Red Force
On the Deck
"Boss, what are you doing?" Rocky Road asked, confused as he watched Shanks.
Shanks grinned and said, "I've known Buggy since we were kids, and I understand how much his reputation means to him. If he couldn't save face just now, it would have been worse for him than getting killed."
Benn Beckman took a puff of his cigarette and remarked, "You're going out of your way to help him, but who knows if he'll appreciate it."
"Haha! Oh, he'll appreciate it, all right. But he'll act all stubborn and probably say something like, 'Hmph, I guess I'll forgive him... but only this once!' Hahaha!"
Imagining Buggy's reaction, Shanks burst into laughter.
At that moment...
The screen with a red border lit up.
A series of images appeared:
[After two months of training in the Yamanaka region, Luffy and Zoro left Kotow Island and resumed their journey.]
[Before leaving, they captured a few pirates, earning some bounty money. With that, they hired a local carpenter to build a slightly bigger ship.]
[Compared to Luffy's earlier tiny boat, this new ship was three to four times larger, with enough space for a proper cabin.]
[Though small, the cabin provided shelter from the wind and rain and gave them a place to sleep.]
[During this time, Zoro began to grasp the basics of Armament Haki and Observation Haki. While he wasn't proficient yet, it was still a significant step forward.]
[Meanwhile, Luffy's swordsmanship training had paid off tremendously!]
[On the modest deck of their new ship, the two were sparring.]
[Zoro attacked fiercely with his three-sword style.]
[Swish! Swish!]
[Luffy blocked Zoro's swords with his own dual blades.]
Luffy's fighting style had evolved from a single sword to a dual-sword technique.
But his approach was far from traditional.
Using the power of his Gomu Gomu no Mi (Rubber Fruit), Luffy attached the swords to his elbows, turning them into extensions of his arms.
[Clang! Clang!]
As their swords clashed, Luffy's rubber forearms stretched out, grabbing Zoro's wrists and yanking them apart!
Zoro's two swords were thrown off balance, leaving him wide open.
In an instant, Luffy's swords extended forward, aiming straight for Zoro's face!
"Damn it! This is cheating!" Zoro growled, biting down on the sword in his mouth as he tried to counterattack.
But Luffy was ready. One of his swords pinned down Zoro's third blade, while the other stopped just inches from Zoro's throat.
"End of the fight!"
"You b*****d! Your dual sword style is just plain cheating!"
Zoro gritted his teeth, clearly frustrated. "It feels like I'm fighting two people at once!"
Luffy smirked confidently. "This is my own original swordsmanship! I call it Auxiliary Swordsmanship."
Narration
After two months of training in Yamanaka, Luffy had finally developed a sword-fighting style that fit his abilities perfectly.
For a normal swordsman, wielding two blades would simply mean switching from fists to swords. But Luffy's approach was entirely different.
By attaching the swords to his elbows, he could maintain his usual combat style while using the blades as extensions of his body. This dramatically enhanced his offensive capabilities, making his attacks far more unpredictable and dangerous.
Through countless sparring matches with Zoro, the effectiveness of this unconventional swordsmanship had been proven beyond doubt. Of course, such a style could only work for someone with Luffy's Rubber Fruit abilities.
Reaction to the Fight
As the screen with the red border continued to display the battle, the viewers were left in awe.
"Can this really work?"
Vinsmoke Sanji crossed his arms and said, "You know, as weird as it looks, it somehow feels... natural seeing Luffy fight with swords."
Franky nodded. "Yeah, and the way he moves—it's smooth, like it's a part of him."
Roronoa Zoro, surprisingly, admitted, "That version of Luffy is a genius. His dual sword style would make any swordsman feel completely off balance!"
Dracule Mihawk observed calmly, "By adding two powerful weapons to his arsenal without compromising his original fighting style, he's created an extremely effective and unique technique."
Meanwhile, in the real world:
Monkey D. Luffy tilted his head. "Huh? Should I give it a try?"
Zoro immediately objected. "No way! Your foundation is totally different from his. Don't even think about it!"
Luffy shrugged. "Ah... okay then~~."
A New Encounter
After their intense sparring session, Luffy and Zoro took a break and began grilling some freshly caught fish.
"A ship is coming," Luffy suddenly said.
Halfway through cooking, his Observation Haki picked up on a small boat approaching through the thick sea fog. Standing up, he peered out over the water.
Sure enough, a small sailboat drifted into view, barely afloat. A young girl clung weakly to the mast, clearly dehydrated and on the verge of collapse.
Zoro glanced at the shabby little vessel. "This boat looks like it wouldn't survive even the smallest storm."
As the girl raised her head, her beautiful face became visible through the haze.
It was none other than Nami.
Reactions from the Observers
Trafalgar Law smirked. "Nami, the brains of the crew, has finally appeared."
Scratchmen Apoo chuckled. "Looks like she's about to join them—rescued from distress and all."
Urouge laughed heartily. "This meeting is bound to go smoothly."
X Drake, ever cautious, added, "Don't forget, she's a thief. And Luffy's ship has a Devil Fruit on board—worth a fortune to the right buyer."
Jewelry Bonney's Defense
"No way! I just saw the video in the white frame earlier. She only steals from pirates—there's no way she'd betray her savior!" Bonney exclaimed confidently.
"Ah..."
Hearing the discussion in the chat room, Nami's cheeks turned red.
Narration
Of course, no one knew Nami better than she did. Watching her own actions on the red-framed screen, she already had a good idea of what she was about to do next.
On the Red-Framed Screen
Luffy and Zoro rescued Nami onto their ship and handed her a glass of water.
"Sorry, I've got a lot of my belongings on that ship. Could you help me bring them over?" Nami asked, her voice weak but regaining strength after a sip of water.
Luffy looked into her eyes for a moment before calmly agreeing. "Oh, I can."
Before Luffy could make a move, Zoro quickly interjected, "I'll do it! You stay here and take care of her."
Zoro's eyes subtly signaled Luffy to stay on their own ship.
But Luffy simply smiled. "There's a lot of stuff. I'll help."
The Betrayal
As Luffy and Zoro stepped onto Nami's small sailboat to gather her belongings, a strong south wind suddenly blew through!
Nami sprang to her feet, grabbing the sail control lever and expertly adjusting it to catch the wind.
In an instant, Luffy's ship shot off at full speed, leaving her tiny sailboat stationary in the foggy sea.
Moments later, Nami's sailboat disappeared into the dense mist.
Standing proudly on the edge of the stolen ship, Nami smirked, dropping her act entirely. Gone was the weak and helpless demeanor.
"Thanks for the ship and the treasure, you two pirates! I'll be taking these with me~~"
Chat Room Chaos
The chat room erupted into a frenzy.
"Oh, this is just... wow."
"Nami, you never fail to surprise!"
"I admit it—I completely misjudged her earlier!"
"This woman is outrageous~~!"
Meanwhile, Somewhere on Sky Island
Nami buried her flushed face in her hands, groaning in embarrassment.
"Why?! Why is it always me getting exposed like this?!"