The air had turned strange, and after a short while Leno and the others got up and left. As soon as they boarded the ship, Leno snatched Nojiko and gave her a sharp smack on the butt.
"You made me misunderstand you—do I strike you as the kind of guy who'd force himself on someone?" he teased.
"I think you're asking for a lesson~ Just wait for me tonight."
He thoroughly 'tormented' Nojiko in his arms until she begged for mercy before he let her go.
Nojiko, her face flushed, took a few breaths to recover before speaking with a hint of grievance.
"Leno, you can't blame me for misunderstanding you," she said. "You have no idea how imposing you are now. When you're serious you make even us nervous—let alone everyone else."
Nojiko's words immediately struck a chord with the others. Nami, Carmen, and the rest nodded repeatedly.
"Yeah, sometimes just being near you, we can feel a strong sense of pressure~"
"R-really? I'll be mindful of it in the future!"
Now it was Leno's turn to feel a bit embarrassed. In truth, he hadn't noticed it himself.
As his strength continually increased and his Conqueror's Haki and Devil Fruit abilities were further developed, his every move carried an immense presence.
Those close to him, like Nami and Nojiko, had grown used to it over time, so they didn't feel anything in their daily lives.
As for others, they probably couldn't even withstand a single glance from him now.
"By the way, you big idiot, how do you know that guy called... called Law?"
Nami, who had been holding it in the whole way, finally couldn't help but ask.
"It was our first time meeting him, right? Is it normal for you to call out his name immediately?"
"Isn't it normal?" Leno tilted his head, raising an eyebrow at Nami, and countered with a smile.
"Nonsense! Of course, it's not normal! Tell me!"
"Ai~ I've always told you to read more books and news, but you never listen!"
Spreading his hands, Leno sighed with feigned helplessness, lecturing Nami with a look that suggested he was disappointed in her.
"Ah~ You jerk! I'll bite you to death!"
Seeing Leno acting like a rogue, Nami instantly snapped and pounced on him, biting his arm.
"I know how many books you've read since childhood, so stop playing dumb with me!"
Having his secret exposed again, Leno gently rubbed Nami's head.
"Ai~ As the sole survivor of that country, it's only normal to remember his name, alright?"
"Nani?!!!"
"He-He's the one from back then..."
"...the only child who survived by hiding in the pile of corpses?"
"..."
Seeing their shocked expressions, Leno nodded. There was no harm in telling them this information. Since they asked, he decided to reveal it.
Almost simultaneously, everyone on the ship turned around to look at Law, who was still standing in the distance, their eyes filled with pity.
'For this guy, living must be the most painful thing.'
Meanwhile, Law and his crew, still standing where they were, looked at the ships flying into the sky with a pang of envy.
"It's so convenient~ flying around in the air."
"Yeah~ when can we experience the feeling of flying?"
Penguin and Shachi looked wistful, imagining the feeling of flying and becoming utterly immersed in the thought.
"Captain, didn't you want to deal with that Warlord of the Sea? Why didn't you collaborate with the 'Thunder God'?"
Bepo asked with a regretful look, curious why the Captain hadn't spoken up from beginning to end.
That was a golden opportunity! If they had latched onto him, wouldn't they be able to walk horizontally across the sea now?
The others nearby looked at Law with anticipation upon hearing Bepo's words.
"Do you think we're qualified to make demands of them?"
"Cooperation is achieved when both sides are equal in strength, and right now, we can't even touch their shadow..."
Law turned and walked toward the hospital, his voice low.
'Cooperation? What a joke, they wouldn't even look at us.'
Or rather, they didn't even consider him a factor. The dragon does not dwell with the snake, and the phoenix does not nest with the sparrow; it's the same principle. Ultimately, his strength was insufficient.
"Stop thinking about such unrealistic things. Focus on improving yourselves; that's better than anything else."
Looking at the desolate back of their Captain, Penguin, Shachi, and the others who remained exchanged glances.
On the other side, Leno and his crew continued their flight, quickly passing Flevance and arriving at a port city—Spider Miles.
"Ara~ This city is really..."
Looking at the chimneys spewing thick smoke and the massive piles of garbage on the other side of the city, Robin was at a loss for how to describe it.
"Dirty, chaotic, and substandard, right?"
"Forget it. Since we're here, let's go down and take a look."
Leno felt a bit helpless seeing the disgust in Robin, Carmen, and the others' eyes.
This trip to the North Blue hadn't led them to a single pleasant place.
Soon after, Leno and his group set foot in the city.
"Leaving aside the landfill on the other side, this side isn't much different from other cities, apart from the odd smell in the air."
Chopper circled the street, wiggled his nose, and then gave a frowning assessment.
Leno looked at him curiously. He supposed it made sense; animals were highly sensitive to smells.
"In fact, this method of garbage disposal is common in many countries."
Leno casually agreed with Chopper, curiously observing the peeking eyes around them.
"In the East Blue, the Goa Kingdom dealt with it this way, too, but they were more cruel—they separated the commoners as well~"
"In the end, the garbage and the people were burned together in a fire."
"Ah?! That's too cruel! Those nobles are truly despicable!"
Chopper was startled by Leno's account and then angrily cursed the nobles.
As Leno and his group strolled down the street, the number of curious onlookers gradually increased.
Many pedestrians stopped, secretly sizing them up while whispering to each other.
There was no avoiding it; Leno's group was simply too eye-catching.
Aside from Leno, the group was entirely composed of stunning women, encompassing every style: mature, cool, pure, and more.
Oh, and he forgot, there was also an adorable little pet.
Too striking!
Before long,
A group of people in the distance, led by a 'blond' man wearing sunglasses, approached Leno and his crew with an arrogant swagger.
"Hey, hey~ LUCKY!!! They're all top-grade goods, right, Bellamy?"
A gray-haired youth next to him scanned Hancock and the others with unrestrained eyes before excitedly speaking to the 'blond' man in front.
"We're bound to make a huge profit this time!"
The speaker was Sarquiss, Bellamy's Vice-Captain, who was now gazing greedily at Nami and the others.
The crew members behind the two men also started jeering upon hearing their Vice-Captain's cheer, as if they could already see piles of Berries waving at them.
"Bellamy?"
Leno raised an eyebrow, looking at this 'energetic young man' with a meaningful gaze.
"Huh? Boy, what are you looking at?"
"I want your women. Be smart and scram! Or I'll kill you!"
Bellamy was irritated by Leno's strange look.
'This punk even has the same hairstyle as me! You're asking for death!'
"You don't recognize me?!"
"Hah~ Do I need to know who you are, huh?"
Bellamy's heart inexplicably skipped a beat at Leno's calm demeanor.
However, the feeling was instantly dismissed. The quality of these women was simply too high!
"I am the Thunder God!"
"You could be the Piss-God, and it still wouldn't matter! Get lost right now! Or I'll slaughter you!"
"..."
"..."