In that moment, Luffy felt a shift in his mindset.
In his heart, he was the king of all creation.
Everything existed for him, existed to serve him. In his mind, it was simple: they were born to support him. To him, eating a gorilla was nothing—a simple fact. If anything, it was an honor for the gorillas to be consumed by him.
He burst into laughter at the absurdity of his own thoughts, but he couldn't deny it felt exhilarating.
[Conqueror's Haki: 87/100!]
"Hmm?" Luffy did a quick check. His Conqueror's Haki was now at eighty-seven points. It was only one more point, but at his current level, even that single point was an incredible leap. Consuming those beasts had actually increased his power. He couldn't help but feel thrilled.
Testing his strength, Luffy estimated his physical power to be around four hundred million. His raw combat ability had reached a level that would rival the strength he'd had after two years of intense training. With a wild laugh, he struck the ground, causing it to explode beneath him. The feeling was intoxicating.
"Impressive power," he nodded, satisfied. "I could take on some well-known pirates from the New World without even needing to use Haki. If I did unleash it, only a handful of people would even come close to matching me."
As he spoke, he had a sudden thought. His mind reached out, crossing space toward the coastline. His Conqueror's Haki now extended far beyond the island itself.
On the distant shore, his Haki enveloped the area, where a figure sat peacefully by the sea, fishing. The man froze, sensing something.
"Who's there?" He whipped around, looking over his shoulder, but there was nothing.
"What's going on?" the figure muttered to himself. He was none other than Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King, one of the few in the world who could still be startled. He was sure he'd felt a powerful aura surround him, one that chilled him to the bone.
"Was it just my imagination?" Rayleigh murmured, shaking his head as he returned to his fishing.
Meanwhile, Luffy chuckled to himself. "So, the old man Rayleigh could actually sense me. If I really wanted to hide, though, he wouldn't stand a chance of noticing."
He didn't retract his Haki; instead, he left it spread along the shoreline. Rayleigh continued to fish, unaware that he was still under Luffy's watchful gaze. Luffy laughed again, thoroughly entertained. Not even someone like Rayleigh could detect his subtle peeking.
In Luffy's mind, it was as if he had a three-dimensional model of the entire scene. The coastline appeared clearly in his vision, and he could adjust the view however he liked—zooming in, pulling back, rotating.
He focused on Rayleigh, observing the scar on his face, appreciating the old man's distinctive look. He even examined Rayleigh's fishing rod, which was a simple piece, far from fancy. Yet, in Rayleigh's hands, it became something unique. Luffy noticed the basket beside him was already half-filled with fish.
Suddenly struck by a playful thought, Luffy made one of the fish in the basket rise into the air, levitating it away. Rayleigh remained oblivious, too focused on his fishing.
One by one, Luffy took the fish, emptying the basket. Laughing to himself, he popped a raw fish into his mouth, swallowing it whole without even cooking it.
"Not bad, Rayleigh's fish taste different," he said with satisfaction, thoroughly enjoying himself. He couldn't help but feel that there was a special thrill in eating the fish Rayleigh had caught.
Then, realizing he might be going too far, Luffy felt a hint of guilt. After all, Rayleigh was his mentor and a respected elder. Perhaps he should make up for it somehow.
Controlling his Haki, he sent a signal into the sea. Soon, a large shark swam toward the shore, entranced by his command.
"Hmm?" Rayleigh felt his fishing rod shake, realizing he'd hooked something big. He grinned, bracing himself to reel it in. "This one's got some weight!"
Putting his strength into it, he pulled hard—and out of the water flew a massive shark.
"What?" Rayleigh was stunned. He'd been fishing for ages but had never caught a shark before. Chuckling with delight, he looked down at his catch.
However, as he prepared to cast his line again, Rayleigh noticed something strange: his basket was empty.
"What the…? Where did my fish go?"
He scratched his head, utterly baffled. At least the shark was enough to make the trip worthwhile, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something strange had happened. The fish had disappeared so suddenly and mysteriously. The thought sent a chill down his spine, as though something hidden was watching him.
Determined to find out, Rayleigh swept his Haki over the area.
Rayleigh found nothing.
"Was it just my imagination?" he murmured, shaking his head. "But… where did all those fish go?"
With a weary sigh, Rayleigh muttered, "Maybe I'm just overtired… Luffy and all his antics have been wearing me out. And how on earth did his Devil Fruit go missing?"
He sighed again. "Maybe things will change a bit when Red-Haired Shanks arrives here. There might be some breakthrough then."
With that, he set aside his musings and went back to fishing.
Meanwhile, Luffy strolled back toward the small wooden cabin nearby. As he got closer, he noticed that the area around it was decorated with fresh flowers, intentionally arranged.
He thought about using his Haki to scan the surroundings but decided against it. After all, life was full of surprises, and if he always knew everything in advance, it would be no fun. Luffy believed in savoring the unexpected, so he let his instincts lead him instead.
As he approached, he heard laughter and playful voices from within. He paused, eyes widening as he took in the scene inside.
The cabin was filled with people—dozens of women laughing and chatting, engaged in what looked like a playful competition. They seemed to be in the middle of a dance-off, each one showing off their skills with impressive speed and grace.
"Wow, that's fast!" one of them exclaimed. "She's at over 120 per minute!"
"Impressive, but that's nothing," another added. "My sister can do 180. She'd win this for sure!"
A familiar voice cut in—it was Aimee. "Luffy set the goal at 100 moves per minute," she said. "That way, we'd all be top-tier."
"But…" Aimee sighed, "it's been so long since he was last here. I wish he could see how much we've improved."
One of the women, a swordswoman, nodded. "Yeah! I can do 160 moves now, thanks to Luffy's guidance. Without it, I'd never have reached this level."
Hearing them, Luffy understood the reason behind their impressive speed—it seemed they'd had help from a remarkable teacher. That teacher was none other than Boa Hancock, the Pirate Empress, and the world's most beautiful woman.
Luffy hadn't met her in person yet, but he knew from stories that she was formidable.
Just then, his attention was caught by a particular woman. She wore a stylish outfit and was dancing with incredible speed—so fast it left even Luffy stunned. He quickly calculated: over 200 moves per minute!
"Unbelievable!" he murmured, nodding in admiration.
Most of the faces around him were new; many of these women were recent arrivals. Regardless, they were all under his banner.
Luffy broke into a loud, carefree laugh, instantly drawing everyone's gaze.
"Luffy-sama!" came the excited cries as the women rushed over to greet him.
Aimee, Lori, Emily,Lizzy,Ava, the swordswoman, and the archer—all of them exclaimed in delight. They'd missed him dearly.
They had almost given up hope that Luffy would return, but his familiar laugh filled them with boundless joy.
"You're finally back!" cried the swordswoman, rushing over.
"Luffy-sama!" she beamed. "Have you finished your training? We've missed you so much!"
The archer leaned close, adding, "Luffy-sama, our squat dance skills have improved. We can do over a hundred moves now, even more than your goal!"
Luffy nodded in approval, a warm smile on his face. "I can tell," he said. "You've all really grown."
He glanced around at the room full of women. "But… who are all these people? There are dozens more than before."
For a moment, Luffy was at a loss for words. The new faces were all strikingly beautiful—each woman radiated elegance, rivaling even the swordswoman and the archer. Some were so stunning, they could only be described as superstars.
He was momentarily spellbound.
~-------------------------
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