Luffy had always been incredibly confident.
It was only because he'd been constantly breaking through his limits over the past two days that his standards kept changing.
Finishing an entire book gave him an incredible sense of accomplishment, but more importantly, there was no way he could lose that bet now!
Nami's thoughts were in complete chaos.
Was this for real?
At the very least, he didn't look like he was pretending.
Holding onto a sliver of hope, Nami asked him a few questions.
Luffy answered every single one without hesitation.
He really wasn't pretending!
Nami felt like the sky had collapsed.
"Eh, it was pretty easy. You could do it too."
Luffy waved casually at Nami, his face covered in a smug grin.
Nami clenched her fist, desperately suppressing the urge to smash it into his face. She slammed the pot down with a clang and forced a smile onto her face.
"Fine. You win, okay?"
"Then I won the bet!"
"Let me make this clear first. I don't have any money. You can take my life instead!" Nami said through gritted teeth.
Nobody was getting money back once it had already entered her pocket!
"Huh? Then what about my ten million Berries?"
"Th-Then I'll give you one more request instead. One request from me is worth way more than ten million Berries," Nami said somewhat guiltily.
"Then... I guess that's fine. First, let me get some sleep."
As he spoke, Luffy had already inhaled the entire pot of stew and rice like a hurricane. Then his eyes closed, and he fell asleep.
[Notice: It is now rest time...]
Without realizing it, midnight had already arrived.
Another day had passed.
"Let you sleep with me?"
Nami's voice gradually rose in pitch as she crossed her arms over her chest.
She knew Luffy was up to no good!
Snore...
Snore...
The sound of Luffy snoring rang out.
Nami looked down and only then realized that he'd already fallen asleep.
He really just wanted to sleep?
Nami's expression changed repeatedly.
So she'd misunderstood him after all.
Wait.
Why did you fall asleep in my room?!
Get up!
Despite saying that, Nami eventually made a makeshift bed on the floor of her room and tossed Luffy onto it.
...
Early the next morning.
Zoro sat cross-legged atop the lookout tower, his brows tightly furrowed as he meditated.
The morning sea breeze carried a salty, damp scent that should've been refreshing, yet something about his entire body felt off.
Because it was too quiet!
The silence wasn't referring to the sound of the waves.
It was because the deck was missing the noise normally made by a certain rubber idiot.
After two consecutive mornings of getting used to Luffy training at the crack of dawn, the sudden silence instead made Zoro, who was accustomed to intense training, feel strangely uncomfortable.
That guy only lasted two days?
Zoro muttered to himself while continuously raising and lowering a massive dumbbell.
This should've been the normal outcome.
For the past two days, Luffy had been acting like he had a death wish.
Come to think of it, Luffy hadn't returned to the room he shared with Usopp last night.
Could that guy have...
Zoro's gaze inexplicably drifted toward the tightly shut door of the navigator's room.
Sigh.
Women really were terrifying creatures.
Just then, from the corner of his eye, Zoro caught sight of a small green speck on the horizon that was gradually becoming clearer.
He immediately pushed those random thoughts aside, rubbed his eyes hard, and took a closer look.
The ship's distinctive fish-shaped outline was already faintly visible.
"Hey! You guys down there!"
Zoro leaned over and shouted toward the deck.
"Wake up! I can see it! We've reached the sea restaurant, Baratie!"
Zoro's shout woke everyone up.
The deck hatch burst open with a bang as Usopp excitedly rushed out, followed by Johnny and Yosaku, who had also been awakened.
"Finally, we can get ourselves a proper meal."
"Seriously. Let's hurry up and find a cook."
Their excited shouting sounded especially piercing in the peaceful morning.
"What's... What's all that noise?!"
"It's way too early! Can't you let people sleep?!"
Two voices filled with obvious drowsiness and irritation at being disturbed rang out almost simultaneously.
The door to Nami's room was suddenly pulled open.
Nami stepped out while rubbing her eyes, her hair sticking up like a bird's nest.
There was nothing unusual about that.
The problem was that Luffy also came stumbling out behind her, rubbing his eyes and yawning with a dazed expression!
It wasn't as dramatic as their clothes being disheveled, but their movements were almost perfectly synchronized.
Both were bleary-eyed and had obviously just awakened from the same private room.
"Ohhh~"
"Sorry about that, Big Sis Nami!"
Nami instantly became wide awake.
Seeing the unmistakable "we understand" expressions on Usopp and the others' faces, her cheeks immediately turned bright red.
"Wait! What's with those expressions?!"
"It's a misunderstanding! This is a misunderstanding!"
"This idiot was just so exhausted that he fell asleep in my room!"
The more she explained, the worse it sounded.
Luffy, meanwhile, looked completely carefree.
[Notice: The Pirate King cannot build an army alone. Powerful companions are essential. Half of today has been designated Companion Day. Please take actions to recruit companions.]
Luffy stretched his entire body, his bones cracking loudly as his face lit up with the joy of being reborn.
He completely ignored the strange atmosphere surrounding him.
He'd actually woken up at one in the morning.
The power of a biological clock was terrifying.
But less than three seconds after seeing the newly appeared message, he'd fallen right back asleep.
He freaking loved Companion Day!