Just then, Vir suddenly slammed on the brakes.
Because not far ahead, there was a massive sand pit.
Or rather, a quicksand pit.
This bike really didn't disappoint—it managed to screech to a stop right at the very edge of the quicksand.
He got too deep in thought just now.
Almost went straight in.
Chopper was already screeching like a duck the whole way.
All he could do was keep yelling, "Ahhh~ ahhh~~"
Vir looked ahead. In the middle of the quicksand pit, a figure was visible.
And as Vir's gaze focused, pale white arms began sprouting from the quicksand.
Slowly but surely, they pulled the sinking Luffy back up to the surface.
Yeah, the situation was pretty clear.
The first battle was already over.
And it ended with Luffy getting skewered by Crocodile's hook.
Crocodile had tossed him into the quicksand pit, but he didn't expect Robin to pull him back out.
Vir looked around but saw no one else.
Seems like they were already gone.
By now, the arms had completely pushed Luffy onto solid ground.
Vir quickly parked his bike to the side and ran over.
Chopper followed closely behind.
Luffy now had a huge hole in his chest.
Pierced straight through by Crocodile.
His body also looked a bit shriveled up.
Other than that, he didn't seem to have any other injuries.
Chopper was already silently shedding tears upon seeing Luffy in this state.
But he didn't say a word.
He knew that big bro was about to save Luffy.
Vir fell into thought.
Everything happened just as expected.
Luffy still got wrecked by Crocodile.
As for saving him, Vir had already planned for this.
Honestly, knowing Luffy, even if they didn't do anything and just gave him some water, he'd probably be bouncing around again in no time.
But that would likely leave lasting damage.
At this stage, there was only one quick and effective way to heal this kind of injury.
And that was…
System! Activate!
'Healing Throwing Knives'
Effect: The person hit by the throwing knife will recover from their injuries to a certain extent. However, they will experience excruciating pain.
Note: Ineffective on individuals above a certain power level.
Price: 500 Points.
This was it.
Paired with some necessary props.
It would definitely leave Luffy traumatized.
Vir first took out a dragon fruit from his medical kit.
He opened it and smeared the juice all over unconscious Luffy's mouth.
Then, he used glue to stick the remaining fruit onto Luffy's hand.
Looking at Luffy with his mouth covered in red juice, Vir nodded in satisfaction.
He placed a hand on his face, and with a blink, he transformed into Nami.
Then, he handed Chopper a mirror.
"Hold this up for him."
Only after ensuring everything was set did Vir walk up and slap Luffy—hard.
Twice.
Luffy's face visibly swelled at an alarming speed.
A moment later, he groggily opened his eyes, weakly looking around in confusion.
But before he could process anything, an enraged voice rang out.
"LUFFY!!!"
"Did you eat my dragon fruit?!"
The sudden outburst made Luffy tremble violently.
A bad feeling crept over him.
He slowly turned his head toward the source of the voice.
And there, he saw an absolutely furious Nami glaring at him.
W-What's going on?
Was that just a dream?
Why is Nami here?
But when he spotted the familiar mark of their crew on 'Nami's' hand, he didn't doubt her identity.
Before he could think any further, 'Nami' stomped over.
Her voice repeated like a curse:
"Did you eat my dragon fruit?!"
Luffy panicked on the spot.
Nami looked… dangerous.
"I-I didn't! I didn't eat any dragon fruit!"
Luffy hurriedly denied it.
"Still lying?! Look at yourself in the mirror! And look at what's in your hand!"
Luffy instinctively turned to the mirror 'Nami' was pointing at.
In the reflection, his mouth was covered in red juice.
He panicked.
Then he saw his hand—no matter how much he shook it, the dragon fruit stuck firmly.
He really started to freak out.
"Nami! It wasn't me! I swear! Listen to me!"
Seeing 'Nami's' face darken even further, Luffy desperately tried to back away.
But his injuries kept him from escaping.
"Nami! Calm down!"
'Nami' ignored him completely.
She stood about five meters away, silently pulling out a throwing knife.
Then, under Luffy's horrified gaze, she flung it at him.
The first throw missed, landing right beside his face.
Luffy stared at the cold, gleaming knife in terror.
And then 'Nami' raised her hand for another throw.
Luffy was genuinely about to lose it.
"What are you doing, Nami?! I won't eat it next time, okay?! It's just a dragon fruit! I'll buy you another one! Stop!!!"
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have earned 1,500 negative points!]
*Shwoop!*
The knife ignored Luffy's pleas and plunged straight into him.
*Pfft!*
Luffy froze.
He stared blankly at the knife embedded in his chest, feeling the raw pain.
One thought filled his mind: I'm done for.
Sure enough, a barrage of knives followed.
Within ten seconds, Luffy looked like a human pincushion.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have earned 2,000 negative points!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have acquired the ability: Physical Enhancement!]
As soon as the system notification ended, Vir felt his body grow stronger.
And by a significant margin.
The sensation lasted only a short while.
After a quick internal check, Vir figured out the mechanics of his new ability.
It wasn't cumulative.
Acquiring someone's physical enhancement would overwrite the previous one.
For example, right now, his stats aligned with Luffy's, not a mix of Sanji and Luffy.
Thankfully, he wouldn't experience negative growth.
If someone's strength was weaker than his own, he simply wouldn't gain anything.
Pretty user-friendly, honestly.
Looking at Luffy, who had passed out from fear, Vir canceled his Nami transformation.
He quickly pulled out all the throwing knives from Luffy's body and tossed them back into his medical kit.
Chopper, though surprised, didn't question Vir's actions anymore.
Big bro was always right!
Luffy's injuries had completely disappeared.
Not a single scar remained from the knives.
Healing complete. Worked like a charm.
And the new ability was quite useful.
He actually obtained Luffy's physical enhancement.
Exactly what he needed right now.
Testing it out, Vir threw a few punches into the air.
Based on his estimate, his Douriki level should be around 2,800 now.
Rob Lucci was at 4,000 during Enies Lobby.
His strength was increasing ridiculously fast.
Thinking about it, Vir smacked Luffy's face a couple more times.
Luffy soon woke up again.
The moment his eyes opened, he started thrashing in terror.
Then he saw Vir's face and suddenly froze.
"Where's Nami?"
Luffy looked around in confusion.
"Did you have a nightmare? Nami's not here. You passed out. I just saved you. How are you feeling now?"
"Feeling?"
Was that really just a dream?
Forget it! Doesn't matter! I still need to defeat that sand bastard!
Checking himself, Luffy was shocked to find he was fully healed.
Not a single wound left.
"I'm fine now! Vir, your medical skills are amazing! You healed me so fast!"
Vir blinked a bit awkwardly.
He quickly got on his bike and pulled Chopper up.
"Hop on! We're catching up to them right now!"
Luffy stared at the flashy motorbike with envy.
But he had no idea how to ride one.
He'd probably crash it within seconds.
Vir revved up the bike.
In no time, they vanished into a cloud of dust.
At 400 km/h, Vir was exasperated.
Because Luffy had already climbed over his head, shouting:
"Wooohooo! Ahahaha! Yaaaay! Woohoo!"
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