On the deck of the Merry.
"Captain, who was that guy?!" Nojiko was still shaken.
That cannonball had seemed equipped with a tracking device as it flew straight at Reno.
"Just an ordinary Navy Vice Admiral," Reno said casually.
"You girls sort out the supplies we bought first. I'm going to check on Tashigi."
After giving the women a few instructions, Reno headed toward the room.
Inside the room.
Tashigi crouched beside the bed, looking utterly despondent.
The thought that she would never again be able to carry out missions with Smoker-sama, that she could no longer be a Marine, made her want to cry from grievance.
Even if she had the chance, she did not dare run.
That bad man had said that if he discovered she had escaped, he would go to Loguetown and kill Smoker-sama.
Having personally witnessed Smoker being pinned beneath Reno's foot, she knew Reno had the ability to do it.
She did not want Smoker to lose his life because of her.
Makino gently tried to soothe Tashigi's emotions, but it had little effect.
Just as she sighed helplessly, the door was gently pushed open and Reno walked in.
"How is she?!" Reno quietly asked Makino.
Makino glanced back at him and shook her head.
After giving him a meaningful look, Makino left the room.
Reno quietly walked over to Tashigi. Seeing the tears sliding down her pretty face and her slightly swollen red eyes, he sighed inwardly.
Honestly, he did not want to use such a barbaric and forceful method either.
But he had no choice.
There were dozens of Plot Beauties, each with different identities and different stances.
Reno was not narcissistic enough to think they would fall for him after one look.
Nor did he have that much time to win them over.
So he could only follow this plan.
Step one: Use any means necessary to seize the beauties and bring them aboard.
Step two: Comfort them.
Step three: Teach them navigation skills.
Step four: Collect the rewards, then live together.
The standard four-step abduction routine.
"Stop crying. I'm not really going to kill Smoker."
Reno's voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.
Tashigi's face turned pale, and she hurriedly pulled away from him.
"Am I a devil?!" Reno gave a bitter smile.
Tashigi nodded and stubbornly said, "You are a devil."
"You kidnapped me onto your ship and even wanted to kill Smoker-sama."
"Let me correct you. I did kidnap you onto the ship, but I never intended to kill Smoker."
"I won't believe you." Tashigi hugged her knees, refusing to back down as she retorted.
She still could not forget how terrifying Reno had looked earlier.
Reno: Would you believe me if I said I was acting?!
"Heh." Reno shook his head with a smile. He had not expected Glasses Girl to be so interesting when she got angry.
Still, he patiently explained, "Think about it carefully. Smoker's strength is so far beneath mine. If I really wanted to kill him, wouldn't I have done it already?!"
"Besides, even after killing him, I could still take you away."
Tashigi was visibly stunned.
She blinked. It seemed to make some sense.
"Then why did you go through all that trouble?!"
Threatening her and intimidating her.
She was just a cute girl.
Since he was going to take her away anyway, couldn't he have just done it directly? No one could have stopped him anyway.
Reno was left speechless.
Of course, he wanted to make Tashigi cut things off completely, so she would not keep thinking about escaping.
But...
"My real purpose was actually to ask for your help."
"Huh?! What do you mean?!" Tashigi frowned, her beautiful eyes filled with confusion.
What could she possibly do?!
Reno said with heartfelt anguish, "You know I'm a pirate. Every time, I can't help doing bad things, just like today."
"I happen to be lacking a righteous Marine by my side to keep an eye on me and stop me whenever I make a mistake."
"And you are that righteous Marine."
"If, with your help, I really manage to turn over a new leaf, wouldn't that be a great achievement for you?!"
Tashigi froze on the spot. She had actually taken it in.
It was too... t-too reasonable.
Sacrificing herself to save countless civilians from suffering—what a tremendous sense of accomplishment.
Why had she never thought of that before?!
Reno smiled lightly. "So join my pirate crew, beautiful Miss Tashigi."
"Okay."
Tashigi nodded subconsciously.
Reno took out Wado Ichimonji and placed it in Tashigi's hands. "This sword is for you."
"From now on, you must supervise me properly. If I do anything wrong, you have to correct me in time."
Tashigi looked at Wado Ichimonji in her hands, completely flattered.
"This is a Great Grade Sword. Are you really giving it to me?!"
In the Pirate World, the twelve Supreme Grade Swords were the rarest.
Below them came the Great Grade Swords.
The first time they met, Reno had given her a Great Grade Sword.
She was completely at a loss.
Reno rubbed Tashigi's forehead and said dotingly, "Now that you've joined my pirate crew, we're family. It's only a Great Grade Sword. I'll give you even better ones in the future."
This was not an empty promise.
Because he knew where to find swords of even higher quality.
For Tashigi, who loved collecting famous swords, Wado Ichimonji was truly impossible to put down.
Its quality was far better than Kashu, the Good Grade Sword she currently possessed.
Why did she suddenly feel like she was being cherished?!
Reno... seemed different from other pirates.
Could it really be because she had joined that Reno was changing?!
Tashigi felt dizzy and could not process it all at once.
"Th-then I'll accept it." Tashigi lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
Reno smiled and nodded.
Although he was catering to her preferences, Tashigi really did need a better sword.
He had already decided to train Tashigi into the Great Swordsman of the Reno Pirates.
Kashu was not good enough.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely guide you onto the path of justice." Tashigi put away Wado Ichimonji and looked at Reno with a serious expression.
Reno smiled instinctively.
"I believe you."
"Come on. I'll introduce you to the other gi... other crew members first."
Reno took Tashigi's hand and led her out of the room.
After a simple round of introductions, Tashigi was quite surprised.
Why was this pirate crew so different from all the other pirate crews she had seen?!
Especially its crew composition.
Aside from Reno, every crew member was a beautiful girl.
Reno held back his laughter and remained silent.
Just stay with this pirate crew. In a few days, you won't want to leave.
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
Flying through the sky had the greatest advantage of being safe.
With Nami, a genius navigator, predicting conditions ahead of time, they could avoid many natural dangers in advance.
Most importantly, they would not run into other people looking for trouble.
After all, aside from him, the only person who could fly in the sky was Golden Lion.
During those days, Reno did not rush to teach Tashigi.
After all, the cute girl's emotions had only just stabilized. Forcing her to study would only backfire.
There would be plenty of time in the future.
However, after spending several days together, Tashigi gained a deeper understanding of Nami and the others.
Kaya possessed the ability to heal all injuries.
Nami was a genius navigator who trained every day and developed the Weather-Weather Fruit.
The wine brewed by Sister Makino was the best wine Tashigi had ever tasted.
Carmen's cooking was even more extraordinary. Every meal conquered her taste buds.
Only Nojiko seemed a little more ordinary, carefully tending to the orange trees on the deck every day.
What surprised her most was that so many beautiful women on the same ship got along extremely well.
They chatted and laughed every day, always able to strike up a conversation.
In this harmonious environment, Tashigi's restless heart gradually calmed down, and she slowly adapted to life here.
There was only one thing.
Every time Reno finished training, he would find a girl to take liberties with.