Kuro didn't answer Sandy. He just stared at him with a grim expression. From the moment that sword cleaved the cliff, Kuro knew—he didn't stand a chance.
Off to the side, Luffy complained, "Sandy! He's my opponent—don't butt in!"
Sandy shrugged. "Alright, alright. I won't interfere."
Then he turned toward Kuro with a grin. "Captain Kuro, good luck! I'm rooting for you—go on and chop that rubber bastard to death!"
"Nani?!" everyone gasped.
"Hahaha!" Luffy burst out laughing. "How could I possibly die here? I'm the man who's going to become the Pirate King!"
Sandy smirked. "What's so great about the Pirate King? I'm going to become the Sea King!"
"Sea King? What kind of king is that? Never heard of it!"
"Judging by his strength, he might actually pull it off..."
"Hey, hey, is now really the time to talk about that?! Is he seriously not gonna help?"
The surrounding pirates whispered nervously, but Sandy ignored them.
He was in too good a mood—after all, the [pheromone system] had just rewarded him with beginner Observation Haki and beginner Armament Haki!
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Nami on the Pirate ship.
In an instant, he flashed beside her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and said, "Nami, your shoulder, okay? How could you be so careless? Does it hurt?"
Nami glared at him. "Let go of me!"
Sandy chuckled awkwardly. "Couldn't help it, couldn't help it—haha!"
Nami smirked. "Fine. Ten thousand Belly per touch. You owe me ninety thousand."
Sandy's jaw dropped. "You're so cruel! How can you charge for that?!"
Nami crossed her arms. "Who told you to take advantage of me?"
Sandy leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Then… how much for one night?"
Smack!
Nami's face flushed bright red as she slapped him. "You—you—you!"
Sandy sighed dramatically. "You were the one who made it sound that way, alright?"
Before she could retort, the sounds of battle erupted again from the shore.
"Ahhhh!"
"Stop, Captain Kuro!"
"We're all gonna die! Someone call that guy from earlier—he's the only one who can stop the captain!"
Nami frowned in worry. "Is Luffy okay? No one's even near them, so why are they getting hurt? What's going on?"
Sandy explained, "Those wounds are from Kuro. He's moving so fast it's impossible to follow with the naked eye."
Nami shoved him. "Then why aren't you helping?! Aren't you his crewmate? What if Luffy dies?"
Sandy pulled her gently back into his arms and said seriously, "It's just a small fight. Why panic? If Luffy says he can handle it, then he can. You have to trust your comrades. Without trust, we won't make it far, got it?"
Nami blinked. Then it hit her—this jerk was taking advantage of her again!
Before she could yell, Sandy continued casually, "By the way, why are you working so hard for money? Don't tell me your family's in debt, or someone's sick, or—"
Thud!
Nami flicked his forehead hard. "Enough with your stupid 'Jokes'!"
They bickered for a bit longer before the battle on the coast finally ended.
Sandy grinned and wrapped his arm around Nami's waist again. "See? I told you Luffy could do it."
"Space Field!"
In a blink, they teleported beside Luffy.
Nami frowned. "Still holding me? You really don't miss a chance, do you?"
Sandy reluctantly released her and knelt beside Luffy—who was lying flat on the ground, exhausted.
"Armament Haki—Hardening."
He lightly tapped Luffy.
"Ahhh! What the hell, Sandy?! That hurt!"
Nami blinked in confusion. "Wait, how can it hurt? Aren't you made of rubber?"
Luffy froze, realization dawning. "Sandy! You—you can use Haki now?!"
Sandy tilted his head, gazing dramatically at the sky. "Yeah… what can I say? Genius is just genius. I woke up one morning and—bam!—three colors of Haki. I can't help being this talented."
Luffy pouted. "So what? I'll master Haki too! I'm the man who'll become the Pirate King!"
Nami frowned. "Hold on, what's this 'Haki' you're talking about?"
Sandy waved it off. "I'll explain later. Let's find Zoro and the others first."
After resting a bit, the three of them headed off to regroup.
Meanwhile, Sandy quietly opened his [pheromone system] page.
Host: Sandy
Strength: 2000 (1700 + 300)
Agility: 180 (160 + 20)
Stamina: 3800 (3200 + 600)
Conqueror's Haki: Lv2 — Deters opponents, can be released freely; knocks out those with weak will.
Armament Haki: Lv1
Observation Haki: Lv1
Pheromone Coins: 10,000.1 (9300.1 + 1700)
Space Backpack: Sword — High Wind
[System Reminder: Please continue to work hard and be Pheromone to the sky!]
Sandy blinked in surprise. Those Haki rewards had come from that single mountain-splitting slash earlier? Not bad!
He scrolled further. "Hmm, over ten thousand Pheromone Coins now... Let's see if there are any realistic Nami sex doll."
After all, life on the Grand Line was long and lonely—and he was a young man full of energy!
A few moments later, he frowned. "Tch. [Pheromone system], what kind of useless thing are you? Not even one Nami sex doll? And you call yourself a Pheromone system? Pathetic."
[pheromone system: "..."]