Charlotte Smoothie: "Huh?! What's going on with this Germa 66 kid? How did he actually ignite?"
Black Maria: "That expression is pretty fierce, and he's looking right at Arton. Is he planning to fight him?"
Whitey Bay: "Awakening? What's that?"
Gion: "An unexpected situation…what's happening over there?"
The sudden photo uploaded by Arton piqued the curiosity of all the diary holders, especially Vinsmoke Reiju.
Others might not understand what Arton meant by "awakening," but as a member of Germa 66, Reiju understood it all too well.
"Awakening? Does this mean Sanji might end up like me, bound to follow our father's commands?"
"Or worse, become like Yonji and the others—cold, emotionless creatures…?"
Reiju murmured, worry filling her heart.
"What exactly happened over there with Arton? Why is Sanji acting this way?"
[Sanji truly embodies "hopelessly infatuated," right down to his genes.]
[To think he would transform like this just over a woman…]
[I worry he might somehow awaken into a cold, emotionless monster like Vinsmoke Yonji.]
[But that shouldn't happen. Sanji's mother sacrificed herself to prevent him from becoming that way, and it worked.]
[If he awakens, it'll likely be limited to Germa 66's tough exoskeleton.]
[After all, even during Onigashima, Sanji only awakened his exoskeleton and didn't lose his emotions.]
[The exoskeleton gives him incredible recovery and self-healing abilities, with defense power surpassing an average Armament Haki.]
[I remember that Sanji, using just his exoskeleton, managed to shatter Queen's large blade with his neck alone. Queen was thrilled by Sanji's awakening and wanted to test it repeatedly.]
[But still, this guy only awakened after two years of training.]
[Could he really be awakening today just because of this situation?]
Gion: "An exoskeleton with defense stronger than standard Armament Haki? Germa 66 certainly has impressive technology."
Charlotte Smoothie: "So that's what 'awakening' refers to—the exoskeleton. It sounds like a valuable power."
Ulti: "Are you kidding me? Able to withstand Queen's blade coming down on his neck? And shattering it?"
Black Maria: "Queen's strength is no joke. This proves just how powerful the exoskeleton is. Now I see why Charlotte Linlin in the future would desire Germa 66's technology so much~."
Ginrummy: "But isn't Luffy supposed to be a disciple of Kaido? Then why would Queen attack Sanji, a member of Luffy's crew?"
Stussy: "Queen and Judge were colleagues, so Queen would certainly be interested in Judge's creations. Could it be that Queen became Sanji's mentor, helping him awaken his abilities?"
Doll: "If that's true… does this mean the Straw Hat Pirates really end up aligning with the Beasts Pirates? But it was Shanks who inspired Luffy to become a pirate. If he were to join a Yonko crew, shouldn't it be the Red-Hair Pirates?"
Ain: "What could have happened in the future to link the Straw Hat and Beasts Pirates so closely? Wait, if the women from the Beasts Pirates appear before Arton, would that inspire Arton to elaborate on this in his diary?"
Whitey Bay: "But what exactly caused Sanji to end up like this? Women… his fascination to women? Wait, could it be because Sanji tried approaching Uta and the others?"
Vinsmoke Reiju: "Thank goodness! Sanji won't become an emotionless monster! But Arton mentioned premature awakening. Could it be that something Arton did triggered Sanji's reaction?"
[Sanji ended up like this just because Carina, Nami, Kaya, and Uta, whom he wanted to express his feelings for, all showed interest in me at the same time.]
[Hmm…this really shouldn't have anything to do with me, right?]
[After all, I never claimed that Carina and the others were interested in me; they're the ones who led Sanji to think that way.]
[What a sin, truly a sin, especially Uta, who even talked about having a child with me. That must have hit Sanji pretty hard.]
[Though, she's clearly not ready for that kind of commitment with me yet, but she still said such things. Uta, you bear a heavy burden of sin as well.]
Uta: "…"
[Nami's the same. She says I saved her, and she's willing to do anything for me, but come nighttime, she doesn't come to warm my bed.]
[It seems she's still the same Nami I know, teasing a bit with favors but never really letting me fully enjoy them.]
Nami pouted as she read these words, casting a slightly resentful glance at Carina beside her.
Only she knew that she'd actually considered making a bold move on Arton at night to earn more points and had even tried to act on it.
However, Carina had intercepted her midway, shattering the courage Nami had painstakingly gathered.
Carina noticed Nami's gaze, a slight smirk on her face, mouthing the words, "Arton is mine."
*
Meanwhile, in Cocoyasi Village, Nojiko propped her chin in one hand, frowning slightly.
"It seems Nami doesn't really intend to give herself fully to Arton," she murmured. "The last kiss must be the most she's willing to offer."
"Looks like I'll have to step in myself if I really want to repay Arton."
"Otherwise, there's no way to truly thank him."
"I hope Nami will bring Arton to Cocoyasi Village soon."
Although Nami joining Arton's crew practically guaranteed that Arton would come to Cocoyasi Village to deal with Arlong and his pirates, Nojiko still worried about not being able to repay Arton.
If she couldn't repay him, Nojiko would always feel uneasy.
She worried that Arton might punish Nami if he didn't get what he wanted.
Though, this concern was unnecessary, whether from Nami's perspective or Arton's own.
[Come to think of it, Sanji's flames ignited just from that.]
[If I told him I had a fling with his sister, would he explode on the spot?]
[Hmm, suddenly, I really want to try it out.]
"This Arton is truly mischievous," thought Vinsmoke Reiju, shaking her head slightly as she read his diary entry.
"Well, if Arton truly wants me," she murmured, "I don't think he'd actually do anything harmful to Sanji."
"If Sanji really does awaken his exoskeleton from this, it wouldn't be a bad thing."
"That way, he might finally be able to use the Stealth Black suit."
"Though, Father would never agree to give him that suit. After all, he sees Sanji as useless… But wait, if the Big Mom Pirates in the future plan to use Sanji's marriage with her daughter to ally with Germa—"
"Then it wouldn't be possible without Father's consent."
"Could it be that Father might consider accepting Sanji in the future?"
The thought made Reiju feel unexpectedly hopeful.
However, her excitement was fleeting, and she calmed down shortly afterward.
"Even if Father accepted him, Sanji would never want to return to Germa."
"That's fine; a family like this isn't worth returning to, perhaps the Straw Hat Pirates would be a much better place for Sanji."
Placing a hand on her chest, Reiju gazed out the window.
"If the Straw Hat Pirates are Sanji's home…"
"Then where is my home? In the original timeline, would there even be a place for me?"
"Maybe, in the original history, my place didn't exist at all."
"But now, in this world that Arton has altered, perhaps my place does exist."
Reiju whispered to herself, her gaze falling on the drawings in the diary copy.
"What a shameless man, drawing things like this."
"Do you really want to experience my poisonous kiss, hmm?"
Reiju's lips curled into a smile as she ran her tongue along her lips, her gaze filled with allure and softness.
*
At the Baratie Restaurant.
Arton, ready to act on his thoughts, smiled at Sanji and said:
"Sanji, hold on a moment. Let me say something before you start fuming again."
"Huh?! You enviable, annoying guy! What else could you have to say?"
Arton's voice snapped Sanji back to his senses, and he turned to stare at Arton, his eyes blazing with fiery intensity.
"Not much, I just wanted to tell you something."
"What is it? Is it about a woman?"
"You got it."
"Is it about a different woman than the four behind you?"
"Smart guess, you're right again."
"No way… you're talking about someone very beautiful, gentle, and kind?"
"Wow, Sanji, you've got quite the intuition!"
"Damn you, how many women are you planning to charm? Who is she? Who is this woman?"
"Heh, Sanji, your sister is very… enchanting."
"Huh?! My sister? You know my sister, Reiju? Wait, what do you mean by 'enchanting'?"
"Exactly, your older sister, Reiju. As for what 'enchanting' means… I'll let you figure that out."
After Arton's words, Sanji's expression shifted from shock to confusion and then back to shock, until finally, he was left completely stunned.
Arton crossed his arms, smiling as he waited for Sanji's reaction.
After a long pause, Sanji suddenly exploded in anger.
"You jerk, what did you do to Reiju?!"
In his fury, Sanji kicked directly at Arton.
Arton could even see a flicker of flames starting to swirl around Sanji's leg.
"The Diable Jambe, manifesting just like that, huh," Arton thought, raising an eyebrow, yet staying still.
Just as Sanji's kick was about to land on Arton, a flash of a blade shot toward Sanji's leg.
Sanji's eyes widened, and a strong sense of danger instinctively made him leap back a few steps.
"It's you?!"
After steadying himself, Sanji stared in astonishment at Nami, who was holding a long naginata.
"Yes, it's me."
Surrounded by lightning, Nami swung the blade in her hand, creating a dazzling arc of light.
"If you want to challenge Captain Arton, you'll have to get past me first."
With that, Nami shot a challenging glance at Carina, who had just raised her hand, lightning crackling at her fingertips but hadn't released it yet.
Carina scoffed and turned her head away.
Meanwhile, Zoro's eyes widened as he looked at Nami.
"That naginata… it's incredibly powerful! And where did this woman even get it?"
"Why does her entire aura feel so much stronger now that she's wielding it?!"
Not only Zoro, but everyone in the restaurant had their eyes fixed on Nami and the weapon she wielded.
At that moment, everyone realized that Nami, who seemed frail, was anything but weak.
Zoro wouldn't have guessed that the blade Nami now held, the weapon that had piqued his curiosity, far surpassed even the twelve legendary supreme grade swords. It was the thunderous divine blade wielded by gods themselves— Engulfing Lightning.