Luffy pouted, then stretched his arm over the side, washing his hand several times in the seawater. Having powers sure was convenient.
Now Zoro had no excuse.
With a thousand and one warnings, he handed Yubashiri to Luffy, looking like he was terrified to let the sword leave his sight.
"A good sword." Luffy didn't know if he had any talent for swordsmanship, but he certainly had an affinity for swords themselves.
Suddenly, he had an idea. His finger turned pitch-black, an intangible ripple spreading out. The jet-black Busoshoku Haki briefly enveloped and coated the blade of Yubashiri, adding a heavy, oppressive weight to its already sharp edge.
"Holy crap," Zoro swore, his eyes going wide instantly.
"Hahaha, it really works!" Luffy said, looking at Yubashiri in his hand.
"Hey, Luffy, can you do this as long as you learn Busoshoku Haki?" Zoro stared intently at the Haki-clad blade, envy practically spilling from his eyes.
"It's just a simple application of Busoshoku Haki."
"Really?"
Luffy retracted his Haki. He raised an eyebrow at Zoro.
Zoro instantly understood. Though his facial muscles twitched, he resolutely stood up. "Bring it on!"
When Nami and Merry finished their bath and came out, they saw a scene under the moonlight: Zoro in a horse stance, gritting his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, while Luffy was using his Busoshoku Haki-clad fists to thump-thump-thump against his abdomen.
"You're really not tricking me?" Zoro growled through clenched teeth, sweat beading on his brow.
"This is how I learned it!" Luffy declared righteously, having his own argument. "This is my experience. If you don't believe me, go find someone else."
Zoro was half-convinced, half-doubtful. But feeling the fiery pain and that subtle sensation of being tempered, he finally gritted his teeth and held on.
Nami: "..."
With this picture, if anyone says Luffy doesn't have a bit of private revenge for the beatings Zoro gave him before, I wouldn't believe it.
Ah well, they're both idiots anyway.
After it was over, Zoro lay sprawled on the deck like a corpse.
"Come to my room tonight."
Fresh from her bath, Nami's face was flushed. When she said this, her gaze was evasive, not daring to look at Luffy at all.
"Huh? Why?"
Luffy even wondered if Nami was drunk. Inviting him to her room at bedtime... They didn't even have a cat on the ship. Otherwise, she could use the excuse 'my cat learned how to do a backflip, want to come see?'
"Idiot! It's because Merry wants to sleep with you!"
Nami's face instantly flushed crimson with a mix of embarrassment and anger. She jumped up, locking her arm around Luffy's neck in a headlock while using her other hand to grind her knuckles against his skull. "What are you thinking?! Don't tell me you thought I wanted to sleep with you! Have you become like that pervert cook?"
"Ouch ouch ouch..." Luffy yelped in pain.
Zoro, nearby, rubbed his sore stomach, unsure how to even comment.
Is this some kind of newlywed couple with a kid roleplay?
They've already been sleeping together for days, and now they're playing these games.
To put it bluntly, there wasn't even a bed for Luffy in the boys' dorm anymore.
Zoro fell silent for a moment.
He sighed. "Watch your behavior. Don't go corrupting Merry."
It seemed the "family of three" didn't hear him at all.
The girls' room.
Returning here, Luffy felt as comfortable as if he were in his own room.
He paused.
Come to think of it, since we got the Going Merry, haven't I been sleeping on the floor in Nami's room more often?
When it came to consideration, Nami was the type to act, not speak. She probably understood Luffy's time schedule perfectly. To put it accurately: how could he possibly be asleep at this hour?
She was just using Luffy as a sleeping companion tool, the kind you could only look at and imagine.
Forced into that focused state of Devil Fruit ability development, Luffy's perception of the outside world dropped to a minimum. He gestured into the air, sometimes stretching his arm and coiling it with Haki, sometimes letting steam rise from his body, fully immersed in the application and combination of Gear Second and Gear Third, his mind free from distraction.
Only after completing a phase of his thinking did he exhale a long breath, stand up from the desk, and stretch mightily, a series of crisp pops sounding from his joints.
[Warning. It is now (washing up) time...]
Luffy frowned. Something felt off.
After washing up came sleep. This plan compressed even his mealtime to one minute. Would it really give him five minutes to shower?
It was like a Celestial Dragon holding a gun to a slave's back, saying, "You are free."
That was pure nonsense.
Whatever. It's done now.
Who cares about the impending flood!
"There are so many animals... dragon, tiger, snake, monkey..."
Plus, Luffy had never even seen many of these animals. Relying purely on imagination was just draining his brain cells.
But it was a direction for progress.
It was only then that Luffy noticed the quiet, warm atmosphere of the room.
Nami was leaning against the headboard, reading a navigational log by the warm lamplight. Beside her, little Merry was already asleep, breathing evenly, still clutching her tiny mallet, a sweet smile on her lips.
Nami looked up. Luffy happened to see this scene.
Who wouldn't be mesmerized by this picture?
The husband after a hard day's work, the wife caring for the child, and the peacefully sleeping child—the everyday scene of a long-married couple.
Luffy had no memories of such a scene in his own life.
An absent father, a mother with no news, a grandfather who loved catching pirates, and an empty home... Most of the time, Luffy had been alone.
That's why he was so excited when Uta came.
That's why he yearned so much to become a pirate.
That's why he was so envious when he saw the Red Hair Pirates.
Because nakama are family.
People feel empty without a goal. From establishing his goal until now, no matter the process, Luffy had felt fulfilled.
Now, looking at the scene before him, his heart seemed filled with something else entirely.
Nami, watching him, felt her face grow slightly warm. She couldn't help but lower her head, pretending to continue reading.
She asked, "Finished?"
"Ah, yeah."
For a moment, Luffy was at a loss for words.
"Hurry up and go wash up and get to bed." A faint blush colored Nami's cheeks as she closed her book, feigning nonchalance.
Feeling a bit dazed, Luffy went to the bathroom and found his change of clothes already prepared for him.
The time for washing up wasn't long, but by the time he came out, Nami had already closed her eyes as if asleep.
A space was left on the bed, right next to Nami. It looked like it was left there on purpose.
Not having to sleep on the floor was a good thing, right?
[Warning...]
There was no time for Luffy to think further. He quickly climbed into bed. From one in the morning until now, it had been yet another fulfilling day.
Even so, is it really going to nitpick over that little bit of time I scraped together?!
[A new day begins]
[Scanning today's schedule...]
[It is now (sleep) time, 00:00 – 06:00]
[Devil Fruit Development: 2/10. Current development status detected. Initiating Devil Fruit Development Scenario Playback. Time can be counted towards schedule compensation.]
Luffy: "..."
I knew you didn't have good intentions.
***
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