"Ah."
Zoro suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them.
"Yeah. It's a very strange kind of energy. I feel like my strength is endless. Even if I'm injured, as long as I circulate this qi, it feels like I can recover pretty fast."
"Definitely strange," Sanji agreed, nodding as he looked down at his own hands.
"It feels like my vitality is getting stronger and stronger. Before, when I used those high-intensity kicks, my leg bones would ache afterward. Now… there's no burden at all."
Luffy, meanwhile, went straight for the most direct demonstration.
He took a deep breath—his belly instantly puffed up—then slapped it hard.
Bang!
A dull thud rang out, like striking a thick oxhide drum.
"Shishishi! I feel it too!" Luffy laughed, pointing at his belly button.
"It's all warm in here! Feels like I've gotten way harder to beat up!"
Ronan nodded, hands clasped behind his back as he looked toward the ever-closer island.
"That's only natural. Reaching this level with a body-forging technique means you've finally tasted the sweetness after endless hardship. All those beatings weren't for nothing."
"When we fully perfect the third stage and reach the realm of 'harmonized unity'… the first half of the Grand Line will be ours to roam freely. Even Devil Fruit users will find it hard to shake our flesh!"
Just as everyone was reveling in their newfound strength, Nami poured a bucket of cold water over their excitement—figuratively.
"By the way, don't get happy too early."
She pointed at the Log Pose on her wrist, her expression serious.
"Don't forget—we'll have to stay on this island for a while."
"Why?" Luffy tilted his head.
"Because of magnetism," Nami explained.
"The Log Pose has to stay on an island and fully record its magnetic field before it can point to the next one. That's an iron rule of the Grand Line."
"And…" She raised one finger.
"Different islands take completely different amounts of time to record."
"Some only need a few hours. Others… might take several days, even months—or a whole year!"
"What?!"
Usopp's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Months?! We have to stay on this spiky island that long?! What if there really are monsters?!"
"That's how it is," Nami shrugged helplessly. "The rules can't be changed."
"Hehehe, it's fine!"
Luffy clasped his hands behind his head, grinning carefree.
"If that happens, we'll just figure something out then! What matters right now is—getting on the island! And eating meat!"
"Luffy's right," Zoro said with a yawn, though his hand never left his sword hilt.
"Standing around worrying won't solve anything. Whatever comes, we'll deal with it."
"Exactly. No matter what happens…"
Sanji instantly switched into knight mode, dropping to one knee before Nami.
"I will personally ensure Nami-san's safety! Any monster that dares harm you will be kicked to dust!"
"Guys…"
Usopp looked at this entire crew of people with zero sense of crisis, clutched his chest, and collapsed onto the deck, twitching.
"W-wait! I've suddenly come down with a case of 'can't-go-on-the-island disease'! I think I should stay on the ship to guard it…"
"Enough nonsense!"
Nami punched Usopp on the head, cutting off his performance instantly.
"We're going in! Get ready—stay on full alert for combat!"
The Going Merry pushed through the thick morning fog, slowly sailing inland along the river.
"Hm?"
Standing at the bow, Zoro suddenly frowned, his expression shifting slightly.
"People? Quite a lot of them."
"Eh?!"
Usopp sprang up instantly, trembling as he raised his slingshot and drew it tight, aiming into the mist.
"Enemies?! I knew it—an ambush!"
Ronan stood in the shadows, his Observation Haki spreading outward like ripples on water.
In his perception, hundreds of people really were gathered along the shore.
But instead of charging with weapons, they were…
As the Going Merry fully emerged from the fog, the sight before them left everyone stunned.
On both sides of the dock stood hundreds of men, women, and children.
They wore brightly colored festival outfits and held flowers, ribbons, and musical instruments.
Not only did they not flee at the sight of a pirate ship—
they erupted into thunderous cheers!
"Welcome to the Grand Line!!!"
"Welcome to our town—Whiskey Peak!!"
"Long live the pirates! Welcome to the Island of Passionate Heroes!!"
Gongs and drums rang out, banners fluttered.
Some played saxophones, others tossed flower petals, and even scantily clad dancers blew kisses as they danced.
"P-pirates… long live?"
Usopp's slingshot slipped from his hand as his mouth fell open.
"No monsters… and they're actually welcoming us? W-what is this? Have I become some famous pirate without knowing it?"
Even Nami hesitated.
"So enthusiastic… Is this some kind of supply stop that caters to pirates?"
However—
Beneath this façade of peace and celebration, Ronan and the others wore completely different expressions.
"Hmph."
Zoro nudged open the guard of Sandai Kitetsu with his thumb, revealing a sliver of chilling steel.
His hawk-like gaze swept over the crowd—especially those smiling the brightest—and a cold smirk tugged at his lips.
"I don't think so, Nami…"
"From them, I can feel a deep, suffocating malice."
As a swordsman, his sensitivity to killing intent was the sharpest.
The hands hidden behind flowers, the eyes shining with false warmth—
within them lurked greed and coldness, like venomous snakes.
"Yeah."
Sanji also dropped his lovestruck expression, took a deep drag from his cigarette, and let the smoke veil half his face—though it couldn't hide the frost in his eyes.
"Luffy, we need to be careful. These guys… may be smiling, but it's the kind of smile predators wear when they're staring at prey."
Ronan stood at the back, silently nodding to himself.
As expected.
This was the result of their hellish training.
With the awakening of Observation Haki, they were no longer the naïve crew that could be easily fooled like in the original story.
In his perception, this was no welcome ceremony at all—
it was a massive trap, jaws wide open.
Every so-called "townsman" had blades hidden at their waist, in their boots, even inside their bouquets.
Their heartbeats were steady, their breathing long and controlled—clearly trained fighters.
Bounty hunters.
"You can sense malice from this far away already? Looks like your Observation Haki is coming along nicely."
Ronan stepped up beside Luffy, looking at the shore where the "performers" acted their hearts out, disdain flickering in his eyes.
"But it doesn't matter."
"If they want to put on a show, we'll play along."
He tightened his grip on the ebony staff, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.
"After all… this bunch is nothing more than a group of small-time nobodies."
"If they dare make a move, we'll just clean them up while we're at it."
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