The sight of the women gathered on the deck, enjoying the morning breeze as Carmen finished breakfast, was undoubtedly a beautiful tableau.
There was the intellectual, enigmatic, and devastatingly sexy Robin; the playful, fiery Nami; the shy, determined Princess Vivi; Carmen with her bright smile; the boisterous and uninhibited Mikita (Miss Valentine); and the dangerously alluring Alvida.
Watching the group of women chatting—and noticing how they would occasionally cast assessing glances in his direction—Darian found it increasingly difficult to keep up with his training.
Ever since consuming the Outer Path Devil Fruit, Darian had become prone to impulsiveness and possessed a seemingly boundless reserve of sexual energy. Having spent the entire previous night on watch without any physical release, the temptation he faced in this moment was overwhelming.
As he stole glances at Robin's long legs and Nami's tight shirt, Darian felt that if things continued like this, his "long spear" would soon be pitching a very visible tent in his sweatpants—a sure recipe for total embarrassment in front of his entire crew.
He hurriedly reined in his wandering thoughts and intensified his push-ups, attempting to use grueling physical exhaustion to numb his overly aroused body.
Gasp! Gasp!
His heart pounded violently in his chest. Darian couldn't tell if it was from sheer muscular fatigue or from the sheer excitement of having six beautiful women watching him sweat.
His muscles screamed in protest. His mind kept sending him a single, insistent message: You're already exhausted. You have a god-tier Devil Fruit. Just give up on this training already!
With waves of lactic acid washing over his arms, Darian truly wanted to quit.
For someone like Darian—who had never been fond of extreme physical exercise in his past life—the greatest obstacle wasn't his physical constitution, but rather the strength of his willpower.
Although he yearned to give up and hit the showers, his rational mind told him that he had to persevere; otherwise, he risked spiraling into an abyss of self-indulgence from which there would be no return.
His self-control was steadily eroding. Even if he could grow stronger through "Dual Cultivation," merely boosting his physical power without simultaneously elevating his mental fortitude and combat discipline would inevitably lead to his downfall. Sooner or later, if he relied entirely on the bedroom to get stronger, he would devolve into nothing more than a mindless slave to his own libido.
Gritting his teeth, he pressed on. At first, the crushing fatigue nearly breached the dam of his rationality; but gradually, as he pushed past the pain barrier, his body adapted. The numbing sensation gave way to a steady, rhythmic burn.
Step! Step! Step!
Two women walked toward him.
"You should stop," Alvida remarked, leaning against the railing with her arms crossed, pushing up her cleavage. "I've been watching you for twenty minutes. You're practically just flailing around blindly. You don't even understand the most basic methods for muscle conditioning."
Mikita, meanwhile—who was holding her yellow parasol to block the sun—watched his glistening, sweat-covered back with evident interest.
However, Darian, who was on the verge of completing his quota, paid them no mind; he simply continued to grit his teeth and push.
"998... 999... 1000."
Hah!
Having finished the final rep, Darian pushed himself up, his arms trembling slightly, and sat back on his heels.
Seeing him drenched in sweat, Mikita hurriedly stepped forward and offered him a clean handkerchief. "Here!"
Although he didn't strictly need it—he could simply activate his Human Path ability to make all the sweat and grime slide right off his frictionless skin—Darian accepted the handkerchief anyway. After all, one shouldn't turn down a friendly gesture from a pretty woman.
"Thanks, Mikita," Darian smiled, wiping his forehead.
Mikita—typically a boisterous, slightly sadistic Baroque Works agent—felt her face flush red when she saw him smile at her. She suddenly became flustered and bashful, looking away.
Darian took a moment to observe the dynamic on the ship. Among the six women, Nami and Robin were undoubtedly the two most difficult to truly "conquer."
Thanks to their shared history, Nami was deeply attached to him. However, this did nothing to diminish her fierce possessiveness, nor did it stop her from violently trying to prevent him from building a harem.
As for Robin—having spent twenty years being betrayed, hunted, and reviled by the world—her heart was locked behind a fortress of ice. Winning her over through genuine trust would be a monumental task.
Princess Vivi presented a challenge of a different nature. She possessed a remarkably mature mindset and a heavy burden of duty. Of course, if Darian were to use the salvation of Alabasta as direct leverage, there was little doubt Vivi would willingly offer herself to him to save her people. But that was not what Darian wanted. He desired to win her over based on genuine affection, not political extortion.
Carmen, while a fiery and skilled cook, was easily the most "ordinary" girl among the group. She was prone to infatuation and already enamored with his looks and strength; she would be easy to win over.
As for Mikita and Alvida, there was absolutely no need for any elaborate strategy. For these two—a hardened bounty hunter and a former pirate captain—the criteria for choosing a partner were remarkably straightforward: overwhelming power and good looks. Darian possessed both in spades.
Seeing how utterly exhausted Darian looked—his chest heaving as he wiped his face—Alvida couldn't help but voice her skepticism. "In the state you're in right now, how on earth did you manage to defeat Arlong the Saw? Or Don Krieg, for that matter?"
Darian cast a sidelong glance at her. "Are they really that strong? You may think I'm weak right now because I'm sweating, but in my eyes, all of you East Blue pirates are pathetic."
Hearing this, Alvida was momentarily taken aback, her pride stung by the blunt retort.
"That may be true," Alvida replied, narrowing her eyes. "But judging by your form, you look like someone who hasn't undergone a single day of actual combat training. You fight like a brawler relying entirely on a Devil Fruit. Even an average pirate knows how to train properly."
Alvida had managed to land a solid verbal jab. Less than a month ago, Darian had been nothing more than an ordinary civilian; whatever strength he possessed now was derived almost entirely from his Devil Fruit.
Yet, unwilling to concede defeat in front of his crew, Darian shamelessly shot back, "Perhaps I'm simply a natural-born genius!"
Alvida, of course, wasn't about to buy that explanation for a second. She scoffed, rolling her eyes. But she didn't mind his arrogance too much. She had joined his crew primarily because she was captivated by his handsome face and his overwhelming destructive power. If he was clueless about the basics of martial arts, she wouldn't mind taking it upon herself to offer him a few pointers later.
Later That Afternoon.
After Darian finally got a chance to shower and catch up on some much-needed sleep in the master cabin, the Little Fish arrived at their first destination in the Grand Line.
"Darian! Wake up!"
Darian was roused from his slumber by a sharp pain. He opened his eyes to see Nami standing over him, her fist still raised. She had delivered a "Fist of Love" right to the top of his head.
"Ow," Darian groaned, rubbing his skull. He looked up at Nami, whose face was twisted in annoyance. "What's the matter, Nami?"
"We've reached Summer Solstice Island!" Nami declared, crossing her arms. "We're heading ashore to do some shopping now. You are going to stay here and keep a close watch on the ship."
"Wait, what? Why me?" Darian protested, sitting up.
"It's all your fault for bringing so many people on board!" Nami grumbled reproachfully. "I'm completely out of clothes!"
It was true. Nami loved fashion, but Robin, Mikita, Vivi, and Alvida had all boarded the ship suddenly, and none of them had brought luggage. Consequently, the other four women had been borrowing all of Nami's clothes. No wonder she was upset; her wardrobe was being raided daily.
Seeing her looking so peeved, Darian gave a helpless shrug. "Alright, fine. I'll guard the ship. But won't you girls need a bodyguard while you're ashore? This is the Grand Line."
"We'll be fine," Nami replied dismissively. "This is Summer Solstice Island—a famous resort town. It's perfectly safe here. Besides, don't you need to keep an eye on that 'Booger Guy' you captured? Just stay here and guard the prisoner."
At the mention of Mr. 5—who Darian had nearly forgotten about—he sighed. "Fine. Have fun."
Darian was actually starting to feel a twinge of regret; he found himself thinking that maybe he should have just finished the assassin off back when he had the chance to save himself the hassle.
However, after thinking it over, he decided against it. A Devil Fruit—especially the Bomb-Bomb Fruit—was a rare and hard-won treasure. He needed to get to Alabasta to learn how to extract it.
After waking Darian and assigning him watch duty, the five women all headed ashore to go shopping. Although Nami held the purse strings (having confiscated all their looted Berries), Darian still felt a phantom pang of heartache for his wallet. Women on a shopping spree were a terrifying force of nature.
Summer Solstice Island truly lived up to its reputation as a tourist paradise. Sitting at the bow of the ship with his white mask on to avoid being recognized from his bounty poster, Darian passed the time quite pleasantly, admiring the beautiful women sunbathing along the pristine beaches near the docks.
Meanwhile, deep in the ship's hold, Mr. 5 was practically weeping in despair. Having been stuffed into a wooden barrel of seawater and left to soak for a full day and night, he was freezing, exhausted, and completely stripped of his explosive powers. Absolutely no one cared about his plight—not even his former partner, Mikita, who was currently ashore buying sundresses.
Nami's decision to leave Darian behind to guard the ship proved to be an incredibly wise one.
While the girls shopped, a threat was already quietly drawing near the harbor—though it remained unclear whether Robin had actually leaked their location, or if Baroque Works was simply that efficient.
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