"Roar, roar, roar..."
Roars rang out from the sea.
The blood that had sprayed out when that Sea King's head was blasted apart had clearly attracted all the Sea Kings in the surrounding waters.
The instant seven or eight Sea Kings burst through the surface, they formed a dark, looming mass.
Sanji's fingers tightened around his cigarette. This was his first time encountering anything like this.
Unfortunately, before he could react, bubbles of hot and cold air had already gathered above the Sea Kings, forming thick, leaden clouds.
"And now for the weather forecast: Thunderstorm Tempo!"
Buzz!
An electric bubble plunged into the black clouds.
Boom!
An immense burst of lightning exploded within the piled-up clouds.
Lightning poured down from the sky, instantly engulfing the Sea Kings that had emerged from the sea.
Only after a full half minute had passed did the surface of the sea barely settle down.
But compared to their earlier menacing charge...
The sea was now clearly littered with Sea King corpses.
Staring at the sight before him, Sanji only snapped out of his daze with a shriek when the cigarette between his fingers burned down to his skin.
When he had first boarded, Sanji had declared that he would uphold the spirit of chivalry and protect the women.
Now it seemed that the only person aboard who actually needed protection was probably himself.
Why did every one of them look as if they were using cheats?
"Lord Bai Yu, did you see that? I did it! I won't be the dead last anymore!"
Nami threw her arms around Bai Yu, her lethal assets giving him a brimming sense of bliss.
She believed that, with her current abilities, she could definitely catch Arlong off guard and kill him in an instant.
Bai Yu gave a dry cough and freed himself from Nami's arms.
"All right, what matters is that you succeeded. Now that you're aboard my ship, of course I won't shortchange you. I hope everyone can hold their own!"
"Did you hear that, Perverted Kappa? All you do aboard this ship is hold us back!" Zoro rested his wooden sword on his shoulder, his face full of provocation.
"What did you say, Moss Head? I'll kick you to death!"
Sanji exploded.
He had originally boarded intending to protect the ladies.
He had never imagined that not only would he fail to become their protector...
He would even end up dead last!
He wasn't even qualified to protect the ladies!
"Sanji, don't lose heart. When Nami and I boarded, neither of us had the strength to truss a chicken. If Lord Bai Yu hadn't given us these weapons, never mind killing Sea Kings, we probably would've struggled to even hurt them."
With the Super-Modified 98K on her back, Carina smiled reassuringly.
Beside her, Nami nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Three days earlier, when Nami had looked at the Clima-Tact Bai Yu had given her and listened to his explanation, she had been completely unable to believe that this seemingly ordinary staff would give her the power to kill Arlong.
Only after trying it repeatedly had she understood what it meant to say, "The captain truly hasn't deceived me!"
Sanji fell silent. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and drew a deep breath before speaking.
"Lord Bai Yu, can you make me stronger?"
"What I specialize in is kicking..."
"Of course!" Bai Yu casually took a swig of liquor and tossed over two wrist weights.
These were items Bai Yu had redeemed during this time.
Items in the System Shop remained available for redemption after being refreshed and redeemed, so Bai Yu had spent another 150 points to redeem another pair.
The small wrist guards hit the deck with a bang, making the entire floor shudder violently.
Sanji was dumbfounded.
He was beginning to regret making that request.
"Perverted Kappa, there's no medicine for regret aboard this ship. These two wrist weights weigh a hundred kilograms together, but their weight can be increased or decreased at will. They're a great help for training strength and explosive power!"
Zoro spoke with a teasing smile.
"Of course, if you want to leave the ship now, I don't mind."
"Damn Moss Head, who said I wanted to leave? It's only a hundred kilograms. I can get used to that easily."
Sanji immediately grew agitated.
But after hefting the two wrist weights and trying to adjust their weight...
The shock on his face deepened.
He finally understood why that old fox Zeff, who had originally suggested he board Fire Fist Ace's pirate ship...
Had completely changed his mind and made him board this navy ship instead.
Sure enough, older ginger was spicier, and those clouded old eyes still had the sharper vision!
Just the weapons Bai Yu had produced, along with this miraculous training equipment...
Were enough to show that Bai Yu was far more than he appeared.
Every person aboard this ship would definitely achieve extraordinary things in the future.
"Sanji, for your kicks, you could try spinning at high speed. The rapid friction would generate heat and increase your explosive power. If you can reach that level, your strength will definitely double. Even if you run into pirates worth over a hundred million, you'll definitely be able to take them down easily."
Bai Yu took a swig of liquor and told him about Sanji's Diable Jambe from the original story.
For now, nothing particularly special had appeared in the System Shop that could dramatically increase Sanji's strength.
So Bai Yu could only use the most basic method: draw on the original story!
"Lord Bai Yu, the method you came up with is the same as what I imagined. Will this really work?"
Sanji was dumbfounded.
All along, he had also been thinking about how to grow stronger.
But without a predecessor to lead the way, feeling his way forward on his own was clearly somewhat difficult.
Bai Yu's advice instantly made Sanji feel that he had found someone who understood him.
"Don't worry. Once you've adapted to the wrist weights, completing this move won't be too difficult. As for the rest of your training, we'll work that out after you finish the weight training."
Bai Yu casually took another swig of liquor as he spoke.
"Loguetown is just ahead. We'll rest and resupply here for now. Once we enter the Grand Line, we probably won't be able to resupply for a long time."
"I agree!"
"I agree too!"
"I'll go stock up on ingredients too!"
Sanji hurriedly chimed in.
Only when it came to food could he find a little sense of presence aboard this ship.
"I'll stay and guard the ship! Get a little training in while I'm at it." With that, Zoro took his wooden sword and went back to work.
Every time he saw Bai Yu easily complete ten thousand slashes, his sense of powerlessness and the gap between them were instantly magnified without limit.
It made Zoro wish he could devote even his eating and sleeping time to training.
Bai Yu did not dwell on Zoro's decision.
There were indeed still two Famous Swords in Ipponmatsu's shop.
Bai Yu had no use for them, but if he could get them, they would count as a perk to win someone's loyalty.
As he thought about it, the ship docked, and Bai Yu leaped ashore.
But after taking only a few steps, he saw a reckless figure crash headlong into him.
That soft sensation and the feminine fragrance wafting toward him made Bai Yu raise an eyebrow.
He looked a little surprised, especially when he saw that head of orange hair.
"S-sorry, I was in such a hurry that I accidentally bumped into you."
"If you're all right, I've got my eye on a sword, so I'll be going!"