Was this woman a pirate from the Grand Line?
In Luffy's mind, pirates from here should be at least stronger than someone like Buggy the Clown or that Krieg guy, even if they weren't as powerful as Shanks.
"You seem really weak. Are you really going all out?"
That one sentence instantly made Vivi see red. She raised her Peacock Slashers.
"Looking down on me, are you?"
"You're just a Devil Fruit user. Your arms can stretch, right? The Gum-Gum Fruit? That means you must be afraid of sharp things."
Vivi's outstanding ability as a princess lay in her broad knowledge. She wasn't omniscient, but her scope of learning was quite extensive. Don't be fooled by her operating as a combat agent now; she had initially infiltrated Baroque Works as a clerical worker.
In the royal treasury of the Nefertari family, she had read a Devil Fruit encyclopedia and knew about all the recorded Fruits.
Though a few pages at the end were missing, one recorded a fruit that gave the user a rubber body. While the name and classification were missing, what else could it be besides the Gomu Gomu no Mi?
Impossible.
If it were rubber, then it would have been countered by her weapons!
"Peacock Spread!"
"Peacock Linked Rings!"
"Peacock Linked Rings: Counterflow!"
A flurry of sweeping attacks came at him. A red glint flashed in Luffy's pupils. His head swayed slightly left and right. "So slow."
"How...?" Vivi gritted her teeth.
Knowing your opponent's weakness and being able to defeat them were two different things.
Clearly, there was a significant gap in their strength.
When you're sufficiently weak, in the eyes of the strong, all your snarling just looks like cute posturing.
Just like right now.
"You're out of moves? Then it's my turn." Luffy grinned.
"Wait!"
Seeing Luffy getting closer, a flicker of panic crossed Vivi's face. She saw the Baroque Works agents lying unconscious. "Let's make a deal!"
"A deal? I've seen pirates talk about honor, but I've never heard of them making deals," Luffy said.
"If you won't talk, then just lie down!"
Vivi was furious, thinking how someone could be so stubborn and unreasonable.
"Charm Mema'i Dance!"
Seeing Luffy staring at her, she swayed her body, attempting to hypnotize him.
A strange ripple seemed to pass through the air.
Watching Vivi's passionate dance not far away, a peculiar expression crossed Luffy's face.
In the past, he might not have felt anything about Vivi's seductive posing. But now he suddenly understood why pirate crews had musicians and sometimes dancers.
But other than that?
It was just nice to look at. The next second, Luffy vanished.
"No effect?!" Vivi's pupils contracted.
But it was too late. Luffy closed the distance instantly. Then his arm, like a snake, coiled around Vivi's body. Last night's King Cobra wasn't just about charging; using its body's advantage to coil around the opponent and apply a constricting squeeze was also a powerful move.
[Gomu Gomu no... Snake Constrictor]
Vivi's body was bound tightly as if by a rope. The 'rope' slipped over her neck, forming knots successively at her collarbone, between her breasts, at her sternum, and at her pubic bone.
It passed under her hips, secured at the corresponding position on her back, looped under her armpits back to her chest to form a diamond pattern, and finally tightened at her waist to complete the restraint.
Luffy had even invented a nice name for this tying method.
Serpentine Armor Bind.
As a secret agent, Vivi naturally knew this binding technique. She'd even used it on some women herself. She just never expected the boomerang to come back and hit her one day.
And unlike a cold, lifeless rope, the warm, living sensation of what was binding her made her body go soft instantly.
"Let me go!"
"Be quiet. You're a prisoner now," Luffy said dismissively.
"What do you want?!" A bad premonition rose in Vivi's heart.
"I just want to run an experiment. Don't worry, you won't die." As he spoke, Luffy used his hand to pull Vivi's body closer to him.
"I'll never forgive you!" Vivi shouted.
Luffy tuned her out automatically. It seemed like this had no effect at all.
Seeing Vivi still struggling and yelling, Luffy gave a swat. He had to control the force carefully. His strength was enough to shatter rock, but making it painless was impossible—wouldn't that just be a caress then?
"Ahhh!!!"
Tears threatened to spill from Vivi's eyes. Her ominous premonition had come true.
[Nika Affinity 1.9%]
It works.
Luffy's eyes lit up.
The harder something was to obtain, the more precious it seemed. This Nika thing had taken so much time without even a peep. He was growing impatient to get it.
"You bastard! Pervert, shameless, disgusting..." Vivi turned her head back, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, a pitiful sight, but her voice was fierce.
"What are you talking about? We're enemies," Luffy said without hesitation, going for a second round.
Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.
He often acted based on his own whims, unbound by constraints.
When encountering Marines or pirates, he'd throw a punch in a fight. Whether they lived or died depended on how tough they were.
Going all out was the best respect you could give an opponent.
[Nika Affinity 2.8%]
[Nika Affinity 3.7%]
[Nika Affinity 4.6%]
...
Visibly, the rate of affinity increase was slowing down.
Was it because too many repetitions made the sensitive period enter a numb period?
It's over...
Vivi felt she had lost control of her body. When had she ever suffered such humiliation?!
And who knew what even more outrageous things this perverted straw-hat kid would do next?
He was a pirate!
She gritted her teeth, then her expression turned resolute.
"I won't let you succeed!"
Luffy's expression changed. He hadn't expected Vivi to try and bite her own tongue. Fortunately, his Kenbunshoku Haki perception was fast enough. But he couldn't think of a better way to stop her in that instant, so he shoved his hand into her mouth.
"Hey, are you crazy?"
"Mmph!! Mmmph!!" Vivi glared fiercely at Luffy, her cheeks puffed out. If I can't bite my tongue, I'll bite your hand!
"I told you, it's just an experiment. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Before he finished speaking, Luffy sucked in a sharp breath, reminded of some unpleasant memories.
Why do these women all like biting so much? Are they part dog?
Seeing Luffy's reaction, Vivi felt slightly avenged. However, the next second, the hand in her mouth turned hard as stone, nearly cracking her teeth.
Busoshoku Haki!
But Vivi's display of defiance, of preferring death to surrender, actually earned a bit of Luffy's admiration.
His own personality was stubborn as an ox, single-minded to a fault.
At first glance, Vivi wasn't just similar; she was practically the same.
Luffy glanced at the remaining time for Nakama Day. It was almost up.
And so, Vivi heard a sentence that made her question her own reality.
"Hey, do you want to be my nakama?"
***
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