"Clang——!"
As Luffy's hands slammed into Wood's abdomen, a sound like striking a massive bell echoed through the air.
A thin wisp of smoke rose from where Wood's abdomen had absorbed the blow, but other than that, Wood was completely unscathed. He didn't even take a single step back.
Seeing Wood standing there unshaken, Luffy wore an expression of utter disbelief.
Previously, whether it was Crocodile or Krieg back in the East Blue—covered in full-body armor—they had both been sent flying by Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Rocket attack.
But now, that same attack had done nothing against Wood. In fact, Luffy couldn't shake the feeling that instead of hitting flesh, he had just struck a wall of solid steel.
"Armed Fist—Sky-Shattering Strike!"
Before Luffy could even recover from his surprise and prepare another attack, he saw a black fist rapidly growing larger in front of his eyes.
Seeing the punch coming toward him, Luffy clenched his teeth. He raised his own fist to strike at Wood's head, thinking that as a rubber human, his body wouldn't be hurt by a physical blow. But he was about to find out just how wrong he was.
Just as Wood's blackened fist connected with Luffy's face, Luffy's own fist didn't even reach Wood. The iron-hard punch buried itself into Luffy's face without resistance, sending out a shockwave of air.
Luffy's entire body was launched like a baseball in a home-run hit, flying through the air at supersonic speed. After smashing through a section of the palace wall hundreds of meters away, Luffy crashed to the ground, eyes white, completely unconscious.
"Well, it seems the fight is over," Robin said sweetly, turning to look at Nami beside her. "I don't think it's been more than a minute, has it?"
Seeing the Straw Hat crew's top three fighters all lying on the ground, Nami crumpled to the floor in shock, looking utterly defeated.
Had the battle lasted more than a minute? Of course not. If it had been closer to fifty seconds, Nami might've tried to weasel out of it.
But the truth was that the entire fight had lasted barely half a minute. Despite the fierce action, it was over in a flash. In fact, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji had been the ones launching most of the attacks, while Wood had mostly remained on the defensive.
Even more terrifying, Wood hadn't moved from his original spot throughout the entire fight.
To defeat all three, Wood had used nothing more than a single sword strike, one kick, and a punch.
Nami wasn't heartbroken about her comrades being knocked out; what hurt her most was that she had just lost one billion Berries in a bet.
Their captain's bounty was only thirty million Berries! Even if she sold Luffy thirty times over, she still couldn't cover the debt!
As Usopp placed the heavily injured, unconscious trio together for Chopper to tend to, Wood approached them, causing Usopp and Chopper to look up in fear.
"Though it was just a sparring match, I realize I overdid it and injured them too severely," Wood said. "To make up for my mistake and to ensure you don't fall behind schedule, I'll heal their injuries myself."
"Holy Healing Magic—Wind of Restoration!"
Wood placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, using it as a conduit, while his other hand stretched out toward the unconscious Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji.
Suddenly, in the still air, a soft green wind began to blow, carrying a faint fragrance as it surrounded the three injured fighters.
As the glowing green particles touched their bodies, the others watched in awe as their wounds began to heal rapidly.
Though Sanji and Luffy had mostly internal injuries, Zoro's chest wound had been particularly severe. Yet now, before everyone's eyes, his once gaping wound was closing at an astonishing rate.
As the group marveled at this miraculous scene, Chopper, the ship's doctor, was torn between awe and disbelief.
Wood had healed all their injuries with just a wave of his hand. If Chopper had been the one treating them, it would've taken days to accomplish the same result.
Noticing Chopper's downcast expression, Wood spoke to reassure him, "This isn't really medical skill. It's simply a form of magic that heals external and internal injuries. But when it comes to illness or disease, I'm powerless. You, however, are a true doctor, and I have no doubt you'll one day become one of the greatest ship doctors on the seas."
Hearing Wood's words, Chopper's gloom quickly turned to astonishment, and soon he was bouncing around with pure joy.
Chopper's greatest wish as a doctor was to be recognized, and now to have someone like Wood—a figure the crew now regarded as a great power on the seas—acknowledge him meant the world to the little reindeer.
"So, Wood, what exactly is this power of yours? Is it from some sort of healing Devil Fruit?" Chopper asked curiously, unable to contain his wonder.
For most Devil Fruit users, their powers were closely guarded secrets, and typically no one would directly ask about someone else's abilities.
After realizing what he had asked, Chopper blushed, thinking he had been rude and expecting Wood to brush off the question.
"There's no need to hide it. This power, along with the ability to summon lightning and rain, comes from magic," Wood explained calmly. "Though I know it's hard to believe, that's the truth."
While Cobra and Nami looked skeptical, Usopp and Chopper, ever full of imagination, were quick to accept Wood's explanation and began eagerly asking if they could learn magic too.
"Well, unfortunately, you might be disappointed. As far as I know, I'm the only one who can wield this power in this world," Wood explained. "Though I suppose it's not impossible that someone else could learn it one day."
After returning from the world of Mushoku Tensei, Wood had experimented to see if anyone else could learn magic as he had. He had even set up a "magic training camp" aboard his ship, passing along the knowledge he had gained from that world.
However, no matter how hard Robin, Ruth, or anyone else on his crew tried, they had never been able to sense the magical energy in the air, and so the training camp had quietly disbanded.
At first, Robin and Ruth, like Nami and the others now, had doubted the existence of magic, suspecting Wood had eaten some unknown Devil Fruit. But their doubts had evaporated when they saw Wood leap into the ocean and begin swimming.
It was well known that no Devil Fruit user could swim, as the sea was their greatest weakness. And yet, Wood swam with ease, dispelling any doubts they had about him being a Devil Fruit user.
Fully healed, the first thing Luffy did upon waking was challenge Wood to another fight, but once again, he was swiftly knocked out. This time, Wood didn't bother healing him.
"Why are we sneaking off at night, Nami? Tomorrow's Vivi's big speech in front of the whole kingdom," Luffy asked groggily after being woken up by one of Nami's violent wake-up calls.
"Yeah, we haven't even properly said goodbye to Vivi," Usopp chimed in.
"Vivi is the princess of Alabasta. She can't come with us and become a pirate. Leaving quietly like this will make things easier for her," Nami explained, carrying large bags of loot, her movements a bit furtive.
"That's not it," Zoro interjected. "She's trying to run away before anyone can collect the ten billion Berries in debt she owes to that Robin woman. Nami lost it all in a gamble, so now she's sneaking away to avoid paying."
Zoro's blunt statement was cut short by a smack to the head from Nami, who angrily reminded him, "If I remember correctly, I'm also someone's creditor, right? So if anyone comes after me for the money, guess who I'll be collecting from?"
Indeed, if it came down to fighting strength, Zoro could easily take Nami. But in a war of words, even a hundred Zoros couldn't win against her. Reluctantly, Zoro agreed to the plan to leave Alabasta in the dead of night.
In reality, even without the gambling debt, the crew had already planned to leave quietly to avoid making things harder for Vivi. However, the timeline had moved up because of Nami's massive debt.
Despite the kingdom's fine food and the comfort of the palace accommodations compared to the cramped Going Merry, Nami had no choice but to push for an early departure.
Had it been any ordinary debt, she might've considered weaseling out of it. But with someone as powerful as Wood—someone even a Warlord like Crocodile feared—there was no way Nami had the courage to default.
"You know, Wood's actually a pretty nice guy. He taught me a lot of advanced medical knowledge," Chopper mumbled nervously, trying to defend Wood's character.
But as soon as Chopper opened his mouth, he felt the intense glares from the others and quickly fell silent.
And so, under the cover of night, the Straw Hat Pirates slipped away from Alabasta. It wasn't until the next day that Vivi realized her friends had left without saying goodbye, and she was deeply moved by their consideration.
Interestingly, what the Straw Hats didn't know was that Wood and his crew had also left Alabasta that very same night—except they had left earlier in the evening, meaning the Straw Hats had effectively snuck away for no reason.
The following day, as Vivi delivered her speech to her people amidst cheers and applause, she announced a new partnership with Wood's weapons company, outlining the kingdom's future plans.
The news that Vivi had managed to sell the once-worthless black oil on the island while securing various benefits for Alabasta sent the kingdom into a frenzy of excitement. Combined with her role in stopping Crocodile's plot, Vivi's popularity had soared even higher than her father's, earning her the adoration of the entire nation.
"Looks like Princess Vivi has really won over the hearts of her people. She's quite the impressive young woman, isn't she?"
Standing in the shadows at the edge of the cheering crowd were two figures, both wearing the signature white cloaks of the Navy.
If Wood had been present, he would have immediately recognized both of them. The first, a tall, black-haired woman with a beauty mark at the corner of her lips, was none other than Rear Admiral Gion, also known as Momousagi.
The second figure, a woman with stunning aqua-blue hair, was a Navy captain, and someone Wood knew all too well—his adoptive younger sister, Ain.
Over the past decade, the once-timid girl had grown into a confident and capable officer, a beauty whose long legs and figure rivaled those of the most renowned women in the world. Ain had not only graduated from the Navy Academy with top honors but had also eaten the Paramecia-type "Return-Return Fruit," making her far stronger than she had ever been.