The Final Battle

"Great! Now all these stalls will be mine!" Luffy was practically drooling as he stared eagerly at the various stalls in the arena. "Then we can hold feasts whenever we want! Hooray!"

"Wait!" Nami suddenly stopped Luffy. "Luffy, we only need to choose their captain this round. That way, even if we win the next round outright, not only will you get your stalls, but we'll also reduce the danger."

"How despicable!"

"Damn it, it's the Peanut Strategy!"

"I can't believe my ears! You peanut bastards!"

"That woman isn't human! She's a demon!"

"A cult! They're practically cultists!"

"Damn it, you bastards, shut up!" Sanji glared unhappily at the Foxy Pirates. "How dare you talk about Nami like that? I'll kick you all flying!"

"People may have considered doing that in past games, but has anyone actually gone through with it? This is practically a betrayal of the competition! What a bunch of tasteless losers!" Foxy took the lead in stirring things up, terrified that he would lose just like that.

"Waaah, they're so mean." Nami buried herself in Robin's arms and whimpered.

"It is a good idea, but it seems to violate pirate aesthetics." Robin consoled her helplessly.

"Pirate aesthetics?" Li Ziming had no idea what that meant. "Although I think it's a good idea, I don't want to be stuck on the same ship as that guy from now on." Li Ziming shot Foxy a disgusted glance.

"Exactly. We'd rather die than have that guy on our ship." It was not just Li Ziming; Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, Sanji, and the others all opposed choosing Foxy.

"That's true." Nami nodded, not looking sad in the slightest. "Having that guy on our ship would really be a headache."

"So this time, let Luffy choose those stalls. Oh, right, Luffy, you have to win the next round." Li Ziming looked at Luffy. "Otherwise, someone from our ship will be chosen."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely win!" Luffy declared proudly, but then he became troubled again. "But what should we choose after we win?"

"Don't worry about that. If you can't decide when the time comes, leave it to us. You only need to focus on winning." Li Ziming said with a laugh.

"Then we have to choose something really interesting!" Luffy said excitedly.

"Don't worry, I will." Li Ziming nodded.

"All right, all right, Luffy, come here. Let the great Captain Usopp teach you the secret to his thirty years of undefeated dominance across the four seas!" Usopp said as he dragged Luffy into the cabin, apparently intending to give Luffy some special secret weapon.

"What is Usopp up to?" Zoro asked doubtfully, a faint sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

"Who knows? Probably some prank again." Li Ziming shrugged and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Nami asked curiously.

"I'm going to take a look around their ship. There might be something interesting there." What Li Ziming really wanted was to see whether he could find anything related to the Ship Spirit aboard the other ship.

"I'm going too!" Nami said excitedly.

"What are you going for?" Li Ziming asked, confused.

"What if they have treasure hidden on board?" Nami's eyes turned into the shape of Beli. "Robin, do you want to come too?"

"I'll pass." Robin shook her head. "I'd rather stay here and watch our captain's victorious form."

"There might be books on board," Li Ziming tempted Robin.

"I doubt those idiots have any books on their ship." Robin shook her head. "And if they do, bring them back for me."

"All right. Anyone else want to take a look?" Li Ziming asked, but no one else was interested in Foxy's ship. In the end, only Li Ziming and Nami went aboard.

"What are you trying to do?" Naturally, the Foxy Pirates could not simply let Li Ziming board their ship, so they stopped him.

"Take a look around the ship." Li Ziming shrugged. "Is that not allowed?"

"Hey, hey, who do you think you are?" Foxy looked at Li Ziming hostilely. "Do you think you can board my ship whenever you want?"

"You should be getting ready for your fight with our captain. I'm just taking a look to see whether there's anything on your ship worth taking." Li Ziming thought for a moment. "Ah, you could say I'm inspecting my property in advance."

"Your property?" Foxy was amused by Li Ziming. "You're really arrogant." Then he waved a hand. "Go ahead and look around. And I've decided that once I win this round, I'll choose you. When that happens, I'll let you have a good look around."

"Thanks." Li Ziming ignored Foxy's threat and walked into Foxy's ship with Nami.

"Treasure!" The moment she boarded, Nami ran off without a trace. Li Ziming was not too worried, though. As the Cat Burglar who had spent years among various pirate crews, Nami might not have been much of a fighter, but she was quite capable of protecting herself.

Li Ziming did not wander around aimlessly. He found a Foxy Pirates crew member, asked where the crew's records were kept, and headed straight there.

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy, but it's still disappointing that there isn't even the slightest mention of a Ship Spirit." Li Ziming helplessly closed the book in his hand. Books already covered the floor beside him. "There isn't even a legend. Should I say Robin really had foresight?"

Bang! The door was suddenly pushed open. Li Ziming looked hesitantly at the newcomer. "Weren't you looking for treasure?"

"Tch, of course I came to get you to help carry it. You weren't going to make a weak woman like me do all the hauling, were you?" Nami said as if it were only natural. "Of course, I can reduce your debt a tiny bit."

"Why, thank you so much." Li Ziming did not know whether to laugh or cry. In any case, he had never intended to pay that debt back. "But from the sound of it, there seems to be a lot of treasure here?"

"I don't know. There's a place I can't get into, but my intuition tells me there's definitely something incredible inside!" Nami's eyes blazed. "I swear it on my many years of thieving experience!"

"That really doesn't inspire much confidence." Li Ziming shook his head helplessly, then quickly apologized when he saw Nami glaring at him. "Sorry, sorry."

"Good that you know better. It's right here." Nami pointed at a room in front of them. "It looks like only that Splithead has the key, so I'm guessing there must be something amazing hidden inside!" Nami's eyes shone. "Hurry up and open it for me!"

"I don't think so," Li Ziming muttered. Then he placed his hand on the lock. "Explosion!" To be safe, Li Ziming reduced the power of the Explosion, using just enough force to blow open the lock.

"Treasure!" Nami cheered and rushed inside.

"Be careful!" Li Ziming called worriedly before hurrying in after her.

"Huh? Where's the treasure?" Nami searched everywhere, but one side of the room was covered in mirrors, while the other held a mechanical device covered in boxing gloves.

"Looks like we've stumbled into a rather remarkable room." Li Ziming suddenly felt the floor beneath him shake. "They'll have their final fight on this ship." After thinking back, Li Ziming understood the purpose of the room. "Then they surely won't mind if I do something to it." Li Ziming placed one hand on a mirror. "Irregular Explosion!" Fine explosions spread across the mirror, immediately making its surface uneven.

"What are you doing?" Nami was quite disappointed, since she had not found the treasure she wanted.

Li Ziming briefly explained the rules of the duel, then smiled and explained the purpose of the room.

"So they want to use this room to cheat?" Nami looked at the pitted mirrors and immediately understood Li Ziming's plan. "Nice work!"

"But I'm not done yet." Li Ziming suddenly wrapped his arms around Nami.

"What are you doing?!" Nami said angrily.

"We're on their ship right now. If they find us, we'll lose. You don't want us to lose because the two of us were found on their ship, do you?" Li Ziming shrugged. "I was wondering why they let us board so easily. They were probably thinking the same thing. So, to avoid losing for no reason, I'd better get you off this ship quickly."

"But you don't need to hold me!" Nami's face reddened slightly. "Don't tell me you have some ulterior motive?"

"Don't worry. I haven't even won Robin over yet, so I'm not going to go around chasing women casually." Li Ziming shrugged. "I really didn't think this through. I apologize."

Nami looked at Li Ziming strangely. "You don't have even the slightest interest in me?"

"It would be a lie to say I have none, but if someone has no self-control at all, something will happen eventually." Li Ziming's eyes suddenly lit up, and then he saw the vast sea ahead. "Hold on!" Li Ziming carried Nami and used Geppo to leap into the air.

"Not bad." Nami enjoyed the sea breeze with satisfaction.

"But I think you're a little heavy." Li Ziming said helplessly. "You should lose some weight."

"What did you say?!" Nami glared furiously at Li Ziming and reached out to pinch his waist.

At the same time, Li Ziming felt the exact same pain on his other side, making him sigh inwardly. He really had not intended to win her over.