However, after some thought, Sanji still obediently walked over, because taking hits makes him stronger, so... let the storm rage even more fiercely!
He took a deep breath and crushed his half-smoked cigarette fiercely under his shoe.
"Damn it, damn it..." he muttered softly, adjusting his crooked tie, and walked towards Luffy with a look of resignation, "Anyway, taking hits makes me stronger..."
Zoro, holding his three swords, laughed from the side, "Heh, finally acknowledging your punching bag essence, are we?"
"Shut up, Marimo!" Sanji's leather shoe sparked on the flagstone ground. "When I unlock my new skill, you'll be the first I kick!"
Luffy was already impatiently getting into position, his right fist again covered in dark Armament Haki: "Sanji! Here I come!"
"Less talk!" Sanji took a defensive stance, his right leg slightly withdrawn. "Remember to hit the left side! My right shoulder, injured by the fish-man, hasn't..."
"Gomu Gomu no—Armament: Straight Punch!"
Bang!!!
Sanji's words were cut short as he flew out like a cannonball. His body traced a graceful parabola in the air, breaking three coconut trees in a row before crashing heavily into the orange grove.
"Cough, cough..." Sanji crawled out of a pile of oranges, spitting out leaves from his mouth. He instantly felt like his internal organs were shattering; this intense pain was truly excruciating!
Although his body could recover from any hit, the pain was real!
Just then—
[Ding! Hit mission completed]
[Reward: Leg modification human gene awakening progress +10%]
[Current awakening progress: 10%]
[Effect: Bone density increased, muscle fibers reorganizing...]
A warm current suddenly surged from his spine to his legs. Sanji was surprised to find that the pain from the impact was rapidly fading. Even more miraculously, he could clearly feel his leg bones undergoing some kind of metamorphosis, as if metal was flowing in his bone marrow.
"This is..." He tentatively kicked a large rock beside him.
Boom!
The half-human-height rock shattered in response, yet his leg didn't even have a single bruise.
"Wow!" Luffy stretched his neck to lean closer. "Sanji, your leg is glowing!"
Indeed, a faint blue glow was subtly emanating from under Sanji's pant leg. He rolled up his cuff and found strange mechanical patterns appearing on the skin of his calf, but they vanished in a blink.
Zoro had walked over at some point, a rare look of interest on his face: "What's going on? Did Luffy's punch cause a genetic mutation? No wonder your kicking talent is so abnormal."
"You're the abnormal one!" Sanji habitually retorted, but then fell into deep thought.
He remembered his father saying he was a failure when he was a child, and those strange dreams he had... Could the Vinsmoke family's modified genes be activated by the Combat Endurance system?
Nami was completely lost: "What are you two even talking about?!"
Ron's voice came from behind them: "It seems our chef mister still has many secrets he hasn't revealed."
Sanji hastily pulled down his pant leg and lit a new cigarette to mask his panic: "Stop prying into a chef's privacy!" He turned to Luffy, "Again! This time, use your full strength!"
Luffy nodded excitedly, both fists simultaneously covered in Armament Haki: "Gomu Gomu no—"
"Wait!" Usopp suddenly interrupted. "Let me tell a tall tale first! That way everyone can get rewards!"
"Get lost!"
Zoro had already turned away: "I'm going to see if there are any fish-man stragglers..."
....
The setting sun dyed the sea golden. Everyone returned to the shore, laughing and chatting, but then suddenly froze in place—
Their beloved Going Merry was tragically half-submerged in the shallows, its main mast broken in two, the deck covered in charred burn marks, and the cute little sheep figurehead on the bow had lost half its face.
"What's going on! Is this our Merry???" Usopp was dumbfounded!
"Meat! My meat!" Luffy's eyes were bloodshot!
"How could this be..." Nami covered her mouth, her eyes filled with shock. She had already agreed to join Ron's pirate crew, but now... the ship was gone, what was the point of joining?!
Usopp knelt on the ground, trembling as he caressed the ship's wounds: "It was done by the remnants of the Arlong Pirates! Those despicable guys!"
Zoro's three swords simultaneously unsheathed: "I'll go get them..."
"Wait." Ron raised a hand to stop him, his sea-blue cape gently swaying in the evening breeze. "No need."
Under everyone's puzzled gazes, Ron walked to a flat reef by the shore. Blue data streams suddenly appeared on his fingertips, and a translucent system interface unfolded in the air:
[Ding! Do you want to extract: Super Luxurious Starship?]
Ron clicked confirm without hesitation. In an instant, the seawater in the harbor surged violently, and a massive whirlpool appeared out of thin air.
Whoosh—!
Accompanied by a deafening mechanical whirring, a giant, silver-white ship slowly rose from the whirlpool.
Its streamlined hull reflected the setting sun's glow. Three decks were dotted with turrets, lookout towers, and open-air baths. What stood out was the figurehead: a Starship bird with spread wings, its eyes inlaid with dazzling sapphires.
Most importantly, the entire ship was sparkling!
"This... this is..." Nami's navigator's intuition instantly calculated the ship's specifications: 68 meters long, displacement... This far exceeded the scope of an ordinary two-masted sailboat!
Usopp's jaw hit his feet: "Am I dreaming? The ship... the ship grew out of the sea?! The Vice-Captain's ability is too terrifying!"
Sanji's cigarette fell again: "Vice-Captain..."
Luffy had already excitedly stretched his arm, his rubber body flapping like a flag on the Starship's main mast: "So cool! Ten times bigger than the Merry! How much meat can it hold!"
Ron laughed, "It's full of meat, eat as much as you want!"
"Wow! Big Brother Ron, you're the best!" Luffy laughed and immediately jumped onto the ship, heading straight for the kitchen!
Zoro was the only one still relatively calm. He crossed his arms: "As expected, the Vice-Captain always conjures up strange things."
Nami mechanically turned to Ron, her voice slightly distorted: "You... you just conjured a ship out of thin air?! What kind of strange ability is this? It's too absurd!"
Ron simply explained, "Just a little trick." He pointed to the Starship, "Want to come aboard for a tour? Miss Navigator?"
Nami dazedly stepped onto the automatically lowering gangplank. As her hand touched the Starship's teak deck, a holographic control panel suddenly rose from the ground:
[Welcome aboard, Miss Nami]
[This ship is equipped with: Log Pose storage compass, weather prediction instrument, holographic sea chart table...]
"Oh my god..." Nami caressed the precise instruments. Her navigator's instinct instantly made her understand the value of these devices. "This ship... it's practically tailor-made for a navigator..."
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