After eating the 12 fruits, Zoro's Conqueror's Haki reached level 5.
"Level five is enough for now. The resource cost to push it to level six is too high. From here on, he'll have to rely on himself."
Luffy left the infirmary, holding a Haki fruit in his hand.
"I need to find someone to test this theory on…"
He didn't have to think long before choosing Nami.
Releasing his Observation Haki, he searched for her presence, but the girl was still asleep.
He immediately climbed the stairs, found Nami's room, and pushed the door open.
Without hesitation, he pulled the blanket off her.
"Time to wake up."
"Hm?"
Nami opened her drowsy eyes, and when she saw it was Luffy, she shifted position and went right back to sleep.
"Let me sleep a little longer."
"These three fruits are for you. Eat them."
Luffy gave her a pat on the butt and placed the Haki fruit in her palm.
Nami grabbed the hand that had touched her and yanked Luffy into the bed.
She laughed as she opened her mouth wide:
"Ah—"
"Silly girl."
Placing the fruits in Nami's mouth, Luffy frowned. "You're getting lazy, Nami."
He thought back to when they had first met—Nami used to take care of him, cook for him, wash his clothes, and now here he was feeding her.
"Huh? What is this? It tastes even better than the Rokushiki fruit."
Nami chewed lightly, surprise flashing across her face.
The next moment, her eyes flew wide open and her drowsiness vanished.
"Luffy, I think I've awakened some kind of power!"
"Could it be… Conqueror's Haki?"
"Conqueror's Haki?"
Seeing her expression, Luffy immediately understood.
Observation and Armament Haki are latent powers within all humans and can be mastered through training.
Conqueror's Haki is different—only a chosen few can awaken it.
The Haki fruit cannot simply create Conqueror's Haki out of nowhere.
Its effect is more like compressing the training process into a brief instant.
"It doesn't matter if you don't have it. Just master Observation and Armament Haki. They'll work well with your Devil Fruit."
"Now get up quickly."
Nami puffed out her cheeks and stretched out her arms. "Carry me~!"
She was becoming more spoiled by the day.
Luffy shot her a blank look, didn't bother to reply, and turned to leave.
Nami giggled, hugged him from behind, and kissed his cheek.
"Don't tempt me… you won't be able to handle it," Luffy warned.
"Ah?" Nami grew so annoyed she wanted to pinch him.
"You still dare to look down on me?!"
She immediately dragged him back onto the bed and climbed onto his lap.
"Let's see who can outlast who…" she teased, removing her bra and revealing her magnificent breasts.
"I know you like them, Luffy~" she whispered, licking the corner of her lips.
"Just remember—you asked for this." Luffy laughed, flipping positions with her, stripping them both in the blink of an eye, and sealing her lips with his.
---
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
During that week, Luffy visited the system shop six times a day. On lucky days he bought 10 Haki fruits; on unlucky ones, only 6.
Over seven days, he obtained a total of 50 fruits.
Of course, priority for these Haki fruits went to the girls he slept with.
Nami, Vivi, and of course Uta, all raised their Observation and Armament Haki to level 5, consuming a total of 26 fruits.
The remaining 24 weren't enough to satisfy everyone's needs.
He gave two each to Robin, Nojiko, and Kaya, for a total of 6.
[A/N: Believe it or not, I forget about Nojiko every single time.]
Next came the male crew—Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Brook, Franky, Yosaku, Johnny, Bartolomeo, and Law—18 in total.
As for Moria and Jinbei, those two didn't need them, since both had already awakened their Haki.
Naturally, aside from Haki fruits, he also purchased 2 Awakenings and 1 Ship Spirit.
[Adventure Warehouse]: Awakening Fruit x2; Blank Fruit x1; Longevity Fruit x3; Cleansing Fruit x1; Healing Fruit x1; Ship Spirit Fruit x1
As for the 10 Height Fruits and several Rokushiki Fruits from the original stock, Luffy had eaten them all himself.
Today, his height reached 1.94 meters, surpassing Hancock.
---
The castle's living room.
Luffy asked Nami to call everyone together.
Soon, the whole crew had gathered.
"Luffy, why did you call us?"
After a week of recovery, Zoro's wounds had already healed.
"I suppose you all know who Shiki the Golden Lion is. He's about to start a war in the East Blue."
Luffy didn't mince words.
"Shiki, the Golden Lion?" Jinbei was shocked. "The man who was once as famous as Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard—and who hasn't been seen in 20 years."
Moria gave a twisted grin. "Kishishishi… The last time I heard about him was 20 years ago. He escaped from Impel Down!"
Unlike them, Usopp and the others from the East Blue focused on the last part of Luffy's words.
"Luffy, this pirate named Shiki is going to start a war in the East Blue?" Nojiko's expression changed. "Cocoyasi Village will be safe, right?"
Vivi frowned slightly. "You, Nami, and Kaya… you're all from East Blue?"
"And Zoro, Usopp, Johnny, Yosaku, Sanji…" Chopper added. "Them too."
Sanji shook his head. "I was born in the North Blue, but I spent most of my life in the East Blue."
Everyone frowned.
Sanji considered carefully. "Luffy, are you going back to East Blue?"
"Well, we can't let Shiki destroy East Blue."
Luffy nodded firmly and said bluntly: "This is my order: everyone from the First Division and all former CP9 members will follow me to the East Blue."
"Yes, Lord Luffy!" Bartolomeo answered immediately. He was also from East Blue, and his hometown was Loguetown.
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."