Could he really fall asleep at a time like this?
Nami, too tense to sleep at all, secretly opened her eyes a crack, taking small, quiet breaths. She felt her heart was about to leap out of her chest, its pounding even audible to her.
It wasn't like this hadn't happened before. For instance, the time Luffy fell asleep in three seconds and ended up staying in her room, and Nojiko walked in on them. Though they'd explained a lot afterward, it was like a case of "protesting too much"—no amount of explaining could account for why Luffy had bitten her leg.
Before leaving, Nojiko had even gotten a bunch of stuff from the doctor and shoved it into her arms.
She said something about needing to take precautions, that it wouldn't be good to have an "accident" out at sea.
Nami had been confused at first.
What accident? Then Nojiko, devilishly, pointed at her stomach and said kindly that if she got pregnant, she should come back to the East Blue, and Nojiko could help look after the baby and such.
Nojiko would be happy to be the child's godmother.
Now, looking at Merry...
Nami felt her face grow warm again.
No, mustn't let her thoughts wander.
Suddenly, Nami covered her mouth. It was just that Merry had wrapped her little arms around Nami's waist.
I-It's just Merry. It's not Luffy.
But as if her worries summoned it, Luffy, half-asleep, turned over and snuggled closer. His hand, just like Merry's, came to rest on her waist.
Nami's body immediately stiffened. She tilted her head to look at Luffy, his eyes tightly shut, his face so close she could feel his breath. A puff of air seemed to melt all the tension from her body.
Nami sleeping in the middle was a deliberate choice. Given how attached Merry was to Luffy, who knew where they might end up if left to their own devices while sleeping.
Now she'd become the filling in a sandwich.
Talk about being stuck in the middle.
"Did Luffy have a nightmare?"
For a moment, Nami didn't know where to put her hands. As she wrestled with herself, she noticed Luffy's tightly shut eyes and furrowed brow. It was rare to see him with such an expression. Before she knew it, she had pulled his head against her chest.
Have I lost my mind?
Nami suspected Luffy was controlling her somehow. Otherwise, why would she do such a thing?
But she argued too. Seeing Luffy like that, a surge of maternal instinct had simply been unstoppable.
"Anyway, he won't know. And when I wake up, he'll probably already be up training."
What I don't see, I don't know!
Besides, everyone does unconscious things in their sleep. Luffy had bitten her thigh once, hadn't he? Nami had even wanted to take a photo to record it as evidence that Luffy had a leg fetish.
"If it happened in a dream, that wasn't the real me. If you have a problem, go find the dream version of me!"
Nami felt somewhat comforted, having found a decent excuse.
And it was time to make some progress.
It was rare to have a stretch without Uta around. Who knew if another "-ta" would pop up? Better to avoid complications.
"Uta won't catch up to me that easily, anyway."
...
[Devil Fruit Development: 2/10. Current development status detected. Initiating Devil Fruit Development Scenario Playback. Time can be counted towards scheduled compensation.]
Why did he still look so troubled, frowning even in his sleep?
Seeing those words made Luffy want to curse, and with some very foul language.
Devil Fruit Development Scenario Playback—simply put, Luffy was lacking some necessary conditions for his Devil Fruit development.
Often, it's very hard to imagine things you've never seen.
It's like trying to build a car behind closed doors.
At times like this, the [Pirate King Training Plan] was remarkably considerate. Haven't you seen it? Fine, I'll show you everything.
Moreover, it is considered that pure imagination didn't carry much weight in Devil Fruit development—less than fifty percent, after all. Theory must follow practice.
And so, Luffy saw the scene before him.
He knew he was dreaming.
But the passage of time and sensory input were real. All sorts of animals glared at him, baring their teeth with ferocious expressions.
The ten-meter-long unknown fish he'd one-punched earlier wouldn't even rank here.
What a bastard.
Luffy cursed under his breath. Their exchanges were like a game of "you have your strategies, I have my countermeasures."
But the Pirate King Training Plan was the type that flips the table.
The total time Luffy had scraped together was less than an hour. The time he'd have to repay in here was at least a full day!
"Damn it, who taught you math? Can you calculate it that way?"
His mouth protested, but his body was honest.
This thing was like a perfected version of Gramps.
Even though it trained him to the brink of death, its intentions were good.
Luffy could feel himself growing stronger.
Both Kenbunshoku Haki and Busoshoku Haki were incredibly practical. It's just that he hadn't encountered an opponent who used them yet.
That smoke-man, Smoker, had said that kind of power seemed to be something only the strong in the Grand Line wielded.
Right now, both his Kenbunshoku and Busoshoku Haki were only at Lv 1. There was still a lot of room for improvement.
Well then, let's do this.
Luffy stared at the group of behemoths before him.
The scene was a vast forest. Snakes thicker than the ship coiled around gigantic trees, tongues flicking.
Lions with blood-red eyes roared, faces bearing scars that symbolized the glory of battle.
Apes pounding their chests, baring their fangs.
...
What a sumptuous feast.
"You know, in a dream, the taste of food shouldn't change, right?"
Luffy murmured to himself.
His throat moved. Setting other thoughts aside, the group of giants before him looked like an all-you-can-eat buffet.
And having learned a bit of cooking from Sanji, he also knew that animals like these, with their solid muscles, would have incredibly chewy and elastic meat.
Gulp...
His throat betrayed him with a swallow.
"Might as well give it a try..."
With a goal came motivation. So Luffy moved. But something moved faster.
Despite its enormous size, the giant snake moved with abnormal speed, swiftly reaching Luffy in a sinuous path.
"So fast."
The image from moments before surfaced in Luffy's mind. With his perfect recall, he could replay and analyze it.
But he knew from experience that dying in a dream was still really dying. The pain was real. So Gear Second activated instantly. He jumped onto the giant snake's head.
"Gomu Gomu no... Giant Pistol!"
One punch, with just the right amount of force.
Enough to knock it out without damaging the goods.
He didn't know how much time had passed. In the end, Luffy was the only one standing. A group of giants lay around like corpses.
"Snake meat is great. Too bad there's no seasoning, but it should be tasty enough roasted..."
He had meat. He had wood for the fire. The only thing missing was the fire itself. After deep contemplation, Luffy invented a move: the Gomu Gomu no... Hiken Pistol.
Truly, a man must help himself.
Just as the meat was on the makeshift grill and Luffy was feeling grateful that the [Pirate King Training Plan] had a shred of humanity, he heard a tremendous noise in the distance.
The monsters that were about to become his meal were back, fully restored.
Luffy turned to look. The grill was now roasting nothing but air.
Suddenly, he smiled a bitter, accepting smile.
***
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