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The sky was clear, and a gentle breeze brushed across the waves. Today marked the second day since Satori and the others had departed from Cactus Island.
On the Dream Chaser, everyone except Sanji, who was focused at the helm, had gathered on the deck to curiously observe Satori's peculiar training.
"One hundred, twenty-four!" "One hundred, twenty-five!" "One hundred, twenty-six!"
Satori was performing handstand push-ups. Even without his usual 60 kg weighted turtle shell, he was struggling immensely. His face was flushed crimson, and his arms trembled with every movement as if he were lifting the ship itself.
Had he become weaker? No. It was because his weakness was being exploited.
Beside him, Nami-san was firmly holding his tail. This kept his body in a state of extreme lethality-drained weakness, yet not entirely paralyzed, forcing him to train his muscles under the most grueling conditions imaginable.
"Ga?" Carue turned his head to look at Vivi, as if asking a question.
"You're asking how long it will take him to overcome this?" Vivi shook her head, understanding the giant duck's query. "I don't know. I've never seen a human with a tail, let alone one that loses his strength when it's grabbed. Satori is a special case."
"Ga!" Carue nodded thoughtfully. Then, he raised a wing with determination. "Ga!!" (Come on, Satori! You can do it!)
Satori finished another agonizing repetition, gasping for air. He managed a weak grin at the duck. "Tha-thank you... I'm definitely... going to overcome this!"
When the count finally reached five hundred, Satori's strength gave out completely. His arms buckled, and his head thudded against the deck. He stuck out his tongue, panting heavily. "No more... I'm empty..."
Nami-san quickly let go of the tail. "Are you alright, Satori?"
The moment his tail was freed, Satori's eyes snapped open with a brilliant light. He pushed off the ground, easily springing to his feet and performing a series of rapid somersaults before landing steadily.
"My strength is back!"
The power that had vanished seemed to awaken from deep within his marrow, flowing through his limbs with a fierce heat. Satori clenched his fists, a look of surprise crossing his face. "Huh? I think... I actually feel a little bit stronger than before?"
He put on his weighted turtle shell and ran a lightning-fast lap around the deck. He tilted his head. "It's true! Moving feels a little easier now!"
He didn't want to waste a second of this progress. He rushed back to Nami. "Nami-san! Let's go again! Grab it!"
Nami, who had just reached for her water bottle to relax, stiffened. Again? She was crying inwardly. Do you have any idea how hard it is to stand perfectly still holding a tail for an hour?! I'm the one being trained here!
The Calm Before the Storm
Half a day later, Satori finally released Nami from her "duty." He grinned, holding his head. "That's enough tail training for today. I'm going for a swim!"
Nami collapsed onto the deck like a salted fish, her fingers stiff and uncooperative. "It's over... it's finally over..." she whimpered. She watched as Satori tied a much longer, reinforced rope around his waist and secured it to the bow.
Splash!!
He plunged into the sea, dragging against the ship's momentum. Carue and Vivi rushed to the side, horrified. They had never seen anyone swim in the Grand Line, a place where the weather changed as easily as a person's mood.
"Relax, you two," Nami said from the floor, waving a hand dismissively. "He does this all the time." She had grown so used to Satori's insanity that she had achieved a sort of transcendent calm.
An hour passed. The sun was warm, and Vivi and Carue eventually gave up watching the water to play cards with Nami on the deck.
"Yo-hoo! I won again!" Nami cheered, sweeping up the imaginary pot.
"Lost again..." Vivi gritted her teeth. "Carue, we have to win at least once!"
"Ga!!"
Just then, the sky turned a bruised purple. The wind began to howl, and heavy rain lashed the deck without warning.
"Nami-san! Storm incoming!" Sanji shouted from the helm.
"I see it! Vivi, Carue, furl the sails!" Nami barked, her "salted fish" persona vanishing instantly.
The Dream Chaser tossed and turned on the surging waves. Carue frantically scooped water off the deck with a bucket while Sanji wrestled the rudder. After a harrowing twenty minutes, the storm vanished as quickly as it had arrived, leaving the crew exhausted and drenched.
Nami, Vivi, and Carue lay on the deck, letting the returning sunlight dry their clothes.
Suddenly, Carue's eyes widened. "Ga?" (Isn't someone missing?)
"What are you talking about? We're all here," Vivi said weakly.
"Ga?" (There should be four of us, right?)
Vivi's smile froze. She and Nami looked at each other, and pure shock filled their eyes.
"Satori?! Where's Satori?!!!"
They scrambled to the bow and looked down. Their faces turned deathly pale. The rope that should have been tied to Satori was trailing in the water—its end was frayed and empty. Satori was gone.