Can Drinking Cola Make You Stronger?

As soon as he finished speaking, countless trees burst from the ground and shot upward, locking together in mortise-and-tenon joints at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few minutes, rows of neatly arranged wooden houses rose from the ground, forming a brand-new little town.

"I-is this a miracle?" an elderly villager asked, weeping with joy.

The other villagers even knelt before Ivan, thanking him for all he had done for them.

As night fell, the banquet grew livelier.

After several rounds of drinks, Nami carried a glass of fruit wine over and gently sat down beside Ivan, her pretty face flushed a heady crimson. Her voice was as soft as the evening breeze:

"Thank you, Ivan. Shall we... leave in a little while?"

Ivan raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't it be rude to leave without saying goodbye?"

Hearing this, Nami raised a hand and gently punched him on the shoulder, a tangle of emotions swirling in her eyes.

"Before, I lived entirely for the village. From now on, I want to live for myself for once.

"I'm afraid that if I say goodbye to them face-to-face, I won't be able to bring myself to leave. And you wouldn't force me to go with you, would you?"

Ivan looked at her reddened eyes and merely smiled without answering.

Late that night, while the drunken villagers slept soundly, Ivan used Wood Release to plant a few orange trees on the warship.

Once he was done, he left Cocoyasi Village with Nami.

But as they were leaving, they were startled to find the shore ablaze with light. The villagers waved torches and shouted:

"Nami, have a safe journey!"

"Take good care of yourself, and remember to come back and visit often!"

"Major Ivan, please look after our Nami too!"

Their heartfelt calls drifted to them on the sea breeze.

Nami could no longer hold back. She suddenly turned and threw herself into Ivan's arms, the tears she had held back for so long finally bursting forth as she sobbed aloud.

The next day, the sky was clear and bright, and a sea breeze carrying a faint salty tang brushed gently over the water.

It was the perfect weather to relax and soak up the sun.

On the warship's uppermost deck, Ivan lay in a sun chair, basking in the sunlight.

In the past, only Tashigi had been at his side, but now Nami was there too.

After gulping down some ice-cold cola, all three burped at once. "Ah, that hit the spot!"

Nami smacked her lips and turned to Ivan, a hint of doubt in her eyes. "Ivan, can drinking cola really make you stronger?"

Not long ago, Nami had asked Ivan why he was so strong, and Ivan had told her that drinking cola could make her stronger, but Nami still had her doubts.

How could drinking cola make someone stronger?

Ivan said lazily:

"Relax. Why would I lie to you? Drinking cola really can make you stronger.

"Don't underestimate this stuff. There's a lot of energy packed inside it.

"The power released by a few barrels of cola can even send a large ship racing across the sea.

"As long as you keep drinking cola, absorb the energy inside it, and combine that with training, you'll get stronger."

Ivan wasn't lying to Nami. In the original story, the Thousand Sunny ran on cola, and cola could even be used to power a mech.

Ivan had also tried it afterward. The energy contained in cola was even greater than the calories in some Sea King meat. Drinking cola and training constantly really could make a person stronger!

"All right, then I'll have another bottle!" Although Nami's belly was already a little swollen, as though she were five months pregnant, she still forced herself to gulp down another bottle.

If drinking cola could make her stronger, she had to drink it!

Looking up at the orange trees' dense foliage, Ivan asked curiously, "Nami, I remember you had an agreement with Arlong. Did you bring the money you saved over the past few years?"

"Hic No, I left it for Nojiko and the villagers. They need it more than I do."

Ivan understood.

Sure enough, only the villagers and Nojiko could make the money-loving Nami give up Beli she already had in her hands!

Although Tashigi knew Ivan's theory about getting stronger by drinking cola, she still wasn't used to drinking it.

After downing one bottle, she switched to juice. She stretched, her body forming a graceful curve, and asked lazily:

"Major Ivan, why aren't we going back to Loguetown? Why are we staying here?"

After leaving Cocoyasi Village, Ivan and the others hadn't returned to Loguetown. Instead, they had stopped not far from the village.

Tashigi was a little puzzled by this.

Nami was also somewhat confused and looked curiously at Ivan.

Ivan smiled and explained, "Taking down Arlong didn't completely solve Cocoyasi Village's problems. We still need to deal with one last threat."

From the East Blue 16th Branch, a warship slowly made its way toward Cocoyasi Village.

On the deck at the bow, the sharp-featured, rat-faced Captain Nezumi wore a grim expression. His fingers clutched a report so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

"Damn that White Dove! He really did kill Arlong!"

He growled through gritted teeth, furious.

For the past seven years, Arlong had given him a cut worth tens of millions of Beli every year. Thanks to that dirty money, he had lived a comfortable, carefree life.

Now that Arlong was dead, he had lost such a huge source of income for nothing. Where else could he find a deal that brought such enormous returns for so little effort?

Captain Nezumi paced irritably for a few steps, then suddenly stopped, a sinister smile curling his lips.

It seemed things might yet take a turn.

Since Arlong was dead, someone else should naturally take over his territory.

He could take Arlong's place and continue collecting protection money from the villages of the Conomi Islands.

That way, not only would his lost income start flowing again, but without Arlong taking a share, he would probably rake in even more than before!

As for those lowlifes daring to resist?

Captain Nezumi sneered, his face full of disdain.

They were just a bunch of unarmed lowlifes. How could they possibly stand up to the navy?

He slowly looked around at his subordinates, a flash of smugness in his eyes.

These men were all his absolutely loyal henchmen. Every one of them was a link in the chain of profit; they prospered and suffered together.

They could never betray him, and they were his sharpest weapons for slaughter!

The East Blue No. 16 Division wasn't far from Cocoyasi Village. By the time the sun was almost directly overhead, the warship was nearing the village.

The closer they got to Cocoyasi Village, the more excited Nezumi became.

Money and women lay ahead!

But things clearly weren't going as smoothly as Nezumi had imagined. Suddenly, one of his men reported to him:

"Captain, there's a ship up ahead. It looks like another warship!"

"Oh, a warship?" Nezumi immediately thought of White Dove. That damned fellow had kept interfering with his moneymaking, and now he had even killed Arlong.

That damned fellow still hadn't left. This was the perfect chance to catch him leaving Loguetown and enforcing the law in another branch's jurisdiction in violation of regulations.

Perhaps he could use that evidence to make White Dove hand over the heads of Arlong and his men.

That way, he would not only get the credit for wiping out the Arlong Pirates but also collect a massive bounty!

At that thought, Nezumi excitedly gave the order: "Speed up and pull alongside that warship. I want to see their commanding officer!"