"I see," Wiper nodded—but then his face twisted into a puzzled look.
"But when Raki stopped us earlier, it felt like she'd already realized those people on that ship were a problem," he muttered. "That doesn't make sense. We've never even met them. How could Raki possibly know they're that strong? Don't tell me it was some woman's intuition thing."
Sure, when they fought Ain, she'd been up in the air. That was unusual.
But Enel could fly too—and they'd still been willing to make him their enemy.
So it wasn't like Raki would see someone moving through the sky and immediately label them unbeatable, right?
"I've been wondering about that too," Aisa admitted. "But after thinking it over, I came to an answer."
"An answer?" Wiper perked up. "Alright, Aisa—let's hear it."
He stood—except now that Ain had turned him small, the guy who used to look down at Aisa had to crane his neck to look up at her.
"You know how fast Raki's been improving lately," Aisa said. "Not just her strength and speed—her awareness has been getting sharper too. So I started thinking… what if she's like me? What if she's awakened Mantra?"
"What?!" Wiper yelped, staring at her like she'd just dropped a bomb.
He couldn't wrap his head around it—his own companion awakening Mantra without him even noticing.
Mantra was a strange kind of power… but it was also something you could train. The fact that Enel's four priests could use it proved that much.
Wiper wasn't going to lie—he'd wanted it too. If he could learn Mantra, it would absolutely help when it came time to fight Enel.
But he'd never had a method. And there was no way in hell he was going to ask Enel to teach him.
As for Aisa, she was a natural-born user—she didn't even know how she did it, much less how to teach someone else.
Over time, Wiper had given up on the idea and poured everything into sharpening his body… and into finding Seastone from the Blue Sea—anything that could counter an element user's intangibility.
"I'm just saying it's a possibility," Aisa added. "We'll only know for sure after Raki comes back and we can ask her directly."
"When she comes back…" Wiper sighed. "And when is that supposed to be?"
"For now, behave and wait one day," Aisa said, arms crossed. "After that, we'll think about what to do next. And if those people absolutely refuse to let Raki return… then you all might have to go apologize."
"What? Apologize to them?" Wiper's face turned ugly immediately.
"Or what?" Aisa shot back. "You really think you can beat them? Look at you—you're stuck like this. Or do you want to drag the other warriors in, make them end up the same way you did… or worse, march them off to their deaths?"
Her voice was sharper now, more serious than before.
And Wiper—like it or not—had to drop his gaze.
Yeah… they'd gotten away this time because of Raki.
But next time? If they tried it again, those Blue Sea people might just kill them on the spot.
And that… was the last thing Wiper wanted.
Chapter 538: Uta — Raki, Are You Ready to Be the Captain's Woman?
"Uta, aren't you going to go play with everyone else?" Raki asked as she walked up beside her.
Uta just smiled. "I'll let them have their fun. Honestly, I'd rather talk music with Conis than go messing around in the White Sea."
Even though Conis still wasn't officially a member of the Flameblade Pirates, Uta had already decided it was only a matter of time before she became one of their sisters—so getting close early just made sense.
And if Conis really was the type… Uta couldn't help wondering if she might also be the kind of girl who could sweat it out with the captain in one of those breathless, full-body dances—drenched, laughing, and completely unashamed.
"Conis already went home," Raki said.
"Home? Why?" Uta blinked. "Don't tell me she's not planning to join us?"
By all logic, with a tyrant like Enel ruling Skypiea, Conis should need Arton's strength. If she wasn't trying to get closer to him now, then when?
"No, you've got it wrong," Raki said quickly, glancing toward Arton in the distance before continuing in a lower voice. "Conis went back to prep some noodles. I'm bringing her a couple pumpkins."
"Pumpkins?" Uta's eyes immediately lit up as she looked at the two perfect pumpkins in Raki's hands.
"Yeah," she said. "I remember Arton mentioning it in his diary—how, in that future you two were supposed to open a little food shop. Pumpkin noodles were one of your signature dishes. People loved them."
"That's right," Raki said with a small nod. "So Conis and I talked it over, and we figured… maybe we can use pumpkin noodles as an excuse to get a little closer to Captain. You know how it is—anything involving the Diary Copy, we can't explain properly, so we have to approach it sideways."
She let out a quiet sigh.
If she could just tell the truth, everything would be so much simpler. She could walk right up to Arton and say she wanted to join the crew, no games, no excuses.
But she couldn't.
So instead, she looked at Uta with hope in her eyes. "Uta… can you introduce me to Arton? I want to be around him more. Maybe then I can find a simple, believable way to join the Flameblade Pirates."
"No problem," Uta said with a cheerful grin.
Unlike Nami and Carina—who still hadn't gotten Arton yet—Uta was already on the inside. And honestly? She wanted more sisters, not fewer.
Heck, if enough girls joined, she could even form a full dance troupe—choreograph something so filthy-cute it'd make Arton's face heat up instantly. And once the other sisters started getting involved with him too… she could tailor routines for each of them—each girl's signature style wrapped around the same man.
"Come on," Uta said, looping her arm through Raki's as they started walking toward Arton. "And later I'm absolutely trying those pumpkin noodles."
Then she leaned in close, her voice dropping into a teasing whisper by Raki's ear.
"By the way… do you have the resolve to become Captain's woman?"
In an instant, the bold, battle-ready Raki went red all the way to her ears—so flustered she couldn't get a single word out.