The princess's trial had lasted through the entire night. By the ti Ryuji was finally satisfied, Vivi finally understood why being Ryuji's woman was considered equivalent to fighting Crocodile.
Because—
It took more than a dozen hours just to wear him out enough for a break.
"If it weren't for that fire… I might've died, huh?"
Vivi stared at the man who now lay beside her, sleeping with one arm around her. His face showed signs of fatigue, but it was obvious who had suffered more—herself.
That strange fla was painful when it burned against her skin, yet also oddly soothing. It even restored her stamina and healed her injuries.
But she wasn't sure if she should be grateful for that… because every ti the symbol of her purity was torn apart, that sa fla would restore it—forcing her to relive the pain of deflowering again and again.
ntally, however, there was no such fix. And that left her torn between love and hate toward that draconic fire.
It was only because of that fla that she survived the storm that was Ryuji—survived without her heart giving out from the endless waves of pleasure. It had even healed lingering damage on her body.
Looking at him now, asleep from sheer physical exhaustion, Vivi felt a surge of complicated emotions. It was her first ti realizing that sothing could be so painful… so pleasurable… and yet make her feel so safe.
She had to admit—when she lay in his arms, utterly drained and burning with everything she had left, she felt an unprecedented sense of security.
Though whether that feeling was real or just an illusion—she still didn't know.
Carefully, she crawled out of bed, slipped on so of Ryuji's clothes to cover herself, and left the cabin to get so fresh air. But as soon as she stepped onto the deck, she saw the one woman she really didn't want to see—along with several disembodied hands tying ropes along the ship.
She imdiately knew who was behind it.
Nico Robin.
The woman known as the Devil's Child.
The one who had aided Crocodile in plunging her kingdom into chaos.
Robin noticed Vivi's hostile gaze and looked at her with mild surprise. In her understanding, Ryuji wasn't the kind of man who would allow a woman to walk away from bed so easily.
Still, she didn't dwell on it. It wasn't that important.
Instead, she smiled and spoke to the princess.
"No need for the death glare, Your Highness. After all, we'll be taking care of each other from now on. I'm sure you've already felt it—that painful bliss. From now on, we're battle sisters under the sa gun."
Her words were cheeky, even suggestive, but no less true.
The three of them—Robin, Vivi, and Nojiko—didn't even have the combined stamina to match Ryuji's intensity. Even with his fla constantly burning his energy and restoring theirs, it wasn't unusual for just one of them to be overwheld to the point of collapse—sotis even enduring half an hour or more of nonstop ecstasy.
It was a sensation few won in the world would ever experience. Unforgettable, yes. But it wasn't sothing they could handle constantly.
As intoxicating as it was, each encounter left them on the edge of death. Pleasure and pain danced too close together. It was bliss—and burden.
"…Sisters?" Vivi opened her mouth to retort, but the words didn't co out.
She had wanted to mock Robin. But everything Robin said was true.
She really couldn't take Ryuji alone.
Without his healing flas, she would have died.
"What else would we be?" Robin chuckled, clearly seeing through her hesitation.
That was just the truth. When it ca to a man like Ryuji, none of them had enough stamina.
Humans, after all, had limits. Two, maybe three hours at best.
And without Ryuji's magic fla, they'd be spent after just one night.
Because what they were doing took more than just desire—it took physical endurance.
"Fine… but why did you betray Crocodile?" Vivi asked, her voice laced with suspicion. "You know his power better than anyone, right? Are you planning to betray us too when the ti cos?"
She couldn't understand it. The Robin she had seen in Baroque Works was ruthless—betraying allies as casually as breathing.
Maybe not a cold-blooded killer, but certainly rciless.
Why would soone like that turn against Crocodile?
"There are so things a sweet little princess like you will never understand," Robin sighed, not unkindly.
The truth was simple: If the royal family had chosen to kneel before the World Governnt, an Admiral would've been dispatched imdiately. And that alone would have crushed both the rebels and Crocodile.
Even Crocodile would've been forced into a miserable retreat or killed without a trace.
But Vivi's family was too kind.
They refused to exploit their people. Naturally, that ant they lacked the military funds to call the Marines. Add to that the World Governnt's subtle suppression, and the situation in Alabasta had beco inevitable.
Crocodile had simply seized the opportunity.
"…I see."
Vivi tugged at her hair, unsure of how to respond. She still couldn't trust Robin. The woman had a reputation too dark to ignore.
Every ship she had ever sailed with had eventually t its end.
That kind of track record wasn't just bad luck—it was a curse.
"Believe it or not," Robin said softly, "just keep watching. The truth will show itself in ti."
She turned her eyes toward the cabin.
Right on cue, Ryuji erged, yawning as he stepped onto the deck. He glanced at Nami and Nojiko cooking in the galley, took a deep breath, then grabbed a rope Robin had already laid out for him—and, to Vivi's astonishnt, dove headfirst into the sea.
"…What was that?"
"Training," Robin replied with a knowing smile.
"Our man's thirst for power—and won—never stops. So you don't need to worry about Alabasta's future… he doesn't care about things like that. For him, power and status are already part of his being."
Robin knew the truth: Ryuji was not from this world. He wouldn't stay in Alabasta forever.
And truth be told, in a world that had things like Amazon Lily, she'd sooner believe he'd conquer the land of won than settle down in Alabasta.
"…I see."
Vivi watched him swimming, lips tightly pressed together.
Ryuji, anwhile, was completely unaware of what his harem was saying. He was focused only on pushing his body further. As his blood-energy secret art purified his blood, his Life Return ability converted stored nutrients into fresh blood to further amplify his inner strength.
It was dangerous, but thanks to his training, he could now perform this even while moving.
Unfortunately, this ant his appetite had grown exponentially—along with the waste he produced.
"Thank God this is the One Piece world… the food here is nutritious enough. Otherwise, I'd be spending half my life just eating and… everything else."
Munching down on a massive chunk of cartoon-style at, Ryuji's eating style had begun to resemble Luffy's. But that too was a deliberate, almost instinctual shift. He realized that by emptying his mind and focusing solely on the present, just like Luffy, his training efficiency increased drastically.
Was it the world? Or simply the power of absolute focus?
Regardless, during their journey toward Alabasta, his life had boiled down to just four things:
Eat. Train. Sleep with won. Rest.
He thought of nothing else. When tired, he grabbed one (or more) of the won onboard. Nami was still recovering, but the other three were subjected to a daily rotation of hellish bliss.
That constant rhythm had even simplified their minds. Their lives were reduced to survival, sustenance, and sex.
Aside from resupplying food, they did nothing else. They hadn't even encountered pirates—the Grand Line was vast, after all.
Even the Calm Belt's scale was imnse.
But when they finally reached Alabasta, the mbers of Baroque Works had already gathered to intercept them.
And when Ryuji saw those weirdly dressed figures on the harbor, he muttered:
"…We've arrived."
He scratched his head and opened his system interface—his energy points had just surpassed 10000 points.
Not surprising. Each of the won gave him more than a hundred points per encounter, and with his insane stamina, he was firing off five to six "rounds" a day.
But then—
"Hey, you! Yeah, you!"
A man with a sword approached, clearly annoyed.
He was irritated that the higher-ups had called them all together just to fight so no-na guy—not even a pirate.
"We were told to gather here because of you, right?"
Ryuji didn't answer. He just scanned the gathered Baroque Works agents.
So male, so female. Two won were decently attractive. There was a young girl, and the rest were various freaks.
Ryuji wasn't impressed.
Aside from the candle guy, the Supa Supa no Mi fruit user, and that overpowered little girl with the paint bucket, the rest were cannon fodder.
The girl with the paint had co, but the other two hadn't. So everyone else here?
His Observation Haki swept over them multiple tis—and none reacted.
Trash confird.
"Killing kids feels a bit much… and those two won—one with spike powers, the other with weight manipulation… both are classic examples of poor Devil Fruit developnt."
Ryuji looked at the crowd like he was surveying corpses, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"If Spike-Spike Girl blocks a narrow path with spikes, I'd survive, but I'd take damage. And Miss Weighty? She's useless from the top position. But… if I had so Sea-Stone handcuffs…"
If he rembered correctly, Crocodile had a Sea-stone prison or sothing like that.
Ryuji turned toward Robin.
"Hey, Robin, does Crocodile have any Sea-stone handcuffs?"
Robin nodded.
"He does. Cost him a fortune. Why? Planning to take Valentine and Doublefinger as your prisoners? Going to lock them in the basent?"
Robin glanced at her forr colleagues and seed to understand imdiately.
"Well, they are our enemies now… but it all depends on how they choose to act."
Ryuji nodded without bothering to hide anything from her.
Robin chuckled lightly. Most of the people in Baroque Works were self-serving cowards who valued their lives more than loyalty. As long as Ryuji offered money and posed a real threat, they'd throw themselves at his feet—legs wide open.
"Well, they're smart enough. You won't need a basent for them."
"That's Good."
Ryuji rolled his shoulders, preparing to knock out the little girl who used paint as a weapon. Among all present, she was the only one who might pose a genuine threat. But unlike Luffy or Zoro, Ryuji had no intention of treating children gently.
He was fully prepared to throw dust in her eyes—or dump a bag of wriggling caterpillars on her.
Or, more likely, just knock her out cold.
As Ryuji was warming up, the swordsman—who had been shouting at him for a while—finally lost his temper. Though he'd said quite a bit, it was clear Ryuji hadn't listened to a word.
"HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU, BASTARD!"
Only then did Ryuji notice him. He waved sheepishly.
"Ah, sorry, sorry. But I—"
Before he finished speaking, flas burst from around him. With a flick of his wrist, he drew an ordinary sailor's knife.
"—really have no interest in listening to the whining of ugly nobodies."
The air split with a deafening crack. Dragonfire surged to life, compressed and shaped by Ryuji's will, riding a wave of explosive force as it tore through the sky like a blazing teor.
In an instant, the roaring fire swept over everyone—except for the two won and the little girl he had purposely spared.
Everything that had dared to stand in Ryuji's way was severed and incinerated. The loudmouthed Baroque Works mber who had just been shouting? Reduced to a charred, bisected corpse before he even realized what happened.
Birds, freaks, and oddities—all obliterated in a single sweeping strike.
"…Terrifying," Robin murmured, genuinely stunned.
She had known Ryuji was improving rapidly, but seeing him wipe out everyone except his intended targets in one move exceeded even her expectations.
On the scorched and twisted ground, the two surviving won and the little girl sat frozen, eyes wide with terror. Ryuji, however, smiled in satisfaction.
The technique was relatively simple—just a high-speed vacuum slash infused with dragonfire—but the results were spectacular.
The dragonfire granted to him by Alexstrasza was unimaginably powerful… though it ca with steep costs. Every ti he used it, he felt like he'd done an intense anaerobic workout—leaving him breathless and drained.
He was about to step forward and offer terms to the two "mature and reasonable" won, but then sothing caught his eye amid the ashes: a sword, slightly warped at the hilt but with a blade that had only partially lted.
"…It withstood dragonfire?"
Ryuji raised a brow, genuinely surprised.
As he picked it up, one of the two won—the one with large, wavy hair—finally spoke.
"That's a Grade-quality blade: Kashu. One of the Fifty Skillful Grade Swords…"
Ryuji turned to look at her, then at the other woman still sitting frozen on the ground, a dark patch spreading beneath her.
"…I see. No wonder it survived the flas. But don't think that's enough to survive ."
Zala, wielder of the Spike-Spike Fruit, began to sweat profusely. She knew it wasn't going to be that simple.
"N-no… of course not. I'm willing to pay… or trade sothing, anything, for my life."
She gave in quickly. She hadn't even seen his slash clearly. If he unleashed another one, she knew she'd die without being able to react.
Faced with the threat of death, surrender was the only option.
"Then beco my sex slave," Ryuji said matter-of-factly. "I'll give you money for your needs. But if you touch another man—you die. Sound good?"
Zala's eyes widened in shock. She instinctively wanted to bring up the fact that she had backing.
"But… we're part of Baroque Works—"
Before she could finish, Ryuji moved. The cold steel of Kashu rested against her throat in an instant, silencing her.
"There is no more Baroque Works. Got it?"
Ryuji casually grabbed the little girl's hand just before she could brush paint on him. Her hypnosis ability was absurd—just a dab of paint and she could manipulate people based on color. He didn't know if he was immune to it, and didn't want to take the chance.
He turned a sharp glare on her.
The girl imdiately straightened up, nodding obediently.
"Y-yes!"
Zala, still feeling the cold steel near her neck, could only nod as well.
But just as she thought she was safe, Ryuji suddenly raised Kashu and slashed at her back!
"Am I going to die?!"
Her mind went blank with fear—until she heard the clash of tal.
Ryuji frowned, staring at the figure who had blocked his attack—a dark-skinned man with a sharp gaze.
"Even if it's just one of my toys… you're awfully bold to interfere."
The man before him was Daz Bonez, Crocodile's right-hand man.
The Dice-Dice Fruit user.
Ryuji's eyes filled with irritation.
In the next mont, his blade rose again—his Observation Haki painting every weakness in Daz Bonez's body with perfect clarity.
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