The atmosphere turned a little awkward.
Ren coughed softly and withdrew his hand, then nodded. "That's fine, no problem. I just need some time to convert the gains."
"The Ark will take at least a few months to build, right? Just strengthen me ten or eight times during that period and it'll be enough."
Perhaps because they had now officially become a couple, Nami's freeloading attitude had become much bolder than before.
"Anything you say, anything at all."
Ren shrugged, his gaze carrying a hint of indulgent affection.
Then, Nami left the room to test her new powers outside.
A Logia-type ability wasn't something you could instantly master after eating the fruit—it required gradual learning and control.
The most crucial aspect of all was elementalization.
Except for seastone and Haki, almost no physical attack could affect a Logia user once they fully mastered it.
Normally, this process would take at least half a month of self-training before one could truly grasp the transformation.
And that mastery wasn't as simple as just turning into an element.
It was an extremely complex process—after all, once the human body becomes an element, its original sensory organs obviously cease to function.
Therefore, Logia training had to proceed step by step: partial elemental transformation → adapting to sensory feedback → movement while elementalized → expanding that control over longer distances → recombining and re-materializing again.
Only then could one achieve full elementalization.
Vivi had gone through that process herself—with proper guidance, she'd learned it in about a week.
But Nami?
She adapted to partial elementalization in just a few hours.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit truly was the perfect match for her.
In fact, within half a day, she could already manipulate the weather itself!
At that very moment, thunder rolled endlessly across the skies of Upper Yard, the clouds turning blacker by the second.
Positive and negative charges clashed under her control, generating streaks of lightning that danced within the darkened sky.
This wasn't magic—it was the power of thunder itself.
No mana crystals required—only her own stamina.
Nami hovered in midair, surrounded by four golden Thunder Drums, each crackling with arcs of electricity.
Golden bolts radiated outward from them like tendrils, burrowing into the clouds above and amplifying her control.
To put it simply—within the storm above her, a mighty Thunder Dragon coiled and danced gleefully through the clouds, stirring a restless frenzy of lightning.
"So this is power…"
Nami raised her hand, golden arcs flickering across her palm until they condensed into a radiant Thunder Spear.
Her lips curved upward as she lifted her hand toward Upper Yard—and threw.
BOOM!
The golden spear tore through the sky like a comet, striking a nearby hill and shattering several towering trees upon impact.
And that—was merely a casual strike, before she had even fully adapted to her powers.
If she could truly master the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, as Ren had predicted, she would become even stronger.
So amazing…
Nami let the power fade, descending to hover above the Upper Yard forest.
Below her, an enormous serpent gazed warily up at the thunderclouds.
Its scales were slashed and scarred, as if it had just fought a fierce battle.
Not far from it stood Zoro, sword in hand, frowning up in her direction.
"Has Nami already eaten that Devil Fruit?"
Even through the thick canopy, his Observation Haki had picked up her familiar aura.
"You noticed that, huh?"
Nami descended, landing nearby while curiously eyeing the massive serpent. "Want me to deal with that thing for you?"
"No need. That's my sparring partner—and Ren seems to have other plans for it."
Zoro glanced calmly at the giant snake known as the Lord of the Sky. "I'm just putting a little pressure on it. As long as it calms down again when it hears the Golden Bell, that'll do."
The Sky Lord—Nola—had once softened its hostility after the Shandians rang the Golden Bell.
But as a beast that considered Upper Yard its territory, it had grown aggressive again with the constant traffic of workers and visitors.
Zoro had asked Ren about it once and got a strange answer:
"Probably because I'm not Nika. Just make it quiet again."
He had no idea who "Nika" was—but he understood the order well enough.
"Make it quiet," huh? Easy.
Beat it half to death and let it rest while it heals.
Still, controlling his strength wasn't easy, so Zoro settled on beating it up once a day. It honed his blades and kept the Sky Lord on edge.
"I see."
Nami tilted her head, then suddenly smiled brightly. "Hey, Zoro, I'm the vice captain, right?"
"..."
Zoro's mouth twitched, his gaze shifting away. "I never said that. A vice captain needs strength to back it up!"
"I'm not weak anymore!"
Nami's eyes flashed dangerously, her aura flaring like invisible fire.
"Can't stand you sometimes," Zoro muttered, rolling his eyes. "Fighting you would be pointless."
"That's why I said—your mouth is the hardest thing around."
"Hah?"
"Never mind that," she huffed, crossing her arms. "Anyway—"
Nami snorted and dropped the idea of picking a fight.
After all, bullying someone who refused to hit a woman—especially a crewmate—was meaningless.
She wasn't who she used to be. Now, she'd rather punch those truly strong enemies.
Her real reason for coming was something else entirely.
With a sly smile, she activated her favorite trick.
"If you don't want me pestering you, then do me a favor."
"Why?"
Zoro's face darkened—he could feel he was being blackmailed again.
"Because it's a vice captain's order, Mister Crewman."
Nami grinned devilishly. "I want to learn Haki—the same kind you taught Ren.
Ren said that to become truly strong, mastering Haki is essential.
I don't have his ambitions, but I at least want to recreate Enel's Mantra—Observation Haki."
"Ren's training method? Yeah, that's definitely not for you."
Zoro winced at the memory.
He'd seen it—being surrounded by dozens of Iron Knights, cut off from sight and sound, forced to survive their relentless assault.
Failure meant a hellish punishment—literally having your flesh sliced off.
Not only was that method unsuitable for Nami—even Zoro himself wasn't sure he could handle it for long.
After all, not everyone had Ren's terrifying body.
Even if he lost a chunk of flesh, it would heal back in minutes.
Zoro had come to deeply understand what Ren meant when he said, "People really aren't the same."
After some thought, Zoro stood up and pointed off into the distance. "If you want my advice, I'll help you. Not because of any order—but because we're crewmates."
"Nope. It's the vice captain's order."
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
"Then we'll settle this with a fight."
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
Zoro was already in his "I'm done with this" mode, completely ignoring her taunts.
Childish. Absolutely childish.
Whether she was vice captain or not was something the outside world would decide.
"…Fine," Nami finally sighed. "I'll head off for now. Call me when you're ready."
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning split the sky as she shot off toward the clouds in a streak of light.
"That woman…"
Zoro shook his head helplessly before turning back toward the Sky Lord.
"You. Haven't you had enough yet?"
He drew his three swords and entered Three-Sword Style, eyes narrowing.
The Sky Lord blinked. "???"
The air grew heavy—its tongue flicked out, sensing danger.
Meanwhile, across the Grand Line, on the white soil island of Baltigo—
A barren, rocky wasteland of sand and stone, with no natural resources and no record of human habitation.
And precisely because of that, it had become the Revolutionary Army's headquarters.
Here, Nico Robin met the leader of the Revolutionaries—Monkey D. Dragon—along with the commanders who had gathered from around the world through various means.
"In conclusion," Robin said calmly, lowering her teacup, "that's the entirety of my translation."
Her tone was composed as she addressed the meeting room filled with Revolutionary officers. "If anyone has questions, now's the time."
"No, we trust you completely."
Belo Betty took a drag of her cigarette and shrugged. "If even you deceived us, then we'd deserve to lose the two Ancient Weapons."
"We just never imagined the Ancient Weapons would be like this," she added with a wry smile.
"Yeah, it's quite a strange twist," Lindbergh's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, tinged with awe. "Even with the Light's help, discovering the resting places of two Ancient Weapons doesn't mean obtaining them will be easy."
"We'll definitely have to fight for them," said Morley, his playful voice turning serious. "The Ancient Weapon Pluton is located in the land ruled by the Yonko Kaido. Getting it means clashing with him first.
As for Poseidon, the Sea King, she's somewhere on Fish-Man Island—and that's a World Government member nation. Any disturbance there would immediately draw the Government's attention."
"Even so, we must obtain them," Karasu stated coldly.
The Revolutionary Army couldn't give up on the rumored powers of the three Ancient Weapons.
To overthrow the World Government would require not just a few battles—but an all-out war.
And the Ancient Weapons could be the key to victory.
"Then we wait for the right moment," Dragon finally said, cutting through the debate. "Let the winds decide our course."
(End of Chapter)