Chapter 73: The First Time... Is Like This!
Hillside.
The celebration in Cocoyashi Village had already lasted a full day and night.
During the day, there were wild parades; at night, grand feasts.
The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat, the richness of fine wine, and the heartfelt laughter of the villagers.
The fear and gloom that had built up over eight years were being thoroughly vented and dispelled over these past few days.
Sanji carried a plate of meticulously prepared cuisine through the noisy crowd.
"Miss Lufia... is sure to love this 'Love Orange Roasted Fish'!"
Sanji's eyes turned into hearts as he walked briskly, searching.
But Lufia wasn't in the center of the square where the bonfire burned brightest.
Sanji searched around, following the villagers' directions of "I saw her heading that way just now," and arrived at a small, rarely visited spot at the edge of the village.
Just as he was about to climb the hillside, a conversation drifted down on the evening breeze.
It was the voices of Lufia and Ralph.
Sanji's footsteps halted.
He shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but the content of the conversation...
"Ralph, doing it like this... will make it hard?" Lufia's voice was full of curiosity, with a hint of eagerness.
"Of course," Ralph's voice was gentle and certain. "What's important is that you feel its hardness with your own hands. Use your body to memorize that sensation."
Sanji's face flushed bright red.
Countless indescribable images flashed through his mind in an instant.
"But..." Lufia's voice seemed hesitant. "At such a fast frequency... won't it hurt you?"
"It might sting a little at first," Ralph's voice sounded calm. "But it won't later. In fact... it might even feel good."
Sanji's breathing stopped.
"So amazing!" Lufia's voice suddenly became excited. "Then I'll—increase the intensity!"
"Mhm. Come on."
Immediately after, came a dense, rain-like series of "thwack-thwack-thwack" sounds!
Along with Lufia's powerful, spirited moans.
Sanji's face was now so red it seemed about to drip blood, his eyes nearly shooting flames, steam puffing from his ears.
"Ralph... Miss Lufia... you two... damn it—!!!"
He couldn't hold back any longer, shooting up the hillside like a cannonball!
Then, he saw the scene before him.
Under the moonlight, on the open ground at the top of the small hillside.
Ralph stood there, the skin of his bare upper body covered in a layer of jet-black Armament Haki.
And Lufia, standing opposite him, her arms moving so fast they seemed to multiply into a hundred!
"Gomu Gomu no Gatling!"
A dense, rain-like barrage of fists, each one landing solidly on Ralph's chest, abdomen, shoulders, and even his head—all covered in Armament Haki!
The speed was so fast it left afterimages in the air!
The power... was still steadily increasing.
Sanji could tell that Lufia's punching speed and power were gradually surpassing the intensity she had used to defeat Arlong that day!
And Ralph…
He stood in place, his feet planted as firmly as if rooted.
At first, when Lufia increased her speed, he frowned slightly.
But as the attacks continued, his expression gradually calmed.
Finally, he even... smiled.
A smile of enjoyment.
Sanji's mouth hung open, his jaw nearly hitting the ground.
The scene before him completely overturned his imagination.
Ralph's smile was indeed not feigned.
He was enjoying it.
Enjoying this "sparring session."
This plan was something Ralph had carefully considered.
To win Lufia's favor, he couldn't just "take over" when she faced strong enemies.
That would spoil her fun and damage her authority as captain.
But doing nothing, just "tagging along" the whole time?
Where would the favor come from then?
Moreover, based on his memory of the original plot, wasn't every time Lufia fought an enemy Boss a battle where she ended up bruised and battered, doing sit-ups, barely winning, or even suffering a painful victory?
As a man who genuinely liked her, how could Ralph just stand by and watch her suffer like that?
This contradiction had troubled him for a long time.
Until he came up with this solution—
That was to train Lufia to become stronger!
Not only train her to master Haki early, but if possible, even help her further awaken her Devil Fruit abilities.
Make her strong enough to... effortlessly steamroll various bosses.
Make those "bloody battles" scenes a thing of the past.
Though that might not be "hot-blooded" enough, at least Ralph wouldn't have to watch so painfully.
Besides, who said steamrolling wasn't satisfying?
Lufia punching all her enemies away in one go would be pretty satisfying too, right?
On the other hand, during the training process, these intimate "little interactions" could naturally increase favor.
Just like now—
He activated Tekkai and Armament Haki, acting as Lufia's "human punching bag."
To learn Haki, the most important thing was for the learner to personally feel the power of Haki.
With every punch, Lufia could clearly perceive the formidable defensive power brought by Armament Haki.
And Lufia was a genius with combat intuition.
She would naturally imitate, learn, and ultimately master this power through this repeated "pounding."
This was killing multiple birds with one stone:
Lufia becomes stronger.
Ralph's Armament Haki could also be trained and improved through sparring.
Frequent joint training sessions for two, progressing through pain and pleasure, could also boost favor.
Simply perfect.
Under Sanji's stunned gaze, Lufia's attacks reached a peak.
She suddenly retracted her fists, then—
"Gomu Gomu no—"
One leg began to stretch upward, stretch, stretch, stretch again!
Straight into the night sky!
"—Ono!!!"
The move that had once defeated Arlong!
The suspended leg came crashing down like a battle axe!
The target was—
Ralph's arms, crossed above his head.
"BOOM—!!!"
A deafening impact sound!
Ralph's body was forced into a half-kneel by this stomp!
The ground beneath his feet couldn't withstand the transmitted force, cracking with a "CRACK" and sinking downward, forming a shallow crater.
And Lufia's foot was planted squarely on Ralph's crossed arms.
Due to the force, Ralph's arms were pressed tightly against his shoulders.
In other words—
Ralph's cheek was almost pressed against the back of Lufia's foot.
A flicker of pain crossed Ralph's face, his smile not yet fully blooming—
"AAAAAAAAAAH—!!!"
Sanji completely exploded!
His eyes shooting flames, he charged over:
"Ralph—!!! You bastard—!!! I want to train too—!!! I want to feel Miss Lufia's 'Love Iron Fist' too!!!"
Lufia retracted her leg, landing on the ground. Hearing Sanji's words, her eyes lit up:
"Three people together? Sure!"
She flashed a brilliant smile and, without hesitation, threw a punch at the charging Sanji.
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"
"THWACK!"
A solid punch landed right on his face.
Sanji's forward charge came to an abrupt halt.
He remained in a leaning-forward posture, his eyes turning into swirling heart shapes, then—
"Thud!"
He fell straight backward.
Knocked out.
Ralph walked over, crouched down to check on him, then said to Lufia:
"It's fine. The first time... is like this."
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