After Luo Ya cut down the Gods of Water, the people of Water 7 came back to their senses, but remained speechless for a long time. In the end, it was only after Iceburg's reminder that they gradually returned to their jobs and homes.
Luo Ya waited outside a tavern for ages until the owner finally returned and reopened. Under the owner's fearful gaze, Luo Ya bought a large amount of beer and headed back to the hotel.
In his hotel room, he drank and read the Rokushiki training methods Kalifa had written for him.
Luo Ya had long been interested in Rokushiki. After all, this world was full of countless monsters with incredible physical abilities.
And since the Navy was the only one to develop these six techniques, they were bound to have their own unique tricks.
Rokushiki was a form of martial arts used by the Navy that surpassed the limits of the human body. It consisted of six techniques: Iron Body, Soru, Kami-e, Geppo, Rankyaku, and Shigan.
Those capable of using them were generally Navy officers or members of CP0 and CP9.
Iron Body involved tensing every muscle in the body and controlling the flow of blood until the body became as hard as iron. It was generally used for defense.
Of course, anyone who tried to take a technique head-on with Iron Body usually ended up dead in a pretty miserable fashion.
In Luo Ya's view, this technique was probably meant to help one sense Armament Haki, not for actual combat.
Kami-e involved relaxing the muscles and sensing changes in the air nearby, then swaying like paper with an opponent's attacks to dodge them. It was similar to the Formless Divine Skill.
But as far as Luo Ya could remember, Kami-e was hardly ever seen in action. After studying it, he found that, like Iron Body, using it in real combat was a good way to get yourself killed.
It was probably developed to help one sense Observation Haki.
Rankyaku attacked with vacuum blades, like sickle weasels, produced by extremely fast and powerful kicks. This technique had some merit. At the very least, Luo Ya found its method of generating force useful, and it was practical in its own right. But it was no use to him; even a casual slash of his was stronger.
Like Rankyaku, Shigan could be used in actual combat, but it was still of little use.
The remaining two techniques, Soru and Geppo, were the ones Luo Ya had looked forward to most, and they hadn't disappointed him.
Soru involved kicking the ground dozens of times or more in rapid succession to generate powerful recoil and move at high speed. It greatly increased Luo Ya's speed.
The technique was also a classic example of brute force getting the job done. The more times you kicked the ground in that instant, the greater the recoil and the faster you went.
Geppo, on the other hand, used explosive leg strength to make it look as if the user had vanished. By kicking the air, one could move through the sky.
But it wasn't something you could do just by kicking hard into thin air. It involved a complex method of generating force.
Otherwise, why would everyone who could fly besides the Navy's people be Devil Fruit Users?
Luo Ya was extremely satisfied with these two techniques. The methods of generating force for Rankyaku and Shigan could also be adapted to his own Dragon Claw Fist and Hasshoken.
In the days that followed, Luo Ya spent his time sampling Water 7's local delicacies and fine drinks.
The rest of the time, he studied Rokushiki. Of course, every night he still needed Kalifa's help—cough, cough. It was just that after every session, Luo Ya was completely "spent."
He had to admit, Teacher Kalifa was strict.
About a month passed like this before Kalifa came to see Luo Ya in her secretary's outfit.
"Don't say you've had enough of the agent outfit. This look of yours is pretty nice too." Luo Ya grinned and reached for Kalifa's waist.
"Iceburg sent me to tell you that your ship's been remodeled. It's at Dock 1." Kalifa smacked away the hand Luo Ya had reached toward her.
"I can't wait. Let's go!" Luo Ya excitedly grabbed Kalifa's hand and hurried toward Dock 1.
When they reached Dock 1, Iceburg was waiting beside a ship with Rob Lucci and the other four shipwrights.
It was still vaguely recognizable as the Black Pearl, but its overall appearance had changed completely.
"Mr. Luo Ya, the Black Pearl has been completely remodeled. Let me show you the brand-new Black Pearl," Iceburg said excitedly.
With Iceburg leading the way, Luo Ya took a thorough look around the Black Pearl.
First was the exterior. It had gone from its original length of seventeen or eighteen meters and width of five meters to twenty meters long and five meters wide.
According to Iceburg, a ship of this size wouldn't capsize even in the roughest seas, as long as it wasn't damaged.
The entire hull was lined with Seastone, greatly increasing the ship's weight. Its draft had also deepened considerably.
It had gone from three decks to five.
The top deck, which had originally served as both kitchen and helm, was now just the helm. Iceburg had installed a lot of wiring in the remaining space and expanded the capacity of the energy converter.
As a result, the original eight pairs of propellers had become sixteen pairs, while the two Jet Propellers had been replaced with six arranged in a row.
There was no question that its speed had improved dramatically.
The bow and the helm had also been covered with Seastone. As one of the hardest known minerals, Seastone offered excellent protection.
That meant Luo Ya no longer had to worry about the ship being damaged if it ran aground.
The second deck had become the bedroom and dining room. The several boxes of Beli that had been in the bedroom were still right where they'd been.
The third deck had become a recreation room, with a pool table, karaoke equipment, and other amenities. Fishing rods and beach chairs were there too.
The fourth deck consisted of a huge fish tank and a patch of soil. The tank had already been filled with seawater, and fresh saplings had been transplanted into the soil.
When Luo Ya asked, Iceburg told him they were orange trees. This deck was mainly meant to provide fresh fruit and fish.
The fifth deck was for storing food. It was packed with drinks, meat, flour, and other supplies. It was essentially a huge cold-storage room.
Iceburg had also installed windows on the second and third decks, giving them a view of the scenery outside.
After making the full tour, Luo Ya was extremely satisfied. It was clear Iceburg had put a great deal of care into remodeling the ship.
At the very least, the Seastone and the additional Treasure Tree Adam alone must have cost several hundred million Beli.
And that didn't even include the other work.
Snap! Luo Ya snapped his fingers and lit the cigarette in his mouth. "Heh, thanks for all the effort. I'm very happy with the remodeling. But if you're not taking Beli, are you planning to ask for some other kind of payment?"
At Luo Ya's words, Iceburg looked excited. "I'm glad you like it. This ship is a labor of love for me. As for payment, I'd like your Den Den Mushi number. If Water 7 ever faces a crisis, I'd like to ask you to step in once."
Luo Ya raised an eyebrow at Iceburg's request. Helping out once wasn't a problem. The main thing was that Luo Ya knew Kalifa and the others would be causing trouble here before long.
The newspaper yesterday had carried Luffy's bounty poster. He had a bounty of thirty million Beli for defeating the pirate Admiral Don Krieg.
Monkey D. Luffy hadn't been sailing for long at all. In the original story, aside from the two years when the whole crew split up to train,
he'd spent only about half a year at sea in total before becoming an emperor of the New World and defeating Teacher Kaido.
That meant it wouldn't be long before the protagonist's plot armor came to Water 7, and Lucci and the others would be beaten badly and abandon their mission.
When Luo Ya didn't respond, Iceburg anxiously wiped the cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"I won't hide it from you. It might be difficult for me to step in, and it's hard to explain. If you want power, I could get you a Devil Fruit."
"How about this, Lord Luo Ya? When the time comes, I'll call you and you can decide whether to help. If it's not convenient then, you can do it later." Iceburg sounded confused.
He thought, I just want to be able to call on you for help if pirates invade. Why are you saying no—and that you can't explain?
Iceburg hadn't realized that Luo Ya thought he was asking for help protecting the Pluton Blueprints.
After all, Luo Ya had spent a month with Kalifa and the others. Their mission could fail and that was that, but it would be awkward if Luo Ya caused it by stepping in.
It would be like sleeping with someone and then refusing to take responsibility.
Hearing Iceburg say that, Luo Ya casually wrote down his Den Den Mushi number and handed it to him.
He took out the Log Pose and saw that it had finished recording the coordinates. Then he boarded the completely revamped Black Pearl.
With flames surging around his left hand, Luo Ya quickly replenished the Black Pearl's energy, and its sixteen pairs of propellers began to turn.
As everyone watched, the ship sailed out of Dock 1 and headed for the next island.
As Luo Ya sped up, the propellers spun faster and faster. He opened the window in the helm, and the salty sea breeze on his face put him in a great mood.
After setting the ship's course, Luo Ya grabbed some iced beer and a beach chair, then went out onto the deck to enjoy a rare moment of leisure.
Unfortunately, before he'd even finished one bottle of beer, a tremendous splash caught his attention.
The warm sunlight was suddenly swallowed by a shadow.
With a bang, the Black Pearl stopped as if it had hit something.
Luo Ya looked up and saw a giant Sea King rise halfway out of the water in front of the Black Pearl. It looked like a sea serpent, but had fins and a mouth full of sharp teeth. It opened its gaping maw and lunged at the ship.
"Damn it, wasn't the Seastone supposed to make Sea Kings think the ship was one of them and keep them from attacking?" Luo Ya cursed, drew Ryujin Jakka, and swung it once.
With a whoosh, a rain of blood sprayed from the Sea King's body as it split in two.
Normally, lining the bottom of a ship with Seastone could indeed ward off Sea King attacks, but it wasn't foolproof. This Sea King had clearly mistaken the Black Pearl for one of its smaller kin.
And Sea Kings preyed on each other, which was why it had attacked Luo Ya.
As the upper half of the serpent-like Sea King fell onto the ship, it painted the deck bright red.
Luo Ya could only curse his bad luck, then carry the severed half to the kitchen. He planned to turn his anger into an appetite that evening and eat it.
After Luo Ya finished preparing the Sea King and put some of the meat on to stew, he saw that it would take at least two hours before it was ready.
With no other choice, he picked up a mop and went out onto the deck to wash away the blood that hadn't dried yet.
Perhaps it was all in his head, but after cleaning the deck, Luo Ya thought the Sea King meat tasted especially good. He almost thought his cooking skills had improved without him realizing it.
In truth, Luo Ya was only a passable cook. He thought it tasted good purely out of spite.
After eating his fill, Luo Ya checked that the course was still right, then went to the training room for a workout.
Even though training no longer did much for him, Luo Ya kept at it day after day. He never missed his daily thousand full-force sword swings.
And so time passed slowly amid the dull routine of the voyage.