"They're all dead?!"
Nami froze. She'd been so focused on stuffing gold and treasures into her sack that she hadn't even noticed when the sounds of fighting outside stopped. While breathing a sigh of relief, she eyed Reno warily. If he wasn't part of either pirate crew, his identity was obvious. A rival thief. Definitely a rival thief.
"These are my spoils. Don't even think about taking them!"
Nami shot Reno a glance, reaching for the sack on the floor.
Shave!
In a flash, Reno vanished from his spot, snatching the sack before Nami could.
"So fast?!" Nami's heart skipped a beat.
"It's pretty heavy," Reno said, weighing the sack with a satisfied nod.
"That's mine! Give it back!"
Furious at seeing her haul in someone else's hands, Nami lunged at Reno, flailing her arms to grab him.
"Too noisy."
Reno shook his head and effortlessly subdued her with brute force.
Realizing the gap in their strength, Nami quickly dropped her aggressive stance and adopted a softer, more delicate demeanor.
"Sir, I risked my life to get these. Please, have mercy and don't take them from me," Nami pleaded, pressing her hands to her cheeks, her voice turning sweet and syrupy.
Seeing no reaction from Reno, she gritted her teeth and doubled down. "If you give me back my money, I'll do anything you want."
Anything?
Reno smirked. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
Nodding with satisfaction, he said, "Not a bad attitude. From now on, you're the navigator of the Reno Pirates. Join my crew, and I'll consider letting you manage these funds."
"I'm in!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Nami nodded enthusiastically, her voice firm and resolute. It was just a simple agreement—no need to overthink it. Once she got her hands on the money, she'd bolt.
Catching the sly glint in Nami's eyes, Reno chuckled. Joining his pirate crew wasn't as simple as a verbal promise. Besides, he was looking forward to the rewards he'd get for "conquering" Nami.
With a flash of white light, the sack in Reno's hands vanished.
"Huh?!"
Nami's eyes comically popped out of her head. Gone. Ten million Berries' worth of gold and treasures had just disappeared right before her eyes?!
"Where'd it go?!" "Where's my money?!" "You—! Lord Reno, where's my money?!"
Nami scrambled in a panic, nearly cursing before catching herself. This jerk—where had he hidden her money?! That was ten million Berries!
"First of all, this is the Reno Pirates' money, and I haven't agreed to give it to you yet." "Second, as the newly appointed navigator, shouldn't you start fulfilling your duties?"
Reno calmly corrected Nami's misconceptions. As for the vanished treasures? He knew exactly where they were. System inventory, anyone?
"Duties?!" Nami blinked, quickly catching on. Navigation, right? For her, that was as easy as breathing.
Wait. Why was Reno looking at her like that?
"What kind of duties are you talking about?!"
Swallowing hard, Nami crossed her arms over her chest, asking tentatively. Though she was still inexperienced, she wasn't some naive thirteen-year-old. She was eighteen now—a full-grown adult.
Reno shrugged with a light chuckle. "Between a man and a woman, what do you think?"
Before Nami could refuse, he added, "That's ten million Berries we're talking about."
The refusal on the tip of her tongue died in her throat. Reno was right. That was ten million Berries. If she missed this chance, her plan to buy back Cocoyasi Village from Arlong would be delayed by months. Thinking of Arlong's cruelty, she couldn't bear to wait any longer.
It's just a quick job, right?
After some mental self-assurance, Nami took a deep breath, plastered on a sweet smile, and sidled up to Reno, her voice dripping with charm. "Captain, you said it yourself. When we're done, you'd better let me manage the money."
Reno grinned, wrapping an arm around Nami's slender waist. He led her to a relatively clean room. The moment the door closed, their "work" began—a task that lasted over four hours.
At first, the work didn't go smoothly. Nami, being a novice, wasn't familiar with the process or its details and struggled to keep up with Reno. But under his patient guidance, her natural talents shone through, and their coordination grew seamless.
Nami, it turned out, had a knack for this work. She even started improvising, picking up techniques quickly. As they got into the groove, she forgot her initial goal of just going through the motions.
…
As the work neared its end, Nami took the initiative to wrap things up, leaving nothing undone.
"It's getting late. Rest up, and we'll set sail tomorrow," Reno said gently.
Nami didn't argue. The intense work had exhausted her.
Tucking her in, Reno left the room. He stepped into another empty room nearby. Though the details of their "work" were unforgettable, in the One Piece world, strength was everything.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, for successfully conquering Nami. Would you like to claim your reward?]
"Claim it."
Reno didn't hesitate. Conquering Nami was all about the rewards, wasn't it? Did they really think he was just a pervert?!
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the Power of the Shennong Beast. It can be optimized for the One Piece world. Would you like to optimize it?]
"Shennong Beast?!" Reno rubbed his chin thoughtfully. If he remembered correctly, the Shennong Beast was from the anime Legendary Armor, a healing-type divine beast linked to the Shennong Ruler, capable of curing any injury.
A real treasure. The One Piece world was fraught with danger, and injuries were inevitable. With the Shennong Ruler's healing powers, as long as he wasn't instantly killed, he could roam freely.
"Optimize it," Reno responded.
The so-called optimization function refined the reward, keeping the best parts and discarding the rest.
[Optimization complete. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the Healing Fruit.] (Note: Originally planned to name it the Cure-Cure Fruit, but since that's taken by Princess Mansherry, it's been renamed the Healing Fruit.)
Notes: ① The optimized Healing Fruit perfectly integrates the Shennong Ruler's healing powers, capable of regenerating limbs and removing various negative effects from the body. ② System-granted Devil Fruits have no side effects, are unaffected by seawater, and can stack with other Devil Fruit abilities. ③ If the Host does not use the system-granted Devil Fruit, they can share its abilities with the user.
…