"As expected of Big Bro Zoro's captain!"
On the deck, Johnny sighed in admiration.
He was just too diligent.
He'd heard they just fought the Marines, right? And even before the Marines arrived, Big Bro Zoro and Big Bro Luffy had already been doing physical training, pushing themselves to the point of collapse.
Yet, after eating his fill, Luffy still had this much energy left.
"Truly terrifying," Johnny muttered.
He could see the strain on Big Bro Zoro's face, the look of someone barely holding on.
In their eyes, Zoro was a super training maniac.
And yet, he was being out-grinded by this rubber man!
"He certainly is... energetic," Nami, standing not far away, couldn't help but purse her lips.
"Big Sis Nami, are you Big Bro Luffy's woman?" Johnny asked curiously.
The question nearly made Nami choke on her own saliva.
"Y-you, what nonsense are you spouting?!" Nami didn't know why her heart was suddenly fluttering. "We're just... ordinary partners! Captain and navigator!"
"Ah, is that so?" Johnny scratched his head. "I thought you were in that kind of relationship, since you were so... intimately close just now."
They could even completely ignore their crewmates on the ship!
This situation wasn't uncommon among pirates.
The captain of a pirate ship had everything: power, wealth, women.
Why else would so many people want to be captain?
"That was an accident!" Nami was truly regretting it now. Why did she have to be so handsy and pick Luffy up? One little hug led to so much trouble. If she hadn't hugged him, wouldn't everything be fine?!
"Hehehe, why not just admit it?" Usopp added fuel to the fire, slinging an arm around Johnny's shoulder with a cheeky grin. "Yesterday afternoon, Nami was pulled into her room by Luffy. So, you know."
"That was..." Nami was at a loss for words.
They were really studying inside!
Thwack! Thwack!
Two solid hits later, Usopp and Johnny were sent flying.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
She would never like that annoying guy, Luffy!
She glanced at Luffy in the distance, his face becoming clearer in her mind.
Over the past few days, starting yesterday, it had been one incident after another. Everything that should and shouldn't have happened, happened.
No more looking! No more looking!
Nami decided to go take a bath first to cool off and wash off all the grime. That sticky feeling... who knows how much of Luffy's sweat was left on her.
After her bath, Nami lay on her bed, emptying her mind, staring blankly at the nautical charts plastered all over her walls. She couldn't help but recall the events of the day and the things Usopp and Johnny had said.
If they hadn't brought it up, she would never have thought about it in that way.
That unreliable guy wasn't her type at all.
But for some reason, Luffy had suddenly changed over the last two days. Although he was still his cheeky self sometimes, he gave her a sense of reliability.
Impossible! How could she possibly like that guy Luffy!
Nami covered her eyes with her hands, then slowly spread her fingers. The sunlight from outside the window streamed through the gaps, and she squinted, the events from earlier involuntarily resurfacing in her mind.
The gentle warmth of his breath on her neck seemed to linger, making Nami feel restless. She simply buried herself under her pillow.A young girl's heart is always filled with poetry.
...
The fight was for real.
After replenishing his energy, Luffy felt full of vigor.
It was time for sustained training.
To be honest, the successful outcome from developing his Gomu Gomu no Mi earlier had given Luffy a taste of the rewards.
The side effects were significant, but the feeling was truly awesome!
Many new ideas were suddenly popping into Luffy's head, and he was eager to try them all out.
It was like having a pile of food appear in front of him; he just couldn't resist eating it.
Who could refuse such temptation?
Plus, he could activate passive talents.
Since there were passive talents, did that mean there were active ones too?
And he found himself completely unable to refuse this "plan." Since he couldn't refuse, he might as well happily improve himself and do some R&D!
He had Zoro as a sparring partner anyway.
"Zoro, use your swords."
When it came to pure physical combat, Luffy felt it was unfair. After all, Zoro was a bona fide swordsman; not using his swords was a major disadvantage.
"You sure?" Zoro frowned.
Rubber men could nullify a lot of ordinary attacks, but they were most vulnerable to swordsmen. He was quite experienced in identifying weak points.
"Come on, come on." Luffy suddenly had a great idea.
Without another word, Zoro drew his three swords, assuming his signature Three Sword Style stance, and charged.
You could tell he'd been holding back for a long time.
Luffy kept dodging. If draining his body dry could grant the passive talent [Rapid Recovery], could he gain other talents?
Initially, he had been resistant to developing his Devil Fruit abilities.
Weren't they just things he'd played with as a kid? Wouldn't it be boring to do them again?
But now.
Luffy felt like a mountain of gold and silver had appeared before him!
Just waiting for him to dig.
A pirate cannot resist treasure.
Dodge, counterattack.
The deck was filled with the flash of blades.
Their figures moved rapidly across the deck, clashing and staggering.The more they fought, the more astonished Zoro became.
Anyone who has fought knows it's incredibly draining; the longer it goes on, the weaker you become.
So why was this guy getting more and more excited?
At first, Zoro was holding back with his blades—a cut was no joke—but later, when he got serious, he discovered Luffy's speed was constantly increasing!
[Physical energy compressed and exercised. Your physical strength has increased. Armament Haki proficiency +1]
[Through diligent training, your speed has greatly improved. Passive talent activated: [Rapid Movement].]
[Your speed has significantly increased.]
"Luffy, be careful with this one. If you can't dodge it, you'll be killed..."
Not far away, Zoro placed Wado Ichimonji in his mouth.
"I-It's here!" Johnny exclaimed.
Big Bro Zoro's Three Sword Style.
He held his left and right swords in a crossed stance, the third sword sealing off any escape route.
This move, Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!
With a hum.
Luffy reacted instinctively, stamping his feet against the ground dozens of times in rapid succession to generate an explosive repulsive force, vanishing from his original position in an instant.
Oh, so this is [Rapid Movement]?
He could move even faster!
Luffy's mind raced. He might usually seem unreliable, but you couldn't mistake him for an idiot.
That was Garp's assessment of his grandson.
Especially when it came to combat, Luffy possessed an almost monstrous talent.
[Warning. Do not be distracted during combat. Punishment countdown.....]
Luffy patted his cheeks.
Almost, just a bit more!
But ideas and concepts could only be tested and realized in actual combat.
Luffy grinned at Zoro. "Again!"