Reno was completely baffled. What was wrong with Vivi today?
"Vivi, why would you say that?!"
Vivi secretly glanced around. After making sure no one was nearby, she lowered her head shyly, twisting her hands together in front of her as she murmured, "Every night, there are sounds coming from the sisters' rooms. Out of curiosity, I... I already asked them."
"Even Valentine and Goldie have already..."
Vivi's face turned crimson, and she simply could not continue.
Reno suddenly understood. He looked at Vivi with an amused half-smile and teased, "So?!!"
Vivi suddenly turned into an irritable little lioness. With her hands on her hips, she thrust her body forward slightly. "Where am I inferior to them?"
"Is it my looks, or my figure?!!"
"Uh..." Reno awkwardly rubbed his nose, seeing Vivi's boldness in a new light.
Was this really the Vivi he knew?!
Alabasta was currently beset by troubles both within and without, with dangers lurking everywhere.
Reno had originally planned to bring this up with Vivi after resolving Alabasta's crisis.
He had not expected Vivi to come to him first.
Reno guessed that Vivi probably believed he could definitely defeat Crocodile. Besides, they were already rushing toward Alabasta, so nothing would be delayed. That was why Vivi had taken the initiative to bring it up.
"Vivi, I know your heart is with Alabasta right now. Actually, we can wait—"
"Brother Reno, it's fine." Vivi shook her head, stopping Reno from continuing.
"Claim reward." It was that familiar process again.
[Essence of...]
This... couldn't be?!
Reno's expression turned somewhat subtle.
Note: The host's... has already been modified. It can help improve other people's physiques until they are assimilated with the host's Steel Balloon Talent.
Reno understood, but he was also speechless.
It could be used like this too?!
It was actually simple. As long as the girls consumed it, their physiques would gradually improve until they possessed the Steel Balloon Talent.
As for how much they improved and when the assimilation would be complete, that varied from person to person.
"This is a pretty good reward for them." Reno nodded in satisfaction.
No matter who it was, possessing a powerful physique brought nothing but benefits.
This was especially true for combat-oriented girls like Nami and Tashigi. The importance of Steel Balloon went without saying.
With the Steel Balloon Talent, Nami would no longer be restricted by her physique and could better develop the Weather-Weather Fruit.
The same went for Tashigi.
He had also planned to teach Hagoku to Tashigi once he had mastered it.
If it had been before, Tashigi's physique would probably have left her willing but unable.
"Looks like I'll need to take special care of Nami and Tashigi from now on." Reno stroked his chin, a sly glint flashing through his eyes.
"Why wait for another day?" Reno used Teleportation and appeared directly in Nami's room.
Nami, who had been resting, suddenly opened her eyes as lightning surged around her.
With the Three types of Haki Cultivation Manual, her Haki had already improved significantly.
After sensing that it was Reno, she relaxed her guard and pouted in dissatisfaction. "It's so late. What are you doing?!!"
Still half-asleep, Nami complained, but she instantly woke up again.
"Weren't you with Vivi tonight?? You're already done?!"
"Mm." Reno nodded. "I missed you, so I came to see you."
"Tch." Nami rolled her eyes.
"But..." Nami suddenly changed the subject, her gaze dropping. "These past few days, you've been giving all your time to Valentine and Goldie. Looking for something fresh, huh??"
"You haven't come to see me in days." Nami pouted unhappily.
Reno felt a little awkward, but there was nothing he could do.
After all, there were only twenty-four hours in a day.
Between the necessary daily routines and his training every day, he simply did not have that much time.
He could only be selective.
It would be great if I got rewarded with a Time House someday.
Then, whether it was training or doing other things, nothing would be delayed.
"What are you spacing out for?!" Seeing Reno lost in thought, Nami gave a light snort.
Reno understood immediately and began teaching Nami again.
The next day.
By the time Reno stepped out of the room, the girls had already finished breakfast. They were all gathered around the dining table, chatting and laughing.
When they saw Reno approaching, every girl turned to look at him in unison.
The girls' stares made Reno's skin crawl.
What had he done this time?!!
Could it be the sounds from last night?
They should have gotten used to it by now after all this time, right?
Taking his seat at the head of the table, Reno said casually, "If you have something to say, just say it. Stop looking at me with such strange eyes."
The girls looked at Nami again. Nami nodded.
Tashigi gathered her courage and said, "Captain, Nami said that after she ate... ate that last night, she felt like she was different from before."
"My physique got a little stronger. It wasn't very obvious, but I know my feeling is right." Nami nodded again.
Nami was the strongest person on the pirate ship aside from Reno.
There was no doubting her perception.
Since she said so, it had to be true.
Was it really that immediate?!
Reno grumbled inwardly.
"Reno, when did... that thing start having this effect?!" Nami was unusually bashful.
"What kind of looks are those?!!"
Seeing the eerie glimmers in the girls' eyes, Reno shuddered.
Those looks were like a pack of wolves that had been starving for a long time and had suddenly spotted a little lamb, desperate to pounce on it.
"Brother Reno, we want to improve our physiques too." Vivi grabbed Reno's arm and kept shaking it.
The other girls stared at Reno with equally eager eyes, clearly unwilling to give up without trying it.
Who would not want such an easy way to strengthen their physique?!
Besides, it was not as if they had never eaten it before.
"Brother Reno, I can use Healing Power to help you." Just when Reno was in despair, Kaya stabbed him again.
Reno's heart shattered.
Even kind little Kaya had been led astray by them.
Damn!!!
Today, he was going to properly discipline the harem.
"Get over here, all of you!!!"
Reno stood up and headed toward the largest room on the Merry.
After exchanging shy glances, the girls followed after him step by step, their faces filled with anticipation.
The Merry flew through the sky.
The sounds startled flock after flock of birds into flight.
Reno finally experienced the power of the Healing Fruit.
At that moment, he felt that the Healing Fruit was the most incredible reward of all, without question.
Reno gave the girls a harsh lesson for their outrageous rebellion this time.
And after this, the girls' relationships with one another deepened considerably.
This was especially true for Valentine and Goldie. After all, they were members of Baroque Works and had previously wanted to deal with the Reno Pirates.
"Captain, there are also two beauties in Baroque Works: Vice President and Sara. Are you interested?!" Valentine blinked and came up with another bad idea.
"Valentine, you just don't understand, do you?!!" Before Reno could speak, Nojiko beside him took over.
"I don't know those two, but as long as they're beautiful, they're probably already on the captain's list."
The other girls all nodded in agreement.
Reno seemed to have some kind of ability. No matter where he went, beautiful girls would appear around him.
Their experiences were remarkably similar.
"I know!!" Vivi suddenly shouted. "Brother Reno, you didn't come for us girls from the start, did you?!"
Looking at the uniformly naked beauties around her, Vivi finally realized it.
Reno reached out and tapped Vivi's nose. "Congratulations, you guessed right."
But then Reno's expression turned serious. "However, getting rid of Crocodile is also part of my plan."
"We'll reach Alabasta tomorrow. Let's end everything."
"Mm, I believe in you, Brother Reno." Vivi leaned affectionately against Reno's chest, her gaze distant.
She had waited a long time for this day—to crush Crocodile's scheme and save Alabasta.
"What did you say?? The citizens of Alabasta actually see Crocodile as a hero?!!"
Tashigi cried out in disbelief, her face full of shock.
The other girls were equally unable to control their expressions as they stared at Vivi in astonishment.
After laughing and chatting all the way, the group finally began discussing the enemy they were about to face, Crocodile, as they neared Alabasta.
Valentine and Goldie lowered their heads awkwardly, not daring to say a word.
As for the reason, there was no need to explain.
"Why do I feel like Alabasta's citizens are a little stupid?!!" Carmen, who never hid what she thought, blurted it out immediately.
The other girls' expressions were equally subtle.
Crocodile had only been in Alabasta for four years, yet he had already become Alabasta's hero?!!
Their king was diligent and cared for his people, but they refused to believe him. Instead, they would rather trust an outsider—and a pirate at that.
What nonsense!!
They simply could not understand how the citizens thought.
Even Reno deeply agreed with this. He could only say that the citizens here were truly foolish, perhaps because they were too naive.
In response to everyone's criticism, Vivi forced an extremely strained smile onto her face.
After all, she was Alabasta's Princess, and there were some things she could not easily comment on.