Still, Luffy could clearly feel that quite a lot of information had accumulated inside his head.
He definitely wouldn't be completely clueless if someone questioned him now.
He could even feel the paths of his imagination and thoughts gradually becoming clearer.
Not enough.
Still not enough.
He was nowhere near being able to devour an entire book in half a day.
As the saying went, the less hope you could see, the less motivation you had.
Right now, it was as though a devil was whispering inside Luffy's head.
"Give up."
"Give up."
Being Nami's slave was still better than working himself to death.
Looking at it from another angle, being Nami's slave didn't actually sound that bad.
The instant that thought appeared, that familiar sensation returned.
The punishment would humiliate him to death on the spot and drain him completely dry!
Almost at the exact moment the words 【Punishment countdown】 sounded, every hair on Luffy's body stood on end.
Anything but that!
A survival instinct originating from the deepest depths of his being erupted.
He had to preserve his dignity!
Even if he died, he wanted to go out spectacularly—cut down, beaten to death, bitten to death...
Anything but dying in such a humiliating way!
Rumor had it that every Devil Fruit user carried a devil within them.
In truth, Devil Fruits concealed a consciousness of their own.
Under the combined pressure of their host's extreme stress and overwhelming willpower, that consciousness awakened.
An indescribably refreshing current suddenly surged from the deepest core of Luffy's body.
Almost imperceptibly, several extremely faint white markings flashed across his exposed skin, particularly around joints such as his elbows and shoulders, before vanishing.
Luffy violently shook his head.
A sense of clarity unlike anything he'd ever experienced washed over him.
His thoughts, which had been as thick and sluggish as paste only moments ago, instantly became clear and fluid.
He stared at the contents of the book in astonishment.
"I... I remembered all of it..."
Luffy still had no idea what had just happened.
Then he saw the characters appear before him.
【Through diligent study, your Medical Knowledge has increased. Experience +3.】
【Through extreme stimulation of your willpower and the squeezing of your potential, your mental capacity has greatly increased and undergone a qualitative breakthrough. Passive Talent activated: 【Photographic Memory】.】
"Greatly increased?"
Luffy blinked, instinctively feeling a little offended.
"What does that mean? Was I stupid before?"
But that tiny bit of irritation was immediately washed away by the excitement brought by his new talent.
【Photographic Memory】?
Who cared about the details?
As long as it worked!
He turned his attention back to the book.
This time, there was no painful struggle.
The instant his gaze swept across the page, the words were no longer symbols he had to struggle to decipher.
It was as though they'd come alive, arranging and organizing themselves on their own, while the core information was instantly branded into his mind.
Symptoms, medicine names, treatments...
Everything was crystal clear.
"Easy. This is way too easy. Shishishi..."
Luffy unconsciously started giggling.
For some reason, he just felt like laughing.
Creak—
At that moment, the door was gently pushed open.
Nami entered with a frown, carefully carrying a large steaming pot. The rich aroma of meat instantly filled the entire room.
She'd used the last few pieces of sea beast meat in the refrigerator to make stew.
She figured her idiot captain was probably starving by now, so she might as well show him a little mercy and let him eat something before he continued putting on his act.
"Hey, that's about enough..."
Her words caught in her throat.
Luffy's behavior in front of her made absolutely no sense.
Was he finding joy in suffering?
Or had he actually gone insane?
This wasn't normal!
Nami knew perfectly well what expression Luffy had been wearing at the beginning.
It had been just like the face she'd made as a child whenever she didn't want to study.
And now he was actually smiling.
If that were all, Nami would've just assumed Luffy had gone a little crazy.
But the speed at which he was flipping through the book was downright ridiculous!
N-No way.
"Did he actually memorize all of it?"
"You've got to be kidding me. Does he seriously have a photographic memory?"
Even pretending to study seriously didn't require taking it this far!
At that speed, even a dog wouldn't be able to see the words on the pages!
You could tell exactly what kind of person Luffy was at a glance, okay?!
【Carefree Rubber Idiot】
【All Muscle, No Brains】
【Afraid of Hunger, Afraid of Boredom, But Somehow Not Afraid of Studying】
...
This was the first time Nami had ever seen someone studying with a smile on his face.
Wait.
If this keeps going, I'm going to be the one crying!
"Nami, perfect timing!"
Luffy suddenly stood up and snapped the book shut.
Then, meeting Nami's panicked gaze head-on, he grinned.
"I'm done."