"As expected of Big Bro Zoro's captain!"
On the deck, Johnny couldn't help marveling.
He worked way too hard.
Hadn't they just fought the Marines?
Even before the Marines showed up, Big Bro Zoro and Big Bro Luffy had already gone through an intense physical training session.
They'd trained until they were practically unable to move.
Yet after Luffy ate his fill, he somehow still had this much energy left.
"Absolutely terrifying."
Johnny muttered under his breath.
Even Big Bro Zoro's expression looked strained, as though he was barely holding on.
And Zoro was a super training maniac in their eyes!
Yet even he couldn't out-grind this rubber man!
"He certainly has plenty of energy."
Not far away, Nami couldn't help curling her lips.
"Big Sis Nami, are you Boss Luffy's woman?"
Johnny asked curiously.
That single sentence nearly made Nami choke on her own saliva.
"W-What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Nami didn't even know why she suddenly felt so flustered.
"We're just captain and navigator... ordinary companions!"
"Oh, so that's how it is?"
Johnny scratched his head.
"I thought you two had that kind of relationship. You were pressed pretty intimately against each other earlier."
They'd even completely ignored the other companions on the ship!
Situations like that weren't uncommon among pirates.
A pirate captain possessed everything.
Power.
Wealth.
Women.
Why else did so many people want to become captains?
"That was an accident!"
Nami genuinely regretted it now.
Why had she just had to go and pick Luffy up?
One little hug had caused so much trouble.
Wouldn't everything have been fine if she'd just kept her hands to herself?!
"Hehehe, what's so hard about admitting it?"
Usopp immediately added fuel to the fire.
With an obnoxious grin, he threw an arm around Johnny's shoulders.
"Luffy dragged Nami into her room yesterday afternoon too, so... you know."
"That was..."
Nami was momentarily speechless.
She and Luffy had genuinely been studying in there!
Seeing the two of them whispering to each other, Nami's face gradually turned red with anger.
Smack!
Smack!
Two strikes sent Usopp and Johnny flying.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible!
There was no way she'd ever like that annoying Luffy!
Nami glanced at Luffy in the distance.
His face only became clearer in her mind.
Over the past few days, especially since yesterday, accidents had started happening one after another.
Things that should've happened.
Things that absolutely shouldn't have happened.
Everything had happened!
Stop looking.
Stop looking!
Nami decided to take a shower first and calm herself down.
She needed to wash all the random stuff off her body too.
After being stuck against Luffy earlier, who knew how much of that guy's sweat had gotten all over her?
After showering, Nami lay on her bed and emptied her mind.
She stared blankly at the sea charts covering the room.
Without meaning to, she started remembering everything that had happened today.
Along with what Usopp and Johnny had said.
If those two hadn't brought it up, she would've never thought about things that way, right?
That unreliable idiot wasn't even her type.
But for some reason...
Luffy had suddenly changed over the past two days.
Sometimes, he still had that same obnoxious look on his face.
But somehow, he'd started giving her a strange sense of reliability.
Impossible.
How could I possibly like that guy Luffy?!
Nami covered her eyes with one hand.
Then she slowly parted her fingers.
Sunlight from outside the window slipped through the gaps, making her narrow her eyes.
And once again, she couldn't help remembering what had happened earlier.
She could almost still feel that gentle breath lingering against her neck.
The thought made Nami restless.
Finally, she simply buried herself beneath her pillow.
A maiden's feelings were always like poetry.
......
The fight was real.
After replenishing his stamina, Luffy felt completely energized.
Now it was time for continuous training.
Truthfully, the results he'd gotten from successfully developing his Gum-Gum Fruit earlier had given Luffy a taste of the rewards.
The side effects were huge.
But damn, did it feel good!
All kinds of new ideas were suddenly appearing inside Luffy's head.
He wanted to try every single one of them.
It was like having a mountain of food placed in front of him.
How could he possibly resist eating it?
Who could resist that kind of temptation?
And he could even awaken passive talents!
If passive talents existed, didn't that mean there might be active talents too?
Besides, Luffy couldn't refuse this training plan anyway.
Since he couldn't refuse it, he might as well happily get stronger and develop some new techniques!
He had Zoro as a sparring partner, after all.
"Zoro, use your swords."
When it came to a pure hand-to-hand clash, Luffy thought things were unfair.
Zoro was a genuine swordsman.
Without his swords, his combat ability was greatly reduced.
"You sure?"
Zoro frowned.
A rubber man could ignore many ordinary attacks.
But swordsmen were exactly what Luffy was weakest against.
Zoro had plenty of experience judging an opponent's weaknesses.
"Come on, come on."
Luffy suddenly thought of a good idea.
Without another word, Zoro drew all three swords.
He assumed his signature Three-Sword Style stance and charged forward.
It was obvious he'd been holding himself back for a long time.
Luffy continuously dodged.
If completely exhausting his body could awaken the passive talent 【Rapid Recovery】, then couldn't he obtain other talents too?
At first, he'd resisted developing his Devil Fruit.
Wasn't this all stuff he'd already played around with as a kid?
Doing it all over again would be boring.
But now...
Luffy felt as though mountains of gold and silver had appeared before him!
All he had to do was dig them up.
And pirates could never resist treasure.
......
Dodge.
Counterattack.
Sword flashes filled the deck.
The two figures rapidly moved across the ship, repeatedly colliding and crossing paths.
The longer they fought, the more shocked Zoro became.
Anyone who had experienced real combat knew how exhausting it was.
The longer a fight lasted, the weaker you normally became.
So what the hell was going on with someone who became more excited the longer he fought?!
At first, Zoro had deliberately controlled his swords.
Getting cut wasn't something to joke about.
But after Zoro started taking the fight seriously, he discovered that Luffy's speed was constantly increasing.
Now he couldn't even hit him!
【Your physical energy has undergone intensive training. Your physical strength has increased. Armament Haki Proficiency +1.】
【Through diligent training, your speed has increased significantly. Passive Talent activated: 【Rapid Movement】.】
【Your speed has increased substantially.】