The next day, the sun was bright.
A glimmer of light appeared on the sea's horizon.
"Leaving just like that, so carefree."
Luffy's gaze returned from the distance. Uta had woken up very early.
Of course, not as early as him. Having slept for only half an hour, Luffy had been roused by a barrage of warning alarms.
Last night.
Half past midnight.
Only thirty minutes after he'd fallen asleep.
Utterly insane!
The most important thing was, his body seemed to have adapted to this sleep schedule.
When Luffy opened his eyes, he saw Nami and Uta arguing about something. In his drowsy state, he vaguely heard them saying things like:
"How long have you been at it?"
"You've had more turns!"
"We agreed I'd go first, you jerk!"
"Untrustworthy. I even paid!"
The two were arguing, faces flushed. When Luffy let out a noise, it startled them so much that they jumped and clung to each other.
Luffy had asked at the time why they seemed so close now.
In response, they joined hands and said, "It's girl stuff, mind your own business," then left Luffy behind and went back to the room.
A few hours later, when Uta woke up, Luffy was already doing his morning training.
Uta said her goodbyes. She had other important matters to attend to in the East Blue and couldn't stay longer. So, Luffy escorted her back to her ship, and they promised to meet again later.
His thoughts returned to the present.
On the deck, Zoro was indulging in the role of teacher. While he thought Luffy wasn't suited for swordsmanship—because the guy was a natural goofball—if the captain wanted to learn, Zoro was happy to oblige.
[Physical energy compressed and trained. Your body strength has increased. Armament Haki proficiency +1]
[Swordsmanship experience +3]
"Hey, focus! Plant your stance firmly..."
Zoro kicked Luffy's heel, claiming it was for proper swordsmanship form.
Luffy grimaced, suspecting Zoro was getting revenge for the Armament Haki training sessions.
"A swordsman's most important trait is single-minded focus..."
"I'll give you that..."
"But another crucial thing is mastering the absolute basics. Like thrust, slash, parry..."
Such monotonous, dull training.
As the saying goes, atmosphere is contagious.
When it was just Zoro, the training fanatic, on the ship, everyone could ignore it.
But once Luffy led the charge and started "grinding," things got a bit out of control.
Usopp declared he wanted to become a brave warrior of the sea and joined their training. But when he heard Zoro's routine involved a thousand sword swings, Usopp promptly ran away.
"R-right... I'll stick with the Support Duo for now... r-right, Nami?" Usopp desperately sought an ally. On the ship, only Nami was on his level.
Nami had just gotten up, holding a cup of fragrant tea. Hearing him, she simply said, "Oh."
"What's up with you?" Usopp asked curiously.
"Nothing... Oh, right. You mentioned before that there was a weapon that would suit me?" Nami asked.
"Yeah, I know weapons pretty well. There's one called the Clima-Tact, but it requires a lot of materials to make."
In simple terms, it needed money.
However, the supplies needed for their voyage already cost a fortune. The 100 million Berries Nami had saved were mostly left for the villagers of Cocoyasi.
"Usopp, we're about to reach Loguetown. We should be able to buy a lot of supplies there. See if this money is enough."
Nami pulled out a wad of Berries.
Now it was Usopp's turn to be shocked. "Nami, are you okay?"
Usopp felt the world was turning upside down. Money coming out of Nami's pocket?
"Well, because it's not exactly my money..."
"Did Uta give it to you?"
Everyone on the ship was broke. Who else could give Nami money?
It had to be Uta, right?
Was there some kind of... transaction involved?
Usopp's eyes lit up. He smelled a juicy story.
The money was indeed from Uta.
And the two of them had made a deal last night. A melon plucked by force might not be the sweetest, but it quenches thirst.
Last night's situation was: if they didn't come to an agreement, neither would get a "drink."
Nami was actually the one with less urgency; she had plenty of time. So why make a deal with Uta?
But Uta made it clear: if you're not doing it, step aside and let me.
Nami had already declared her stance; how could she back down? Letting Uta watch from the sidelines would make her look like a pathetic, incapable...
After all the back and forth, it became "you take a turn, I take a turn."
Nami and Uta had formed a... lip-friendship, so to speak.
Afterward, Nami realized she'd been tricked. Uta had an ulterior motive.
Using their newfound... rapport, Uta asked Nami, as the ship's navigator, which route she planned to take after entering the Grand Line.
In this world, Reverse Mountain was the starting point of the Grand Line. Seven magnetic paths extended from it. You could choose anyone at the start, but once chosen, you couldn't change it. You had to follow that path from island to island. Eventually, all seven routes converged at the Sabaody Archipelago.
Uta's question definitely had a purpose.
Nami was also sure Uta wouldn't join the crew, because during the feast, Uta mentioned she was in the East Blue to handle some business. But after finishing her business... she'd definitely catch up.
If they chose different routes, they'd only meet again at Sabaody.
Realizing all this, Nami cursed Uta's cunning inwardly.
Then, Uta pulled out her ultimate weapon against Nami.
Ten million Berries!
So, Nami chose to compromise. They were almost at Reverse Mountain anyway. As a navigator, she had naturally already researched the routes.
Gradually, the sun rose completely.
Thwack.
A wooden sword hit Luffy on the head. Zoro looked serious. "Parry! Parry! Don't be stingy with the sword. Are you trying to hide it in your pants?"
"Ouch."
Another hit.
"Thrust at me! Thrust!"
...
Even with the back of the sword, it still hurt!
This was clearly retaliatory training.
Luffy grimaced. Just then, Sanji arrived. Luffy's eyes lit up immediately. "Is it time?"
"Yeah, come on."
Sanji wasn't interested in swordsmanship, but when it came to learning Haki, spurred on by his rivalry with Zoro, he was extra motivated.
Luffy's schedule: wake up at 12:30 AM, train until 6 AM. Eat breakfast, then train with Zoro from whenever Zoro gets up until 9 AM. Then, after Sanji finished his kitchen duties, "Teacher Luffy" held class.
"No rush, no rush. Let Zoro go first."
Luffy's fists creaked, coated in black Armament Haki. His dark fist slammed into Zoro's stomach. "Gomu Gomu no... Bullet!"
"Hey! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"
Zoro nearly coughed up bile. Luffy grinned.
"Training! This is training! You can call me Luffy earlier, but now you should address me as Teacher!"
"Hey, Luffy! Don't just focus all your punches on that moss-head. My turn!"
Sanji's inexplicable competitive spirit towards Zoro flared up again.
It was almost noon when Nami's voice rang out:
"Everyone! There's an island ahead! We've reached Loguetown!"
***
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