"You... you an... for to... personally... apply sunscreen... on your back?"
Sanji's voice trembled.
"Otherwise?"
Nami glanced back at him, "Is there anyone else here?"
"N-no! Absolutely not!"
Sanji took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
He gently set down the tray, then walked to the beach chair and knelt on one knee, extending a trembling hand with the most reverent posture.
His fingertips touched the skin of Nami's back.
Smooth, warm, like fine silk.
Sanji's fingers trembled even more violently.
He carefully untied the bikini strap behind Nami's neck.
This motion nearly made him faint.
Then, he picked up the sunscreen bottle, poured so into his palm, and ward it by rubbing his hands together.
"I... I'm starting, Miss Nami..."
"Mhm"
Nami responded lazily with her eyes closed.
Sanji's palm gently pressed against Nami's back.
In that instant, he felt as if his soul was about to leave his body.
Nothing in the world mattered more than this.
Training? Haki? Getting stronger?
Those could all wait.
Right now, he just wanted ti to stand still forever.
...
anwhile, on the other side of the beach.
A battle was underway.
"Gomu Gomu no..."
Lufia stretched both arms backward to their limit, like two elongated springs.
"Gatling!"
"Bam bam bam bam bam bam—!!!"
Countless fists rained down on Zoro like a storm.
Each punch was coated with faint Armant Haki.
This qualitatively transford the power of her fists.
The elasticity of rubber, combined with the hardness of Haki, allowed nearly all the force to be transmitted to the target without loss.
Moreover, once the Gomu Gomu no Gatling was unleashed, it beca a continuous assault of hundreds of punches.
At Lufia's current level, a full Gatling barrage could pound a warship into fragnts.
Such fists...
And there was more than one person wanting to be on the receiving end.
If Sanji hadn't been called away by Nami, he would definitely be the one standing here as the sparring partner.
As for Ralph, he could only watch from the sidelines.
Didn't he want to be Lufia's training partner?
Of course he did.
When Lufia's fists landed on Sanji and Zoro, it was called training, called torture.
But when they landed on Ralph...
With Ralph's current mastery of Armant Haki and physical condition, Lufia's punches would at most feel like "gentle taps on the chest."
Extrely enjoyable.
But he couldn't deny Zoro the opportunity.
Because the "training plan" Ralph had arranged for Zoro... actually hadn't been thought through at all.
Zoro's growth path was too clear.
Comprehending the breath of all things to achieve the realm of iron-cutting—that was what his teacher Koushirou had taught him.
Swinging his sword to unleash flying slashes—he'd seen Hawk Eye use them, and probably Koushirou demonstrate them too.
Learning Haki, then wrapping it around his blades—this didn't even need teaching, it was the most basic application.
What could Ralph possibly teach him?
On the contrary, Zoro had always wanted to "teach" Ralph.
If Ralph didn't let Zoro fight Lufia, he'd have to personally spar with Zoro instead.
And Zoro would definitely insist they must use swords.
Ralph's actual swordsmanship skills only reached "interdiate" level.
Probably comparable to Zoro's current ability.
And his self-created sword techniques were limited to just two moves.
Mirage, and that single iaido draw.
Moreover, they were all one-hit-kill techniques, unsuitable for sparring.
Want to use a new move?
Creating original sword techniques relied on inspiration.
It wasn't sothing you could just summon at will.
Besides, Ralph's motto was "good enough is enough"—he wasn't so sword-obsessed fanatic.
So, until he figured out a way to deal with Zoro...
He'd just have to avoid him for now.
"One day at a ti," Ralph comforted himself inwardly.
But clearly, he was being too optimistic.
"Hey, Ralph!"
Zoro's voice suddenly rang out.
Ralph snapped back to attention and saw that Zoro and Lufia had sohow already stopped their sparring.
The two stood not far away, staring at him.
Their eyes held a certain mischievous glint.
"Just watching from the sidelines is no fun," Zoro grinned, revealing a friendly smile.
"Co join in and get moving too."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Lufia nodded excitedly.
"Ralph, show us what you can do now!"
As soon as the words fell, both of them moved simultaneously.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
"Three Sword Style: Oni Giri!"
A fist and swords attacked Ralph from two different directions.
Their speed was astonishing.
And the angles were tricky, blocking Ralph's left and right escape routes.
One in front, one behind; one left, one right.
A perfect "pincer attack."
Ralph didn't even have ti to create distance.
He wanted to use Geppo to jump upward, but—
"Gomu Gomu no Snake Shot!"
Lufia's arm suddenly stretched out like a python, wrapping around Ralph's ankle.
"Trying to run?"
Zoro's blade was already slashing toward him.
"Not that easy!"
Forced to raise his hand, Ralph covered his palm with Armant Haki.
"Clang!"
He blocked Zoro's blade head-on with his palm.
But Lufia's fist was already crashing in from the side.
Ralph could only twist his body, blocking with his other arm.
"Thud!"
The fist struck his arm with a dull thump.
The two of them attacked relentlessly, front and back, left and right.
Ralph was completely entangled.
Want to use Geppo to jump upward?
Lufia would stretch her arm and pull him down.
Want to use Soru to create distance?
Zoro's blades would imdiately block his retreat.
Want to counterattack?
Lufia also had Armant Haki, and Zoro's sword defense was no slouch either.
They were forcing him to use a new offensive move.
"Alright..."
Ralph took a deep breath, wrapped one leg in Armant Haki, twisted his waist, and swung his leg into a spinning kick.
His right leg traced a perfect arc with the montum of the spin.
Pitch-black, tallic, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
If he could create blade-like slashes with his hands, then his feet could do the sa!
And the power of a leg was three to five tis that of an arm—the resulting slash would be extraordinary!
"This is—"
Zoro's pupils abruptly contracted.
Before Ralph's kick reached them—
The air was sliced apart.
A visible, pale blue crescent-shaped "slash" flew from Ralph's foot.
"Whoosh—!!!"
The slash cut through the air at incredible speed.
Zoro and Lufia reacted almost simultaneously.
Zoro crossed his three swords in front of his chest.
Lufia crossed her arms, also covered in Armant Haki.
"Screech—!!!"
The slash collided with their defenses.
A trendous force pushed them backwards, sliding across the sand.
Two deep furrows were plowed into the beach.
They only ca to a stop after sliding over ten ters.
Both looked up at Ralph.
Their eyes were filled with shock.
"You..." Zoro's voice was sowhat hoarse, "You bastard... you actually used your leg... to create a flying slash?"
Ralph retracted his leg, the Armant Haki fading away.
"It's not that unusual."
Ralph said, "Among the experts within the World Governnt, this move is called 'Rankyaku'—one of the Six Powers. The principle is to generate a vacuum slash through high-speed kicking."
[Ding!]
[System prompt: Host has successfully comprehended the Six Powers technique "Rankyaku (Beginner)" through proficient "Soru" and "Geppo" skills, combined with understanding of slashing techniques from "Interdiate Swordsmanship"]
[Rankyaku (Beginner): Generates vacuum slashes through high-speed kicking, capable of long-range attacks.]
"..."
Lufia's eyes instantly shone like stars, "So cool! Ralph! I want to learn! Teach !"
She ran over, grabbed Ralph's arm, and shook it vigorously.
Seeing her excited expression, a doting smile appeared on Ralph's face.
"If you want to learn, of course I'll teach you."
"Yay!"
Lufia cheered.
Zoro stood not far away, watching the two being all lovey-dovey, the corner of his mouth twitching.
He really couldn't stand this atmosphere.
"..."
Zoro sheathed his swords and turned to walk toward the Going rry, "I need so ti alone."
He needed to calm down.
To carefully think about the principles behind Ralph's "Rankyaku" technique.
If he could comprehend the secrets of "flying slashes" from this...
But just then
"Everyone—"
Nami's voice suddenly rang out.
Her voice carried tension.
Everyone turned to look.
They saw Nami had already stood up from the beach chair.
It was clear the situation was truly urgent—she hadn't even had ti to put on her bikini properly, barely covering her chest with her hands, but her expression was unusually serious.
She pointed toward the distant sea.
"Look over there."
Ralph, Lufia, and Zoro all followed the direction she was pointing.
Only Sanji kept his eyes fixed on Nami—the sea had no waves, but here they were.
It wasn't until Nami slapped him that he finally looked in the sa direction as everyone else.
On the sea.
Several large ships had appeared without anyone noticing.
They were pirate ships.
Each ship's sail was printed with playing card suits.
Spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds.
"That's the fleet of the 'Trump Pirates.'"
Nami's voice reached everyone's ears,
"Everyone be careful."
"They don't co with good intentions."
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