Because Li Ke hadn't held back even a tiny fraction of his overwhelming strength the moment he struck, the girl had been left in a state of critical, life-threatening injury.
Looking down at her, Li Ke felt a sudden surge of profound helplessness. As it stood, he could just barely manage to exercise enough self-control to avoid hurting Robin during their more intimate "private moments."
However, when it came to the chaotic, split-second nature of a physical struggle, he still possessed zero grasp of his own peak power. He was essentially a heavy sledgehammer trying to swat a delicate, fragile fly.
"Hey, hey! Are you okay?"
Gazing down at the orange-haired girl who was currently coughing up fresh blood, Li Ke rushed over to check her vitals. The moment his hands brushed against her, however, her upper torso shifted at an angle that was fundamentally and anatomically impossible for any living human being.
Li Ke realized with a jolt of alarm: he was on the very verge of accidentally killing someone.
"Hang on, I'm fixing you now."
The crimson radiance of the [Red Dragon's Breath] flared to life within Li Ke's palms. The intense flames immediately enveloped the half-dead girl, glowing with a fierce, ethereal light.
The searing heat and the initial scalding sensation jolted her back to a state of consciousness. She opened her eyes blankly, feeling as though she were trapped within the stifling depths of a fiery hell. Her mind was shrouded in a complete fog regarding why she was even in this place.
She stared up at the vast blue sky, lost in thought for a long time until the distant, muffled shouting of pirates finally reached her ears. Only then, surrounded by this scorching yet strangely nurturing fire, did she recall her original purpose.
"Oh... right... I came here to steal stuff..."
She experienced a brief moment of realization, but immediately after the words left her lips, she sensed that something was very wrong. She remembered being sent flying through the air!
But it was already far too late to react. She felt a large, firm hand clamp around her neck just as the red flames vanished from her vision, revealing once more the expanse of the clear sky above.
"Oh? So you're here to steal, are you?"
Li Ke looked down at the beautiful girl with a sense of genuine, curious interest. To be honest, while she was undoubtedly pretty, she was only slightly above average at best in his eyes—especially in the chest department, which was... well, notably lacking.
It was glaringly obvious that this girl, who was almost certainly the "Cat Burglar" Nami, hadn't fully developed yet. Of course, her physical condition probably had a lot to do with her being malnourished; when Li Ke gripped her arm, he could feel how thin and gaunt her frame truly was.
How should he put it? Right now, she felt like a bright, youthful, and surprisingly well-endowed girl next door. But beyond that simple observation, there wasn't much of a lasting impression.
"How could that be!"
Nami snapped fully awake, her senses returning in a sudden rush. Staring up at Li Ke's wicked, mocking smirk, the sequence of events rushed back to her with terrifying clarity.
She had seen this man about to do something unspeakable to an unconscious girl, so she had prepared to knock him out and loot his belongings, and then...
He had snapped her sturdy three-section staff with a single, effortless strike and delivered a kick that had knocked her into unconsciousness. She vividly remembered the sickening sensation of her back giving way under the sheer force of the blow.
She recalled the trauma instantly, yet as she tentatively shifted her weight, she felt no pain, no lingering ache, and no stiffness whatsoever. This immediately brought to mind the strange, burning sensation that had pulled her back from the brink.
Did this man... actually heal me?
While Nami was lost in thought, Li Ke nodded to himself.
"Since you're a thief, things just got a whole lot simpler. Get ready, little thief-cat. From now on, you belong to this ship. You'll be working off your debt in the hold, and I'll make sure you're kept far too busy to think about stealing from me again. Let's start by making sure you can't run away."
Li Ke breathed a sigh of relief seeing Nami was fine, then maintained a stern, intimidating expression to keep her off balance.
"Um... you nearly killed me, right? Doesn't that make us even?"
Nami felt a cold shiver run down her spine. As a thief, she knew Li Ke's threats carried weight; being caught in the act often resulted in severe punishment or worse. To make matters worse, she suspected the man in front of her was a pirate—someone who wouldn't hesitate to enforce their own brand of justice.
"Even? Catching a thief usually ends with them at the bottom of the ocean. I only patched you up because I have a use for a pair of hands that are good at handling loot. You're not going anywhere."
Li Ke pinned her wrists. Sensing an opening, Nami lashed out with her leg, aiming a desperate kick to incapacitate him and create a chance to bolt.
But Li Ke was far faster. With a swift movement, he blocked her strike and pinned her limb down, rendering her completely immobile. The sheer gap in strength was something Nami couldn't hope to overcome. It was then she realized she had truly overplayed her hand.
She had seen Buggy's ship was momentarily unguarded and had slipped onto this vessel, intending to plunder the treasures of fellow pirates before using their identity to rob Buggy. Her plan was to trick the two groups into a confrontation, allowing her to slip away with the spoils in the ensuing chaos. Now, it seemed she was the one caught in a trap.
This was a tactic she had used countless times before with great success.
But she never imagined that a ship this size would have such a monster left on board as a guard!
Am I really going to be locked in a basement?!
Real worry began to gnaw at Nami. If Li Ke decided to force himself on her right now, she would be completely powerless to stop him. His strength was overwhelming; she couldn't even twitch an inch under his grip.
Li Ke's gaze remained cold as he assessed the situation. He noted how thin and frail Nami appeared, a testament to the difficult life she had led while trying to gather enough money for her goals. The sheer difference in their strength made it clear that any attempt at physical resistance would be futile.
"You look like you haven't had a decent meal in years," Li Ke remarked, his voice devoid of the warmth one might expect from a conversation about health. "It is quite a disappointment to find such a renowned thief in such a state."
Nami tried to manage a shaky smile, hoping to find a way to bargain for her freedom. "Life on the run doesn't exactly provide many opportunities for fine dining. If it's gold or information you want, we can surely reach an agreement that doesn't involve a basement."
Instead of answering, Li Ke reached for a length of rope. Nami's eyes widened as she realized that her attempts at persuasion were falling on deaf ears. He moved with a clinical efficiency, ignoring her protests as he began to secure her hands and feet.
"The current state of things is unacceptable," he said cryptically as he tightened the last knot. "Since you have nowhere else to go, there will be plenty of time to decide what to do with you once you are no longer a walking skeleton."
Leaving her bound on the floor, he stood up and walked toward the door, leaving Nami to wonder exactly what kind of future he had planned for her and why he had mentioned the strange conditions for her captivity. The silence of the ship was now far more terrifying than the sounds of the ocean outside.
Nami's mouth twitched as she stared at him.
"I'm an orphan," she muttered, a trace of genuine sadness coloring her voice. "My adoptive mother died a long time ago."
As her expression softened with grief, Li Ke felt the urge to tease her flare up again.
"Dead? Even better!"
"HUH?!"
Nami stared at him, her eyes wide with fury. She swore to herself that if she ever got loose, she'd beat this man within an inch of his life.
But in the next heartbeat, her anger was replaced by a paralyzing shock. A brilliant golden light erupted from Li Ke's hand, illuminating the deck. From within that radiance, a woman appeared—looking completely dazed and utterly identical to the mother who had died protecting her from Arlong.
Bell-mère.
Before Nami could even scream her name, Li Ke reached out and scooped the resurrected woman up into his arms.
"Yo, Ma'am," Li Ke said, a playful, wicked smirk on his face as he looked into Bell-mère's stunned eyes. "Your daughter here got caught trying to rob me. Any interest in using your body to settle her debt?"
To punctuate the threat, he reached down and gave Bell-mère's backside a firm, unabashed squeeze right in front of Nami.
How should I put it? he thought, feeling the solid, toned curves of the former Marine. The hand-feel... is actually pretty good.