"Wait, what am I panicking for?" Nami froze, a realization dawning on her. She playfully wrapped her arms around one of Ryuuto's and refused to let go.
Ryuuto glanced at the wooden door, then back at Nami, his expression turning pained.
*It's over. It's all over. Last night was just too wild!* Ryuuto lamented internally.
*Hancock must have sensed it last night. The fact that she waited until this morning shows she was already giving Nami some face. There's no choice but to bite the bullet and go out!* Having made his decision, Ryuuto stared straight ahead and opened the door with Nami on his arm.
In that instant... six eyes met!
Hancock stood in the doorway, clad in a pink qipao with her feet planted apart. She shot a meaningful glance at Ryuuto before her gaze settled, cold and quiet, on Nami.
Nami, dressed in a tank top and denim shorts, didn't back down an inch. She glared right back at Hancock, her aura just as intense.
Ryuuto could practically feel the sparks flying between the two women. It was like an invisible battle.
*I was so careless! I should have gone back to my own room earlier last night!* Ryuuto cursed his past self. Then again, he had been completely on the defensive. Nami seemed to have boundless energy, draining every last drop of his reserves. It was no wonder he'd been so exhausted he'd overslept. And that was after the two major battles he'd fought before even seeing her. It's not easy being me! Even a man of steel has his limits!
A storm of chaotic thoughts swirled in Ryuuto's mind. *Juggling two women is a terrible idea. I can never let this happen again!* he warned himself.
*Wait, I feel like I'm forgetting something...* A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Hancock, what are you doing at my door so early in the morning? You're blocking the way!" Nami said, lifting her chin with the air of a victor. She was the first to speak.
"Nami, you... you've gone too far!" Hancock's expression shifted several times. Clenching her fists, she let out a heavy breath and replied, enunciating every word.
Hancock's gaze shifted to Ryuuto, a fierce look in her eyes that seemed to say, *Just you wait, Ryuuto. The next time you leave my room, don't even think about having any stamina left!*
Ryuuto felt a chill run down his spine but dared not let any emotion show on his face, not with Nami right beside him.
"Captain, let's go!" Nami spoke again, pulling Ryuuto past Hancock like a triumphant general leading her prize away.
*Hancock took great care of me on Banaro Island, but I can't let her have Ryuuto!* Nami knew exactly where she stood.
Hancock could only watch them go, grinding her teeth in frustration.
"What is that? Is that a Sea King? It's huge!" A sudden cry of alarm broke the trio's stalemate. They exchanged a look and hurried outside together.
"Captain Buggy, there's a wooden house on that Sea King's back! Wait, someone's coming out!" On a distant Navy warship, a pirate wearing the red-nosed skull emblem of the Buggy Pirates was looking through a pair of binoculars at Ryuuto's group, shouting to his captain.
"What? Why would there be people on a Sea King?" Buggy, completely shocked, snatched the binoculars from the low-ranking pirate and looked for himself.
"Feffeffeffeffe, how fascinating!" On another massive pirate ship nearby, a man with a split hairdo and a sharp red nose laughed while looking through his own binoculars.
It was Silver Fox Foxy. He and his entire crew had recently joined the Buggy Pirates, with Foxy himself serving as vice-captain. As for why, it was all due to Buggy's unparalleled ability to swindle people and his incredible luck. Buggy had won the allegiance of the Foxy Pirates after a Davy Back Fight.
But judging by the current situation, Buggy had yet to earn their loyalty. Foxy, at least, was not fully subservient. Buggy was currently sailing on a captured Navy warship, while the entire Foxy Pirates crew remained aboard their own ship, the Sexy Foxy.
"Captain Foxy, should we use this chance to escape?" Porche whispered to him.
"You idiot! Do I look like that kind of person? We are members of the Buggy Pirates now. We follow Captain Buggy's orders!" Foxy declared with a righteous air, tilting his head back. It wasn't that he didn't want to leave; it was just that he'd found raiding Navy ships with Buggy to be quite addictive.
Back with Ryuuto, they had also spotted the Navy warship and the Sexy Foxy on the water.
"Mohmoo, approach them!" Ryuuto commanded.
"Captain, it looks like a Navy warship and a pirate ship up ahead," Nami observed.
As soon as Ryuuto gave the order, Mohmoo flicked its tail and charged toward them.
"Good, I was getting a little antsy. I'll be taking that Devil Fruit up ahead," Ryuuto said softly, his eyes fixed on the ships. Hancock and Nami stood on either side of him.
"Aah! The Sea King is coming this way! Run! We have to run or we'll be eaten!" Before Buggy could even get a clear look at who was on its back, he saw Mohmoo's colossal form charging at them. Terrified, Buggy threw down his binoculars, scrambled to the helm, and desperately tried to turn the ship to escape.
"No, no!"
"I don't wanna die!"
Hearing the commotion, Mohji and Richie's faces went pale as they scrambled over each other to flee to the back of the ship.
"Captain Buggy, hurry! What's wrong with this damned warship!" Alvida and Cabaji rushed to Buggy's side, also trying to manhandle the helm. They were drenched in sweat, pounding the wheel and cursing, but it was all for nothing. Despite all their frantic efforts, the Navy warship refused to budge.
A similar scene was unfolding on the Sexy Foxy. Foxy and his officers were also running around in a panic, but they were slightly more organized. After a brief moment of chaos, the officers began directing the crew to frantically power the ship in reverse.
Foxy then stood at the bow, making a gesture with his right hand as a halo of light pulsed above it.
"Slow-Slow Beam!" he yelled.
A circular wave of light shot out from his hand, expanding as it raced across the surface of the sea.
Doo-doo-doo...
The circular beam traveled forward, growing larger as it went.
Mohmoo was incredibly fast, closing the distance of several kilometers in mere seconds. Watching the giant Sea King get closer and closer, Foxy's heart sank. He knew with dawning horror that there was no way they could escape by ship.