Chapter 9: The Next Step
Zoro vs Cabaji
Zoro and Cabaji faced off against each other, the latter smirking arrogantly while balancing atop his unicycle as they waited for an opening to begin their duel.
A moment later, Cabaji moved.
Sticking his hands beneath his jacket, he released dozens of spinning tops toward Zoro, causing the swordsman to eye them warily.
“Dance of 100 Kamikaze Tops!”
He was right to be cautious.
Just as the name suggested, the tops suddenly exploded once they got within close range of Zoro, forcing him to curse before swinging his swords with great force.
A powerful gust of wind erupted from the slash, blowing the tops away before they could reach him.
Moments later, they exploded harmlessly at a safe distance.
“Tch, I see now that you’re no true swordsman,” Zoro taunted as he turned and blocked a sneak attack from Cabaji, who had used the smoke from the explosions to conceal his approach.
“It seems that circus tent wasn’t just for show. You’re all actually circus freaks.”
“How dare you disrespect us, Roronoa Zoro!” Cabaji shouted angrily.
“We’ll see how you fare against my Acrobatic Fire Breath!”
Opening his mouth, Cabaji breathed a stream of fire toward Zoro at close range.
Unfortunately for him, after weeks of Observation Haki training, sneak attacks like that were becoming increasingly ineffective against Zoro.
The swordsman immediately disengaged and jumped backward, narrowly avoiding the flames.
“I’m ending this now.”
Zoro narrowed his eyes.
Then he inhaled deeply.
The next moment, he disappeared.
“Oni Giri!”
Zoro reappeared behind Cabaji with his swords extended.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then Cabaji coughed up blood.
Three deep slashes suddenly appeared across his torso before he collapsed face-first onto the ground.
Slowly releasing his breath, Zoro sheathed his swords and nodded to himself.
“Looks like my body is finally used to Total Concentration Breathing.”
Unlike before, his lungs no longer burned every time he used it.
The improvement was obvious.
Satisfied, Zoro turned toward Tiche.
Only to blink.
The blonde assassin was standing over the bloody forms of Mohji and his pet lion with the same emotionless expression she always wore.
Which was a little jarring if he was being honest as he had personally seen how attentive and devoted she usually was when around Luffy.
Calmly, she wiped the blood from her wicked-looking knife.
“Seems I need to step up my training.”
Just as Zoro was about to check on Nami and see if she needed any help, both he and Tiche suddenly turned their heads.
A body crashed into the ground between them.
A familiar laugh followed.
“Shishishi! Is that all you got, big nose?”
A moment later, Luffy stepped into view.
Not a scratch on him.
Not even his hair was out of place.
Grinning confidently, he looked toward the crater where Buggy had landed before turning toward them.
His grin widened.
“Good job taking out the trash, Zoro, Tiche.”
“Looks like I’m the one lagging behind, huh?”
Zoro studied his captain for a moment before his eyes narrowed.
Luffy hadn’t used his sword.
He hadn’t used his gun.
Hell, he didn’t even look serious.
The entire fight had been fought using nothing but his raw physical strength.
Which meant he had been holding back.
A lot.
Yeah...
I definitely need to step up my training.
The gap between himself and Tiche was already significant.
The gap between himself and his captain was even worse.
=====
Back to Luffy
Walking toward Buggy’s fallen form as he struggled to get back to his feet, I silently contemplated whether I should kill him or not.
This was the asshole, after all, who would one day nearly kill the original Luffy in Loguetown by trying to behead him in the exact same spot where his captain, Gol D. Roger, had been executed.
The guy was also a snake. Nothing that came out of his mouth could be trusted whatsoever. He had no qualms about betraying people or stabbing those close to him in the back.
In other words, he was fucking scum.
One of the reasons why I was so hesitant to claim the title of pirate after arriving in this world.
On the other hand, the guy was Shanks’ sworn brother, and I had no idea how Shanks would react when we eventually met again if I killed him.
Thinking it over for another few seconds, I let out an almost silent sigh and narrowed my eyes in determination as I got within striking distance of the clown.
I've decided.
I casually flicked away a knife that Buggy threw at me in desperation.
I'll give him one chance.
If he comes after me again with the intent to kill, then I won't hold back next time.
“Well, can't say it was nice meeting you, Buggy, but at least you can thank Shanks for the fact that I'm not killing you today like you deserve.” I said casually.
My words only seemed to infuriate him further as he glared bloody murder at me.
“As if I would ever be grateful toward that Red Hair bastard!”
That was the last thing he said before my leg mercilessly shot upward between his legs with all my strength.
A high-pitched scream escaped him as he was launched into the distance.
As Buggy disappeared over the horizon, I ignored the three notifications I had received from the system.
“Well, that takes care of that.” I said, clapping my hands together as if dusting them off.
Turning toward Zoro and Tiche, I smiled.
“So, what did you guys think? Pretty weak, right?”
“You can say that again.” Zoro sighed as he looked toward where Buggy had vanished. “Still can't believe that guy was part of the Pirate King's crew.”
“They were clowns, just like their captain.” Tiche muttered flatly.
“Guys!!”
Nami's shout suddenly drew our attention.
Turning around, we saw her slowly making her way toward us while dragging three overstuffed bags of treasure.
“A little help would be nice!”
Laughing at the annoyed glare she was sending us, I nodded.
With a single leap, I appeared beside her.
Nami blinked in surprise as I casually bent down and picked up two of the treasure bags without any effort.
“Was the map to the Grand Line in there?” I asked curiously as we started making our way back toward the others.
Nami quickly regained her composure and nodded her head with a big smile as she walked much calmer now that she only had to carry one bag.
“Yep~ All we need now is a proper ship and a cook, and we’ll be properly set to head for the Grand Line.” Nami stated with an excited gleam in her eyes.
“That’s great to hear.” I said with a nod and a smile of my own before it widened as I looked at Nami proudly. “By the way, Nami.”
“Hmm, what is it?” Nami turned to me with a blink before narrowing her eyes suspiciously and hugging her bag of gold closer to her chest. “Don’t tell me you changed your mind about letting me keep the gold?”
Blinking at her sudden nervousness, I broke out into laughter at such an expected answer coming from her.
“Shishishi, of course not. Take it, it’s all yours. You need it, right?” I asked, calming down and looking at her from the corner of my eye.
Nami immediately froze for a second at my question as a bit of panic entered her eyes before she covered it up and tried to act normal again.
“W-What are you talking about?” she asked a bit nervously with a twitching smile.
Seeing her expression, I silently sighed inwardly at how quickly Nami retreated behind a wall of iron before shaking it off.
Oh well. We’ve only known each other for about three weeks. I can’t expect her to trust me with something so personal so soon.
I nodded to myself as a smile slipped back onto my face.
“Never mind. Anyway, what I was trying to say was that I’m proud of you, Nami.” I praised her as a happy smile once more grew on my lips. “You’ve come a long way in the little time I’ve been training you.”
Nami’s expression instantly did a one-eighty and she blushed in embarrassment as she looked off to the side.
“T-Thanks, I guess.”
Nami then took a few deep breaths before turning back to me with a hopeful, and slightly seductive, expression.
“Does that mean I won’t have to train anymore?”
Snorting at her attempt to persuade me, a grin grew on my face as I immediately and mercilessly dashed those hopes.
“Not a chance in hell~”
“Tsk, slave driver.” Nami mumbled with a pout as we finally reached the others.
“What now, Luffy?” Zoro asked calmly, one hand resting on his swords in a relaxed manner.
“Hmm, I say we take the time to restock and possibly find something to eat before we head out again.” I said after thinking about it for a moment, earning nods from the others.
“That sounds like a good idea. I imagine it won’t take too long for the people who live here to find out that Buggy is no longer a problem.” Zoro said with a nod.
=====
Several Hours Later
With a relaxed pace now that the danger of the Buggy Pirates had already been dealt with, we spent the next several hours stocking up on what we could from the town, which thankfully still had plenty of fresh supplies for us to take.
Of course, since we would be leaving them a bag of treasure so they could get back to their old lives, we didn’t feel too bad about taking what we needed without paying.
During that time, we met the mayor of Orange Town, Boodle, an old man who had resigned himself to fighting the Buggy Pirates alone and probably dying in the process, all to defend his town.
At first, he thought we were part of Buggy’s crew, but we quickly corrected him and informed him that Buggy had already been taken care of.
Not believing us at first, he immediately set out to check for himself and later came back with a relieved and teary-eyed expression while thanking us on his knees.
We told him it was nothing and that we just wanted some supplies. The mayor himself even helped us by pointing out the best places to get what we needed.
We also met a lone dog guarding a pet store named Chouchou. The mayor told us the sad story of how the dog continued protecting the store even after its owner had passed away.
Before leaving, the mayor became emotional again when he noticed the bag of gold we had left behind and told us he would never forget our kindness as we slowly sailed away.
Now we were all relaxing on the boat once again.
Me and Zoro sat side by side while drinking and eating respectively. Tiche was organizing our food supplies while Nami happily counted her treasure.
“Haah.” Zoro sighed as he lowered the bottle he was drinking from and turned to me. “What’s our next destination?”
Swallowing the food I was eating, I turned toward Nami, who still seemed to be in la-la land as she rubbed her cheeks against the bags of gold she was hugging to her chest.
“Hey, Nami!” I called out a little louder, making sure to grab her attention.
She blinked and looked up.
“What’s our next stop?”
Nami blinked before humming for a moment. She pulled a map from somewhere and glanced over it before looking up again.
“The Gecko Islands have a relatively large village called Syrup Village. We might be able to buy a ship there.” Nami answered.
Usopp, huh?
I thought about the long-nosed liar and coward for a moment.
“Well, there you have it.” I shrugged.
“Though we should probably make a stop somewhere along the way for more supplies, just in case. This trip should take about three weeks, and I’m not sure we have enough provisions to last the entire journey.” Nami continued thoughtfully.
“Sounds good. Means another three weeks of training.” I replied with a happy grin.
My smile only widened when Nami immediately let out a groan.
“I think it’s time we increase the intensity too. Your bodies should be accustomed to the current routine by now.”
“Do you want to kill me!?” Nami immediately yelled, showing off her shark teeth.
That only made me laugh harder.
“Sounds good to me.” Zoro shrugged, sounding genuinely pleased. “Oh, and I think I’m ready for the next step of Total Concentration Breathing, Luffy.”
“Figured it wouldn’t take you long to get it down.” I nodded, not surprised by his progress. Zoro had been training since he was a kid, after all.
“Actually, I expected this would happen and made sure to pick something up before we left town.”
Reaching beside me, I pulled out several gourds and showed them to him. I was lucky to find them with the help of the major.
“The next step is to breathe into this gourd and break it with a single breath. The gourds will gradually get bigger and bigger. Your end goal is to maintain Total Concentration Breathing constantly, even while you're sleeping.”
“While we're sleeping!?” Nami yelled in shock, her face turning pale.
“How is that even possible!? Are you sure you're not just making that up?”
While Nami sounded horrified and incredulous, Zoro thought about it for a moment before nodding.
“I see. That certainly sounds much harder, which means the rewards will be much greater.”
His lips curled into a grin.
“When do we start?”
“Don't sound so eager!”
As Nami and Zoro argued—or more accurately, as Nami yelled at Zoro while the latter just rolled his eyes or said something that somehow made her even angrier—I used the opportunity to focus on the rolls I had waiting for me.
[Feat Achieved! Met Buggy the Clown]
+1 Gold Random Ticket
[Feat Achieved! Defeated the Buggy Pirates]
+1 Gold Random Ticket
[Feat Achieved! Rescued a Town from the Buggy Pirates]
+1 Gold Random Ticket
Let's roll, baby.
[Rolling…]
[Expert Charisma]
|Epic Skill|
You have an aura of charisma around you, it is less of a skill and more of something about your presence. People of note feel themselves more attracted to your presence, you are more intimidating when you want to be, you are more persuasive when you try to be.
[Relentless Stamina]
|Elite Trait|
Your stamina is ridiculous, even as a regular human you could run a marathon and not be winded, you also recover from exhaustion really fast and it takes a lot to get you exhausted.
[Trait Already Owned. Rerolling…]
[Insurance Policy]
|Elite Trait|
It's quite a shame when your beloved Familiars die, that's why you should always get them insured. Whenever a familiar of yours dies, they will get revived in your familiar space, but in the process of reviving they will be using your energy reserves to heal themselves and be left in a temporary weakened state for several days afterwards. If you have a familiar that automatically revives, they revive 50% faster and need 50% less energy to revive.
[The Infinite Magazine]
|Elite Item|
A magazine capable of morphing into the magazine of any projectile weapon. As long as it remains attached, it will supply the weapon with an infinite amount of the ammunition it normally uses.
Seeing the rolls I got, my eyes immediately focused on the Insurance Policy trait.
A moment later, my gaze drifted toward Tiche, who was now sitting quietly beside me with her eyes closed.
A small sense of relief washed over me.
Good.
At the very least, I know I won't lose Tiche in the future.
Shaking the thought away, I stood up with a smile, drawing the others' attention.
“Well, seeing as there's literally nothing for us to do but wait, let's get back to training, everyone~” I announced cheerfully.
I couldn't help but laugh as Nami and Zoro immediately stopped arguing.
Nami groaned even louder than before and slumped forward dramatically.
Surprisingly though, she didn't try to get out of it.
Seems that now that she's seen the results of the training, she wants to keep going.
The thought brought a pleased smile to my face.
That was reassuring.
Nami was one of the weakest members of the crew, and the stronger she became, the more peace of mind I would have as we continued our journey.