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Chapter 50: Forge It! A Will of Steel!!
A few days after the banquet...
The remaining members of the Straw Hat Pirates arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago one by one.
First up was Zoro... who had been escorted all the way back by a beautiful, pink-haired girl named Perona.
Wow, pink hair! I wonder if it's true what they say about pink-haired girls being sluts? As I watched her—
"Whoa!? What is this thing? I-It's so cute!"
Perona suddenly snatched me up off the ground and squeezed me tightly against her chest. To think she'd offer up her breasts the second we met... the rumors about pink-haired sluts must be true. Well, if she's offering, I might as well—
"KYAAAAA!? What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
"Bugehh!?"
She slammed me mercilessly into the ground. And then, without missing a beat...
"Negative Hollow!!"
"Eh?"
A ghost flew out of Perona's palm and passed straight through my body. The result...
"...I'm sorry for groping your boobs... I'm sorry for being born a dwarf... I want to die..."
My spirit... was utterly broken...
—————
Next up were Nami and Robin, who arrived at the archipelago at roughly the same time.
"NnNami-swan♡ Robin-chwa~n♡"
Sanji was hyping himself up to a ridiculous degree over the arrival of the women's team. He had been dying to see them for a whole year, so good for him. I get it, I get it. Having girls around definitely boosts your motivation!
By the way, Nami had apparently spent the last year on a Sky Island.
...No seriously, what the hell is a Sky Island? Are there islands floating in the sky in this world? I think I saw a Doraemon movie about that once.
"Stare~~. Hey, what's a Sky Island? Tell me."
"Sure. A Sky Island is..."
Densuke ended up interrogating Nami about Sky Islands.
—————
Lastly, Brook rolled into the Sabaody Archipelago as a decently famous musician to hold a live concert. ...Why a concert?
Regardless, we bought tickets and all went to the venue together.
As Brook performed his new song, 『 NEW WORLD 』, the crowd went absolutely wild.
"Kyaaaaa!!"
"Soul Kiiiiing!!"
"Woo! Woo!"
"Fooooo~~!!"
Going to a live music concert was a first for me, even counting my past life, but man, it really shook my soul! I threw my arms up and jammed out as hard as I could right alongside Luffy and the others. Pure otaku energy. The only tragedy was that I didn't have any glow sticks.
As the final song wrapped up, Brook announced, "I have a massive announcement to make...!" before grandly declaring the official return of the Straw Hat Pirates. Then, with a hearty "Yohoho~!", he marched off the stage. He was the ultimate entertainer. Honestly, I thought he was pretty damn cool.
—————
Well, with that, the entire crew was finally back together. The Straw Hat Pirates had achieved their grand reunion. In other words, the day for Luffy and his crew to set sail had finally arrived.
"Well, Luffy. Guess this is goodbye."
"Yeah. ...Hey, Line. Are you really not gonna be a pirate?"
"I've told you a million times. I'm not."
It was his umpteenth attempt at recruiting me. Probably his last. And I shot it down cleanly.
I had my own dreams, my own goals. Watching Luffy and his crew definitely made the pirate life look fun... but that wasn't the world I wanted to live in.
"I won't be a pirate, but we'll always be friends! Luffy!"
"Shishishi! You're damn right! See ya later, Line!"
We shook hands firmly one last time and parted ways.
"Set sail!!"
And with that, the pirate ship carrying Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates—the Thousand Sunny—embarked toward Fish-Man Island... and ultimately, the New World. It's said that seventy percent of ships aiming for Fish-Man Island end up sinking... but Hatchan, Camie, and Pappag were guiding them, so they'd probably be fine.
"Hehehe, do your best out there. Future Pirate King."
I kept waving my hand until their ship completely disappeared over the horizon.
—————
Now then, Luffy was off on his own adventure...
The real problem was my future.
I was currently sitting in my room inside Shakky's Rip-off Bar, holding a strategy meeting with Esune and Densuke.
"Alright! Let's get down to business and talk about our plans going forward!"
"Yes! Brother!"
"Stare—!"
My ultimate dream, my life goal, was to become a massive, towering man and build a massive harem.
With the Huge Huge Fruit out of my reach, the chances of me actually achieving that dream had plummeted to near zero... but I wasn't giving up! Someday, somehow, I would find a way to become a massive man and claim the title of Harem King!!
Hehehehe~!
...Well, that aside, there was something I needed to take care of first, even if it meant putting my dreams on hold.
That's right. I needed to beat the absolute living crap out of that piece of shit Doflamingo and save my homeland... Dressrosa!
When I relayed my intentions to the two of them...
"Understood! Brother! Then let's set sail for Dressrosa immediately! Naturally, I'll be coming with you!"
"Stare—! Densuke is going too! Densuke is going to be useful to Master!"
They both stood up from their chairs in a flash.
Such fast decision-making!?
"W-Wait, you two. Sit back down for a second."
"Wh-What is it? Are you going to tell us we can't come? N-No way! No matter what you say, I'm going with you! I won't ever let you be killed again!"
"Densuke too! Protect Master! Densuke can fly now, so she can protect you! Jzzt, jzzt, jzzzt~!"
They both puffed out their cheeks in anger. But that wasn't what I meant at all.
"I'm really happy you two feel that way. Honestly, having you come with me would be a huge help."
"Ehehe."
"Nhihehe."
"But I'm not planning on heading to Dressrosa right this second."
"Eh?"
"Stare?"
"Starting today, I'm going to undergo... a strict, rigorous training regimen!"
"『!!?』"
They both blinked at me in wide-eyed shock.
"Tr-Training? But Brother, I think you're already incredibly strong..."
"You think so?"
"Yes. Ray-san said so too. 'There are tens of thousands of Observation Haki users in the world, but very few who can actually glimpse the future. The fact that Line can use it makes him incredible! He's my pride and joy! Wahahahaha!' He said that..."
"H-He really said that!? Ray-san did?"
"Yes."
Aw, Ray-san, come on. If you're going to say nice things about me, say them to my face. That makes me really happy. Just a little bit.
"Fufuhaha! W-Well, yeah, of course!? My Observation Haki is amazing! I'd consider myself a top-tier user!"
"Yes! You're wonderful, Brother!"
"Stare! Master is stwong!"
"Fheh, fuhuhu, hehehehe~♪ Ahem... But, you see, during the Summit War a year ago, I learned exactly how dangerous it is to be overconfident."
I let out a long, heavy sigh.
"What do you mean?"
"...Observation Haki only works when you're calm... You know that, right?"
"Yes."
"During the Summit War a year ago, I faced off against Doflamingo."
"...Yes."
"And right then, he told me something that seriously shocked me... And after that, I couldn't use my Observation Haki at all..."
"Eh!?"
A bead of sweat trickled down Esune's forehead.
"Th-That shocking thing... was it... finding out that Dressrosa had been conquered...?"
"...Well, basically..."
Finding out Dressrosa was conquered was shocking, yes...
But... what really broke me was hearing that Viola was dead... and finding out that Monet was a traitor... It was a brutal one-two punch to my psyche.
"..."
But there was no point in telling Esune that right now. It would just depress everyone... Better keep my mouth shut.
"Fuuuuuuuuhhh..."
"B-Brother...?"
I smacked both of my cheeks hard with my hands.
Ahhhhhh, no, this is bad. I've been putting on a brave face, but actually stopping to think about it hurts way too much...
But... no despairing! I already hit rock bottom! Now is not the time to be negative! Look forward! Me!
"Ahem! ...W-Well, anyway, after hearing something shocking, my Observation Haki fell completely apart."
"..."
"And without my Observation Haki, I got beaten pathetically. Doflamingo absolutely mopped the floor with me, and in the end, I was roasted alive by Akainu's magma."
"...Guh!!"
No matter how incredible my Observation Haki was, if it completely short-circuited the moment I was put under mental stress, it was entirely useless.
I ground my teeth together and clenched my fists.
"Therefore! The point I'm trying to make is! Me! My mental fortitude is way too weak! That's the problem!"
"Th-That's not true!"
"Yes, it is. That's why, during this training period, I'm going to completely re-forge my mental state!"
"?? Forge your... mental state?"
"Exactly!"
My greatest strength was my Observation Haki!! ...But if I lost my cool when it mattered most, making my Haki useless, it was a moot point.
That was exactly why I needed to train my mind first! I wanted an unshakable, immovable Observation Haki that would never falter, no matter how much emotional distress I was in! That was my goal.
"...B-But Brother... forging your mental state... how exactly do you train something like that?"
"Stare~~. By having Densuke and the others say a bunch of mean things to Master?"
"Hehehe! No need to worry about that! I've already hired... a professional to help me forge my spirit!"
"『A professional?』"
With a confident smirk, I forcefully threw open the bedroom door.
"Allow me to introduce her! A professional at shattering people's spirits! My training partner! Her name is... the Slutty Pink Girl!"
"Who the hell are you calling a slutty pink girl!? Besides, I never agreed to do this, you damn dwarf!! Don't just unilaterally appoint me as your training partner!"
The person standing on the other side of the door was... the same Slutty Pink Girl who had dropped Zoro off at Sabaody: Perona. She looked pretty cute in her gothic Lolita dress.
"U-Um... Brother. Is this the person who's going to handle your mental training...?"
"Yep! Perona ate the Hollow-Hollow Fruit, which lets her create ghosts that make anyone they touch extremely negative. Hehehe! I can't think of a more perfect candidate to train my mental fortitude."
"Like I said, I never agreed to this! Don't just decide things on your own just because I'm cute!"
Perona barked angrily.
"Come on, just for a little while! Please!"
"...How long is 'a little while'?"
"Hmm... I need to get strong enough to guarantee a win against Doflamingo, so... alright! I'll train just as long as Luffy and the others did! That makes it 1 year! Help me train for a whole year!"
"Are you out of your mind!!? As if I'd waste a whole year of my life helping you with your stupid training!!"
"Ehhh? Pretty please, come on~. If you do, I'll let you grope my..."
"Grope your what?"
"I'll let you grope my boobs~."
"I don't want them!! Stop trying to force this slut narrative on me!!"
Perona floated up into the air and pointed an accusatory finger at me.
"If you really want my help with your training... let's see... 1 billion Berries! Pay me 1 billion Berries upfront, right now! Do that, and maybe I'll think about it. Horohorohoro."
O-One billion Berries!? That's way too...
"Ah, then I'll pay for it. Here you go."
""""Eeehhhh!!?""""
Without a single shred of hesitation, Esune smoothly slid a heavy briefcase containing 1 billion Berries right under Perona's nose.
Perona's eyes bugged out of her skull, unleashing an absolutely legendary shock face. I was probably making the exact same Enel Face.
"E-Esune...! Wait, wait, wait! This is 1 billion! 1 billion! You can't just casually drop 1 billion! Are you crazy!?"
"Not at all! If a mere 1 billion Berries can help you, Brother, it's actually cheap. My entire existence belongs to you, anyway...♡ So please, demand more from me...♡ My body, my soul, my money, take all of it...♡"
"T-To drop a billion on something like this... you guys are completely insane..."
Perona looked visibly disgusted. Yeah... I was a little weirded out myself.
B-But still, you were the one who asked for a billion, Perona! And we've already handed it over!
Which means neither of us can back out now! Now be a good girl and help me train! Hehehehehehe~! (Desperation)
—————
And so, my mental training with Perona officially began... but...
To be completely honest, this training was the single most agonizing experience of my entire life.
"Ready?"
"...Do it!"
"Negative Hollow!!"
First, Perona would unleash a Negative Hollow—a ghost designed specifically to shatter the target's spirit. I intentionally took the hit head-on.
"Guh...!!"
Instantly, my mood plummeted into the abyss, and—
"Haaahhhhhhh..."
I'm the worst... I want to die...
But this was where the real training began. While trapped in this state of absolute, suicidal depression, I had to force myself to maintain Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki.
That was the training! However...
"No matter how much a short virgin piece of garbage like me trains... it's all completely pointless... I can't protect anything... I'm depressed... I wanna die..."
With my spirit completely broken, maintaining Haki was physically impossible...
"H-Hey... are you okay? That was the tenth time already, shouldn't you take a break?"
Seeing me crumpled on the floor in an ORZ pose, drowning in a pit of self-loathing, Perona worriedly called out to me. Her tone was rough, but deep down she was actually a really kind girl.
...But I didn't need her kindness right now!
"Pant, pant...! I-I'm fine... hit me... again!"
"Eeeh!?"
Having recovered slightly, I demanded another serving of Negative Hollow.
"I-If you keep taking Negative Hollows like this, you're going to end up with permanent psychological damage, you know!?"
"...The people back in my homeland are suffering through way worse than this...! I refuse to give up over something this trivial...!"
"Y-Yeah, but still..."
"Perona! Next time, I want you to actively attack me while I'm in the negative state! I need to push myself even further to awaken my Haki under duress!"
"Eeeehhh!!?"
Just you wait, everyone in Dressrosa!
It might take me a little while, but I'm going to survive this training, get stronger, and absolutely... absolutely!! I'm going to beat the living shit out of Doflamingo!!!
"N-Negative Hollow!!"
Five seconds later.
"I think I'm gonna give up..."
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