"Momoo, have you gotten bigger again?" Ryuuto couldn't help but ask as he watched the massive sea cow churn up waves before him.
Perhaps it was because Momoo was constantly picking fights on the seabed, but its head was now covered in scars, its sharp horns stained a deep crimson.
"ROAR!" Momoo responded immediately.
"You're saying there are a lot of aggressive creatures down there?" Ryuuto asked, skeptical. To him, Momoo itself looked more like the belligerent one.
"Alright, alright, I believe you. But we need to get to the island now!" Sensing Ryuuto's doubt, Momoo slammed its massive tail down, sending a colossal pillar of water into the air like a cannonball blast. Seeing its dissatisfaction, Ryuuto quickly placated it.
Roar~
With another cry, Momoo dove back beneath the waves.
Ryuuto then took a light leap, landing easily on the shores of Rusukaina. The island was a peculiar place, its climate in a constant state of flux, and it was home to five hundred monsters several times more ferocious than those in the outside world.
"Hancock, do you think Nami will be happy to see me?" Ryuuto chatted casually with Hancock as they walked deeper into the forest. The topic, however, was a bit off, causing a few dark lines to appear on Hancock's face from time to time.
"Hold on."
Suddenly, Ryuuto whispered, his steps slowing to a halt.
Through his senses, he could perceive Nami, blindfolded, leaping through the forest while a savage panther gave chase.
CRACK!
Just then, Nami's foot slipped. She missed the next branch and fell straight down.
"Damn it, still not good enough!"
With a spray of dirt, Nami landed on the ground and pounded the earth in frustration.
"Looks like I still have to use the Clima-Tact!" she muttered. Scrambling to her feet, she drew the Clima-Tact from her waist and pointed it at the fang-baring panther. "Thunder Descend!"
Instantly, a bolt of blue lightning shot through the dense forest, striking the panther's body.
BOOM!
A flash of light erupted. The panther's pounce was cut short, its body turning charred black as it crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
"Nami, run!" Just as Nami dusted herself off, ready to leave, a large white elephant came charging through the trees, its steps shaking the ground. It frantically trumpeted at her as it smashed through countless trees.
"What's going on?" Nami asked Porchie, confused.
Then she saw it: a colossal brown gorilla, swinging its thick arms and smashing through the forest as it charged in their direction.
"Porchie, why did you provoke it?" Nami's eyes widened in panic. Recognizing the beast, she yelled at Porchie and immediately broke into a sprint through the woods.
This was one of Rusukaina's five apex beasts, the gorilla. Its strength was on par with one of the weaker Warlords, possessing immense brute force and an incredibly tough body.
Seeing this, Ryuuto's figure flickered. Wasting no more time, he instantly appeared in front of Nami.
"Nami!"
At Ryuuto's call, Nami couldn't stop in time and crashed straight into his chest. Held securely in his arms, she looked up, and a wave of joyous surprise washed over her.
"Captain, what are you doing here?" Nami asked, her face beaming.
"Hahahaha, that's a long story!" Ryuuto was about to say a few bad things about Rayleigh, but sensing the man nearby, he let out a hearty laugh instead. Then, in a deep voice, he said, "Mostly, I missed you!"
"Captain, I missed you too!"
A blush instantly crept up her cheeks as Nami shyly responded.
Nearby, Porchie noticed that Nami had stopped and turned around. The sight was startling; somehow, Captain Ryuuto had appeared. The elephant dug its hind legs into the ground, sending mud flying everywhere as it screeched to a halt.
"Captain Ryuuto!" Porchie cried out in excitement.
The scene left the gorilla confused. The two small creatures that had been fleeing for their lives had suddenly stopped.
BOOM!
Not one to hesitate, the gorilla slammed its massive, seven-meter-wide palm down toward the three of them.
"Perfume Femur!"
Before the giant hand could land, a feminine shout echoed as a red figure somersaulted through the air, delivering a powerful kick to the gorilla's body.
As a pink, heart-shaped shockwave erupted from her long leg, the gorilla rapidly turned to stone. The ferocious, apex-level monster was instantly silenced.
A series of light footsteps followed…
Hancock's figure slowly emerged from the woods.
"So strong! And so beautiful!"
"How can a woman this beautiful exist in the world!"
In an instant, Porchie was smitten, becoming Hancock's newest fangirl, its eyes practically shooting out hearts.
Hancock, however, wore a displeased expression as she walked to Ryuuto's side. Perhaps that last kick had been fueled by anger.
"Hancock, Ryuuto…"
Just then, Rayleigh's figure appeared on a tree branch. He had been secretly following Nami and Porchie to ensure their safety.
"Long time no see, Rayleigh!" Ryuuto greeted the man he considered a negligent teacher. After all, Nami had been training here for so long and still hadn't grasped the basics of Haki.
`'Time to witness a miracle!'` Ryuuto thought to himself, a meaningful smile spreading across his face as he looked at Rayleigh.
`'Exchange!'`
With a silent command in his mind, two streams of black light shot out from Ryuuto's body and flew directly into Nami.
In an instant, Nami felt an endless stream of experience flood her mind.
"This… what's happening?" Nami exclaimed in shock as she processed the myriad applications of Haki. "This is incredible. It's like... I suddenly know how to use Haki!"
Clenching her right fist, she tried to merge her will with her strength. Before everyone's eyes, her hand turned the color of black steel.
"I can really use Haki!" Nami was ecstatic, seeing that she had successfully manifested her power.
Hancock and Porchie, standing nearby, were equally astonished by the scene.
"Nami, go on and test its power," Ryuuto said with a light smile.
"Captain, was this you?"
Ryuuto's words made Nami think of all his other miraculous feats. In that moment, not only Hancock and Porchie, but even Rayleigh fixed their gazes on him.
`'This kid, Ryuuto, is full of secrets. To think he could make Nami learn Armament Haki in an instant!'` Rayleigh stroked his chin, sizing Ryuuto up. `'Then what the hell am I even here for? The kid's a living cheat code!'`
"As expected of Ryuuto, he's amazing!" Hancock, on the other hand, had a look of pure adoration on her face.
"What? How did Nami learn it all of a sudden? Her training program just started not too long ago!" Porchie, now in her human form, was utterly shocked.
Ryuuto didn't speak, merely watching Nami with a gentle smile.
Nami walked over to a large tree. Her right hand took on an obsidian hue as she unleashed a punch.
CRACK!
With a sharp snap and a flash of black lightning, the massive tree was cleanly broken in half.
"So this is Armament Haki! It's so powerful!" Nami nodded, satisfied.
Rayleigh's expression was strange. He was beginning to think he really wasn't cut out to be a teacher.
Because you love them, you always feel you owe them.
Seeing Nami successfully learn both Armament and Observation Haki, Ryuuto was in high spirits. Those 200,000 Reputation Points were well spent. His total reputation now stood at 450,000.
In the days that followed, Nami continued her training on Rusukaina, though her focus had shifted to mastering the use of Haki. This was terrible news for the island's five apex beasts.
Time passed slowly.
By the fifth day, Nami was already capable of beating the five apex beasts until they were black and blue.
It was then…
On the edge of the Calm Belt, a massive, classical-style three-masted galleon with a lion figurehead was sailing slowly. Suddenly, a gigantic sea beast erupted from the depths, ramming the bottom of the pirate ship.
The immense force instantly pushed the vessel deep into the Calm Belt.
The ship's jolly roger fluttered in the non-existent wind: a roaring skull over two crossed hammers, all enclosed by two intersecting rings.
This was the ship of Byrnndi World.
The violent tremor from below shook the ship, and Byojack, standing on World's shoulder, nearly lost his footing.
"What was that in the water?" Byojack asked after World caught him and placed him back on his shoulder.
"Probably some sea beast that doesn't know its place!"
"More More!"
World stomped on the deck and shouted. A light appeared, and countless blue waves of energy enveloped the Groseade. The pirate ship began to grow rapidly.
Already a large vessel, the Groseade expanded a hundredfold, instantly becoming a behemoth over a kilometer in length.
BOOM!
As the colossal ship slammed back down onto the sea, the previously turbulent waves seemed utterly insignificant before its sheer mass. The vessel quickly stabilized.
"Fufufufufu…" Seeing this, World laughed with glee. Once the waves calmed, he reversed the effect, returning the Groseade to its original size.
The creature below was Momoo. Seeing that its attack had been ineffective, it waited for the ship to shrink before launching another assault. Its giant tail whipped through the water, bringing a massive wave with it.
"Bastard, you're back for more!"
"Eat this!"
"More! More! Hundredfold!"
World's eyes narrowed in anger. He leaped into the air, holding a small cannonball, and hurled it toward Momoo. As a blue wave of energy pulsed, the small projectile grew larger and larger, eventually becoming a massive cannonball a meter in diameter.
"ROAR…"
Sensing the deadly threat, Momoo instantly dove deep, disappearing beneath the surface once more.
BOOM!
The massive cannonball exploded.
A huge shockwave blasted across the ocean. A powerful gust of wind slammed into the Groseade, pushing it further into the Calm Belt. Then, the blast's impact sent a gigantic pillar of water shooting into the sky.
"Roar… roar…"
Feeling the power of the explosion from deep underwater, Momoo didn't dare approach again. Instead, it began to manipulate the ocean currents from below, subtly guiding the pirate ship in the direction of Ryuuto. In Momoo's mind, there was nothing Ryuuto couldn't handle.
Ryuuto, of course, had no idea what was coming.
Neither did World and his crew. It took them a while to realize they had entered the Calm Belt, as their sails now hung limp and useless.
Back on Rusukaina, the island had transformed into a world of ice and snow. Ryuuto and the others were gathered around a bonfire, eating roasted meat.
"This is so unfair! My bounty is so much lower than yours!" Nami grumbled, stuffing a large piece of meat into her mouth while flipping through a newspaper.
"Let me see!"
Porchie leaned her fluffy head over for a look.
"What?! One of the Four Emperors!" Porchie was stunned. The bold black characters seared themselves into her mind. She gaped in shock. "A bounty of… 3 billion Berries!"
Porchie struggled to process the information, her gaze shifting to the man who always wore a gentle smile.
`'Captain Ryuuto is already that strong?'` she thought to herself. `'Doesn't that mean we're the subordinates of an Emperor now?'`
At that thought, Porchie's mood soared, and she felt a giddy sense of delight.
"Hahahaha, even old man Crocus got a bounty! And he's always claiming to be a non-combatant…" Rayleigh chuckled as he looked at Crocus's bounty poster.
"Is he really a non-combatant?" Nami fell into doubt. She had seen Crocus in action several times, and each time he was swift and efficient, looking every bit the seasoned veteran.
Hancock had already seen the bounties, so she paid them no mind. Instead, she pretended to be cold and snuggled up tightly against Ryuuto.
"It's so cold," she murmured, her face flushed as she hugged Ryuuto's right arm, holding it tightly against her chest.
"Hmph! Next time I get a bounty, it's definitely going to shoot up!" Nami declared, glancing at Ryuuto with a look of fiery determination. Her confidence in her own strength was at an all-time high.
"Yeah, me too!" Porchie nodded, flicking her long hair in imitation of Nami.
BOOM!
Just as they were talking, a violent explosion suddenly erupted from the direction of the coast.