In just a few moments, Lucas had eliminated every pirate on the deck except their captain.
His strength was clearly far beyond that of an ordinary swordsman.
However, when Lucas turned his attention toward the Flower Blade captain—the only opponent who had managed to withstand his attacks—his expression became noticeably heavier.
That guy had actually blocked three rapid Iai Slashes that had practically overlapped with one another.
He was at least a second-rate swordsman.
Lucas had already exhausted a great deal of stamina rowing over here.
The four Iai Slashes he had unleashed earlier had nearly drained him completely.
This is bad.
Behind Lucas, Nami’s clothes were still soaked from the seawater.
She watched his back with her beautiful eyes flickering with surprise.
She hadn’t expected the fool she had tricked to be this powerful.
Lucas, however, had no time to pay attention to anything else.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been delighted to have Nami around, but right now his chest was heaving violently, cold sweat had appeared on his forehead, and he was staring intently at the Flower Blade captain before him.
“Brat!
You killed all my men!
You’re dead!
No one can save you!”
The Flower Blade captain’s face twisted viciously as he slowly advanced step by step.
He held his broad-bladed sword horizontally, and a heavy, imposing aura seemed to emanate from him.
Damn it.
His swordsmanship is focused on defense.
Lucas cursed inwardly.
Under normal circumstances, a defensive swordsmanship style like this would eventually favor him.
But in his current condition, it was precisely the kind of opponent that countered him.
This time, Lucas didn’t use Iai Slash.
Instead, he slowly drew his sword and gripped it with both hands.
He spun the blade through a flourish before stepping forward.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
A series of metallic clashes rang across the deck.
The Flower Blade captain’s swordsmanship was airtight.
Every one of Lucas’s attacks was firmly blocked.
Worse still, Lucas was running out of strength.
The force behind the captain’s defensive counters traveled through the blade and into his arms, leaving his palms numb.
Cold sweat covered Lucas’s forehead.
His body trembled slightly, and his expression became extremely serious.
The Flower Blade captain stared at him coldly, killing intent flashing in his eyes.
He suddenly swung his broad blade.
His steps were slow and heavy, yet there was no sign of fatigue.
Clang!
After another collision, Lucas staggered backward several steps.
He looked down at the sword in his hand and saw a crack running across the blade.
Shock and fury flashed through his heart.
“Damn it.
That bastard’s sword has to be one of the Skillful Grade Blades.
I’m not Zoro, who set out to sea carrying a Great Grade Sword right from the start!”
Lucas grumbled inwardly.
His own sword wasn’t even among the Skillful Grade Blades.
It really showed just how powerful the protagonists’ advantages were.
Crack!
After another clash, the sword in Lucas’s hand shattered into countless fragments.
His heart sank.
This is bad.
But then an idea suddenly occurred to him.
He turned toward Nami and shouted,
“Hey, Nami!
Do you have a sword?”
“Uh…
I think so!”
Nami answered instinctively.
She didn’t have time to think about it.
If Lucas lost, she certainly wouldn’t come out of this safely either.
She reached behind herself and pulled a black sword from the large bundle she was carrying.
Fortunately, the Flower Blade captain’s swordsmanship was heavily defense-oriented.
Even without a sword, Lucas could still narrowly evade his attacks.
When he saw Nami produce a sword, Lucas’s eyes immediately lit up.
A surge of strength returned to his exhausted body.
He suddenly dashed toward Nami and snatched the black sword from her hands.
Nami stared blankly at him.
Then, as though she had suddenly remembered something, her beautiful eyes widened.
How does this guy know my name?!
Nami looked utterly bewildered.
Lucas had no time to dwell on her reaction.
The moment he grasped the black scabbard, a chilling aura seeped through it.
His eyes immediately brightened.
This was…
Nidai Kitetsu!
One of the 21 Great Grade Swords—and a higher-grade Kitetsu blade than Zoro’s Sandai Kitetsu!
The moment the Flower Blade captain saw the sword in Lucas’s hand, his expression changed drastically.
“Damn it!
That’s my sword!”
“Heh.
Not anymore!
Charged Iai Slash!”
A sinister smile appeared on Lucas’s face.
He gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands, his arms trembling as he gathered what little strength remained in his body.
He was concentrating every last bit of his stamina into this one attack.
It’s do or die!
The Flower Blade captain’s expression also changed.
He had already noticed that Lucas was running out of stamina.
Yet the killing intent emanating from this final attack made him feel an extreme sense of danger.
I can’t let him unleash it!
With that thought flashing through his mind, the Flower Blade captain abandoned his defensive swordsmanship and swung his broad blade violently toward Lucas.
At that moment, the sword in Lucas’s hand finally left its scabbard.
The blade scraped against the mouth of the scabbard, throwing off a spark and producing a brilliant arc of sword energy.
Crack!
The two swords collided.
In an instant, the Flower Blade captain’s Fifty Skillful Grade Blade snapped in two.
The sword arc continued forward without losing momentum and tore into his chest.
The sound of flesh being ripped apart was accompanied by the faint crack of breaking bone.
The Flower Blade captain stared at his blood-soaked chest in disbelief.
His body slowly collapsed, his eyes filled with resentment as he looked toward Lucas.
“Damn it…
The curse of the Nidai Kitetsu…
You’ll…
you’ll die from this sword’s curse too!”
With those final words, his head drooped and his eyes closed forever.
Lucas finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His body swayed slightly, but he barely managed to remain standing.
Remembering that Nami was still nearby, Lucas forced himself to turn toward her.
Nami had already been thoroughly shocked by everything she had witnessed.
She swallowed nervously and asked,
“Um…
how did you know my name?”
Lucas looked at her for a moment before giving her a mischievous smile.
“Aren’t you my little subordinate?
Of course I know your name.”
Nami stared at him suspiciously, still unable to figure out how he had learned her identity.
“Anyway, since you’re my subordinate, hurry up and help me.
Clean this place up, and then steer the ship to the nearest Marine branch.”
Lucas slowly walked over to Nami and gave her an impish smile before lightly patting her cheek.
Nami’s body tensed.
“…Fine~~!”
Although she had no idea how this bastard had discovered her name, she clearly couldn’t escape from under his watch right now.
I’ll just have to wait for an opportunity.
Thinking this, Nami reluctantly calmed herself and began cleaning the deck.
Lucas sat off to the side and slowly recovered his stamina.
In reality, at this moment, Lucas probably couldn’t withstand much resistance from Nami at all.
But his earlier display of strength had undoubtedly frightened her.
As long as he continued acting intimidating, fooling this clever little schemer wouldn’t be too difficult.
By the time the deck had been cleaned, Nami finally realized this.
She couldn’t help cursing herself inwardly.
Where did all my usual cleverness go?
She glanced at Lucas, who had remained seated the entire time.
Her eyes rolled as an idea came to her.
Pretending to stumble, she let the bucket in her hand fly toward Lucas.
At that very moment, Lucas’s eyes snapped open.
His stamina had recovered somewhat.
Seeing the bucket flying toward him, the corner of his mouth curled upward.
He swung the sword in his hand.
Crack!
The bucket and its water were cleanly split in two, the pieces falling on either side of Lucas.
He looked toward Nami and snorted.
“Trying to assassinate your captain?”
Nami immediately deflated.
She knew she had lost her opportunity.
With an innocent expression, she said,
“Um…
that was an accident.”
Whether it had been an accident was something both Lucas and Nami knew perfectly well.
Lucas chuckled and walked over to her.
“You should go wash up.
You’ve been soaked in seawater for ages.”
Nami immediately bristled.
“You’re the one who needs washing!”
“That’s true.
Then we can both wash up.”
Lucas glanced at her casually.
Nami became flustered and immediately turned around and hurried away.
Several hours later, everything had finally been put in order.
Lucas sat on the deck, breathing in the fresh sea air.
He felt thoroughly refreshed.
Then Nami’s reluctant voice reached his ears.
“Dinner’s ready!”
When Lucas entered the dining room, he looked at the pile of bread and smiled.
Nami wasn’t a professional cook, but even simply baking bread was still far better than the strange fish meat he had been preparing himself.
However, Lucas didn’t immediately start eating.
Instead, he took the plate in front of Nami and switched it with his own.
“Let’s trade.”
Nami froze.
Her heart began pounding.
Does this guy know I put a laxative in the bread?
Lucas paid no attention to her reaction.
He merely laughed inwardly at such a simple trick.
How could something like this fool me?
He wolfed down his meal.
Meanwhile, Nami sat there awkwardly, barely touching the food on the plate in front of her.
Lucas chuckled.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“Um…
I’m not hungry.”
Seeing Nami’s flustered expression, Lucas laughed.
“Don’t starve yourself.
Go make something proper.
But don’t try anything like this again, all right?”
With that, Lucas walked straight out.
Behind him, Nami was both embarrassed and furious.
She grabbed the plate and threw it at him.
There was no way it could hit Lucas.
He simply laughed and dodged it.
Several days later, Nami and Lucas stood together on the deck.
Their relationship appeared considerably more harmonious than before.
Lucas had obtained the Flower Blade captain’s head, which was apparently worth several million Berries.
He therefore had Nami steer the ship toward a nearby Marine base.
The journey would take around ten days.
During those days, Nami tried some new trick on Lucas almost every day.
However, Lucas’s instincts as a modern-day Earth shut-in made him more than capable of trading wits with Nami.
He hadn’t fallen for any of her tricks.
Knowing that Lucas intended to go to a Marine base, Nami was secretly relieved.
She had already come up with countless escape plans.
But she was still angry at Lucas for constantly teasing her, so she frequently tried to play tricks on him.
Every attempt ended in failure.
Lucas caught the mischievous smile at the corner of Nami’s lips and paused slightly.
He knew she was probably plotting something again.
But he didn’t particularly care.
At present, all he wanted was for Nami to remain with him.
As for what she was thinking, it was obvious enough.
She wanted to escape and recover her belongings.
Lucas wasn’t particularly concerned.
For the time being, he was simply forcing Nami to remain aboard his ship.
And that wasn’t what he ultimately wanted.
What he wanted wasn’t merely Nami’s presence.
He wanted her loyalty and trust.
Of course, earning her trust was easier said than done.
The first thing he needed was enough strength to defeat Arlong.