"Mm, of course it's no problem… And besides, I'll be fine alone in the room," Nami replied instinctively.
But the moment she finished speaking, her face turned bright red.
Why did I say something that sounds so… suggestive?!
Would Lucky Drake misunderstand she was implying that?
Ever since she became his woman, she had been sleeping with him every night—doing things she had never imagined before.
"Alright, I understand. When I finish practicing, we'll go back to the room together," Lucky Drake said gently.
Nami's face grew even Captain Reder.
She felt certain he had misunderstood.
Part of her wanted to explain, yet another part secretly wanted him to misunderstand.
Her heart was a mess.
As the minutes and hours passed, Nami truly held the umbrella for him, staying by his side the entire time.
And the more she watched him, the more irresistible she found him.
Her affection only deepened.
"Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-seven!"
"Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-eight!"
"Ten thousand!"
At last, Lucky Drake completed his 10,000th sword draw, successfully accumulating one use of the Lightspeed Sword Draw.
Even Mihawk himself might not be able to withstand that attack.
After all, a true lightspeed strike—no one in the current East Blue possessed such speed.
Most fighters were only at or slightly above sonic speed.
"Alright, Nami. It's already dark. We can head inside now."
He sheathed his Supreme Grade blade, then suddenly scooped Nami into a princess carry.
Nami tensed up immediately, her face scarlet.
"Lucky Drake, you're… done practicing?"
"Yeah. Took a bit over seven hours, but that's ten thousand draws."
"You worked hard! I'll go boil some water—you should take a warm bath," Nami said softly.
"Okay."
Lucky Drake nodded. Having a woman really was nice.
The next day.
As the Thunder Pirates continued toward the Sea Restaurant, they encountered many pirate groups along the way.
Their flag—three red lightning bolts—was instantly recognizable.
Other pirate crews, upon seeing it, immediately knew it was the Thunder Pirates.
And many of those pirates didn't think highly of them.
Some were openly hostile.
After all, their captain's bounty had reached 20 million Berries.
In the East Blue, aside from the late Arlong, even the so-called overlord Don Krieg had only 18 million.
Infuriating, isn't it?
Naturally, many East Blue pirates refused to accept that.
But accepting or not, none dared provoke the Thunder Pirates.
Rumors said they had robbed the Marine 16th Branch Commander Nezumi—and killed him.
Clearly, their strength was real.
In the East Blue, the only pirate crew arrogant enough to ignore everyone else was the Krieg Pirates, who commanded a massive fleet:
around 3,000 ships
and tens of thousands of subordinates.
And right now, one of Krieg's fleets—ten pirate ships, several hundred men—surrounded the Thunder Pirates.
"Hmph, I knew these bastards would come looking for trouble."
Alvida had encountered the Krieg Pirates before.
They once surrounded her ship, demanding a "protection fee" of 100 million Berries.
As a proud woman, she refused and fought back, eventually fleeing.
The Krieg Pirates chased her for three months before giving up.
Now Captain Red, Lucky Drake, and the others stood on the deck.
Captain Red frowned at the blockade, itching to smash the ships with a single punch.
Lucky Drake, however, remained completely calm—if anything, a little excited.
Ding!
Mission triggered.
Defeat the Krieg Pirates.
Reward: Lottery Points.
Just as expected.
Whenever there was an event opportunity, the system issued missions, and he gained lottery value.
"Hmph, Thunder Pirates? Haven't seen you for a few days and you've already grown to two ships?"
"But compared to our three thousand ships, you're still trash. Pathetic little babies."
A Krieg Pirate captain looked down on them arrogantly.
"Boss, these Thunderbolt guys have been acting cocky lately. Especially their captain—his bounty is twenty million! Even higher than our boss's eighteen million! Isn't that basically slapping Boss Krieg in the face?"
"Exactly! I say we wipe them off the East Blue map—kill them all!"
The Krieg Pirates shouted arrogantly, begging for death.
"Annoying."
Lucky Drake suddenly drew his Supreme Grade blade, channeling internal energy, and swung a simple horizontal slash.
BOOM!
One of the massive pirate ships surrounding them split open, a three-meter-wide gash tearing through it.
Water flooded in instantly—it was a sinking ship.
Although it wasn't quite on Mihawk's level—able to slice a whole galleon clean in half—Lucky Drake's strike still turned a large pirate ship into ruins in an instant.
"W-What!?"
"Is he… one of those legendary sword masters?"
"S-So strong!"
The Krieg Pirates were terrified, cold sweat pouring down their backs.
A casual slash had destroyed a whole ship.
Who would dare provoke him again?
What if he casually swung two or three more times?
"Hmph. If you want revenge, have Don Krieg come personally.
You ten ships aren't even worth my attention—let alone our Captain's."
Lucky Drake stared at them coldly.
The Krieg Pirates, having just lost a ship, were furious but helpless.
"Hmph! Thunder Pirates, you're finished!
You've made an enemy of the Krieg Pirates—you're all dead men."
"But we'll spare you for now.
Next time we meet, you'd better kneel and beg for mercy."
"HAHAHA!
Retreat!"
After acting tough, they turned tail and ran.
They knew their ten ships were no match for the Thunder Pirates.
There were actual monsters aboard.
And so, they fled without hesitation.
~~--------------------------------
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