"Great! Now all these stalls are mine!" Luffy was practically drooling as he gazed longingly at the various stalls around the grounds. "Now we can throw parties whenever we want! Hooray!"
"Wait!" Nami suddenly stopped him. "Luffy, all we have to do this round is pick their captain. Then we'll win the next round by default. You'll still get your stalls, and we'll avoid the risk."
"How underhanded!"
"Damn it, it's the Peanut Strategy!"
"I can't believe my ears, you peanut bastards!"
"That woman isn't even human! She's a demon!"
"A cultist! She's practically a cultist!"
"Damn it, shut your mouths, you bastards!" Sanji glared at the Foxy Pirates. "How dare you talk about Nami like that! I'll send you flying!"
"People have thought of that in past games, sure, but has anyone actually done it? This is a betrayal of the competition! You've got no class!" Foxy led the uproar, terrified of losing just like that.
"Wah, they're so mean." Nami buried herself in Robin's arms and sobbed.
"It is a good idea, but it does seem to violate pirate aesthetics," Robin said, consoling her helplessly.
"Pirate aesthetics?" Li Ziming looked baffled. "I think it's a good plan, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life on the same ship as that guy." He shot Foxy a look of disgust.
"Right, we'd rather die than share a ship with him." It wasn't just Li Ziming. Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji were all against choosing Foxy, too.
"That's true." Nami nodded, showing not the slightest trace of sadness. "Having that guy aboard really would be a pain."
"So let Luffy pick the stalls this time. And Luffy, you have to win the next round," Li Ziming told him. "Otherwise, someone from our crew will get picked."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely win!" Luffy declared proudly, only to look troubled a moment later. "But what should we pick after we win?"
"Don't worry about that. If you can't decide, leave it to us. You just focus on winning," Li Ziming said with a chuckle.
"Then make sure you pick something really fun!" Luffy said excitedly.
"Don't worry, I will." Li Ziming nodded.
"All right, all right! Come on, Luffy. Let the great Captain Usopp teach you the secret behind his thirty undefeated years sailing the Four Seas!" Usopp dragged Luffy into the cabin, apparently planning to give him some special secret weapon.
"What's Usopp up to?" Zoro asked, a vague sense of foreboding creeping over him.
"Who knows? Probably some prank gadget again." Li Ziming shrugged and stood up.
"Where are you going?" Nami asked curiously.
"To look around their ship. Maybe there'll be something interesting." More than anything, Li Ziming wanted to see whether he could find anything about Ship Spirits aboard their vessel.
"I'm coming too!" Nami said excitedly.
"What for?" Li Ziming asked, puzzled.
"What if there's treasure hidden aboard?" Nami's eyes turned into Beli symbols. "Want to come along, Robin?"
"I'll pass." Robin shook her head. "I'll stay here and watch our captain claim victory."
"There might be books aboard," Li Ziming said, trying to tempt her.
"I don't imagine those fools 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 showed any interest in Foxy's ship. In the end, only he and Nami went.
"What do you want?" Naturally, the Foxy Pirates weren't about to let Li Ziming aboard without a word, and they blocked his path.
"To look around your ship." Li Ziming shrugged. "Is that not allowed?"
"Hey, who do you think you are?" Foxy gave him a hostile look. "You think you can just board my ship whenever you feel like it?"
"You should focus on getting ready to fight our captain. I'm just checking what you have aboard that's worth taking." Li Ziming paused in thought. "Ah, consider it an advance tour of our property."
"Your property?" Foxy laughed at that. "You really are arrogant." He waved a hand. "Look around all you like. And I've decided: once I win this round, I'm choosing you. Then I'll give you a proper tour."
"Thanks." Ignoring Foxy's threats, Li Ziming walked aboard with Nami.
"Treasure!" The moment she boarded, Nami ran off and vanished from sight. Li Ziming wasn't particularly worried. After all, as the Cat Burglar, she had spent years slipping among different pirate crews. Her fighting skills might not have been impressive, but she was quite capable of keeping herself safe.
Rather than wander aimlessly, Li Ziming found a member of the Foxy Pirates and asked where they kept their records, then headed straight there.
"I knew it wouldn't be that easy, but finding absolutely nothing about Ship Spirits is still disappointing." Li Ziming sighed and closed the book in his hands. Books already littered the floor beside him. "Not even a legend. Should I say Robin really had foresight?"
Clang! Someone suddenly pushed the door open. Li Ziming looked at the newcomer uncertainly. "Weren't you looking for treasure?"
"Tch, obviously I came to get you to help carry it. You're not going to make a frail girl like me do all the hauling, are you?" Nami spoke as though it were only natural. "Of course, I can knock a tiny bit off your debt."
"Well, thank you very much." Li Ziming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He hadn't planned to repay that debt anyway. "But from the sound of it, there's a lot of treasure here?"
"I don't know. There's a place I couldn't get into, but my instincts tell me there's something incredible inside!" Nami's eyes blazed. "I swear on all my years of experience as a thief!"
"That's not exactly convincing." Li Ziming shook his head helplessly, then hastily apologized when Nami shot him a dangerous look. "Sorry, sorry."
"At least you know better. Here it is." Nami pointed to a room before them. "Looks like only that split-headed guy has the key, so I'm guessing there's something amazing hidden in here!" Her eyes shone. "Hurry up and open it!"
"I wouldn't count on it," Li Ziming muttered, placing a hand on the lock. "Explosion!" To be safe, he reduced the blast's power, just barely blowing the lock open.
"Treasure!" Nami cheered and ran inside.
"Be careful!" Li Ziming called worriedly, hurrying 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 contraption studded with boxing gloves.
"Looks like we've stumbled into quite a room." Li Ziming suddenly felt the floor shift beneath his feet. "Their final fight is going to be on this ship." After a moment's recollection, he remembered what this room was for. "Then surely they won't mind if I make a few changes." He placed a hand on the mirrors. "Irregular Explosion!" Tiny, tightly packed explosions spread across them, instantly leaving their surfaces uneven.
"What are you doing?" Nami asked, thoroughly disappointed at not finding the treasure she wanted.
Li Ziming briefly outlined the rules of the duel, then smiled as he explained the room's purpose.
"So they're planning to use this room to cheat?" Looking at the pitted mirrors, Nami immediately understood his plan. "Nice work!"
"I'm not finished yet." Li Ziming suddenly scooped Nami into his arms.
"What are you doing?" Nami demanded angrily.
"We're on this ship right now. If they find us, we could be counted as having lost. You don't want us to lose just because the two of us were caught aboard, do you?" Li Ziming shrugged. "I was wondering why they let us aboard so easily. They may well have had that in mind, so I'd better get you off this ship before we lose for some ridiculous reason."
"But you don't have to carry me!" Nami's face flushed slightly. "You're not trying something, are you?"
"Relax. I haven't even won Robin over yet. I'm not going to go flirting with every woman I see." Li Ziming shrugged. "I really didn't think this through, though. I'm sorry."
Nami gave him an odd look. "You don't like me even a little?"
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't, but people get into trouble if they have no self-control at all." Light suddenly opened up before Li Ziming's eyes, revealing the vast sea. "Hold on!" With Nami in his arms, he used Geppo to step into the air.
"This is pretty nice," Nami said contentedly, enjoying the sea breeze.
"But you feel a little heavy," Li Ziming said helplessly. "You should lose some weight."
"What did you say?" Nami glared at him and reached out to pinch his waist.
At the very same moment, Li Ziming felt an identical pain on his other side. He couldn't help lamenting that he really hadn't been trying to win her over.
Before you continue