"I see. That's a reason, I guess." Arton rubbed his chin and nodded to himself, then raised an eyebrow at her. "But do you really need to be this nervous? Your face is practically on fire."
"N-no." Raki shook her head quickly, lips pressed tight. "I… I'm just… not feeling well, that's all."
There was no way she was going to admit she'd just flashed on something embarrassingly lewd—especially not to Arton. And she definitely wasn't about to say it out loud in front of the other Flameblade Pirates.
"Not feeling well?" Arton glanced back over his shoulder. "Kaya—check her out."
"I'm fine! Um—" Raki waved both hands frantically to refuse, but Kaya was already stepping in beside her.
A soft glow of medical ninjutsu shimmered around Kaya's hands. Little by little, Raki's expression eased and the heat in her chest settled, like someone had smoothed out the frantic beating of her heart.
"Uh… thank you, Ms. Kaya," Raki said, realizing the calm wasn't her imagination—Kaya had used something extra on her.
"No need." Kaya's voice stayed gentle… but her eyes were sharp. "Also, if you keep letting your head run wild with overly stimulating images, it's going to mess with your thinking."
"…!" Raki's eyes went wide.
Kaya hadn't said it outright, but Raki understood perfectly: she knew Raki had been thinking something naughty.
Raki couldn't believe it. How could Kaya possibly tell?
What she didn't know was that Kaya had seen this exact situation a thousand times.
Because of Arton's doujins, every girl in the Flameblade Pirates—one way or another—ended up reading, learning, and gossiping about them. Which meant Nami, Carina, and the others regularly had moments just like Raki's: flustered cheeks, wandering eyes, thoughts getting way too vivid at the worst possible time.
Sometimes even Kaya got caught in it herself.
In this particular field, Kaya was basically a professional.
"Looks like you're back to normal," Arton said then, pulling Raki's attention back to him.
Raki turned, stared at him for a beat, then forced herself to speak clearly. "You're the Captain, right? I… I'm glad to meet you."
Arton's grin turned wicked. "How glad?"
"Th-that—" Raki froze, brain short-circuiting.
He laughed. "Relax. I'm kidding—look at you, you're about to jump out of your skin." He patted her shoulder, easy and familiar. "Tell you what. I was planning to tour Skypiea anyway. Why don't you be my guide?"
Raki blinked.
"And if you do," Arton continued casually, "I won't pursue what happened earlier—your people trying to attack my ship."
"R-really?!" Raki burst out.
"Really." Arton's tone was light, but firm. "You might not know me yet, but I usually keep my word—especially when I'm dealing with a beautiful woman. Of course, that's only true if that beautiful woman isn't my enemy." His eyes locked onto hers. "So tell me, Ms. Raki… are you my enemy?"
"Of course not!" Raki shook her head so fast her little wings almost twitched.
No joke—she wanted absolutely nothing to do with being Arton's enemy.
So far, anyone who ended up opposing Arton never seemed to get a happy ending… and being pretty didn't magically save you either. Gion, Tashigi, Ain, Hina—there were already plenty of examples.
Tashigi and Ain had become his companions now, so Arton didn't treat them the way he used to. But if Gion ever stood in front of him again…
Raki had zero doubt Arton would do something ruthless all over again.
She swallowed, then straightened her posture, forcing herself to be brave.
"Captain… I'll be your guide," Raki said, voice steadier now. "Anywhere you want to go, just tell me."
Being a guide for Arton and the Flameblade Pirates?
That was a dream assignment.
Raki had been panicking about how she was supposed to get close to him—and then the opportunity practically walked up and placed itself in her hands. If she didn't grab it, she'd hate herself for it later.
Chapter 530: Raki — Happy to Help
"Good. Then it's settled," Arton said. "Get yourselves ready—we're officially heading into Skypiea."
He lifted his gaze, looking toward the only passageway leading up into the true sky-island: a tube-like ascending ramp. Thanks to its special material, even a ship could glide through it smoothly… though you still needed a few of Skypiea's unique creatures to make it happen.
"Woo! Finally—we get to go check out Skypiea for real!" Uta threw both hands up, bouncing in place.
Nami and Carina, meanwhile, were basically vibrating.
"Skypiea has tons of gold, right?" Nami blurted.
"God, I can't wait," Carina murmured, grinning.
The two of them had straight-up Beli signs in their eyes. Arton had already hinted in his diary that Skypiea was loaded.
"Don't get too excited yet," Arton said, turning back to face Nami, Carina, Uta, and the others with a more serious look. "Before we go in, there's something you all need to know."
"Go on, Captain," Carina said, ears practically perked.
Arton gave a small nod. "I used… a special method to learn that there's someone on this island who's insanely strong with Observation Haki."
He paused, tone turning cautious. "His Observation covers a huge range—probably the entire Skypiea region. Until we deal with that guy, don't talk about anything you wouldn't want other people hearing."
As he said it, Arton couldn't help wishing his own Observation would take another step forward. If he could master Observation-killing, dealing with types like Enel would be a lot more convenient.
"No problem," Uta said brightly. "We'll keep our mouths shut."
"Meaning… if we take that guy out first, everything gets easier," Robin murmured, almost to herself.
"Exactly." Arton nodded. "But there's another reason I'm not rushing it."
He continued, "I just obtained a new template. So I want to search Skypiea first and see if there's someone who actually fits it. If there is, I'll have her accept it—because once she has that power, she might be more than happy to use it to deal with Skypiea's 'king.'"
Arton paused, then looked straight at Ain. His expression softened.
"I'm sorry, Ain. I know I said I'd save a template for you… but the one I got just doesn't fit you."
"It's okay, Captain," Ain said with a gentle smile, placing a hand over her right chest. "I'm willing to wait."
"Huh… Oh. Thank you for understanding," Arton said, genuinely surprised. He'd expected at least a flicker of disappointment—so her calm acceptance somehow made him feel more guilty.
Then he blinked, scanning everyone else's faces. "Wait—why are you all being so chill about this? Every time I get a new template, you're usually dying of curiosity."
Nami cleared her throat, looking awkward. "Well… I just figured if you want us to see it, you'll show us."
There was no way she could admit she'd basically already known about Serval thanks to the diary—so she'd been acting way too composed.
But Arton's comment did the trick. Nami, along with the rest of the Flameblade Pirates, immediately reignited their curiosity about Serval. The crowd tightened around him, all of them asking to see what the new template could do.
"There we go." Arton laughed. "I was starting to feel weird—like you'd all stopped caring."
He tilted his head, grin turning sly. "But since you didn't ask to see it right away… I'm not showing you immediately, either."
"Once we find someone on Skypiea who actually fits this template," he said, "then I'll demonstrate it for all of you."
Arton chuckled, then casually threw an arm around Raki's shoulder.
"Come on, Ms. Raki," he said. "Time to start your tour-guide shift."
Raki smiled right back, looking almost relieved.
"Happy to help."