The Going Merry rode the calm sea current opened by Dorry and Brogy's Hakoku, slowly sailing away from the primitive land of Little Garden.
The sea surface returned to the strange calm unique to the Grand Line, though the air still seemed to carry the lingering scent of the giants' heroic aura and the aftertaste of roasted T-Rex meat.
All necessary supplies had been replenished. At least they didn't need to worry about food. According to Sanji's estimation, the stored provisions could last until Alabasta, even accounting for constantly filling Luffy's bottomless stomach.
Barring any unexpected events, Alabasta would be their next stop.
A person's reputation precedes them like a tree's shadow.
Crocodile was, after all, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and his scheme involved overthrowing a nation's government. According to Robin, Crocodile also commanded quite a few powerful subordinates.
Mr. 1, Mr. 2, and their partners, plus the several thousand members of Baroque Works.
Several thousand people. Even if they were pigs, it would take half a day to cut them all down.
On the deck, Zoro stared at the distant horizon where the sea met the sky, his gaze sharp. He recalled the power of the move Luffy had imitated from the giants.
Gomu Gomu no Hakoku.
Mr. 3, completely encased in wax. In that situation, if it were him, Zoro, no matter how long Mr. 3 let him slash, he wouldn't have been able to cut through.
It was like holding a small knife while your opponent hunkered down in a turtle shell.
He then remembered his own helplessness against Hawk-Eyes. A fierce desire to grow stronger burned in his chest.
He abruptly drew Wado Ichimonji and slashed at a lump of solidified wax statue left in a corner of the deck from the fight with Mr. 3.
Clang!
Sparks flew, leaving only a shallow mark on the wax statue.
Zoro sheathed his sword, his brow furrowed. "Just as that guy said. Once solidified, it's harder than steel."
Zoro clearly understood the levels of a swordsman. The one he hadn't yet touched was the level of a steel-cutting swordsman. Cutting steel was a necessary step on the path to becoming a higher-level master swordsman. He had to break through this bottleneck as soon as possible; otherwise, he wouldn't even be qualified to help Luffy challenge a Warlord.
Undoubtedly, the Hawk-Eyes he had encountered had long since surpassed this level to become what was called a Great Swordsman.
So, the words that came out of his mouth became:
"Hey, Luffy. Hit me again."
"How many layers of force?"
Luffy, bare-chested, was doing squats with a barbell held in one hand, Merry sitting on the barbell. On the ship, Merry could adjust a portion of her weight, almost like the Kilo Kilo no Mi user, making her an excellent helper for weight training.
"Four layers. Five is fine too."
Zoro hadn't quite believed Luffy's claim that getting hit could help him learn Armament Haki. But recently, he had vaguely felt a strange power within his body. So, the number of times Zoro proactively sought a beating had increased.
"Hiss... Luffy, has your strength increased again?" Zoro took a punch, his face grimacing.
"Right? I can now enter the five-thousand-kilogram stage with my weighted training." Luffy had been eating a lot and training hard lately. His physique had changed significantly, with toned, powerful muscles becoming apparent, sweat dripping along their defined lines.
"I can't take many of your Gomu Gomu no Bullets now," Zoro grumbled.
Back in the East Blue, him throwing ten punches and Luffy returning one Gomu Gomu no Bullet was acceptable. Now? He'd better throw a hundred punches first.
After declaring war on Crocodile, Luffy hadn't grown complacent. Intensifying his own training was one thing; he had also gone to Robin to learn more about Crocodile's information.
As the saying goes:
Despise the enemy strategically, but take him seriously tactically!
He wasn't sure which book he'd read that in, but in any case, reading more was never a bad thing.
Moreover, there were many experiences he could digest.
Like last night's battle with Dorry and Brogy.
The essence of the giants' combat techniques could be learned and imitated. The initial form of anything comes from standing on the shoulders of giants. Things created from nothing, breaking new ground, were exceedingly rare. The faint layer of white flaming clouds surrounding him seemed a touch more substantial than before.
Even Zoro could see it now.
Over here, the iron-pumping duo were exchanging experiences.
"Hey, Usopp, stop bragging and go reef the mainsail a bit!"
"Huh? Isn't the weather fine?"
"Stop the nonsense! The wind direction and clouds are changing. It doesn't feel right. Hurry up!"
Nami's voice carried a trace of barely noticeable urgency, lacking its usual full strength and even sounding a bit weak.
Usopp, who was in the middle of writing a grand adventure story, was puzzled but didn't dare neglect the navigator's order. He scrambled up the mast.
Nami leaned against the cabin doorframe, her face somewhat pale, fine beads of sweat on her temples. She took a deep breath, her gaze turning to Robin, who was sitting leisurely on the railing reading a book. Her lips moved as if she found it hard to speak, but she still said:
"Um, Miss Prisoner, go help Usopp too. The wind direction is getting chaotic; one person can't adjust it all."
"Oh? Miss Nami is actually asking me, a prisoner of ambiguous allegiance, for help." Robin closed her book, standing up gracefully with a smile.
But soon, she noticed Nami's fingers trembling slightly on the doorframe, and her complexion was much worse than usual.
"S-stop nagging! Just go if I tell you to!"
Nami forced herself to glare at her, but her voice clearly lacked conviction.
Just as Robin was about to say something more, Luffy's hand stretched over with several boings.
The rudimentary medical knowledge forcibly instilled in him through the plan allowed him to see immediately that something was wrong with Nami.
Her face was flushed, and there was a faint cold sweat on her forehead.
The last time Luffy saw a situation like this was with Uta.
She had a fever.
Nami's condition seemed somewhat different from Uta's, though.
"Nami, you—"
Luffy had just started to speak when Nami suddenly reached out, her slightly cool palm covering his mouth. Then, without another word, she grabbed Luffy's arm and pulled him towards the girls' room. "Come with me for a moment."
Luffy was half-pushed, half-dragged by Nami into the room. Everyone else was carrying out the orders Nami had just given, so they didn't pay attention for the moment. But Robin slightly furrowed her brow.
Inside the room, as soon as Nami closed the door, the strength she had been forcing herself to maintain seemed to vanish instantly. Her body went limp, threatening to slide to the floor.
Luffy, quick-eyed and swift-handed, wrapped an arm around her waist, catching her steadily.
Nami leaned against his chest, her voice so weak it was almost inaudible. "Sorry... my legs feel light. Can't stand anymore—"
Luffy looked down to see Nami's cheeks flushed with an unnatural redness, her breathing rapid and burning hot.
He reached out, touching her forehead with the back of his hand. It was scalding to the touch.
"You have a fever, Nami. And it's a high fever, not an ordinary one."
"I'm fine," Nami tried to tough it out, struggling to stand on her own but finding her whole body weak. "I'll be fine after some rest... maybe I caught a bit of a chill yesterday..."
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!