A Night of Surprises and New Bonds
After watching Hawkeye disappear over the horizon, Bai Yu turned back toward the girls.
In his hand was a delicate, intricately crafted ring—gleaming faintly beneath the moonlight.
Nami, Kaya, Nojiko, Makino, and Tashigi all stared in astonishment, their eyes glued to the ring.
Bai Yu smirked, already guessing what they were thinking.
Before they could say anything, he held up the ring and said, "This isn't what you think. Let me explain—"
"I want it!"
Before Bai Yu could finish, Nami lunged forward—only to miss as Bai Yu stepped aside with a chuckle.
"Me too!"
"I want one as well, Brother Bai Yu!"
"Please give me one, pretty please!"
The girls crowded around him, eyes shining with excitement.
"Alright, alright—calm down, everyone."
Bai Yu held up his hands in surrender, trying not to laugh.
"Since you're all so eager, I'll explain—these are storage rings. They let you store items in a personal space—super useful for traveling, training, or… well, shopping."
Before he could finish, Nami clung to his arm, her eyes sparkling with mischief:
"Bai Yu~ big brother~~"
Nami's voice turned sweet and syrupy as she leaned in close, batting her eyelashes.
"Other people… they want to… accept your ring~"
Bai Yu's eyes gleamed with amusement.
He lowered his voice and whispered, "Depends on how you behave."
"How should I behave?" Nami whispered back, stealing a quick glance at Kaya and the others.
"You've been slacking off lately, haven't you?" Bai Yu teased with a smirk.
"Did you do your training today? No skipping! And that goes for the rest of you, too."
"Ehh? So strict!"
Nami pouted but stepped back as Bai Yu whispered one last thing:
"Ten o'clock. My room."
"What?!"
Nami's face went scarlet as she jumped back, eyes wide.
Kaya, Nojiko, and Makino exchanged glances, instantly curious.
Nami's sudden reaction only made their imaginations run wild.
"Alright, one at a time."
Bai Yu approached Kaya first, placing a ring in her hand.
"This one's special—there are a few surprises inside."
"Thank you, Brother Bai Yu."
Kaya's smile was so bright that her eyes crinkled into crescent moons.
Bai Yu couldn't resist gently pinching her cheek before turning to Nojiko and Makino.
"You two… need to train harder. Right now, you're the weakest here. Ten days from now, I expect results."
"We'll do our best!"
The girls didn't look discouraged—instead, they seemed fired up by the challenge.
"And you."
Bai Yu's gaze fell on Tashigi.
"You don't even know Haki yet—you need to catch up. Work hard, alright?"
"Yes, sir!"
Tashigi replied on instinct—then froze, realizing what she'd just said.
Bai Yu chuckled.
"No need to be so formal—I prefer different titles. Feel free to call me Marshal if you like."
"…Ugh."
Tashigi turned red with embarrassment.
(Somewhere in Marineford, Sengoku sneezed suddenly and felt the urge to punch something.)
"Alright, that's settled."
After distributing the rings, Bai Yu guided the Island Cloud toward Reverse Mountain.
With the ship on course, he returned to his own training—building up his body using techniques inspired by Teacher Guy.
Later That Night
In Kaya's room—
The young girl nervously opened her storage ring, curious about the "good things" Bai Yu had promised.
Maid outfit?
Nurse outfit?!
As she kept scrolling, her face grew redder and redder until she covered her face with both hands.
"Brother Bai Yu…"
When did he buy all these things?!
Meanwhile, in Nami's Room
Nami sat on her bed, her heart racing as she glanced at the clock—
9:00 PM.
"Why am I so nervous?"
9:10 PM.
"It's still early. Don't panic."
9:30 PM.
"…Maybe I should leave the light off. No, wait—that's weird. Should I sit or lie down?!"
9:40 PM.
"Breathe. Just breathe."
"Zzz… Zzz…"
…And then she fell asleep.
Later
Bai Yu quietly stepped into the room, stopping short at the sight of Nami sound asleep beneath the blanket.
…This night owl actually fell asleep early?
"Little lazy cat…"
He pinched her nose lightly.
No response.
"Little stupid cat?"
Still no reaction.
Bai Yu smirked.
"You haven't been training much lately," he whispered.
"But since I've got you right here… it'd be a shame not to wake you up."
"Hmph, big liar."
Nami's eyes opened slowly, her cheeks puffed in a pout.
"You could've just let me sleep… I was nervous, you know?"
"Nervous?" Bai Yu raised an eyebrow.
"Why would you be nervous? I only came to give you the ring—"
"Ahhh! You liar!"
Nami sat up so quickly that her blanket slipped off—revealing the careful preparations she had made beneath it.
Bai Yu blinked—then grinned.
"…You're looking very well-prepared tonight."
Nami gasped and pulled the blanket back over herself.
"Don't look!"
"Too late—I already saw everything. And besides—"
Bai Yu smirked, holding up the ring.
"—I've already come this far."
"Did you wash up yet?" Nami asked, her voice still a bit shy.
"Of course. Fresh and clean, just for you."
"Hmph… Who do you think you are, acting so confident?"
"Don't change the subject—take your ring."
Nami quickly snatched the ring from his hand.
As she slipped it onto her finger, her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"I can store as much treasure as I want in here, right?"
"That's right. And as long as you train hard, I'll reward you with even more useful items."
"…Even better than this?"
Bai Yu chuckled.
"I've got plenty of surprises waiting. But you'll have to earn them."
"Fine… But I'm still mad at you for teasing me like that."
"Oh? Maybe I should apologize, then…"
Outside the Ship
A shooting star streaked across the night sky—
Illuminating the ocean with a faint silver glow.
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