Hearing Usopp's trembling explanation, Zoro suddenly perked up.
"Splitting a mountain? A swordmaster?"
Nami jumped in shock. Her gaze lingered on Shiratori Riku, and she blurted out, "What mountain? How big? Is that even true..."
But as she spoke, a cruel figure flashed through her mind. Nami's expression darkened and she muttered, "It's impossible. No mountain matters. Those hateful men are monsters no human can defeat."
Zoro rose to his feet. Luffy shouted.
At that moment, several dozen meters away, Riku stopped walking. He glanced at the curious Kaya.
"If we're setting out to sea, aren't we short a navigator?"
"Ah? That's true."
Kaya nodded, already thinking about whether money could solve the problem.
"Kaya, listen carefully."
"Since you've chosen to sail with me, you must understand. It's not just the Marines. Every pirate out there will be our enemy. Some kindness is unnecessary."
"The voyage is about to begin. Waiting to find a proper navigator will take too long."
"If there isn't one, then we'll take one!"
Riku's voice hardened as he drew his sword.
Kaya gasped. A terrifying aura surged from him, shaking heaven and earth.
In an instant, the world lost its color.
Invisible force burst outward from Riku, sweeping the coast. The very air screamed.
Intermediate Conqueror's Haki ripped across the shore.
THUD, THUD...
One by one, villagers collapsed. Usopp's eyes rolled back as he fainted.
The sight was horrifying.
"Usopp!"
Luffy and Zoro cried out.
"This... how is this possible?"
Nami clutched her mouth in shock, staring at the fallen people around her.
"They didn't collapse... do they both have the potential for Conqueror's Haki?"
Riku had spared Nami on purpose. But seeing that Luffy and Zoro withstood it made him sigh inwardly. Their potential wasn't affected at all.
BOOM!
His aura suddenly flared, swelling several times stronger. From intermediate, it surged into advanced.
Storms raged in the sky. The ground cracked under the crushing pressure.
CRACK, CRACK!
The earth split apart. Zoro and Luffy's minds went blank, overwhelmed.
The sudden leap to advanced Conqueror's Haki spun out of control. Riku couldn't even restrain its range.
THUD, THUD...
Nami and Kaya both collapsed unconscious.
The greater the ambition, the stronger the Conqueror's Haki.
It was the only form of Haki that could not be trained, only awakened. And the moment Riku targeted the main cast and resolved to claim the world for himself, his Haki ascended.
After a year, he had reached intermediate.Now: Advanced.
"Battle? I won't give you time or chances to power up..."
Riku rushed forward, blade flashing.
"The navigator, I'll take her!"
"Dammit! I'll send you flying!"
Luffy snapped back to awareness, fist swinging in rage.
Zoro drew his swords at the same time.
"Too late!"
Riku's eyes sharpened. His speed exploded. The blade slashed.
Cross Slash!
SLASH!
A cross-shaped wound split across Luffy's chest. The force carried through, sending both him and Zoro hurtling away.
Riku stomped forward, vanishing into an afterimage. In a blink, he was upon them again.
The blade flipped.
THUD, THUD!
As they hit the ground, he struck the backs of their heads with the blunt edge, smashing them unconscious.
He looked at their fallen bodies with calm indifference, then bent to pick up Zoro's three swords.
"Wado Ichimonji, is it?"
"This blade, I'll keep."
SHH!
The other two were thrust into the earth beside their heads.
Turning, Riku walked away.
He had only one reason not to kill them: Nami.
She hadn't yet resolved to join Luffy. She only pretended to, planning to steal the ship Kaya had gifted. With Arlong still undefeated, she wasn't bound to them. Yet for strangers or friends, Nami would always choose friends.
Later, things would change.
Halfway across the shore, Riku paused.
"Better add a few more strikes."
He didn't trust them. The main crew was too absurdly resilient, practically blessed with cheat-like survivability.
If they recovered and chased him before he and Kaya even set sail, it would waste time.
This time had only worked because he caught them off guard. In a fair fight, he wasn't certain he could win against both together.
SLASH, SLASH!
Calm-faced, Riku drove the blade into them a few more times. Blood spread across the ground.
Satisfied they couldn't fight for days, he finally left.
"Kaya, wake up."
"Say goodbye to Merry. Pack your things. We sail soon."
He roused Kaya. He didn't explain. Their departure had been agreed long ago.
Kaya glanced at the unconscious Straw Hats, then whispered, "What about Luffy and the others..."
"They're all out cold."
"Then let's go to sea."
She asked no more. Compared to the Straw Hats she had known for less than a day, Riku was family.
The mention of sailing brightened her instantly.
"Sailing at last!"
She hopped happily back home to say farewell to Merry.
Riku smiled faintly. For this frail girl, the ocean was a long-held dream.
He had little to pack.
Scooping up the unconscious Nami, he leapt onto the ship.
As for the Straw Hats' vessel?Not his concern.
...
An hour later, villagers awoke one by one. Usopp staggered with trembling limbs, dragging the still-unconscious Luffy and Zoro away from the shore, as far from Riku as possible.
"Riku, you must take care of the young miss. If she suffers even a scratch, I'll... hmph!"
Butler Merry ground his teeth, glaring at Riku with hostility.
Even knowing Kaya had chosen to go, he couldn't rest easy. The sea was too dangerous.
Riku waved dismissively.
"I stole Kaya away."
"You..."
Merry's face twisted in anger. In his eyes, Kaya had been tricked and dragged away by this man.
Kaya quickly soothed him.
"Mr. Merry, Riku-nii is only joking."
Merry could only sigh.
As the two spoke, Riku turned toward Nami, who sat trembling in the corner. He was about to say something when the system's voice froze him.
"Ding. Host has seized Kaya as crew or subordinate. Congratulations, you have gained one All-World Lottery chance. Draw now?"
"This counts?"
Riku was stunned.
He had only said it to test. Kaya had joined of her own will, so he thought there would be no reward.
But... could it be because Merry believed she was stolen away?
Whatever. It didn't matter.
The system never answered questions anyway.
"Start the draw."
"Ding. All-World Lottery begins!"