and Johnny had said.
If they hadn't said it, she'd never have thought that way.
That scatterbrained guy wasn't her type.
But for some reason, Luffy had suddenly changed these two days. Sometimes he still acted like a little troll, yet he gave her a sense of reliability.
Impossible. How could she like a guy like Luffy?
Nami covered her eyes with her palm, then slowly opened her fingers. Sunlight poured through the slits; she squinted, and her mind drifted back to what had just happened.
Warm breath at her neck seemed to circle still. Irritated, she yanked the blanket over her head.
A maiden's heart is always poetry.
…
The fight was for real.
After refueling, Luffy felt brimming with energy.
It was time to keep training.
To be honest, developing the Gum-Gum Fruit just now had tasted sweet.
The side effects were heavy—but the rush was real.
New ideas bubbled up in his head, and he wanted to try them all.
Like a table piled high with food—how could he not eat?
Who could refuse that temptation?
And he could trigger passive talents.
If there were passives, maybe there were actives too?
He couldn't refuse the schedule anyway. Since he couldn't, he'd happily power up and tinker.
Zoro was there as a sparring partner, after all.
"Zoro—use your swords."
Pure hand-to-hand felt unfair. Zoro was a bona fide swordsman; without swords, he'd be fighting with a handicap.
"You sure?" Zoro frowned.
Rubber shrugged off lots of ordinary hits; swords were what it feared. He knew weaknesses.
"Come on, come on," Luffy said, struck by a good idea.
Zoro drew his three blades without another word, took his signature Three-Sword Style stance, and slashed.
He'd been itching to.
Luffy kept slipping away. If pushing his body to the limit had given him the passive Rapid Recovery, could he snag something else?
At first he'd resisted developing the Fruit.
He'd done this since he was a kid—why do it again? Boring.
But now—
it was like a mountain of gold and silver rising before him,
just waiting to be dug.
Pirates can't resist treasure.
Dodge, counter.
Steel flashed and shadows crossed on deck.
Their forms collided and wove faster and faster.
Zoro grew more alarmed as they went.
Anyone who'd fought knew—fighting burned stamina. The longer it went, the more it drained you.
So why were some people getting more excited?
At first, Zoro held back his blades—this wasn't a joke if they bit into flesh. But when he got serious, he realized Luffy's speed was climbing.
[ Physical energy compressed and trained. Body toughness increased. Armament Haki proficiency +1. ]
[ Through hard training, your speed has greatly improved. Passive talent activated: Rapid Movement. ]
[ Your speed has increased significantly. ]
"Luffy—watch this one. If you can't dodge, it'll kill you…"
Not far away, Zoro clenched Wado Ichimonji in his teeth.
"I-it's coming!" Johnny gasped.
Zoro-aniki's Three-Sword Style.
Blades in both hands crossed, the third sealing the escape line.
That technique—Three-Sword Style: Demon Slash!
Vmm.
Luffy reacted on instinct, stamping the deck in a flurry of dozens of ultra-fast steps to generate explosive recoil—vanishing in an instant.
Oh—so this is Rapid Movement?
He could go even faster.
His mind raced. He might look carefree, but you couldn't call him stupid.
That was Garp's verdict on his grandson.
Especially in combat—Luffy's talent was freakish.
[ Warning: Do not get distracted during battle. Punishment countdown. ]
Luffy slapped his cheeks.
A little more—just a little!
And ideas could only be proven in a real fight.
He grinned at Zoro. "Again!"