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Chapter 46: A Sister Who Loves Her Brother a Gougasha Percent
Thud, thud, crash—
Reacting to my sudden flare of anger, the okamas collapsed to the floor, one after another...
For a split second, I had no idea what had just happened. But even I wasn't dense enough to miss the obvious conclusion.
Somehow, it seemed I had awakened Conqueror's Haki.
"Whoa...! Seriously... me!?"
The power to overwhelm your opponents, rendering them completely incapacitated without even having to throw a punch... That was Conqueror's Haki.
Basically, it was the ultimate Toheros spell.
Haki only truly blooms in the most extreme, life-or-death situations. Being pushed to the absolute brink of death by Akainu's magma, followed by a grueling ten-month recovery process, had apparently forced my Haki to blossom.
Coming back from the brink of death with a massive power boost... It was just like a Saiyan! How cool was that? You could go ahead and call me Super Line from now on.
"...L-Looking back at everything you've been through," Ivankov stammered, swallowing hard as he stared at my newfound Super Line aura, "it wouldn't be unthinka-bull for you to be a Conqueror's Haki user..."
"But still... to actually force my hardened Candies of the Kamabakka Kingdom into submission... It's honestly unbelieva-bull."
Hehehe... I hadn't even been conscious of doing it, but... was I awesome or what? Yeah, I was awesome! I puffed out my tiny chest with pride.
I was feeling pretty good about finally standing on the same playing field as Ray-san, until—
⌁ Bzzt... bzzt... blub, blub... ⌁
I noticed Densuke lying on the floor, twitching and foaming at the mouth. She had passed out cold.
"Ahhh!? Densuke!? Are you okay!? I'm so sorrrrry!!"
"If you can't properly control your Conqueror's Haki, you'll end up catching innocent bystanders in the crossfire like this. You'd best be care-bull," Ivankov warned.
Ugh. I guess the world really wasn't that forgiving.
My body still wouldn't move the way I wanted it to, and my Haki was completely out of control... It seemed I still had a long, difficult road ahead of me.
—————
...Roughly two months passed.
"Hah! Heh! Hah! Hooi! ...Alright!"
After two solid months of rehabilitation, the stiff knots in my muscles had loosened up quite a bit. I wasn't exactly at one hundred percent, but I had recovered enough to move around freely again.
And what's more—
"Liiine-chaaan~♪"
"Let us dress you up~♪"
"We made such a cute little dress just for you, Line-chan~♪"
"Conqueror's... Shock!!"
Vwoom!!
Thud, crash!
Just like that, I was finally able to control my Conqueror's Haki to a decent degree!
I still couldn't do anything crazy like Ray-san—who could literally coat his body in Conqueror's Haki to attack—but I could at least narrow my focus and knock out specific targets.
And I owed it all to these okamas, who had graciously chased me around every single day, keeping me in a perpetual state of life-or-death panic. I hadn't been happy about it in the slightest, but honestly, thank you so much.
"Nami-saaan!! Robin-chwaaan!! I did it... I finally did it! I survived an entire year... in this living hell!! I won!!"
Two months passing meant that it had been exactly one year since the Summit War... Which also meant that the Straw Hat Pirates' training period had finally come to an end.
"Uwoooooh!! Uwooooh!!"
Sanji's triumphant roars echoed across the shores of Okama Island.
...Yeah. He had worked hard. He did a great job. Honestly, it was pretty impressive.
He had apparently mastered all 99 Vital Recipes, gaining a massive power-up as a chef. And through his daily death-matches with the okamas, his combat prowess had skyrocketed. I had even chipped in and given him some solid advice on how to use Observation Haki. He might not have been able to see into the future just yet, but the current Sanji was undeniably a formidable Observation Haki user.
"Stare—. Good work, Sanji."
"Thank youuu, Densuke-chan♪ If you hadn't been here, I never would have been able to make it this far~♪"
"You tried your best because of Densuke? I see. That's good."
Densuke, currently in her Angel Mode, gently praised Sanji for his hard work. Being relentlessly chased by okamas every single day was just too pitiful, so I had occasionally sent her over in her angel form to pat him on the head and comfort him.
Training shouldn't just be about suffering. Sanji needed some healing, too.
"Stare—."
Having finished consoling Sanji, Densuke fluttered her wings and flew back to my side.
"Master! I patted Sanji's head!"
"Yeah, good job."
"Stare. You can pat Densuke's head too, Master."
"Yes, yes. You're a good girl, Densuke."
"Nhiii♪ Master♪ Pet me more~♪"
Densuke purred in a sweet, needy voice as she snuggled up against me, still in her beautiful angel form.
She was so cute... wait, crap! This was bad!
Densuke is a snail! Densuke is a snail! Densuke is a snail...!
"Stare?"
That was too close. If I let my guard down, I was definitely going to start looking at her as a woman. Even though she was literally a snail.
"...Densuke, change back into your Transponder Snail Mode."
"Nhin."
With a soft shloop, Densuke transformed back into her standard snail appearance. There, that was much better.
On an island swarming with nothing but okama, Densuke was my sole source of comfort... but at the same time, she was a double-edged sword that constantly threatened to permanently warp my sexual preferences.
I am not a pervert who gets turned on by a bug! Uwooooh!
—————
Now then. Since his training period was officially over, Sanji was getting a ride back to the Sabaody Archipelago on the okamas' ship. And since we were heading the same way, Densuke and I were tagging along.
The time had finally come to bid farewell to Okama Island.
I wasn't exactly sad to leave. Not really.
"Phew. It's been roughly a year since Kuma-emon sent me flying alongside Luffy... Finally, I can go back to Sabaody."
"Stare—."
I stood on the deck of the ship with Densuke, letting the sea breeze wash over me as I watched the sunset.
"It's been so long since I've seen Ray-san, Shakky, and Esune. Hehehe! I can't wait!"
"Stare~~."
We might not have shared any blood, but those three were undoubtedly my precious family. I had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
"...But still, this is what's really bothering me..."
"Nhin?"
I pulled out a crumpled newspaper clipping. The headline read:
» Breaking News: Bounty Hunter, the "Billion-Hunter Rabbit" Esune! Strikes down yet another pirate! That makes 16 this month! Truly the Hero of Sabaody! «
...And right alongside that sensationalist headline was a massive photograph of Esune's face. Sprawled out at her feet were a bunch of heavily beaten, bloodied pirates.
"Esune... became a bounty hunter somewhere along the line..."
She even had a terrifying alias and seemed to be quite the local celebrity. Just what in the world had happened over this past year...?
Carrying a mix of high hopes and a faint sense of dread, the okama ship carrying me, Densuke, and Sanji sailed ever forward. Our destination: the Sabaody Archipelago. We were probably only a few dozen minutes away...
—————
And so, a few dozen minutes later.
Bam! We had safely arrived! The nostalgic Sabaody Archipelago!
"Women!! L-Ladies... actually exist in these numbers... ♡♡♡"
Sanji was staring at the utterly normal scenery of the Sabaody Archipelago with literal hearts in his eyes, weeping tears of pure joy.
Yep, yep. Drink it all in. This is the world where women exist.
"Just so you know, Sanji, Grove 72 is where most of the red-light districts are."
"Really!? ♡♡ Liiine ♡♡"
"Hehehe, want to hit up my favorite boob pub later?"
"Uwoooooh!! ♡♡ Viva Sabaody ♡♡♡"
Sanji and I threw our arms around each other's shoulders and started happily doing a synchronized line dance. Sabaody♪ Oh yeah, Sabaody♪
"Well then, Sanji-kyun, Line-chan, Densuke-chan. It breaks my heart, but this is where we part ways. I'm sure we'll meet again somewhere!"
"I hope I never see you again! Thanks for the ride!"
"Say hi to Ivankov for me!"
"Stare—."
We thanked the okamas who had escorted us this far and finally stepped foot onto Sabaody proper. Naturally, the very first place we were heading was...
The boob pub! ...Just kidding. We were heading straight to Grove 13, to our home: Shakky's Rip-off Bar. Obviously.
"Man, it's really been a whole year. I'm getting a little nervous."
Seeing my family for the first time in so long had my heart pounding. I hopped onto Sanji's shoulder and hid behind his collar for cover. Alright, time to go inside! Go!
"...Welcome..."
As we stepped through the doors, Shakky emerged from behind the counter. She seemed a little low-energy... but otherwise, she hadn't really changed. Right? No, wait, she actually looked a bit haggard. Was she okay? Had she been eating properly?
"..."
Over at one of the tables, Ray-san was sitting in silence, nursing a drink. ...There was a truly horrifying number of empty liquor bottles scattered around his feet. Just how much had he been drinking...?
While I was internally recoiling at the sight, Sanji spoke up with a bright, cheerful grin.
"Heya. Delivery. I've brought your son back home for ya."
In an instant—
"!!?"
Ray-san and Shakky both shot to their feet with blinding speed.
Whoa!? Scared me!?
Their eyes immediately locked onto me sitting on Sanji's shoulder. They both began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Li...ne... chan...?"
"Y-Yeah... It's me... Shakky. It's been a while..."
"Is it really... you, Line?"
"I-It's really me, Ray-sa—ngueeehhh!!?"
With a sudden squish, Ray-san and Shakky crushed me between them. ...Or rather, they hugged me. Tightly.
"You're alive...! You actually lived...!!"
"You did well... making it back...! Line...!!"
"G-Guhhh!! C-Can't breathe~! Both of you! You're too strong!!"
Tears were streaming down both of their faces. What was going on? Why were they both so incredibly emotional? Sure, it had been a while, but it was only one year... Or so I thought, for a split second.
Ah...! Right, the rest of the world thinks I'm dead...
I remembered the newspaper article declaring "Line Dead."
Which meant that Ray-san and Shakky genuinely believed I had died in that war. No wonder they were reacting like this. They were just that happy to see that I was actually alive.
My chest felt a little warmer.
"I'm home... Ray-san, Shakky."
"...Welcome home, Line."
"Welcome back, Line-chan."
—————
"...And so, that's why it took me a whole year to get back."
"I see... To think you went through all of that..."
"Densuke-chan, was it? Thank you so much for protecting our boy."
"Stare~♪"
After the bone-crushing hugs from Ray-san and Shakky, I was immediately bombarded with questions. I had Densuke project the visual recordings of the past year while I explained everything that had happened. Dying, coming back to life, dealing with the okamas... it had been rough.
"Hehehe, well, that's the gist of it. I've got plenty more stories to tell... but for now, I really want to see Esune. Where is she?"
"Ah, Esune is..."
Is she out running errands or something? Just as I was wondering...
KABOOOOM!!!
"Eh!?"
A massive explosion violently shook the outside of the bar.
"W-What...? What was that noise? Don't tell me it's the Marines!?"
"No, it's probably Esune. ...Luffy is out there too. It sounds like they're in the middle of a fight. Line, go stop them."
"Huh!?"
Esune and Luffy were... fighting? What was that supposed to mean?
Completely bewildered, Sanji and I rushed outside just as Ray-san asked. And right there, we saw—
"Luffy-san! I told you!! If you ever showed your face in front of me again... I would never forgive you!!"
"L-Like I said! I only came back to this island to meet up with my crew! I wasn't planning on seeing you, Esune!"
"No excuses!!"
Smash! Crack! Ba-ba-ba-boom!!
"Huh? What? Ehhh!?"
S-Somehow, Luffy and Esune were... fighting... No, they were having a straight-up death-match!! Why!?
"Luffy, that bastard...! Raising his hands against a lady...!"
Seeing Luffy and Esune trading heavy blows, Sanji instantly flared up in anger. No, no, no, wait... more importantly, why the hell were those two trying to kill each other!? What was the reason!?
"Gear Third! Gum-Gum... Elephant Gun!!"
"Rabbit-Rabbit Combat: Extinction Deception!!"
Luffy inflated his arm to a massive size, coating it in dense, black Armament Haki before swinging it down with everything he had. And right into the path of that monstrous fist, Esune drove a devastating, Haki-clad kick.
DOOOOMMMMM!!!
Fist and leg collided. The result... was a dead tie. The shockwave violently blasted them both backward.
"Owww...! You're just as strong as Line said you were...! You're tough...!"
"...Guh! Pant, pant... How dare you say my brother's name in front of me...!"
Luffy... He had powered up an insane amount over the last year... He could actually use Haki now. What a terrifying growth rate.
But Esune had powered up too. Her Observation Haki was still a bit rough around the edges, but her mastery over Armament Haki was absolutely lethal.
The two of them glared at each other, immediately shifting back into combat stances—
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait!! Stop! Stooooop!! Why are you two fighting!?"
I had no idea what had happened between them, but violence was a big no-no! I threw myself between the two of them, throwing my arms out wide in a 'stop' pose. Instantly...
"!!!!"
"!!!!!!!!!!??"
Luffy and Esune both stared at me with expressions of pure, unadulterated shock—the kind of shock you'd only see if a brother you thought was dead suddenly came back to life right in front of your eyes.
...Wait, yeah, that made sense. They did think I was dead! No wonder they looked like their eyes were going to pop out of their skulls. My bad, my bad.
"Line...!! Y-You!! Y-You're a-aliiveee~~!!"
"Whoa, hey! Yeah! A lot of stuff happened! But I somehow managed to survive!"
Luffy was the first to react, lunging at me while sobbing hysterically. I casually sidestepped him.
"Liiiiine~~"
"Hehehe, haven't seen you since the war, Luffy! Glad to see you're doing well. Looks like you figured out how to use Haki."
"Y-Yeeeah...! So I'd never lose anyone ever again! I trained together with Ace! Shishishi!"
It sounded like Ace was safe and doing well, too. Good. Considering we risked our lives to save him, I wanted him to live a long, full life.
Smiling at the thought, I shifted my gaze over to Esune...
"Wehh... ah...!? Ah... guhyu... auuh...! Uwaaaaaaaaaahhh~~~~!!!!"
"Uwoah!?"
She burst into ugly, torrential tears!
She was crying so hard I legitimately thought she was going to create a new ocean. Whoa...! That was some literal manga-level weeping. W-Was she going to be okay crying like that? Wasn't she going to dehydrate?
"C-Calm down! Esune! It's me! It's Line!"
"Uwaaaaaaahh!! That's exactly why I'm crying!! Big brother!! B-Big brotherrrrrr!!!"
"Bumuooh!?"
She snatched me out of the air and violently plunged me straight into the valley of her cleavage. I had been subjected to a Cleavage Dunk within five seconds of reuniting!? She immediately squeezed me tight.
"Obababa!? E-E-Esune!! Boobs!? I'm drowning in booobsssss!!"
"Shut up!! Shut up, shut up, shut up!! Just shut up and drown in my boobs!! Do you have any idea... any idea how worried I was about you!? You stupid brotherrrr!!"
"Uwoaah!? I get it! I get it already! Esune! I get it!"
"No you don't!! You don't get it at all!! You have no idea how much I adore you! How much I love you! Do you even know, Brother!? Just what percentage of love I feel for you!? Do you know!?"
"U-Umm... 70%... maybe?"
"See, you don't get it at all!! The answer is 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Gougasha percent!!"
"Gou...!? Say what!?"
"Uuuuuuhhhh~!! I love you, Brother♡♡ I looooovveeee yooouuuu~ (angry) ♡♡♡♡"
As she aggressively mashed my entire body between her breasts, crying and screaming about how much she loved me, I started feeling a little... biologically compromised.
"I love you♡ I love you so much♡ Brother, Brother, Brother♡ Love you, love you, love you♡ Love you♡ I really love you♡ I love you the most in the world♡ You're my absolute favorite♡ Loooove♡ Loooove♡ Loooove♡ Esune loves you so, so much, Brother♡♡♡ I love you~~♡♡"
"Fuoohh!? Wait, let me out! Just for a second! If you don't, it's gonna come out! It's gonna come out...!"
"Just let it come out!! Idiot!! (angry) ♡♡♡"
"Fuhheeehh~~!?"
It fired. And she kept aggressively squeezing me... until I had been drained roughly ten times...
During the one year I was gone, Esune's love had apparently... broken past the heavens and completely short-circuited...!?
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