Luffy relaxed. He turned.
Another figure rolled across the deck in the wind.
Plop.
Into the sea.
He had been worried for a moment. Then he saw who it was. He relaxed.
Nika. Drunk. She had been napping in a corner with her bottle. The wind had swept her overboard.
"Nika!" Usopp shouted.
"What do we do?!" Merry hovered near the railing, watching the small white figure splash in the water.
Luffy waved a hand. Calm. "It's fine."
It was fine.
Nika was bound to him. Even if she was blown away, even if she fell into the sea, she could return to him in an instant. All it took was a thought.
During the fight with Aokiji, he had called her from far away. She had come. It had drained her completely.
In the cold water, Nika jerked awake. She was no longer drunk.
She watched the Sunny pulling away, riding the waves. She screamed.
Then she vanished from the water. A white light emerged from Luffy. Nika reformed beside him.
"Baka!"
"You let me fall in! You could have caught me!"
She was hopping mad, pointing at him.
"You drank too much." Luffy did not back down.
Then a wave came. Taller than the mast. A black mountain of water, white foam at its crest, rushing at the Sunny.
No time to argue.
"Turn! Hard to starboard! Everyone hold!"
Nami's voice was clear, commanding. She had been through storms before.
Her calm was steadying.
And there was Vivi. She stood on deck, her hands guiding the wind, deflecting the worst of it away from the sails.
The ship rocked, but it held.
For two hours, they worked. Then the Sunny broke free, cutting through the edge of the storm like a lion breaking its cage.
Sunlight on the wet deck. The sky was still gray, but the worst was over.
The storm had been moving away from them. Otherwise, they would have been trapped longer.
Franky sat on the deck, leaning against the railing, catching his breath. His face was still shaken.
"SUPER intense. That was dangerous."
Water 7 had Aqua Laguna once a year. Pirates faced storms like this every day.
Luffy was soaked. But he was grinning.
"Don't worry. We have the best navigator in the world."
Nami flicked her wet orange hair. She looked tired, but she forced a frown.
"Even so. You're not coming into the girls' quarters."
The women were soaked. Their clothes clung to them. They were going inside to change.
Luffy followed them. His study time with Robin was not over. He had to stay near her.
Nami stood in the doorway. Arms crossed. No entry.
Luffy could not get past.
"But I need to change too!" He pointed at his own wet clothes. "And Robin—you know. I can't leave her!"
"I don't mind," Robin said. She was laughing behind her hand. "Luffy can come in too."
Vivi was already inside with Merry. She opened the door a crack, her face still red. "It's not a problem," she said, barely audible.
Nami stared at them. Traitors.
What had happened to make them so trusting?
No. Absolutely not.
In the end, they compromised. Robin would use her power. She grew hands from Luffy's face, covering his eyes. Then he was allowed in.
Luffy muttered: "It's not like I haven't seen—"
Nami stepped on his foot. She was blushing. She did not want Robin or Vivi to be seen.
She had her reasons.
They were hungry after the storm.
Sanji served a hot meal. Everyone cheered.
Franky watched Luffy eat. The pile of meat was vanishing.
"SUPER! Is your stomach connected to another dimension?"
He looked down. The steak on his plate was gone.
"Luffy!"
"Sorry. You weren't eating. I thought you didn't want it."
Franky stared.
So this was why everyone guarded their own food.
Afternoon. Luffy's time to train.
The fights in his dreams—the enhanced Aokiji—had done more than give him a new form. His Haki had broken through.
His Busoshoku Haki had reached Level 2. He could flow it more finely, wrap it more precisely.
Now his Kenbunshoku Haki had reached Level 2 too.
At this level, he could sense things from far away. And he could see the future.
***
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