Tatsuki hadn't expected that a random little experiment would actually resurrect a dead mantis.
When his finger touched the mantis's corpse, he simultaneously injected Primal Energy and the Faith Power of Redemption, and then, using the Dominator, he issued a resurrection command in his mind.
Primal Energy's effect was to strengthen the body and restore stamina and mental energy.
The Faith Power of Redemption's effect was purification, healing, and recovery.
Once the command of domination was issued—Tatsuki felt some strange force take effect on the mantis's corpse, giving it a tiny spark of vitality.
Under the combined influence of Primal Energy and Redemption power, that spark rapidly expanded.
And then the dead mantis… came back to life.
A whim of an experiment had actually led him to a method of reviving the dead. It really was incredible.
The most important condition in all of this was still the Dominator. He'd issued the command with the power of Bankai.
Centered around the command "revive this mantis," Tatsuki saw many bizarre waves of power autonomously surge toward the mantis's corpse, all for the sole purpose of fulfilling his order.
In that instant, through the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, he saw countless death lines.
It was like he'd caught a tiny corner of rule-bound death lines—threads tied to the rules themselves.
It was precisely because of those faint rule effects that the mantis regained life.
With that unexpected harvest, Tatsuki was in visibly great spirits when he got home.
"Tatsu-kun, did something good happen?"
Kanae was as gentle and attentive as ever—helping him take off his coat, then offering a loving kiss.
"Yeah… how do I put it? I figured out a new way to use one of my abilities."
Tatsuki didn't waste words. He opened their soul-link, and Kanae instantly understood.
She covered her mouth in shock. "Tatsu-kun… can you resurrect the dead now?"
"Pretty much."
He estimated it for a moment—what it took to revive the mantis was negligible. Humans should be fine too.
"Then that really is something to celebrate."
Thinking of something, Tatsuki glanced at the dining table. "No dinner today~?"
Kanae smiled mysteriously. "Tatsu-kun, tonight's dinner is totally to your taste. Go take a look in the bedroom."
With that, under Tatsuki's confused stare, she calmly sat back down on the sofa, petting a cat in each hand, looking completely at ease.
"Dinner… in the bedroom?"
Tatsuki walked over with suspicion, opened the door, and flipped on the light.
"!!!"
He saw a person.
"Haruno?"
Haruno sat on the bed with a bright smile. "Well? Surprise?"
She spread her arms like she was inviting a hug, her foxlike eyes lively and flirtatious, but in truth, she was showing off what she was wearing.
"Why are you wearing Yukino's school uniform?" A black vein practically popped on Tatsuki's forehead.
He and Yukino had already kissed several times in secret at school. Something even more extreme—Yukino definitely wouldn't be able to accept that.
Only the understanding Megumi, the playful and open-minded Eriri, the obedient Yui, and the secretly-M-type Chika could take things that far.
And when he kissed Yukino, his hands naturally hadn't been honest either—he'd checked the treasures under that uniform more than once.
One glance and he could tell the uniform on Haruno's body—clearly a bit tight on her—was Yukino's.
With her index finger at the corner of her lips, Haruno made a pitiful, sweet expression. "Tatsu-kun, don't you like it? Tonight… I'm Yukino~."
In a sweet voice, she actually pulled out a pair of cat ears and put them on her head.
When she turned sideways, a black cat tail was swaying behind her too.
Tatsuki's eyes were sharp—he recognized it immediately. It was the exact set Yukino had used before!
"Meow~"
Haruno lifted her hands like little cat paws, stretching her body and twisting into an incredibly lazy, inviting pose.
A total catgirl.
"!!!"
Tatsuki kicked the door shut with his heel—bang!—and pounced right on top of her.
"I like it. I like it way too much. Haruno… you're so damn lewd!"
…
When Yukino finished her shower and changed, she spotted a note stuck on her wardrobe.
It read:
[Yukino-chan, I borrowed your other uniform and underwear set~. Well, I didn't take the bra—way too small. As for what I'm wearing it for… if you want to know, come to Tatsuki's room. Big sis will be waiting ♡♡♡.]
"..."
How can her sister even do something like this?!
Yukino's emotions were a mess. What Haruno was trying to say couldn't be any clearer.
Wearing Yukino's clothes and doing something shameless with Tatsuki. She even wanted Yukino to come over too. And even worse—she actually mocked her.
If this were the old Yukino, she'd have mercilessly sneered, What's the point of all that fat and flesh?
But after going through so much with Tatsuki, she knew fat and flesh had its uses. At the very least, they made Tatsuki extremely aroused.
Even though Tatsuki had never once disliked her—Yukino still wanted to give him more, but her body just wouldn't cooperate. It simply wouldn't grow.
It made Yukino start wondering… did she and her sister even have the same genes?
"Too evil…"
Yukino absolutely didn't want to fall into Haruno's trap, but her mind involuntarily replayed what Tatsuki had taught her body—the way Haruno had felt on the moon.
Rubbing her thighs, Yukino flushed and fell back onto her bed.
Ever since she'd been used, her body no longer listened to her.
…
"Nami, where are we? Why is everything so foggy… I can't see anything."
A lone ship drifted across the open sea.
It wasn't big or small, but it was sturdy—back in the Kingdom of Arabasta, Vivi had people build it using Arabasta materials.
Right now, there were only four people on board. Nami, Nojiko, Robin, and Vivi.
At the helm, Robin and Nojiko took turns steering. With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit plus Observation Haki, Nami's wide-area Mind Net was better suited for scouting the sea.
The one who'd just asked that question was Nojiko.
Bzzzt
Nami turned into a bolt of lightning and shot up from the deck into the sky. A few seconds later, she dropped back down onto the deck again.
Nami's brows furrowed slightly. "If nothing goes wrong… we've entered the Florian Triangle."
Robin, sitting in a chair, also frowned. "The Florian Triangle is a mandatory route on the Grand Line. Every year, hundreds of ships go missing here. The ships that are found are all empty—no crew. Some people have even seen ghost ships drifting with the dead aboard."
Vivi looked around at the fog that made the ocean impossible to see and shrank back. "W-we're not going to get lost here… or get attacked by a ghost ship, are we?"
"Don't worry." Nami lifted something like a compass needle in her hand. "We have a Log Pose. As long as we sail in the direction it points, we can get out of the Florian Triangle."
"Thank goodness…" Vivi patted her chest.
"Nami, I don't think it's that simple." Nojiko suddenly objected, pointing straight ahead of their ship.
"Look over there."
In the direction she indicated, something like a gigantic mouth slowly emerged from the fog…
Opening wide—about to swallow their ship whole.