Two days later.
Logue Town, Marine Base.
"The power that injured you is called Haki."
In the base's courtyard, Garp was casually sitting on a chair, eating senbei, with crumbs all over his mouth.
Hearing this, Tashigi, who was next to him, pushed up her glasses and said softly, "So, your grandson, Straw Hat Luffy, was able to hit Captain Smoker's true form using Haki? Even if his body turns into smoke, he can still be hit. That's really unfair!"
"It's the Logia ability users who are unfair, little Tashigi."
"As long as they eat a fruit like that, they are nearly invincible against enemies without Armament Haki."
Garp said with a wry smile. "But relying too much on abilities isn't good."
"Smoker, didn't your teacher Zephyr teach you this? You don't even know Haki." He looked at the center of the courtyard.
Smoker covered his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Begin."
In front of him, a Marine soldier was holding a piece of wood, looking embarrassed and unsure whether to attack or not.
After learning about the power of Haki, Smoker wanted to learn it immediately.
This was a training in Observation Haki. Blindfolded, he had to dodge attacks.
According to Garp, when he could completely dodge and sense the aura of the person swinging the staff, he would have mastered the basics.
Of course, it was just the basics.
"I told you to start, didn't you hear?" Smoker insisted sternly when the attack didn't come.
"Yes!" The soldier replied with a serious expression and prepared to swing the staff.
At this moment, several Marine soldiers entered and went to Garp.
"How is the situation being handled?" Garp saw his subordinates, the commanding officer who had been sent to Shells Town to take care of matters.
"Mr. Garp, everything has been arranged properly."
Lieutenant Lynn reported, "After Shells Town, a new colonel will be sent to guard it. All personnel from the 863rd branch who were involved in accepting bribes from pirates have been withdrawn. Currently, the warship is ready to return. Please give your order!"
"Then let's go back."
Garp stood up, leading the people to leave. But just as he took a few steps, he suddenly stopped. "Little Tashigi, come with us to the headquarters. Smoker, I'm taking your subordinate."
Tashigi was stunned for a moment, but quickly replied, "Yes, Vice Admiral Garp!"
She didn't know why Garp wanted to take her away, but she wasn't really stupid and knew that it must be about that Straw Hat Luffy's secret... that white form.
Regarding this, Smoker didn't object, nor was he in a position to object.
Tashigi was going to the headquarters for further training, which was a good thing.
Continue with the Observation Haki training.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In just a few minutes, Smoker was covered in bruises caused by the twigs.
He gritted his teeth and took off his blindfold. "This is completely useless!"
"Captain Smoker," the soldier said with a strange smile.
"Help me send a request to the headquarters. I want to enter the Grand Line!"
Smoker took a deep breath and said coldly, "In a place like the East Blue, there is no decent opponent! Straw Hat Luffy, I will return that punch sooner or later!"
"Yes, sir!"
Grand Line, a certain holiday island.
Beside an open-air swimming pool were men and women in swimsuits.
On a beach chair, a tall and thin man held a cup of tea, leisurely sipping it.
"Ah~ what a relaxing life. Only I, as a high-ranking agent, can enjoy life like this in a place like this. Those low-level members with codenames below 5 are now busy making money for the organization. Poor guys."
Hearing this arrogant comment, a little girl standing next to the man licked her lollipop expressionlessly.
"Mr. 3..."
"Don't call me by my codename in public, Miss Goldenweek."
The girl looked up and observed the man's hairstyle.
A number "3".
If you don't want to be exposed, don't keep that kind of hair. Clearly, he is very proud of his status.
She silently criticized in her heart, but still didn't show any expression on the surface.
"Oh."
"You've been quiet since yesterday. It's a rare day off. Is there any interesting news in the newspaper that you're looking at?"
Mr. 3 took a sip of tea and spoke with the confidence of a winner in life.
"It's not the newspaper, it's the boss's task instructions."
"I see, it's the boss... Why didn't you say so earlier!?"
Pfft!
Mr. 3 sneezed his tea, coughed, and snatched the paper from the girl's hand, quickly scanning it with his eyes.
"Mr. 5 was eliminated? It's no wonder that this idiot who only knows how to rely on his powers ended up like this."
Sneering, he pointed to his own head.
"As a professional criminal, you have to use your brain. It's really impossible to work well with these bugs."
Being defeated by a woman, what a pathetic waste.
If I had to be taken out, why couldn't it be Mr.... Then I could get promoted without doing anything!
Mr. 3 muttered in his heart, stood up, picked up the task instructions, and took a last sip of tea.
"There's work to be done, Miss GoldenWeek... Of course, it has to be Earl Grey for the tea!"
------
The Merry, on deck.
"Does anyone need my special drinks?"
Sanji came out of the cabin with a tray of drinks.
"Me! Me!"
"Quack! Quack!"
Usopp, who was chasing Karoo, immediately raised his hand, and the duck responded as well.
Sanji handed the drinks to them, then looked at Luffy sitting on the sheep-headed figurehead.
"Luffy, do you want some?"
"Thank you, Sanji. Take some for Nami and the others too."
Luffy nodded and reached out to grab a cup of drink from the tray.
Hearing that he could go on the Sunny, Sanji got excited and was about to run.
Unfortunately, Bartolomeo stopped him.
"Sanji, the Sunny is Luffy-sama's harem ship. Men are not allowed to step on it. Leave this to me!"
"Why? Aren't you a man too?" Sanji was furious.
"I am Luffy-sama's most loyal subordinate. I am different from you, a mere pervert!"
"Who are you calling a pervert!? Ah, the newbie is getting more and more arrogant! You big-nosed freak!"
"Who are you calling a big-nosed freak!"
"Take this!"
The two immediately started fighting.
Amazingly, during the fight, the tray in Sanji's hand remained steady as a rock.
Luffy sighed and rubbed his forehead.
He only wanted to separate the male and female crew members, but calling it a harem ship, he actually dared to say that.
This was done to protect the privacy of the female crew members, without any lewd intentions!
As a captain, he was a very upright person!
The world misunderstood him greatly.
Ignoring the two clowns, Luffy opened the system and counted his earnings from the past two days.
[Crew Member Recruited]
[Nico Robin: Skilled in Archaeology; Ate the Hana Hana no Mi]
[Reward: 500 Adventure Coins]
The same reward as Nami.
[You have sailed the Sea of Paradise for 2 days]
[Reward: 400 coins]
[Adventure coins: 3515!]
Unbeknownst to him, he had saved up so much...
Luffy thought excitedly and decided to splurge a little.
Open the shop today and close it after three seconds.
That's great, I still haven't gotten the Haki fruit today.
That won't work, Luffy can't believe his luck is that bad.
[Would you like to spend 10 Adventure coins to upgrade the shop?]
[Would you like to spend 20 Adventure coins to upgrade the shop?]
40... 80...
Every time you upgrade, the price doubles.
After upgrading four times, he finally saw the items he wanted, and they were in large quantities, two at a time.
[Haki Fruit (Boxed): 5-in-1 Gift Box, Priced at 2,000 Adventure Coins.]
[Rokushiki Fruit (Boxed): 6-in-1 Gift Box, Priced at 1,000 Adventure Coins.]
As the rewards for sailing have increased tenfold, Luffy now sees the prices in the four digits and doesn't feel too good, even though he thinks it's a good deal.
Luffy quickly bought the Haki Fruit Box.
[Observation Haki]: Iv1 → lv2
[Armament Haki]: Iv2 → Iv4
[Conqueror's Haki]: v2 → Iv4
"With just one level difference in Armament and Conqueror, I can master a new skill."
Luffy nodded in satisfaction. It's just a matter of waiting a few days, he'll end up eating them all.
Wait, can he really eat them all? The system didn't say that Iv5 is the highest level...
After thinking for a moment, he spent another thousand to buy the Rokushiki Gift Box.
[Adventure Coins]: 3515 → 365
"Who should I give the six new fruits to?"
Why not give one to each person?
Nami has already eaten all six, and at the same time, Luffy also understands that eating the system fruits won't provide feedback for the crew members' development rewards.
No bugs to exploit... too bad.
As for Kaya and Vivi, they aren't members of the Straw Hat crew, at least not right now.
He can't give things to people outside the crew.
As he was thinking, Nami's voice came from the Sunny.
"Luffy! Everyone! We can see the island now!"
As soon as they heard about the new island, everyone got excited and gathered at the bow of the ship.
"Oh!! It's an island! We can see it!" Usopp shouted excitedly.
"Quack! Quack quack quack!"
"Why are you so excited, you duck!"
Zoro stopped his training, covered in sweat, and walked out of the hut to look at the distant island.
"Luffy, I sense the presence of ferocious beasts. It seems like there's something on the island!" he said seriously.
"Hmm? Has your Observation Haki awakened?" Luffy turned around in surprise.
Sanji and Bartolomeo, who were fighting, also suddenly stopped and immediately formed a united front.
"No way! The first person to learn Haki should be me!"
"No, no, no, only I, who am deeply trusted by Luffy-sama, should be the first to learn it! Even if it's Captain Zoro, I can't accept it!"
What are these two idiots talking about?
Zoro's eye twitched fiercely.
Luffy looked at the system, confirming that he hadn't missed any messages.
If Zoro learned it, he should receive a great reward.
"You must be close to awakening, don't forget that feeling. But I thought you would awaken Armament Haki first, I didn't expect it to be Observation Haki..."
Considering Zoro's natural fighting intuition, similar to that of an animal, it's not too surprising.
Soon, the two ships approached Prehistoric Island.
There is a river channel extending deep into the island, with lush forests on both sides, and the roaring of wild animals can be heard.
"This is Little Garden? It's such a big island. I wonder who gave it its name," Nami complained.
"What a dense forest. I hope it's not an uninhabited island," she continued.
"Listen, the roaring of wild beasts... I... I've contracted a disease that prevents me from disembarking!" Usopp exclaimed, clutching his heart in fear.
"Now that we're here, why not explore?" Luffy teased.
"No, I'm staying on the ship! Right, Zoro? You're staying on the ship to train anyway..." Nami said.
Zoro, with one foot on the edge of the ship, preparing to jump, heard Usopp's words and replied, "I'm going to hunt some wild beasts to get some exercise. Usopp, do you want to come too?" Usopp nodded vigorously.
Sanji chimed in, "By the way, we don't have much food left on the ship. Bring some back."
"Okay, it's definitely a huge creature that you won't be able to hunt," Sanji said.
"What did you say, curly eyebrow?" Sanji immediately became indignant and jumped off the ship, rolling up his sleeves.
"Perfect, let's have a competition! Let's see who can bring back the most meat."
"You know how much Luffy consumes in a day, right? We need to bring back several thousand kilograms, at least!"
"Oh, did I hear wrong? Isn't it several tons? You're a perverted, useless chef!" Zoro snapped.
"You're really teasing me. If I win, you have to step down as vice-captain!" Sanji challenged.
As the two argued, they walked deeper into the jungle.
Nojiko laughed and said, "I really can't tell if those two have a good relationship or if their personalities just clash."
Luffy interrupted, "Several thousand kilograms and several tons are not the same thing. Your math teacher would yell, hey!"
"I declare time off. Nami, are you going ashore?" Luffy asked.
"You guys go ahead, I'll stay here and guard the ship," Nami shook her head.
Nojiko also chose to stay behind, saying, "I'll keep Nami company."
"Anyway, do whatever you want. I'm going for a walk," Luffy jumped off the ship.
"Luffy-sama, I'll go with you," Bartolomeo followed suit.
Seeing this, Vivi suddenly said, "Can I go too?"
"Huh? Vivi, are you going to disembark?" Nami was surprised. "It's all jungle, and there are roars of wild beasts everywhere. There's not much to see."
"I've been on the ship for a long time, and I feel a little restless. I want to take a walk," Vivi pursed her lips. "And if I follow Mr. Luffy, I'll be safe."
"Maybe we'll see prehistoric creatures like dinosaurs. Nami, don't you want to see it?" Luffy smiled.
Nami thought for a moment and shook her head.
Luffy didn't insist and immediately headed towards the depths of the forest with Vivi and Bartolomeo.
"Prehistoric island..." Vivi admired the scenery along the way and explained, "Traveling between the islands of the Grand Line is very inconvenient, which has led to a peculiar phenomenon."
Some islands are inhabited by humans, with developed kingdoms, cities, and technology, prosperous and prosperous.
Some islands are rarely visited by humans, seeming frozen in time, with little change for thousands of years.
"In addition, due to the problem of magnetic disturbances, the climate on each island is completely different," Vivi continued.
"It can be simply classified into four types: spring, summer, autumn, and winter islands. Each type of island has its own four seasons, so there are a total of 16 different seasons."
"This island is supposed to be a spring island, and it's currently spring and summer," Vivi said.
Hearing this, Luffy laughed and said, "You're getting more cheerful, Princess Vivi."
"Just call me Vivi. Thank you for all the trouble with Alabasta, Mr. Luffy. You were a great help," Vivi said.
"Even without you, I would have gone to find Crocodile and helped you solve your so-called problem," Luffy replied.
"Are you trying to comfort me? Mr. Luffy, you really are a good person," Vivi smiled.
Bartolomeo, who was following them, fell into deep thought.
Am I... am I a candle?
(End of chapter)
Give me some power stones there you go~😉