"Damn it. If I'd known it was this far, I would've had them open a door and send me back. What a hike," Luo Ya grumbled as he hurried toward his lodgings.
After stopping to ask for directions again and again, Luo Ya finally made it back to the hotel three hours later.
He had just taken a shower in his room when he heard a familiar knock at the door.
Knock, knock, knock. Wrapped in a towel, Luo Ya opened the door. Kalifa stood outside, still dressed in her agent's uniform.
"That was quick. I've been back for less than ten minutes."
"Blueno woke up after you left. We spent a little time discussing our next steps."
"Discussing what? You still haven't given up on taking me on?"
"No. We were discussing how to keep you from revealing what you know."
"Oh? And what did you come up with?"
Kalifa pushed up her glasses and smiled.
"I'm sorry, but I looked into you. I'm confident I can get you to keep our mission a secret."
Luo Ya was puzzled. He had no idea where she got that confidence. Before he could say anything, Kalifa threw her arms around him and kissed him. She pushed him into the bedroom, then lifted a foot and shut the door.
With a thud, they fell onto the bed. They drew apart slightly, but could still feel each other's warm breath.
"Ha, then I'll begin," Kalifa said gently, before pulling off the towel wrapped around Luo Ya.
Much of what happened here has been omitted. Even ten thousand words probably wouldn't be enough to describe it.
It wasn't until the next afternoon that Luo Ya dragged his exhausted body out of bed. Kalifa was long gone, probably back to taking care of Water 7's affairs. After all, she was still Iceburg's secretary.
As for Kalifa's request that he keep their mission secret, Luo Ya had readily agreed the night before. With things like this, he had to hand it to the World Government.
His worldview had been thoroughly upended last night. Who knew there were so many ways to do that sort of thing!
No wonder the Celestial Dragons were perverts. Their agents were trained in all the things the Celestial Dragons had already tried.
After getting up and taking another shower, Luo Ya left the hotel and ducked into a small roadside restaurant. He ordered a few of the house specialties to fill his stomach.
While he waited for his food, he heard a few people at the next table talking.
"The Gods of Water are coming again." "Yeah. Let's hurry to the shelter as soon as we finish eating." "They're early this year, compared to usual."
Luo Ya grew curious when he heard that and went over to their table, offering them three cigarettes. They accepted and began puffing away.
"I heard you mention the Gods of Water. I just got to Water 7. Could you tell me about it?"
Luo Ya asked curiously. He had been in this world long enough to realize it was nothing like the hot-blooded, idiotic manga he had read before.
So his first thought was that some creature really did come to Water 7 every year.
"Hey, buddy, the Gods of Water is Aqua Laguna, a massive tsunami unique to Water 7. It comes every year, though the timing isn't fixed."
"Right. After the Gods of Water pass, they leave a lot of sea salt on the rooftops. Food made with that salt tastes especially good."
"Haha, and it's spectacular. A hundred-meter wave roaring toward you—nowhere but Water 7 can you see a sight like that."
Only then did Luo Ya realize that Water 7 was struck by a tsunami every year, and that the wave was called the Gods of Water.
After learning that the tsunami would arrive in three hours, Luo Ya paid for all three men's meals as thanks.
Seeing that, they ordered a lot more beer and joined Luo Ya at his table.
The four of them ate and drank for over two hours. They only realized the Gods of Water were about to arrive when the owner came over after putting his things away to remind them.
"Haha, buddy, let's drink another day. The Gods of Water are almost here."
"Right, we'd better get to the shelter." "If you haven't had enough, we can pick this back up after the Gods of Water pass."
Luo Ya smiled and snapped his fingers. With a pop, he lit a cigarette.
"Take a puff and head to the shelter without me. I'll go later." The others didn't think much of it and left first.
Luo Ya called after the owner and ordered a large bottle of beer. He'd heard it was a Water 7 specialty: a blue beer with lots of bubbles. It lacked the aroma of malt and instead had a slightly sweet, fresh taste. It was called Roof Fresh Beer. When he asked, he learned it was made with sea salt from the rooftops.
Carrying the beer and smoking a cigarette, Luo Ya strolled toward the harbor.
People hurrying toward the shelter passed him by, a stark contrast to his leisurely pace.
Just then, an old man grabbed Luo Ya by the arm. "Young man, the Gods of Water are about to arrive. Why are you heading toward the harbor?"
"Hehe, sir, I've never seen a tsunami before. I thought I'd go take a look."
"Don't be reckless! There's a Visual Den Den Mushi in the shelter. You can watch the Gods of Water from there. Don't skip the shelter just because you're curious. Every year, people who refuse to believe the warnings die beneath the Gods of Water."
Luo Ya slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke to show the old man there was no need to worry. Taking a puff and a swig of beer, he continued resolutely toward the harbor.
Seeing that, the old man stopped trying to hold him back. He assumed Luo Ya didn't know his own limits and hurried off with the others toward the shelter. With his old, feeble body, getting caught by the tsunami would mean certain death.
By the time Luo Ya reached the harbor, everyone in Water 7 had already made it into the shelter.
Through the screen of the Visual Den Den Mushi, they saw Luo Ya stagger over to the harbor, sit down, and start drinking.
His legs dangled over the edge, swaying in the breeze.
"What's that young man doing?" "Is he trying to die?" "Maybe. Look at him drinking alone. He looks like I did after my first breakup."
While everyone lamented the young man's fate, the Gods of Water began to gather in the distance.
Far beyond Luo Ya's sight, the waves were already beginning to rise.
At the docks, the sea began to recede, exposing the dry seabed. Countless fish and shrimp flopped around on the sand.
When the water had retreated far into the distance, a colossal wave over a hundred meters high came roaring toward Water 7 with a thunderous rush.
As the wave drew closer, the once-clear skies over Water 7 were swallowed by darkness.
The immense tsunami blocked out all the light.
"It's here! That's Aqua Laguna (the Gods of Water)!" "No matter how many times I see it, the Gods of Water still leave me in awe."
"That's the power of nature!" "Wait, look at the harbor! What's that young man doing?"
As the people in the shelter marveled at the power of the Gods of Water, someone sharp-eyed spotted Luo Ya, who had been sitting at the harbor. He tossed aside his empty bottle and stood up.
Black flames surged from Luo Ya's body, making him look like a demon god descending upon the world.
The Black Flame rapidly expanded, taking on a humanlike shape. It stopped growing when it reached about thirty meters tall.
Then the Black Flame quickly condensed into a demon with two horns thrusting skyward, scarlet eyes, and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
The demon had a human-shaped body, with two arms and two legs. A massive Ryujin Jakka shimmered at its waist.
Luo Ya had only perfected this technique after devouring the Devil Fruit on the ship.
After all, the enemies he'd encountered were either tough as nails or enormous brutes, and every battle dragged on for ages.
Most of the time, he had worn them down with the Black Flame's regenerative ability.
So Luo Ya had borrowed an ability from some red-eyed clan. After honing his control over the Black Flame until it was precise, he finally perfected this technique.
Demon Form!
Of course, he'd made it look this way simply because he thought it was cool. It gave him no special boost.
The two horns on its head were purely for show, too.
As the Demon Form finished taking shape, the people in the shelter stared at the projection from the Den Den Mushi, too stunned to speak.
At thirty meters tall, the Demon Form was still dwarfed by the hundred-meter tsunami, like an adult beside a child.
But the difference was at least a hundred times smaller than it had been at first.
As the Gods of Water swept toward the harbor, Luo Ya's Demon Form crouched slightly and grasped Ryujin Jakka's hilt.
Its scarlet eyes blazed! The Black Flame covering its body slowly died down, then suddenly burst into a fierce blaze.
Nadeshiko Slash! A jet-black blade of fire, over a hundred meters long, crashed into the tsunami with a deafening hiss.
The immense heat vaporized the seawater, filling the air with steam. The people in the shelter lost sight of everything in the thick cloud.
All they could see on the screen was a sea of mist.
As the mist slowly cleared, Water 7, which had been drenched by the Gods of Water, came into view. From where Luo Ya stood all the way to the edge of the island, a dry strip ten meters wide cut straight through the city.
On either side of this dividing line, the city remained as before, submerged beneath the floodwaters. As the water receded, it flowed off the rooftops and through the channels, trickling back into the sea.
Luo Ya canceled his Demon Form, thoroughly pleased with the technique. The next time he faced a big brute, he wouldn't have to worry about the size difference keeping him from dealing any real damage.
Of course, the technique had its drawbacks. Even great things had one flaw: they were expensive.
It took a tremendous toll on Luo Ya's stamina, spiritual power, and even Haki.
So he had to finish the fight quickly when he used it. The longer it dragged on, the worse things would go for him.
Luo Ya, entirely satisfied, snapped his fingers and lit a cigarette. Then he set off to find a bar and celebrate with another drink.
Little did he know that the people in the shelter, especially the three brothers from the restaurant and the old man who had urged him to run, were too stunned to speak.
Iceburg, Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and the others were also left in shock, unable to recover for a long time.
"Is this the strength of a great pirate with a bounty of 570 million? Good thing we agreed to his request."
Iceburg wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and resolved to put even more effort into modifying the Black Pearl. Otherwise, if this man wasn't satisfied, he might cut him down with an attack like that.
Lucci watched Luo Ya's slash cleave through the tsunami, unable to believe his eyes. After a long pause, he gave a mocking laugh. So much for the strongest genius in eight hundred years.
He couldn't withstand that slash even if there were eight hundred of him.