Chapter 346 - 185

Chapter 185: Mysterious Floral Fragrance, Newspaper?"Uncle Rayleigh! Sanji! Torao—I'm here!!!"The shout was like a piercing arrow through the clouds, coming from afar, carrying a wave of unreserved excitement and recklessness.Following closely behind was."Boom!!!—"It wasn't an attack, but merely a violent declaration of pure speed and power as it smashed into the ground.A flash of elusive blue lightning plunged fiercely into the land at the edge of the deserted island like a falling meteorite.In an instant, an airwave, more violent than any previous training collision, exploded outwards in a ring. A raging cloud of dust, mixed with gravel, debris, and withered grass, rushed toward Rayleigh, Sanji, and Law like a yellowish-brown tsunami, engulfing them.Rayleigh didn't even lift an eyelid; he just quickly shielded his flask in his arms, and with a casual wave of his other arm, the dust rushing toward him hit an invisible wall and obediently parted to the sides.Sanji was focused on wrapping the last bandage for Law and was caught off guard, getting a mouthful of sand."Pfft—cough, cough!"He jerked his head away, instantly becoming annoyed.As for Law, the moment the dust hit, he instinctively wanted to open his ROOM, but due to his injuries and Sanji's steadying movements, he was half a beat too slow and ended up getting a face full of dust.His already expressionless face darkened further, leaving only his bright eyes flickering with an extremely dangerous and displeased light amidst the dust.The dust slowly settled.A very young, black-haired boy stood in the center of the ring-shaped crater he had created. He pressed down on his straw hat, looked up, and revealed a set of excessively brilliant white teeth, his smile like the sun suddenly appearing over the deserted island.But when he saw the scene before him, his smile stiffened, and he then raised a hand to scratch the back of his head in confusion."Eh? Why is everyone... looking like that?"It was none other than Monkey D. Luffy.A brief silence.Astonishment was still frozen on Rayleigh's slightly raised eyebrows, in the tears Sanji shed from being choked by the dust, and on the corner of Law's mouth twitching beneath his bandages.The next second."Whoosh—!"A black afterimage streaked across the ground, almost brushing against it, kicking up the dust that hadn't yet settled.The afterimage instantly covered the dozen or so meters, appearing precisely in front of Luffy."Snap!"Two hands, like iron pincers, firmly gripped the crumpled red vest collar on Luffy's chest, with such force that it lifted the Captain, who was still standing there scratching his head and grinning foolishly, slightly off the ground.The dust drifted between the two.Sanji slowly looked up.His handsome face, which usually could captivate thousands of ladies, now had eyebrows arched in anger, eyes twitching, yet the corners of his mouth were hooked into an eerie arc.Was it anger at the Captain's lateness?Was it jealousy that the other party might have just returned from a gentle place surrounded by beauties?Or was it simply a physiological distortion after being choked by the dust?—Perhaps a combination of all.He leaned close to Luffy's face, which was full of innocence, his nose almost touching the other's, and spoke in an extremely low voice, enunciating every word with a lingering resentment that even the sea breeze couldn't blow away:"Isn't~ this~ our~ great~ Captain~?""We agreed to start the new round of joint training this morning..."Sanji's tone suddenly rose, carrying a sharp interrogation,"And yet the sun is almost at its peak! Only now has your noble rubber body finally deigned to 'catapult' over from somewhere?"Suddenly, Sanji's cook's nose, tempered through thousands of trials and worthy of being called a "human walking scent analyzer," acutely caught a hint of something unusual.From Luffy's clothes, soaked by the sea breeze and interwoven with the smell of sweat and rubber, a faint, almost imperceptible fragrance drifted over...It was a kind of extremely elegant, slightly cool, yet subtly enticing floral fragrance, as if a rare flower had quietly bloomed under the Moonlight, accidentally brushing against his lapel.Sanji's brows instantly furrowed, and the expression previously twisted by jealousy and annoyance was replaced by a sharper, detective-like scrutiny.He suddenly pulled Luffy closer, his nose almost touching the other's collar, and took a deep breath."Hey, Luffy..."Sanji's voice suddenly dropped, carrying an unquestionable interrogation,"Where did you pick up this scent on you...?!"The effect of this question was immediate!Luffy's eyes, always surprisingly clear, flickered for once, like a screen with a bad signal.Fragments of last night's memories uncontrollably surged up—the hazy Moonlight, the magnificent bedchamber, Hancock's eyes filled with moisture and heat..."O-of course it was in bed!!"Luffy blurted it out, his voice raised due to a momentary panic, even stuttering a bit.He tried to use exaggerated confidence to cover up the fleeting guilty conscience, but his slightly reddened earlobes and shifting eyes had already betrayed him.This reaction actually made Sanji pause.He stared at Luffy for two seconds, his gaze as sharp as a knife, but in the end, Sanji just let out a "Tsk."He released his grip on Luffy's collar and even somewhat disdainfully smoothed out the vest he had crumpled."Forget it, you idiot."Sanji turned around, his tone returning to his usual impatience, yet carrying a hint of helpless trust,"Next training, remember to wake up earlier! Don't waste precious training time on... well, strange things!"He actually believed it.Or rather, he chose to believe in his own perception of the Captain.In the Perverted Cook's worldview, any normal (and abnormal) man stepping into the Island of Women is no different from a starving ghost pouncing on a grand banquet, or a demon seeing Monk Tang's flesh; it is impossible to leave unscathed and return so "innocently."But Luffy?Who is he? He is Monkey D. Luffy! Someone whose brain, aside from meat, adventure, partners, and the Pirate King throne,has a density of other things (especially romantic feelings) that might be thinner than the clouds of Sky Island—a super big idiot!Expecting him to have any romantic thoughts about the "World's Most Beautiful Woman"?Might as well expect Bellamy to suddenly turn over a new leaf; that would be more realistic.'That scent... it's probably incense or flowers unique to the Island of Women. After all, that country is full of women, so it's not strange to have some special fragrance.'Sanji convinced himself this way, attributing that faint fragrance to environmental contamination.He even imagined the comical scene of Luffyrolling around and sleeping on a palace floor covered in flower petals, thus picking up the scent.He completely and thoroughly ignored another possibility, or rather, that possibility didn't even stir a ripple outside the wall of thought he had built based on his perception of Luffy as a "hardcore straight guy."He could never dream that the "Pirate Empress" Boa Hancock, worshipped by the world and possessing a charm that could topple all living beings,upon meeting Luffy, not only failed to maintain her arrogance and aloofness but was actually so proactive—proactive enough to break all common sense and imagination—imprinting that peerless beauty and favor, without question, onto some fool who knew nothing about romance.Law, on the side, silently tied the final knot in his bandage and quietly pushed up his hat brim, deciding to file this trivial (perhaps not so trivial) episode,along with countless other bizarre daily occurrences of the Straw Hat Pirates, into the category of "no need to investigate further."After all, on this great sea, using common sense to infer things happening around Monkey D. Luffy is, in itself, the most foolish behavior.Suddenly, a slightly abrupt sound of flapping wings cut through the monotonous sea breeze and waves."Oh—oh—"Everyone instinctively looked up.Against the backdrop of the blue sky, a small black dot carrying an iconic mailbag was coming from afar, its wings flapping rhythmically, flying toward the deserted island.It was a News Coo, its white feathers somewhat dazzling in the sunlight, with a coin box hanging around its neck, swaying gently as it flew."Oh?"A flash of surprise crossed Rayleigh's eyes, immediately turning into faint interest,"How rare. To actually run into a passing News Coo in such a dilapidated place that might not even be marked on sea charts?"Watching the seagull circle and lower its altitude, seemingly judging whether anyone below needed service, Rayleigh unhurriedly fished a coin from his pocket.The coin flipped between his fingers, reflecting the sunlight, with the denomination "100" clearly engraved on it."Catch, little one."Rayleigh flicked his wrist gently, and the coin traced a precise arc, landing squarely with a crisp "ding" into the small tin "money box" hanging on the seagull's chest.The News Coo seemed accustomed to this precise feeding (payment), and it let out two short, satisfied chirps:"Oh! Oh!"Immediately, it skillfully used its beak to pluck a neatly folded, fresh newspaper still smelling of ink from the mailbag at its side,and with a flap of its wings, the newspaper, as if supported by invisible hands, drifted steadily down toward where Rayleigh was.Rayleigh raised his hand and easily caught the newspaper in his palm.Having completed its task, the seagull didn't linger, immediately turning around and chirping as it flew toward the vast ocean, continuing its newspaper-delivery journey across the wide seas.Rayleigh shook open the newspaper and scanned the front-page headline, wondering what kind of waves the sea had stirred up today.Sanji, Luffy, and even Law, who was tending to his wounds, couldn't help but cast their gazes toward the newspaper in Rayleigh's hand.