Despite saying he wouldn't investigate further, Euron's gaze still meticulously swept over every possible person on the ship who might know something. His eyes first landed on the hot-tempered "Sorrowful Man" lady.
However, after just one extra glance at Victoria Daniels, she glared back viciously like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, growling in a low voice, "What are you looking at! Believe it or not, I'll gouge out those peepers right now and use them for fish bait?" The fierceness in her eyes was entirely genuine.
Euron immediately concluded: Absolutely not her. If it were really her, there's no way I'd wake up in one piece; I'd probably already be a corpse at the bottom of the Dornish sea.
There were also several beautiful Dornish handmaidens traveling on the ship. Many of them looked at Euron with unconcealed admiration and shyness, their eyes full of spring. Euron thought, If it was one of them, it wouldn't be much trouble.
Euron's thoughts then drifted to Princess Arianne Martell. He suddenly realized that since early morning, he hadn't seen the usually lively and uninhibited Dornish princess.
Just then, Euron happened to see Ashara walking out of the cabin. He approached casually and asked probingly, "Eh, why haven't I seen your inseparable good sister?"
Ashara's expression remained normal as she replied briskly, "Arianne isn't feeling well, she's resting in her cabin." Then, she gave Euron a slightly coquettish glare, blocking his follow-up questions. "It's women's business, don't ask so much."
The fleet of six ships—two sleek longships belonging to the Iron Islands and four Dornish warships flying the Martell banner of the spear piercing the sun—smoothly bypassed the desolate Broken Arm and cautiously traversed the treacherous waters of the Stepstones once again.
Perhaps the aura of this mixed fleet was intimidating enough, as no blind pirates came to court death. The voyage was safe and uneventful, so calm that only the harmony of waves and sails remained.
It wasn't until the next day that Euron finally saw Arianne Martell, who hadn't shown her face for a long time, on the deck. She seemed to have returned to her usual self, wearing her signature teasing smile with a hint of seduction, chatting and laughing with other Dornish nobles. However, whenever Euron tried to approach or their eyes met, she would always look away naturally and seamlessly, gazing elsewhere.
Euron finally found a relatively private moment, walked up to her, and lowered his voice. "That night..."
Arianne didn't let him finish. She turned around, a smile still on her face, but her eyes held a trace of unquestionable sobriety and freedom. She spoke frankly, "Listen, we in Dorne don't have as many tedious rules as you do. We are descendants of the warrior queen Nymeria of the Rhoyne; men and women are equal. Like is like, dislike is dislike." She paused, her gaze lingering on Euron's face for a moment. "You were very charming that night, and I... did like it. But it was limited to just that one night."
Euron seemed to want to say more. "Then in the future..."
"In the future?" Arianne took over the conversation quickly, her tone becoming clear and distant. "In the future, I am still Ashara's closest friend, and you are still Ashara's rightful fiancé. And we... are just friends." Her arrangement was clearly beyond doubt.
Euron seemed to still hesitate. "Then we..."
"Scram."
The smile on Arianne's face vanished instantly. She threw him a crisp word, then immediately reverted to her cynical demeanor, as if the sharpness just now had never existed. "I will treat it as if nothing ever happened, and I won't tell Ashara." She turned to leave, dropping a final sentence with a hint of warning. "I don't want a smelly man like you affecting the bond between us sisters."
Since she's put it this way, her stance so clear and free, if I continue to pester and overthink, wouldn't I look like an indecisive fool? Euron watched her retreating figure, finally shaking his head helplessly and exhaling a long breath, as if to expel all the haze and warmth of that night along with the sea breeze.
Fine. Let it be a beautiful but fleeting dream during the voyage. Now that the dream is over, it's time to look forward.
---
Euron returned to his cabin and opened the One Piece System.
During the ten days in Dorne, Euron lost count of how many nobles, swordsmen, and sellswords he had defeated. There were few memorable opponents, but the final Points obtained were solidly presented before his eyes: 10,680 Points.
[Rokushiki — Tekkai (Iron Body)!]
Lv2 upgraded to Lv3, consuming 1000 points.
Lv3, Tekkai - Steel: Strengthens defensive power on the basis of Tekkai to withstand opponent attacks. Constitution +1.
Lv3 upgraded to Lv4, consuming 2000 points. Body defense enhanced.
Lv4 upgraded to Lv5, consuming 2000 points.
Lv5, Tekkai - Wolf Fang: Allows continuous movement while maintaining the "Tekkai" state. Strength +1.
Lv5 upgraded to Lv6, consuming 2000 points. Body defense enhanced.
Lv6 upgraded to Lv7, consuming 2000 points. Body defense enhanced.
Lv7, Tekkai - Convergence: Gathers all the power used to activate "Tekkai" into the fist, unleashing hardness like "Tekkai - Steel" rapidly. The enemy will not only suffer significant damage but also be sent flying by the powerful attack force. Constitution +1.
[One Piece System Bound Host: Euron Greyjoy]
[Synchronizing World Laws — Adapting to Low-Magic Plane — Loading Complete]
[For every set amount of points consumed, free attribute points are awarded: 12,000 / 14,000 / 16,000 / 18,000 / 20,000...]
[Remaining Free Attribute Points: 13. Remaining Points: 80.]
[Current Progress: 3000 / 12,000]
Strength: 14 (10)
Agility: 18 (10)
Stamina: 17 (10)
Spirit: 17 (10)
Command: 12 (10)
Charm: 18 (10)
(Other skills, items, bloodlines omitted to save space)
The remaining points were insufficient to upgrade skills further, so Euron decided to do a Ten Consecutive Draw to see if he could pull anything good.
[Image Dial] Source: Skypiea. Effect: Can record and play back images.
[Pet: Sea Cat] A giant sea beast with the upper body of a tanuki and the lower body of a fish. It brings you good luck.
[Pet: Steel-Scaled Sawshark] A Sea King creature — 400 meters long, body covered in metallic scales, dorsal fin serrated, retractable barbs on tail, mouth full of serrated sharp teeth capable of biting steel into pieces, dorsal fin can easily saw through ship keels.
[Romantic Pink Sakura Snow] Source: Dr. Kureha. Sprinkle in the sky to turn snow into cherry blossom pink. Effect: When pink sakura falls, your charm towards the opposite sex increases by 120 points.
[Rokushiki — Shigan (Finger Pistol) — Lv1] Source: Marine Headquarters — Concentrates full body strength into the index finger, releasing a strike with a hardened finger in a flash.
[Rokushiki — Rankyaku (Tempest Kick) — Lv1] Source: Marine Headquarters — Rapidly contracts and extends leg muscles to generate kinetic energy, then kicks out rapidly, a powerful kicking technique.
[Sakazuki's Boutonnière (Rose)] Source: Fleet Admiral Sakazuki (Akainu) — A golden rose badge worn on the left chest, representing "Absolute Justice." Trait: Indestructible.
[Borsalino's Sunglasses] Source: Admiral Borsalino (Kizaru) — Lenses resist strong light backlash, immune to the blinding effect of own Glint-Glint Fruit in battle, also hides eye movements. Effect: Wear them, and your eyes won't fear the sun.
[Buster Call: Golden Den Den Mushi] Source: World Government — Sends a signal for indiscriminate destructive attacks on a specific area to completely wipe out threats to World Government rule. Normally limited to Admirals. — World Will Intervention: This item is changed to a Main Unit, capable of maintaining calls with other Den Den Mushi. — Can receive calls from the Extension Unit and make calls to the Extension three times a day, ten minutes per call.
[Buster Call: Silver Den Den Mushi] Source: World Government — Receives signal and locates attack coordinates. — World Will Intervention: This item is changed to an Extension Unit, capable of communicating with the Main Unit. — Can call the Main Unit once a day for ten minutes.
Two pets. Euron quietly released them into the sea, having them stay near the waters of the Stepstones for now.
The sunglasses and the rose boutonnière looked incredibly ugly, so Euron casually gave them to the Red Viper. Unexpectedly, Oberyn was delighted. Once he put on the glasses and rose, his image immediately felt significantly more wretched (sleazy/comical).
Euron sized up Oberyn's current image, then pulled out the pink flamingo feather coat. Sure enough, Oberyn fell in love at first sight, happily putting it on immediately... raising his wretched temperament to another level.
Two Den Den Mushi. He would definitely use the Main Unit himself. He hadn't decided who to give the Extension Unit to yet, so he stored it.
The Image Dial was absolutely an era-transcending item; its existence could only be explained by magic. Although it had many usage restrictions, it was definitely a useful item.
Romantic Pink Sakura Snow—absolutely a tool for wooing women, stored for now.
[Shigan] and [Rankyaku] greatly improved Euron's unarmed combat capabilities once again.
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