"Oh dear, Rolan was right."
A clear female voice sounded beside Luffy's ear.
Groggily, Luffy struggled to open his eyes.
A pink figure entered his blurry vision.
"You... you are... ugh..."
Luffy's eyes widened.
This feeling was familiar.
It was the same kind of intimate contact he had only experienced with Margaret before.
His blurred vision rapidly cleared.
He saw a tall woman with pink hair pressing her lips against his.
Her curled eyebrows were especially eye-catching.
"Mmph mmph mmph~ San... mph... Sanji... mmph mmph mmph..."
Luffy tried to struggle, but the woman's lips created intense suction pressure. Combined with the poison coursing through his body, he was completely powerless to resist.
Not far away, Kuzan scratched his head in confusion.
"Who is this? Why does she look familiar? Is she Straw Hat's woman?"
He thought for a while but still could not remember.
Finally, he sighed.
"Looks like I really wasn't suited to become Fleet Admiral."
Sabo stared at the scene in shock.
He had no idea what was happening.
How did this woman suddenly descend from the sky and start kissing Luffy?
"Is... is this woman Luffy's girlfriend?"
Looking closer, he found her increasingly familiar.
Then his eyes widened.
"Wait... isn't that Vinsmoke Reiju?!"
Sabo was stunned.
Germa 66 was one of the most infamous military organizations in all of North Blue. Their scientific technology was renowned throughout the world.
The commanders of Germa were all children of the family leader, each possessing terrifying abilities.
Among them, the eldest princess, Vinsmoke Reiju, was especially famous.
Rumors claimed she could absorb and manipulate poison itself.
"Is she detoxifying Luffy?"
Hovering in the sky, Datte Fog was not particularly surprised by the scene.
Instead, his eyes carried absolute confidence.
He naturally recognized Reiju and knew about her abilities.
However, he was completely certain of one thing.
Nobody could neutralize his poison.
Even Magellan, the user of the Venom Venom Fruit, had admitted that Datte Fog's poison surpassed his own after personally testing it.
So in Datte Fog's eyes, Reiju was merely another corpse waiting to fall.
Still...
A poison woman and a poison man.
What a perfect match.
"It's a shame such a beauty is standing with the enemy. If she became my wife, life would be wonderful."
Purple drool slowly dripped from the corners of his mouth.
At forty-six years old, he had remained single his entire life.
It was not because he lacked desire for companionship.
The problem was his appearance.
Back in Mary Geoise, countless women rejected him because he resembled a frog.
But Datte Fog never allowed anyone to insult frogs.
In his eyes, frogs were sacred creatures, the pinnacle of beauty itself.
Since then, he concluded that ordinary women simply lacked the taste to appreciate true beauty.
Now, seeing Reiju appear before him, he genuinely felt fate had prepared the perfect woman for him.
Unfortunately, she stood on the enemy's side.
Which meant he would have to personally destroy her.
Ace also noticed the situation.
Confusion flashed across his face.
"Isn't she Germa 66's eldest princess? Since when did Luffy get involved with her? Wasn't he already with Margaret?"
Then another thought appeared in his mind.
"Wait... is he trying to follow Rolan's example?"
Beside him, Bartolomeo looked irritated.
"You're fighting me and still paying attention to other people? That's disrespectful!"
He slammed both hands into the ground.
"Ripple Art, Bamboo Sea Myriad Arrows!"
The earth trembled violently.
Within several hundred meters, countless green bamboo shoots erupted from the ground.
The bamboo rapidly expanded, their sharpened tips gleaming with Armament Haki.
The terrifying barrage resembled ten thousand arrows launched simultaneously.
They shot directly toward Ace.
Ace merely shook his head.
With his future-seeing Observation Haki, he had already foreseen everything.
His body instantly transformed into molten gold.
Dozens of holes appeared across his liquid body, allowing every bamboo spear to pass through harmlessly.
Not a single attack touched him.
Sensing Luffy's aura gradually stabilizing, Ace relaxed slightly before turning his attention back toward Bartolomeo.
At the same time, Reiju kissing Luffy was broadcast live across the world.
New World, Peach Garden.
"Lu... Luffy-kun..."
Margaret stared at the screen in disbelief as their lips remained locked together.
A faint blush appeared on her face.
"What is going on?!"
Her voice rose immediately.
"That woman is taking advantage of him!"
A terrifying aura erupted from her body.
The surrounding air trembled violently as if the sky itself might split apart.
Everyone nearby hurriedly retreated.
Nobody dared provoke Margaret.
Everyone knew she was Rolan's disciple and Luffy's woman.
And right now, she was furious.
Margaret quickly noticed her loss of composure and restrained her aura before continuing to stare at the screen.
Nearby, an older guard elbowed a younger one.
"Go explain it to her."
The younger guard instantly panicked.
"Why me?!"
"Because I'm your senior."
"But I'm scared..."
The older guard patted his shoulder.
"It'll be fine. If you handle this well, your future is guaranteed."
The younger guard nervously approached Margaret.
After stopping several meters away, he forced himself to speak.
"M-Miss Margaret..."
Margaret turned toward him.
"What?"
The young guard almost collapsed under the pressure.
"T-That woman is Vinsmoke Reiju, the eldest princess of Germa 66. She can absorb poison through physical contact. She should be detoxifying Luffy."
Margaret turned back toward the screen.
"So that's what's happening..."
The guard hurriedly added:
"A-And Luffy probably has no idea what's happening. He definitely didn't do it intentionally."
Margaret silently thought about it for a moment before accepting the explanation.
Seeing her murderous aura finally disappear, the young guard let out a shaky breath of relief.
Everyone else nearby also relaxed.
East Blue, Windmill Village.
Inside Makino's bar, the villagers stared at the screen in complete shock.
"Whoa... are we really allowed to watch this?"
"That brat Luffy really has absurd luck with women."
"She's beautiful. I approve of this marriage."
"The whole world saw it too, right? This is basically a public confession!"
Nobody worried about Luffy being poisoned.
To them, Luffy had always been the type to survive impossible situations.
"So should we start preparing wedding money already?"
"I'm volunteering to be the best man!"
As Reiju continuously absorbed the poison from Luffy's body, Luffy slowly began trembling.
Under countless shocked gazes, the circular patterns on Reiju's cloak became increasingly vivid.
New patterns even began appearing.
Her cloak spread outward like butterfly wings.
Finally, Luffy curled slightly as Reiju slowly raised her head.
Their lips separated.
A thin shimmering strand of saliva stretched between them before finally snapping apart.
Reiju stood gracefully and wiped her lips with her finger.
A satisfied look appeared on her face.
"Impossible!"
Datte Fog's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
"You absorbed my poison... how are you still fine?!"
Reiju glanced at the unconscious Luffy.
His skin color had already returned to normal.
Waking up was only a matter of time.
Then she slowly looked up at Datte Fog.
"In that case, I'll use you as proof."
The moment she finished speaking, flames burst from the jets beneath her shoes.
Her figure vanished instantly.
In the next moment, she appeared beside Datte Fog.
Armament Haki coated her right leg.
Then she unleashed a brutal kick directly toward his side.
Bang!
Datte Fog's bloated body shot across the sky like a cannonball.
He disappeared into the distance like a falling meteor.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Reiju looked down at the poison corroding her shoes.
She casually wiped it away before licking the poison off her finger.
"What an excellent poison."
Her gaze shifted into the distance.
Far away, Datte Fog crashed into a massive crater, blood covering the ground beneath him.
Reiju vanished once more.
Within seconds, she appeared beside the ruined crater.
Looking at the frog-like man sprawled on the ground, she frowned slightly.
"This guy is supposed to be a high-ranking World Government Special Agent?"
"He's this weak?"
With her Observation Haki, she could clearly sense his overall strength.
Compared to Admirals or even elite Vice Admirals, Datte Fog's physical abilities were incredibly lacking.
Normally, high-ranking World Government agents possessed at least Admiral-level combat power.
Clearly, Datte Fog was an exception.
His body was weak.
His poison was not.
Because he controlled one of the deadliest toxins in the world, he never needed overwhelming physical strength to become terrifying.
Meanwhile, Luffy slowly regained consciousness.
He immediately wiped his mouth in disgust.
"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"
"Sanji, you bastard! Since when did you have a weird fetish like this?!"
But then...
He froze.
A faint sweetness lingered in his mouth.
It reminded him of Margaret, though slightly different.
Margaret's scent resembled fresh daisies.
This one carried a soft peony fragrance.
The horrifying image of Sanji passionately kissing him instantly appeared in Luffy's mind.
"Ughhh!"
He nearly vomited.
"No way! If Sanji really did that, I can't let him join the crew anymore!"
Then he hesitated.
"But... his cooking really is amazing..."
Just as Luffy was lost in thought, an overwhelming aura suddenly swept across Brown Plaza.
The pressure descended like a tsunami.
At the same time, a strange pattern appeared dozens of meters in front of Luffy.