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"Come on, Sandersonia, Marigold, let's go to sea."
Hancock put Ikki's black coat over her shoulders, turned around and walked toward the Kuja Pirates' ship with determined steps.
"Sister, where are we going?" Marigold asked, hurrying to catch up.
Both Marigold and Sandersonia quickly followed Hancock's footsteps. Looking at their sister's back, they felt genuinely happy for her. At the same time, a small pang of envy crept into their hearts. There were still Celestial Dragon slave seals on their backs that needed to disappear. The two sisters desperately wanted the cursed marks on their own backs to vanish completely.
"We're going aboard the Explorer to find Ikki," Hancock answered without hesitation. "I'm going to ask him to help you both eliminate the curse on your backs."
What she didn't say was that besides asking Ikki to help her sisters remove their curses, she also wanted to see him again. She wanted to thank him personally, though even she couldn't understand why she suddenly felt this urge to express gratitude to the same man. According to her usual way of thinking, even if Ikki had helped her, she would have simply felt it was what any man should do for her. This confidence had always stemmed from her absolute faith in her own beauty.
"We understand, onee-sama," Marigold and Sandersonia said in unison, nodding eagerly. Their faces instantly lit up with bright smiles.
"It seems our little Hancock has been charmed by Ikki," Shakky observed from behind the group. She held her chin thoughtfully with one hand and spoke to Rayleigh beside her with obvious interest.
"Charmed? That little Hancock? How's that even possible!" Rayleigh shook his head firmly, completely disagreeing with Shakky's assessment.
"Haha, you still don't understand women very well, Rayleigh," Shakky laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "Have you ever seen Hancock blush like that before?"
She walked past him toward the three Hancock sisters. "Let's go, we should follow them. It just so happens they're heading to the Sabaody Archipelago. If we miss this chance, we'll have no choice but to swim back."
Explorer, Sword Enlightenment Room
[Ding! You have defeated 'Sea-Breaking Realm Swordsman Rayleigh', and your swordsmanship level has been improved, reaching the Sea-Breaking Realm.]
[Your personal attributes have been refreshed, please check them yourself.]
'Finally, even my swordsmanship level has reached the highest realm,' Ikki thought to himself. 'I wonder if I can compete with Hawkeye now without using Zangetsu.'
Ikki rubbed his aching shoulders and tore away his battle-damaged clothes before walking out of the Sword Enlightenment Room's training arena.
"Thank you for your hard work, Ikki. Congratulations on gaining strength once again," Nico Robin said, stepping forward to gently wipe the sweat from his body.
As Ikki's woman, Robin felt genuine happiness every time she witnessed his growth.
"This time, Rayleigh's swordsman shadow wasn't as strong as his real self," Ikki explained with a smile to Robin, Vivi, and the others. "At least not when it came to Haki. Thanks to that, I was able to defeat him."
He opened his personal attributes panel to check his progress.
[Host: Ikki Kurogane]
[Age: 26 years old]
[Weapon: Zangetsu]
[Life Force: 101,288, SS level]
[Sword Realm: Sea-Breaking Realm]
[Abilities: Advanced Armament Haki, Advanced Observation Haki (Future Vision), Advanced Conqueror's Haki, Conqueror's Entanglement, Transparent World, Innate Demon Slayer Mark]
[Swordsmanship Schools: Demon Slayer Breathing Techniques, Zoro Three-Sword Style, Isshin One-Sword Style, Golden Lion Two-Sword Style, Gion One-Sword Style...]
[Items: E-level Nutritional Potion x4, D-level Nutritional Potion x4, C-level Nutritional Potion x3, B-level Nutritional Potion x2]
Seeing the words 'Sea-Breaking Realm' in the sword realm column, Ikki's smile grew even wider.
"Being able to defeat Rayleigh's swordsman shadow is proof enough of your incredible power," Robin said, placing a prepared coat over his shoulders. "By the way, now that you've reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, should we have a proper celebration? After all... today is your birthday."
"Birthday?!" Perona exclaimed in surprise. "Is that real?"
Even Kalifa's face showed a hint of unease at the revelation.
Ikki raised his eyebrows, finally noticing that the age on his personal attributes panel had changed from 25 to 26.
"It's embarrassing that you remembered, Robin. Even I forgot about it."
"Haha, even if I forget my own birthday, I'll never forget yours, Ikki," Robin laughed warmly.
"It's not just Robin – Nami and I both remembered your birthday too," Nojiko's voice called from the doorway of the Sword Enlightenment Room.
Ikki turned around to see Nami, Nojiko, and Vivi walking in with light, cheerful steps.
"Nami, Vivi, and I all remembered your birthday," Nojiko continued with a bright smile. "Don't think Robin's the only one who cares about you. Come on, let's go. Vivi, Nami, and I have prepared a feast for you."
Nojiko walked up to Ikki alongside Nami, and each took one of his hands, leading him toward the restaurant.
"Wait, you all knew about this? Why didn't anyone tell me in advance?" Kalifa pushed up her glasses, her face showing clear displeasure.
"Sorry, sorry! We actually wanted to wait until we arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago," Nojiko explained apologetically. "We were planning to call you and Perona to prepare a birthday dinner together. The food we have now is just the opening act. We didn't expect Robin to directly mention your birthday to you. There was no other choice – we couldn't let you only remember Robin's thoughtfulness."
"Hmph, don't think I'll forgive you that easily," Kalifa said, though she still followed along with the group.
Perona did the same, despite her mock indignation.
'This is really lively,' Ikki thought, watching his chattering crewmates around him. An unconscious smile spread across his face.
He felt himself growing more and more fond of these companions who genuinely cared about him. He wanted to help them all become stronger too.
'I still have 4 lottery chances left. I hope there will be some useful reward items for my friends,' he thought. 'System, I want to conduct 4 draws.'
[Ding! The lottery begins... Congratulations to Host for winning 'A-level Nutritional Potion' x5, 'A-level Nutritional Potion' x5, 'S-level Nutritional Potion' x3, 'Noble Phantasm - Aestus Estus' x1!]
[Note: The 'Noble Phantasm - Aestus Estus' contains the power of the heroic spirit Saber Nero Claudius. After inheriting this power, you will fully master the 'Noble Phantasm - Aestus Domus Aurea'!]