On the shore, the sky gradually brightened. Xinan and the others looked out at the sea, ready for battle at any moment.
Although he hadn't fully indulged, Xinan's heart was filled with immense satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment after the dual cultivation session with Kaya.
Under the effect of his Outsider Path ability, he felt he had grown stronger again.
Seeing Xinan standing there, clenching his fist and wearing a somewhat lecherous smile while thinking, Nami quietly approached him.
A woman's nose is highly sensitive to another woman's scent. As soon as Nami got close to Xinan, she detected a different fragrance on him, which immediately put her on high alert.
"Xinan, you smell really good," Nami asked cunningly.
Xinan subconsciously sniffed himself.
"And it's a woman's scent!" Nami's eyes narrowed as she spoke.
Sensing the murderous intent in Nami's voice, Xinan, who was still savoring the feeling of Kaya's body and his increase in power, jumped.
After his intimate session with Kaya, where who knows how many bodily fluids were exchanged, it was completely normal for him to carry her scent.
A thought instantly flashed through his mind. Xinan immediately reacted, adopting an 'oh, I see' look. "Scent, you mean? Miss Kaya fainted. I must have picked it up when I carried her back to her room."
Xinan possessed the potential to be a complete scumbag, speaking without his heart racing or his breath faltering.
Nami sniffed him again and said, "Really? Why is Miss Kaya's scent so strong on you? You didn't do anything to her, did you?"
Nami looked at Xinan with suspicion.
Nami might have trusted Xinan before, but ever since they became intimate, this scoundrel couldn't keep his hands off her when they were alone. This forced Nami to question Xinan's character.
"Of course not! I just had a fight with Captain Kuro, and Butler Merry was there. What could I possibly do?" Xinan said, maintaining a serious demeanor.
With Xinan's explanation, Nami's suspicions finally eased somewhat.
"A ship is coming!" At that moment, Usopp, who was observing the sea with a magnifying glass, shouted, inadvertently pulling Xinan out of a tight spot.
Xinan wanted to silently say, 'Thank you, Usopp, but I've already claimed Kaya.'
As the morning sun rose, the sunlight streamed into the room. Kaya slowly opened her eyes on the bed.
She had only slept for a short while, but Kaya felt she hadn't slept so soundly in a long time. Her physical state was better than ever. She lazily rubbed against the pillow, still half-asleep.
Suddenly remembering something, Kaya immediately sat up. The sheet slid down, exposing her tempting body to the air. A sharp pain shot through her lower body from the abrupt movement, reminding her of what had just happened.
Looking at the handprints on her breasts, Kaya recalled the scenes from the night before.
She thought of the seductive images, the hands that roamed freely over her body, and the waves of pleasure brought by that hot thing relentlessly thrusting inside her.
For a moment, Kaya's mind froze, and she sat there blankly.
Xinan's Seventh Path—the Outsider Path—only intensely arouses female desire; it is not a sleeping pill. Kaya remembered everything that happened during the night clearly.
Recalling it now, she felt utterly shameless for actively seducing a man she had only met twice. Kaya was so embarrassed she wished she could sink into the floor.
As the memories flooded back, Kaya's face flushed scarlet, and tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes.
If she wanted to hate Xinan, the memory of his handsome face and the pleasure he gave her, and the fact that she was the one who initiated it, made it impossible for Kaya to feel hate.
If she didn't hate him, she was confused.
In her view, such intimacy should only occur after getting to know each other, dating, and then marriage. Yet, Xinan had done that to her.
Xinan was handsome, but Kaya was not so wanton that she would fall in love at first sight and give her body away so easily.
Kaya didn't feel apologetic towards Usopp; they had never developed a romantic relationship.
In the original story, their relationship only progressed from good friends toward lovers because Usopp protected her in front of Captain Kuro.
This time, Xinan saved Kaya and Merry. Now, in Kaya's eyes, Usopp was nothing more than a close friend.
However, there was no time for Kaya to dwell on her sadness. Remembering Xinan, she also recalled Klahadore, Captain Kuro, and the pirates. The pirate matter still needed her attention.
Kaya quickly got up and out of bed. Although sharp pain shot through her lower body, she felt she had much more strength than before.
This was the benefit of the dual cultivation with Xinan; the Outsider Path was the ability to convert pleasure into power.
At the Coast!
The battle had begun.
Unlike the frantic pace of the original story, where they ran from one side to the other, and without Kuro the Black Cat joining in, the addition of Xinan made dealing with the pirate minions much easier.
"Earthquake Fist!"
Crack!
Boom!
The air cracked, the ground fractured, and a shockwave swept through the area.
"Lightning Burst Fist!"
Rumble!
Lightning bolts shot from Xinan's palm, creating a storm in the air. The bolts pierced the bodies of the pirates.
Xinan fought with an Earthquake Fist in one hand and a Lightning Fist in the other.
One punch either shattered the earth, sending pirates flying from the shockwave, or struck them with lightning, causing instant death from cardiac arrest.
Nami and Usopp watched from the sidelines. Zoro and Luffy were also very effective.
"Gum-Gum... Bullet Barrage!"
"Three-Sword Style... Slash!"
Luffy's rubber fists knocked out pirates with a single punch, and a swing of Zoro's three swords took down large groups of pirates.
The original story was so challenging only because of various accidents—Zoro being without his swords and Luffy being hypnotized. If they had fought seriously from the start, what difference would double the number of these lackeys have made?
Many times, the Straw Hat Pirates encounter comical misfortunes when they aren't in fighting mode; it's like even a dog can take a bite out of them.
Even with the hypnotist Jango and the decent fighters, the Meowban Brothers, the hundreds of members of the Black Cat Pirates only lasted a few minutes.
Seeing that all the pirates were defeated, Nami and Usopp cheered happily.
"Yay!"
Xinan looked over the battlefield and frowned slightly.
Those affected by the widespread impact of the Earthquake Fist were mostly just injured. However, the pirates hit by the lightning were generally dead from cardiac arrest.
Compared to Xinan, Luffy and Zoro's side resulted in virtually zero fatalities.
It was clear that both Luffy and Zoro held back, making Xinan the person who inflicted the most severe casualties.
Few pirates are genuinely good people. Xinan couldn't understand Luffy's way of thinking. In the original story, Kuro was merely defeated and then sent back out to sea to cause more trouble.
And Arlong, who killed Nami's foster mother, didn't die either; he was just imprisoned later!
In the current situation, Xinan had become the ruthless one.
With the pirates defeated, Nami excitedly rushed over. Xinan knew immediately that Nami was heading to the pirate ship to search for treasure.
"Nami, wait! There might still be people on the ship. I'll go with you," Xinan said.
"Then hurry up!" Nami said impatiently, thinking of the treasure on the ship.
Looking at the pirate ship, Xinan asked Nami, "Nami, what do you think is the most valuable thing here?"
Nami's eyes immediately lit up at Xinan's question.
"The pirate ship!" Nami said, her eyes turning into dollar signs.
"Exactly!"
Xinan nodded in agreement and continued, "If we sell this ship, it's worth at least 50 million Berries, maybe even 100 million Berries."
Hearing the mention of 100 million Berries, Nami was so happy she nearly fainted.
At that moment, a voice of opposition came from behind Xinan: "No!"
Hearing the opposition, Nami immediately jumped up, "Why not?!"
Nami glared at Luffy, her eyes blazing with anger. If Luffy didn't give her a reasonable explanation, she was ready to punch him.
"This ship belongs to them. It's their crewmate!" Luffy replied firmly.