Ben transformed into his hybrid form and flew back to the Miss Love Duck. He arrived on the Miss Love Duck. At that moment, Alvida, Vivi, Marianne, Zala, Saphir, Conis and Raki entered the deck of the Miss Love Duck. Raki blushed. She looked down.
She approached Ben. She looked him in the eye. "You are something for sure," Raki said. She pouted and walked away. She looked at the altar and looked surprised. Raki thought this was the place where they would bring the people to execute. She saw a ship there. It had the figurehead of the ship was a sheep. It had a hole in the hull.
"What did you girls talk about?" Ben inquired, his curiosity piqued as he turned to the group of women.
"It was just girl talk," Zala responded quickly, a mischievous twinkle in her eye hinting at the secrets shared among them.
"Secrets," Marianne interjected with a playful smile, her expression suggesting there was more to their conversation than met the eye.
"My love, we discussed everything from our adventure,harem rules and more," Alvida divulged with a grin, her tone light and teasing.
"That's probably enough detail for now," Vivi chimed in. She blushed a bit.
"Yes, enough," Conis added.
"I would love to hear it again," Saphir said as she winked at Ben.
Ben thought it was best not to get too involved.
"Luffy and everyone is on the coast over there," Ben pointed out. He added, "Usopp and Chopper were attacked and Kaya is helping them. It's getting dark, we plan on staying here and giving a de-brief."
"Challenging the priest will lead to injuries for sure or death," Raki warned.
"They are tough," Alvida replied.
"I can vouch for that," Zala added. Marianne nodded.
"They do sound interesting," Conis said.
"They are both," Ben replied. He added," Let's head to the island, take Lexie if needed. I am going to round up the other girls."
"We can help gather," Saphir volunteered.
"Thank you but I can do that. I want you all there," Ben ordered.
The girls nodded and headed downstairs to the Third Floor where Lexie was. Raki looked at Ben and then looked away. "Remember the deal," she mouthed. She smiled and walked away.
Ben headed to the Bridge. He saw Nojiko and HQ looked at the window at the Going Merry. Nojiko looked concerned. "Nami is fine," Ben assured Nojiko.
Nojiko turned around. "I know she is, she is tough but her ship looks hurt," Nojiko said. She looked sad.
"The Going Merry can handle it, and who knows what surprises it may have," Ben reassured. Nojiko's smile widened at his words, a glimmer of hope reflecting in her eyes.
"Okay," Nojiko replied, her voice laced with gratitude for Ben's unwavering support.
Ben hugged Nojiko. "Your sister will find a way. She has a strong crew," he whispered softly, his words a gentle reassurance.
"I know, and she has you as well," Nojiko replied.
Ben smiled. Ben pushed and held her shoulders. "And you," Ben said. They stared at each other for a second HQ smiled. "Speaking for her, she is over there on the coast, I want us all to join for dinner and debrief there," Ben added.
"Okay," Nojiko replied. She wanted to see her sister.
"Master, I will stay on the Miss Love Duck," HQ replied.
"Are you sure?" Ben asked. He wanted her to come but it was her choice.
"I am Master, please let me stay here," HQ said.
"Okay," Ben agreed.
Ben held Nojiko`s hand. "Let's go and see the girls' medical room," Ben said. Nojko nodded. He headed downstairs to the Medical Room. They entered and saw Mikita, Honey and Robin chatting along.
They looked at Ben and Nojiko. "Already back Captain," Robin remarked.
"We said we are okay," Mikita said. She smiled.
"He cares for us," Honey added.
"I do and I know but we are gathering on the coast for a debrief and dinner," Ben said. He added, "Do you want to come but only if you are okay to." Ben knew they were strong but it was good for them to get rest.
"Let's go," Honey eagerly said.
"We can," Mikita added. She jumped to her feet.
Robin giggled. "Captain said," Robin replied.
"Only if you are sure," Ben said. The girls nodded. They all headed to the deck. Ben transformed into his hybrid form. He flew Mikita and Robin first over. He went back and took Honey and Nojiko over. At that moment, Alvida, Vivi, Marianne, Zala, Conis and Raki took Lexie. Vivi drove her. Saphir was in the ocean and zipped over.
"Beautiful ladies," Sanji shouted.
"Keep it down, nose bleed," Zoro remarked.
"What did you say," Sanji shouted back.
"You have three more girls that joined the crew," Nami sighed. She looked at Ben.
"Nice to meet you, I am Monkey D Luffy. The man who will become the Pirate King," Luffy introduced himself. He had a big smile on his face.
Saphir, Conis and Raki heard about Luffy from Alvida. They did not imagine him. They all greeted each other.
"So you all have tiny wings," Luffy commented. He added, "This is soo cool."
Zoro looked at their tank. He then looked at Ben. He closed his eyes and leaned on the tree.
Sanji had gotten a pot out and started cooking. He was using the shark which Luffy took out. He was happy that all these beautiful people would eat his food. He looked at Ben and gave him the stare.
As they chatted amongst themselves, Chopper and Usopp began to stir, their consciousness returning gradually. Blinking open his eyes, Usopp found himself surrounded by towering branches, the memories of their recent battle flooding back to him. He recalled the fierce clash with the man wielding the lance, the intensity of the fire attack, and the sudden darkness that followed by the plunge.
Surveying his surroundings, Usopp realized he was not alone. He saw Ben and his crew were there. There were new faces. He then saw his Captain. "Luffy," he called out.
Luffy, who had been captivated by Lexie, turned his attention to Usopp's awakening. "You're okay," Luffy remarked, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Meanwhile, Chopper, having also regained consciousness, inspected his body, noting the bandages that adorned his injuries. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the expertly applied dressings. "Glad to see you are okay little man," Kaya remarked. She smiled.
"Little man?" Chopper replied. He got up and started dancing. "That does not make me happy," Chopper said. He felt a sudden pain and went back to lying back.
"Careful," Kaya said.
Nojiko and Nami were talking and saw this. "Chopper," Nami said. Nojiko giggled.
"A lively crew," Nojiko commented, seeing Luffy eating food now.
"Too lively but they are my friends," Nami replied.
"They are but the special person in your heart is over there," Nojiko teased.
"No, he is not," Nami replied back. She looked at Ben. She thought no way. Her heart started beating faster.
Ben looked to see Usopp and Chopper. They were injured. Mikita and Robin had a few bandages on them. He took a bite to eat. He was about to take another bite when Marianne took a bite of his food. She smiled. Ben smiled back. He fed her food.
"Luffy, now we are awake, we should debrief," Ben suggested.
Luffy took a bite from the shark meat. "Okay," he mumbled.
"Don't speak with your mouth filled with food," Sanji said.
"So what happened?" Zoro asked.
"We were heading to find you and went through the Ordeal of the Ball, where we fought a priest. Mikita, Honey and Robin fought him," Ben explained.
"He had mantra," Mikita added.
"Mantra?" Sanji asked.
"It's another name for haki where they can predict our attacks and dodge them but if we are fast enough or overwhelm it can be defeated," Ben explained.
"That sounds like the thing that man had, he was dodging our attacks but he was slow," Usopp said.
"He was strong and hurt Merry," Chopper added.
Luffy swallowed his food. "We will beat them," Luffy declared.
"That we will," Ben replied.
Alvida added, "They have dials, weapons which store energy and release it back."
"There are more dials," Conis injected.
"I think the guy you fought Usopp and Chopper had some dial as well," Ben suggested.
"That could explain the flames," Usopp said.
"From the lance," Chopper commented.
"There are two other priest," Raki added.
"We will beat them all," Luffy stated.
"Grrrr," they all heard.