Moonlight was speechless, and Nami also looked equally at a loss.
Moonlight pointed to the Buggy Pirates' ship and said, "Until we get our own ship, let's use this one."
"Oh, that's a great idea!" Luffy clapped his hands, fully agreeing.
"I checked just now; the supplies on board are running low. We need to restock quickly, or with your appetite, we won't last even a day," Moonlight sighed as he looked around the ship.
"It's clear we won't find anything on this island, so let's set sail now."
Nami nodded, glancing at the scarred land, the hostile villagers, and the ruined town devastated by Buggy's cannon fire. She sighed.
"Yeah." Luffy nodded without objection.
Moonlight picked up Zoro, raised the anchor, and set sail!
"Hey, wait for me!"
Luffy stretched out his arm, grabbed the side of the ship, and flew aboard.
Nami chuckled, flashing a bright smile as the group left Orange Town behind.
"They've left, haven't they?"
"Looks like they're not bad people after all!"
"They took Buggy's ship. Are they pirates too?"
"If you're on the sea, you're either Navy or a pirate!"
Watching the four figures disappear into the distance, the villagers of Orange Town were stunned, whispering among themselves.
"It doesn't matter if they're pirates or whatever. To our village, to us, they're heroes. Without them, we'd still be under attack by those pirates. Taking back our village would've been incredibly difficult. No matter what, we owe them our thanks!"
The village chief muttered.
"That's right, they are our benefactors!"
"They just left? We haven't even thanked them!"
"Call out to them; we need to show our gratitude!"
Upon hearing the chief's words, the villagers snapped back to reality. They watched the four sailing away and shouted out.
"Hey! Thank you so much!"
"Benefactors, let us thank you!"
"Gratitude beyond words!"
The shouts echoed from the island.
"Huh? What are they saying?"
Luffy, sitting at the bow, looked back at Orange Town, puzzled.
"Who knows? They're probably thanking us," Nami shrugged, glancing at the sea currents and the clouds. She sighed in relief.
"Alright, the currents and clouds indicate that our course is safe for now."
"Oh, Moonlight, what are you doing?" Luffy asked, watching Moonlight approach him.
"Fight me. Help me train."
Moonlight said calmly. He wanted to train his Observation Haki. As they set sail, the enemies they'd face would only grow stronger. His swordsmanship was sufficient in the East Blue, but against Devil Fruit users, inflicting damage could be challenging. Strengthening his Haki was crucial.
Observation Haki was honed through constant dodging and evasion. With his system, Moonlight could train alone, but fighting an opponent would be far more effective.
"Help you train?" Luffy's eyes lit up.
"Exactly. Just keep attacking, the denser the better. I'll focus on dodging." Moonlight nodded and closed his eyes.
"Aren't you going to keep your eyes open while fighting him?" Nami asked, confused.
"No need. If I keep my eyes open, it wouldn't be much of a training exercise." Moonlight smiled, motioning for Luffy to begin.
"Come on, make it as intense as possible!"
"Alright, this sounds fun! Moonlight, get ready!"
Luffy laughed, rubbing his palms together before launching an attack at Moonlight.
"Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!"
"Boom!"
A powerful fist shot out at incredible speed!
"Swish!"
But Moonlight's body shifted, dodging effortlessly! Though his eyes were closed, his level 1 Observation Haki allowed him to sense the surrounding aura.
As he evaded, a notification from his system rang out.
"Ding! You used Observation Haki and gained 1100 experience points!"
"Ding! Observation Haki 100/10,000!"
"This is working! It's the fastest way to adapt to battle!" Moonlight thought to himself.
"Amazing! In that case, Moonlight, I won't hold back!"
Luffy, surprised at first, then grinned in excitement.
"Great, don't hold back, bring it on!"
Moonlight nodded, taking a defensive stance.
"Gomu Gomu no… Gatling!"
Luffy roared, unleashing a flurry of punches like a violent storm!
Dozens of fists appeared in an instant, raining down on Moonlight like a storm!
"Good, bring it on!"
Feeling the incoming attacks, Moonlight activated his Observation Haki and began dodging!
"Ding! You used Observation Haki, gaining 1100 experience points!"
"Ding! You used Observation Haki, gaining 1*100 experience points!"
"…."
"Ding! Observation Haki level up!"
"Observation Haki lv2 1/100,000!"
Each use granted 100 experience points.
With Luffy's barrage of punches, Moonlight's Observation Haki leveled up after a hundred hits!
Now at level 2!
At level 1, Luffy could still land a few hits. But at level 2, Moonlight could effortlessly sense the surrounding aura, movements, and even the wind from the punches. Dodging became even easier.
Luffy couldn't land a single hit!
"Incredible! What kind of monster is this guy? Luffy's attacks are like a torrential storm, so dense, yet he's dodging with his eyes closed and barely breaking a sweat! And now, Luffy can't even touch him!" Nami watched, stunned.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Zoro woke up, sitting up from the deck. He hadn't woken naturally—Luffy's Gomu no Gatling accidentally hit him, jolting him awake!
"What the…!"
Zoro looked over, seeing Luffy and Moonlight seemingly in battle. At first, he thought they were fighting, but as he watched, he realized it wasn't what he'd imagined.
Luffy was attacking, and Moonlight was dodging—eyes closed!
What shocked Zoro even more was that even with his eyes shut, Luffy couldn't land a single blow!
Moonlight dodged easily, while Luffy, now out of breath, finally stopped.
"I'm out of energy, and I'm starving!" Luffy stuck out his tongue, looking hungry.