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"Ikki is special."
"So it's fine."
Nico Robin smiled.
The others nodded in agreement.
"Why is everyone acting like this? Am I the only one who thinks something's wrong?"
Perona looked completely bewildered.
"If you think it's wrong, then put your clothes on."
"I never stopped you."
Ikki laughed.
Hearing his words, Perona instinctively reached for her clothes.
But when she looked at Nico Robin and Ginrummy beside her, she hesitated.
Should we really not be wearing clothes?
She couldn't help muttering to herself.
"I told you to get dressed, but you didn't."
"Forget it. Just tell me why you're all acting like this."
Ikki walked over, draped an arm around Perona's shoulders, and spoke with a smile.
At this point, he felt Perona would probably give him the most reliable answer.
The others clearly weren't going to.
The moment Ikki's hand rested on her shoulder, Perona's body visibly trembled.
Her face instantly turned bright red.
Up close, she looked just like a ripe apple.
It was incredibly tempting.
Ikki almost leaned in and took a playful bite of her cheek.
Fortunately, he restrained himself.
Otherwise, he suspected Perona might faint from embarrassment on the spot.
"Wake up. It's time to answer my question."
Ikki gently shook her shoulders, taking the opportunity to notice how much she had grown.
It had to be said that thanks to her improved diet and nutrition, Perona had developed much earlier than before.
Compared to when Ikki had first met her, her figure had changed dramatically.
She now looked much like she did two years later in the original story.
If Moria saw her now, I wonder if he'd even recognize how much she's grown, Ikki thought.
"W-Well..."
"Everyone thought you wouldn't be coming back."
"So... we figured we could train more freely."
Perona lowered her head as she spoke in a quiet voice.
"That's all?"
Ikki raised an eyebrow and looked around the room in surprise.
His gaze eventually settled on Nico Robin.
"Robin... was this your idea?"
From what Ikki knew, Robin was certainly clever enough to come up with something like this.
To his surprise, however, Robin smiled and shook her head.
"I'm afraid you guessed wrong this time, Captain."
"This was Miss Belo Betty's suggestion."
Ikki turned to Belo Betty in surprise.
"It was you?"
"Isn't it a good idea, Ikki?"
"No. I just wanted to say... well done."
"Thank you for the compliment."
"I simply didn't want my clothes getting soaked with sweat."
"I see."
"So you're sensitive to the heat."
"That's part of it."
"But I was also wondering..."
"If we trained like this, maybe you'd come back more often."
A teasing smile spread across Belo Betty's lips.
"And as it turns out..."
"You really did come back."
Ikki laughed.
"I came back because I had something important to do."
"I didn't come here just to admire the scenery."
He paused before grinning.
"Though I certainly can't deny the scenery is worth appreciating."
Clapping his hands, he got everyone's attention.
"Alright."
"Everyone, get dressed."
"We have something important to discuss."
Hearing that, everyone began putting their clothes back on.
Before long, they had all changed and gathered in front of Ikki once more.
Looking at the fully dressed group, Ikki couldn't help feeling a slight sense of regret.
Still, there was nothing to be done.
He intended to reveal the power of Pantera to everyone.
When that happened, the vision of Grimmjow's world would likely appear.
In the past, Ikki had assumed those scenes were merely projections.
But after Astolfo had been summoned, combined with the strange expression he'd once seen from Retsu Unohana, he had reason to believe those visions were somehow connected to their original worlds.
Although Grimmjow probably had no interest in human women...
That didn't mean Ikki wanted him watching.
Some sights were better appreciated alone.
Under everyone's curious gaze, Ikki took out the Zanpakutō he had obtained from the system's lottery.
Pantera.
The moment the blade appeared, everyone stared at it in surprise.
"Is... is that another Zanpakutō?"
"Captain Ikki, did you create another one?"
Nami asked curiously.
As a Zanpakutō wielder herself, she immediately sensed the difference.
Unlike the Noble Phantasm swords, the blade in Ikki's hand radiated unmistakable spiritual pressure.
There was no mistaking what it was.
"That's right."
"It really is a Zanpakutō."
Ikki nodded with a smile.
"Ikki, what happened outside?"
"Did the Navy give you another famous sword?"
Belo Betty asked curiously.
At the same time, her eyes remained fixed on Pantera.
She clearly liked the weapon very much.
Of course, she also knew the odds of Ikki giving it to her were practically nonexistent.
At least, not for now.
Thinking that, Belo Betty glanced toward Ginrummy.
She knew Ginrummy still didn't have a suitable weapon.
Like Belo Betty, Ginrummy's attention was completely captured by the Zanpakutō.
She had originally been standing farther away, but after seeing Ikki draw the blade, she immediately walked over.
"That's right."
"I obtained two swords from the Navy."
"Using those two blades, I created this Zanpakutō—Pantera."
"So I promised Zephyr that I'd personally teach his disciple, Ain."
"I think she'll be staying aboard the Explorer for a while before long."
"Belo Betty, Robin, Kalifa..."
"You'll have to bear with it for a little while."
Robin and Kalifa nodded.
They had already gone through something similar before.
To them, it was nothing new.
Neither of them minded.
"She's such a lucky girl."
Belo Betty sighed.
She had once wanted to study under Ikki herself.
She had put in plenty of effort.
Yet Ain had managed to become Ikki's disciple simply because she was Zephyr's student.
It would be a lie to say Belo Betty wasn't a little envious.
"This Zanpakutō is different from the ones I've shown you before."
"It's... rather special."
Ikki lightly tossed Pantera into the air before catching it again, preparing to explain its origins.
Everyone's curiosity immediately deepened.
"I've told you before that your Zanpakutō all originate from Shinigami."
"But this one doesn't."
"It comes from the Shinigami's mortal enemy..."
"A Hollow."