After Nayuta angrily canceled her contract with Yotsuba, she sat on the ship's railing holding Pochita like a disgruntled little kitten, turning her back to everyone and not saying a word.
Pochita whimpered several times because she was holding it too tightly before she loosened her grip slightly. Makoto gave her a strange look but didn't say anything more.
The Otherworlder-Go continued sailing forward, heading towards their destination, Elbaf.
Although they had learned the method of learning Haki from the Kuja Pirates, not every woman could learn it. After all, this skill was basically only suitable for close-combat types.
For support types like Megumi, and women like Miku who weren't naturally athletic, they could basically forget about training this.
The reason Robin and Nami from the Straw Hat Pirates couldn't learn it even after two years of training was the same… these two were also pure mages.
The younger girls like Miku and Sonoko couldn't learn it, and the MILF Group, whose average age was over forty, could learn it even less. So for now, they still had to honestly stick to logistical duties.
However, somewhat surprisingly, among the new players, the ones training the best, besides Saeko, were the student council duo, Kaguya and Chika.
Kaguya was understandable, as she was very athletic in the original work and was a member of the archery club. But the Cancer of the Planet Earth having talent in this area was somewhat unexpected for Makoto.
After talking with Chika, Makoto learned that she was extremely gifted in sports.
Makoto remembered then… in the original work, Chika had even taught Miyuki how to play sports.
On the deck of the Otherworlder-Go, sunlight spilled onto the artificial turf.
The women were training as usual. But unlike before, they were dressed much more coolly than they had been in the real world.
After all, when training in the real world, in Makoto's palace, there were still Makoto's underlings like Yu and Beam around.
But now, the only male on the ship was Makoto himself. Naturally, the women didn't have to worry so much.
As for the women who hadn't yet had a physical relationship with Makoto, they didn't have many concerns either. You're living under his protection... what's wrong with him looking at you a bit? Makoto not forcing himself on them was already a sign of respecting women.
However, although Makoto enjoyed watching, some women were not satisfied. For example—
"Fujiwara-san, could you please put your clothes on properly?"
Kaguya said to Chika, who was doing a planche push-up beside her, with a dark expression. A planchet, supporting the body on hands, feet off the ground, keeping the entire body parallel to the ground. Very few girls could perform such a move, but for superpowered individuals, it was just basic.
But at this moment, Chika was doing an even more difficult version of the planchet… a one-arm planche. Her body was parallel to the ground, one hand steadily supporting her on the turf, the other hand behind her back, her whole body like a suspended plank of wood. But it was precisely this move that caused Chika's center of gravity to shift downwards.
Simply put, her pair of enormous dining halls were completely hanging down, making them look even more exaggerated.
"Huh? Is there a problem?"
Chika asked with a naturally blank look, blinking her eyes a couple of times. It was unclear whether she genuinely didn't understand or was pretending not to. Makoto strongly suspected the latter.
Kaguya's face darkened, a cross popping out on her forehead. She took a deep breath, decided not to bother with this Cancer of the Planet Earth, turned around, and prepared to go to a less crowded place to train.
She scanned the area… damn, they were all busty. Yotsuba was practicing controlling the Magma-Magma Fruit... due to her high body temperature, she was wearing extremely thin clothes. Ran was jumping rope, sweat soaking her sports bra, her D+ chest practically bursting out. Not to mention Kotonoha, who has 102s.
Kaguya: "..."
She silently withdrew her gaze and finally chose to train next to Yukino. Yes, this one wouldn't damage her self-esteem.
Kaguya started doing arm strength training beside her. After learning that every pirate crew had the position of sniper, she wanted to train in that direction. After all, the sport she mainly focused on in the real world was archery.
After finishing basic strength training, Kaguya picked up a bow. The bow's body was long and slender, the string taut. This was a trophy confiscated from the Oro Jackson of the Roger Pirates.
She walked to the ship's railing, drew the bowstring, aimed at a seabird flying overhead, and prepared to shoot.
"Archery?"
A voice came from behind her. Kaguya's hand trembled, and she almost dropped the arrow. She turned her head and saw Makoto standing a few steps away, looking at the bow in her hand with interest.
Kaguya quickly put down the bow, folded her hands in front of her lower abdomen, and gave Makoto a slight bow. "Leader."
Makoto waved his hand. "Don't mind me. Go ahead."
However, even though Makoto said that, how could Kaguya calm down with him nearby? She nocked another arrow, drew the bow, aimed, 'Whoosh—'.
The arrow flew. It was wildly off, not even touching a feather of the seabird. Try again. 'Whoosh—' Off again. It's even more off than the previous arrow.
Kaguya's face flushed slightly. She bit her lip.
"Take a rest."
Makoto chuckled lightly, comforting her. Kaguya put down the bow and brushed back her somewhat disheveled bangs, damp with sweat. "How rude of me."
The tips of Kaguya's ears reddened slightly. Makoto looked at the bow she had put down and said, "In this world, there aren't many skilled archers."
Off the top of his head, Makoto could only think of Hancock, and the 'Fifth Emperor' Batman, as relatively famous skilled archers in the One Piece World.
And Hancock didn't really count as an archer… she only used that method to activate her Devil Fruit ability.
"Then, Leader, should I change my fighting style?"
Kaguya asked. Makoto waved his hand. "I was just saying. Just train in the direction you're best at. Not everyone needs to be a main damage dealer. Support types like Megumi can also shine. Kings have their kingly talents, cooks have their culinary talents."
Kaguya was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head and said softly, "Th-thank you for your guidance, Leader."
Clearly, she was not yet accustomed to interacting with the opposite sex, let alone such an important figure with such a large status gap. After all, everyone she had met before had come to fawn on her... she had never fawned on anyone else.
Makoto nodded, chatted about a few trivial things, then turned and left.
Not far away, in a corner. Ai silently watched this scene. Her gaze swept back and forth between Makoto and Kaguya a few times, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
'Is Leader Nishikawa interested in Kaguya-sama?' Ai felt she could use this matter to her advantage. Ever since Shinomiya Oko died at the hands of Yu last time, she, an informant planted by Oko within Kaguya's ranks, had also been liberated.
Ai had been looking for an opportunity to repay Makoto. It felt like the opportunity had now arrived.
Yukino, who had also overheard the conversation between the two, didn't feel so relaxed. Her gaze followed Makoto's retreating figure, then fell on Kaguya beside her, and her brow furrowed slightly.
Mainly because, in her view, Makoto seemed far too gentle with Kaguya.
In Yukino's understanding, her attributes highly overlapped with Kaguya's… both had long black hair, both had cold personalities, and both were... flat.
But why did it feel like there was a significant gap in Makoto's attitude towards the two of them?