"Got one!"
The calm surface of the sea suddenly burst into white spray. Mischievous splashes of water sprayed into the air, scattering into thousands of droplets. Under the dazzling sunlight, they shimmered like fish scales blanketing the ocean, leaping around like playful children.
A large dark shape slowly emerged from beneath the surface.
The shadow thrashed wildly, sending even bigger waves crashing outward.
Luffy gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands, grinning from ear to ear.
The rod bent into a perfect arc, creating a bridge of tension between two battling forces.
The dark shape was clearly losing the struggle.
No matter how fiercely it fought, it couldn't resist being pulled closer and closer to the surface.
"You're it! Today's lunch!" Luffy shouted, placing one foot on the ship's railing and yanking upward with all his strength. His flexible body snapped back like a whip.
SPLASH!
A massive figure burst from the water, momentarily blocking out the sun. It flew right over Luffy's head and crashed onto the deck, flailing wildly and spraying water everywhere.
Off to the side, Robin, lounging on a deck chair, casually waved her hand. Instantly, several pale arms sprouted from the deck, linking together and pinning the struggling sea creature in place, leaving it no room to move.
[Ding! Congratulations. Your companion has slain a small Sea King. You've earned 856 EXP.]
Under the blazing sun, the sea creature soon stopped struggling. Its life drained away, leaving behind only fresh ingredients for the next meal.
"Robin... I'm hungry." Luffy collapsed on top of the Sea King's carcass, giving her a pitiful look as if to say, "If you don't cook now, I'll eat it raw."
Robin closed her book with a sigh and smiled. "Alright, alright. I'll go."
She waved her hand again, and two rows of arms appeared to carry the Sea King into the kitchen as she walked in.
The ship sailed calmly across the sea.
Luffy plopped down onto the sun chair Robin had just vacated.
"This is life," he muttered, waiting for lunch to be served.
Just as Luffy was about to doze off...
"LUFFY~!"
Robin's voice rang out from the cabin. He bolted upright and rushed inside.
"What happened?! Robin?!"
Inside the kitchen, Robin was wearing a cute apron embroidered with cartoon patterns. Her curvy figure filled it out perfectly, stirring all kinds of thoughts, though that impression was quickly ruined by the blood-stained kitchen knife in her hand.
"What's going on?" Luffy asked as he stepped closer. Robin pointed toward the Sea King's dissected body.
Luffy followed her gaze.
Inside the creature's belly was a weathered wooden barrel. Alongside it were a broken stick and a strange strip of cloth with large characters that read: "Sacred Offering to the Sea God."
For some reason, the sight of the barrel stirred a familiar feeling in Luffy, though he couldn't quite place where he had seen it before.
They hauled the barrel out and gathered around it curiously.
Luffy walked in a circle around the barrel, trying to recall something.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Robin, have you heard of a terrifying legend on these seas?"
"Hmm?" Robin responded softly, intrigued, encouraging Luffy to continue.
"They say there's a sea so cursed that anything entering it disappears without a trace… The Enchanted Triangle Zone."
A gleam of excitement lit Luffy's eyes, like a child discovering something thrilling.
Robin's smile faded slightly. "I've heard of that place. Thousands of ships have vanished in that area… none ever returned."
Luffy shook his head. "Not that sea. I mean this one!"
"What?!" Robin's face darkened immediately. In all the tales she had read, no one had ever made it back from the Enchanted Triangle.
Luffy patted the barrel lid. "Well, not exactly. But I think we're close. Let's sail around a bit more. If the legend is real, the zone should be nearby."
Robin looked worried and was about to speak, but then paused. With a soft smile, she said, "Aye aye, Captain."
"Mmm," Luffy nodded. Then, abruptly: "I'm hungry again, Robin."
After lunch, Luffy and Robin took turns navigating, steering the ship in slow circles around the area.
Luffy brought the barrel up on deck and yanked the lid open with a forceful motion.
"TWEET, BOOM!"
Something shot into the air like a firework and exploded with a loud bang.
The sky was instantly dyed red. The blinding flare outshone the sun, washing everything below in crimson light.
Half a minute later, the red slowly faded, and the sky returned to its normal hue. The sea was calm, as if nothing had happened.
"A signal flare?" Robin guessed, her keen intellect quick to connect the dots.
"Exactly. And I bet whoever dropped this barrel isn't a friendly type. We've been marked," Luffy said with a grin.
Then he turned to Robin's slender arms and added, "Speaking of which, Robin, you should probably start training more."
"Huh?" Robin was still thinking about the flare when Luffy's comment caught her off guard. But these days, she took everything he said seriously. She looked him in the eye, clearly waiting for more.
"It might be a little early for you," Luffy said, lifting his arm, "but it's good to start learning."
"You've probably noticed in my fights that I sometimes turn parts of my body black and hardened," he continued. To demonstrate, he wrapped his entire arm in Haki.
"This is Armament Haki. Every powerful fighter in the New World uses it. It boosts your defense, increases your power, and lets you hit Logia users."
Robin gently touched his arm, tracing along its hardened surface. For some reason, Luffy felt like he was being taken advantage of.
Seeing his awkward expression, Robin chuckled. "Hehe, I know. You taught that to Godea the other day, I overheard everything."
"Uhh…" Luffy's face twitched. "What about Observation and Conqueror's Haki?"
"I know those too~" she said with a sweet, playful smile that made her look like a love-struck teenager who had just pulled off a prank, fitting, because that's exactly what she was.
"…Fine." Luffy had hoped to enjoy playing teacher a bit more, but apparently Robin had been eavesdropping. Wait a minute… if she was spying on him, then what about when he was taking a bath?!
"Oh no. Damn it!"
Luffy's face shifted like the unpredictable weather of the Grand Line.
Noticing she might've said too much, Robin quickly changed the subject. "Luffy~ Luffy~ Have you noticed? The fog around us… it's getting thicker."
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