Chapter 17
Afternoon of the fourth day.
When Uchiha Izumi and Uchiha Hikari opened their eyes again, the sun was already slanting westward.
"Whew—!"
"You two finally woke up. Any longer and we'd have had to pitch tents right here on the beach," Nami said, walking straight up to them and staring curiously at their eyes.
She and Nojiko had finished handing out the treasure in the village and hurried home. Finding only Tom in the house, they had immediately come looking.
Kaya had just finished a full medical examination of the two Uchiha girls.
"They're not just fine, their bodies are in an unprecedentedly perfect state!" Kaya exclaimed, genuinely shocked.
Aike, on the other hand, looked a little disappointed.
The pattern in their eyes was still the Mangekyō, but it had become far more intricate and gorgeous than before.
"Eternal Mangekyō, huh."
He instantly understood.
Because the Indra and Ashura chakra had been split in half, the leap forward had stopped at the Eternal Mangekyō stage.
Still, through the contract link he could clearly feel it: an even deeper stratum of power was quietly gestating inside them.
It was weaker than the complete Six Paths energy flowing through his own body, but it far surpassed the Eternal Mangekyō.
That was, without a doubt, their Rinnegan.
Just like Uchiha Madara back then, it needed time to fully mature.
Aike silently calculated: one to two years at most, and both pairs of eyes would evolve again.
"With these two monsters on board, I can really lie flat for the rest of the journey."
He felt deeply gratified.
"Alright, let's head back. Kaya's been starving because she refused to leave your side. I called her a dozen times and she wouldn't budge."
Aike spread his hands and deliberately said the words that would embarrass Kaya the most.
Sure enough, Kaya's little face turned bright red. She huffed at him, then grabbed Nami, Nojiko, and the others and ran off, abandoning the captain on the beach.
He had originally planned to let Izumi and Hikari test their new power right away.
Now that plan was completely ruined.
"Oh well, there'll be plenty of chances later."
Dinner continued the village-wide celebration that had started the night before.
According to Genzo, they had to celebrate for at least three full days; anything less would be an insult to the suffering they had endured all these years.
They also wanted to properly entertain Aike and the crew while they were still here.
After all, the debt of gratitude was simply too great.
The only thing that secretly annoyed Genzo was that the two girls he had raised like daughters had both been whisked away, and even the tangerine grove Bell-mère left behind had been plucked clean.
Not a single tree remained!
…
The fourth day, departure.
"Really won't stay a couple more days?"
"Yeah, yeah! We still haven't thanked you properly!"
Genzo and the villagers tried everything to make them stay.
Such an enormous debt of gratitude, three days of feasting still felt far too little.
But Aike gently refused.
Genzo took a deep breath, then bowed deeply once more.
"In that case, please allow me to say thank you one final time!"
"And… please, take good care of Nami and Nojiko!"
Aike smiled faintly.
"Of course. They're my most important partners."
As the Libra slowly sailed away from the pier, Nami and Nojiko stood at the stern, waving both arms and shouting at the top of their lungs:
"Goodbye, everyone!!"
"We'll come back after we sail around the whole world!!"
…
On the opposite side of the island.
Several Marine warships had also received news that the Libra had set sail.
Every Marine on board let out a long breath of relief.
They had actually arrived yesterday, but the moment they approached the island, an invisible pressure had knocked every last one of them unconscious from afar.
They had been unable to even send a report.
Only this morning did they wake up one by one, stomachs growling.
That bizarre situation had terrified them all.
It wasn't until they asked a villager and learned about "the devil merchant Aike and Nami" that they finally had a guess.
So the search for Colonel Nezumi and his men was immediately shelved.
Even though they knew Cocoyasi Village was a critical clue.
"Pass the word: a few men go into the village and politely ask for information. Attitude must be good!"
"The rest follow me. We'll circle the island and thoroughly search the nearby waters!"
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel!"
…
Aboard the Libra.
Once the final outline of the island disappeared over the horizon, Nami and Nojiko returned to the deck, a little forlorn.
Aike tapped a spot on the sea chart.
"This is our next destination, and aside from Loguetown, our last stop in the East Blue."
"If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be picking up one more crewmate there."
"Let me guess," Carina leaned against him with a teasing smile, "the new crewmate is another beautiful girl, right, Captain?"
Nami, Kaya, Izumi, Hikari, and even the newly-joined Nojiko all turned to look at him with the same knowing grin.
But who was Aike?
A merchant.
A big, shameless merchant.
Being thick-skinned and black-hearted was basic professional quality.
He didn't care about their stares at all.
Instead, he pulled Carina into his arms.
"An employee dares to mock her boss? This is mutiny!"
Then he blatantly took advantage of her right in front of everyone.
How could he not see through Carina's little thoughts?
Just a tiny bit of jealousy.
After all, she and Nami had boarded together. They had flirted plenty, and Carina had clearly started to fall for him.
Then, after the Cocoyasi Village trip, Nami successfully "finished the race" first.
Of course the clever little fox felt a bit sour.
"The fox is almost in the bag."
Aike's lips curved.
Ever since Nami had completely become his woman, her original crewmate contract had automatically upgraded to a partner contract.
Lifespan shared
Every intimate union strengthened both body and soul
All the benefits of hardcore training, achieved in a way that left both parties very, very satisfied
That first night of transformation, Aike had explained everything in advance.
Once the partner contract was signed, it was for life.
Nami had listened, eyes sparkling with excitement, then dragged his exhausted body back into battle until the sun came up.
Who needs to train when you can level up in bed?
So that night, with Nami taking the lead, the two fought from dusk till dawn.
…
Marine side.
That very afternoon, after Aike left Cocoyasi Village.
The investigation results came in quickly.
Whether it was the warship wreckage fished out of nearby waters or the testimonies from the island's residents, every clue pointed to Aike's group.
Recalling yesterday's inexplicable mass faint, the lieutenant colonel in charge realized this was far beyond his pay grade.
He immediately reported everything to Loguetown, including every dirty thing Colonel Nezumi had done.
As expected.
The other end of the transponder snail exploded.
"Bastards!!"
"Marines colluding with pirates, oppressing civilians for six whole years?!"
"Have their consciences been eaten by dogs?!"
Smoker's forehead veins bulged, fury boiling over.
"Round up every single one of them and throw them in the brig!"
"If we don't execute the whole lot, the stain on Marine justice will never be washed clean!"
"Yes, Colonel!"
"And that devil merchant's crew?"
Smoker snorted coldly, then fell silent for a moment.
"Track their whereabouts. If contact is made, extend an invitation first. See if we can recruit them."
From the reports, their strength was obvious.
And among them, someone appeared to possess the legendary Conqueror's Haki, one in a million.
If people like that became pirates, they would be a massive headache.
So Smoker wanted to try pulling them into the Marines if at all possible.
After issuing several more orders, Smoker hung up the snail, walked to the window with two cigars clenched in his teeth, and stared out at the sea.
"I hope you know what's good for you."
"Otherwise… I'll bury you right here in the East Blue."
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