The Grand Line weather was, in a word, nuts.
Almost immediately after setting sail, the Going Merry ran into all sorts of chaos.
One minute it was sunny, the next they were dodging giant icebergs or getting slammed by sudden torrential downpours.
In just half a day, Luffy and the crew felt like they'd gone through all four seasons twice over.
Everyone was running around like crazy, even the captives, Vivi and Mr. 9, were forced to help bail water or whatever.
Even Ray pitched in, slicing through icebergs or using his Demonic Power to nudge the ship away from danger.
Once Vivi was untied, she got a good look at Ray and was instantly mesmerized.
She actually reached out to touch him.
Naturally, Nami zapped her with another intense electric shock, making her eyes roll back as she fainted.
Again.
Everyone was swamped.
Well, everyone except Zoro, who somehow managed to sleep soundly through the entire apocalypse, completely unfazed.
Naturally, the Moss Head got ganged up on and beaten senseless by the rest of the crew later.
…
Right now, Nami was expertly guiding the Going Merry towards Whisky Peak, following the Log Pose.
After dealing with all the crazy weather, Ray finally had a moment to check his system rewards from the Loguetown incident.
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the Loguetown incident.Now distributing rewards.
[Fusion rate has broken through the critical threshold. Current Sesshomaru template fusion rate: 50%]
Due to breaking the critical threshold, obtained Sesshomaru's exclusive rewards:
[Yokai Transformation ability, Demonic Power control level increased].
Note: The Host's current control over Demonic Power is not yet optimal.
Full Yokai Transformation duration is limited, and there is a risk of losing rationality, unable to distinguish friend from foe.
Please use with caution.
Additional reward: [Chouchou's level increased, intelligence awakened. Current level: Minor Yokai]
The rewards were instantly applied.
Sitting on the deck, Ray focused inward, trying to feel out this supposed improvement in his Demonic Power control.
Suddenly, a large, fluffy, white thing just... appeared.
It started around his chest and flowed down past his feet.
Seeing it, Ray's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.
'Is this... is this really a tail?'
Before he'd crossed over, Ray had always wondered about that fluffy thing Sesshomaru wore.
Was it a tail? Chest fur? Just decoration? He'd even read somewhere that the author confirmed it was a tail.
Back then, Ray had thought, 'Wouldn't that be super uncomfortable?'
Now, he was experiencing that discomfort firsthand.
Having a giant, fluffy tail suddenly sprout out felt... awkward.
He could control it, sure, but it also came with some weird new sensations.
Just then, Nami, who was checking their course, noticed something different about Ray.
She turned, looked, and her eyes went wide.
Ray already had this noble, otherworldly vibe, but this sudden snow-white, fluffy scarf thing just made him look... unbelievably alluring.
Putting down the Log Pose, Nami rushed over.
Taking advantage of Ray's momentary daze over his new appendage, she practically pounced on him, burying her face in the fluff.
"Wow! It's so comfortable!" she squealed. "Ray, where did you buy this scarf? Can you cut off a piece for me? I wanna make one!"
Ray's face instantly darkened.
The sensation of having his tail touched sent weird electric shivers down his spine, making all his hair stand on end.
But he couldn't exactly tell her, "Hey, that's my tail you're molesting."
He was still getting used to the idea of being a yokai, let alone having this thing.
'And she wants to cut off a piece?! Is she nuts?!'
He pushed Nami away and snorted coldly.
"If you keep messing around, we'll start training."
Hearing the word "training," Nami immediately backed off, scratching her head and laughing awkwardly.
"Ahaha, well, I should probably go check our course now, hahaha~~"
As she turned away, she added, "But seriously, that big scarf is so comfy! I definitely want to sleep on it someday!"
Ray immediately grabbed a nearby wooden stick and swung it.
Nami just laughed loudly and dodged, scrambling away.
But her commotion had been too loud.
Luffy (sitting on the sheep's head), Zoro (practicing), Sanji (cooking), and Usopp (making bombs) all noticed Ray's transformation.
Curiosity piqued, they all started saying they wanted to touch it too.
Watching the four of them charge towards him, Ray actually felt a little thrill.
'Just what I needed – someone to vent on.'
After a series of loud THWACKS and CRASHES, all four of them were lying unconscious on the deck with big lumps on their heads.
Ray conveniently gave Mr. 9, who had just been watching, a beating too for good measure.
Seeing this, Vivi trembled, her urge to touch the fluffy thing suddenly diminishing quite a bit.
…
Dinner time, one day later.
The Straw Hats and Vivi sat around the table (Mr. 9 was squatting on the floor).
Everyone was digging into Sanji's delicious food, but there was noticeably less of it.
Their supplies were running low.
Why? Because the Loguetown chaos meant no time to buy that locked fridge.
Naturally, Luffy had raided the pantry multiple times over the past two days.
Sanji was cursing Luffy out for having zero food ethics.
Luffy just looked completely unconcerned.
"We can just have Usopp keep shooting birds," he said munching away.
Usopp immediately threw his chopsticks at Luffy's head.
"Ten birds wouldn't be enough to feed you! Besides, don't you want to read the news?! From this distance, I can't even tell which ones are news coos when I shoot!"
Ray actually agreed with Usopp.
Now that they were in the Grand Line with its random routes, the newspaper probably didn't know where they were.
They could start getting news again.
But if they kept shooting the delivery birds, the newspaper company might figure out their routes and blacklist them again.
Thinking this, Ray told Usopp, "Usopp's right. However... you still need to keep shooting!"
Usopp looked utterly confused, but seeing Ray's serious face, he just slumped in resignation.
"But what about the news?"
Ray didn't answer, but his eyes held a hint of killing intent.
'It's just a newspaper bird. Eating it is no big deal. But if they dare blacklist me again...' Both Ray and Chouchou had insane senses of smell.
Combined with Ray's Haki, even if that bird-man Morgans tried to hide, Ray would find him.
'If that bird dares block my news again,' Ray swore silently, 'I'll have Chouchou eat him next time!'
Just then, Chouchou walked into the kitchen carrying a dead news coo in his mouth.
Seeing this, Zoro slapped his forehead.
"Well, it's already dead. Usopp, you can probably feel free to shoot birds from now on."
Sanji just smiled silently and walked over to Chouchou, ready to take the bird and prep it for tomorrow's meal.
Chouchou shook his head, tossed the news coo to Sanji, then looked up at everyone.
"This bird glared at me twice while delivering newspapers," Chouchou stated matter-of-factly.
"So I took it out!"
Hearing this perfectly reasonable explanation, Nami immediately prepared to lecture him.
"Chouchou, even as a dog you should be magnanimous. WAIT... you can talk now?! (ΩДΩ)"