Chapter 40 : Progress Of Cleansing And Marrow Removal

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As soon as Ikki stepped into the room, his eyes fell on a little girl who had fainted upon hearing Luffy cheerfully declare himself a pirate.

Seeing her, Ikki immediately realized he had arrived at the Millennium Dragon event.

"Hey, Ikki, what were you doing in the cabin just now?" Nami asked, glancing at the unconscious girl before turning back to him, her curiosity evident.

"I... I was summoning magical items!" 

Luffy and Zoro, who were already aware of Ikki's ability, perked up at his words. Currently, only the two of them and Nami knew about Ikki's summoning powers. Zoro, in particular, remembered how Ikki had summoned Kuina, through his mysterious ability.

"Magical items? Did you summon something cool this time? Show me!" Luffy exclaimed, bounding over with uncontainable excitement.

"Uh... what exactly does item summoning mean?" Usopp asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Nami took it upon herself to explain. "Ikki has this strange ability to summon unique items. For example, the sea bicycle in the storage room, Zoro's wine gourd, and even that training manual for Nen—all of them were summoned by him."

Hearing this, Sanji and Usopp exchanged intrigued glances, both now looking at Ikki with anticipation.

"We can talk about this later," Ikki said, waving them off. "I need to step away for a bit. Not sure how long I'll be, but don't wait up!"

With that, Ikki approached a blank section of the wooden wall and pressed his hand against it. In an instant, a pink wooden door decorated with a whimsical penguin pattern materialized.

This was the entrance to his Cozy Cabin, a space he could access through two methods. The first was by directly opening a dimensional door using himself as a medium, though it had its drawbacks—such as exiting in the exact location of entry, which could be problematic if the ship had moved in the meantime. The second method, the one Ikki used now, involved summoning a physical portal.

As Ikki stepped through the door, Luffy, Nami, Sanji, and the others followed close behind, their curiosity piqued.

"Whoa, Ikki!" Sanji teased as he glanced around. "I didn't know you had such a girly sense of style."

Ikki's face twitched in irritation.

"I think it's nice!" Nami chimed in, her eyes sparkling as she took in the cabin's cozy interior. The space was fully furnished with a living area, bathroom, study, tea room, and more. "It's so well-equipped!"

Still, the overwhelmingly pink decor wasn't sitting well with Ikki either. Annoyed, he accessed the Cozy Cabin control panel, which operated on a recharge system. Thankfully, the crew had recently plundered a hefty amount of treasure from some pirates, and Ikki had deposited it all into the cabin's storage.

He began converting the funds to make changes, starting by replacing the pink tones with a cooler palette of blues and whites.

As he worked, Ikki decided to add more rooms, guessing from Nami's delighted expression that she might want to stay here for a while. However, as soon as he tried to expand the space, an error message flashed: Insufficient Balance.

"What? Insufficient balance? I just recharged at least ten million beli!" he muttered in frustration. "This TX Penguin Cozy Cabin system is such a rip-off!"

It turned out that even a simple color scheme change had burned through his funds.

At that moment, Nami opened the bathroom door, inspecting the luxurious setup with a mix of curiosity and excitement.

"Oh! This is amazing! Honestly, I could live here," she said, her tone half-joking. But then, as if catching herself, she shook her head and added, "Forget it. I'm the navigator. If I stayed here, I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on the ship or the weather."

She was right, of course. As the only navigator, Nami's constant vigilance was essential to keeping the Going Merry in this case on course. Without her, the ship could easily drift off into the unknown.

Ikki privately thought that if Zoro were ever entrusted with navigation, he'd somehow end up at Laugh Tale directly, skipping all the necessary coordinates and Poneglyphs entirely.

After exploring the cozy cabin, the crew returned to the Going Merry, leaving Ikki to retreat into solitude for some personal training.

Ikki sat cross-legged on the floor, holding a Marrow Cleansing Pill in his hand. He had read about these types of elixirs in cultivation novels—how protagonists would often fall into deep slumber for days after taking them. Unsure how his body would react, Ikki made preparations to weather the process.

Once he swallowed the pill, a warm sensation began spreading through his body. Soon, beads of sweat formed on his skin, soaking his clothes. Within an hour, the warmth subsided, and Ikki could feel an unprecedented surge of strength coursing through him.

When he opened his eyes, he noticed a distinct change—his single magatama Sharingan had evolved into three tomoe. His vision became sharper, his awareness keener.

Feeling exhilarated, Ikki stood up, eager to test his new strength. But the sticky, unpleasant sensation all over his body made him freeze.

Looking down, he realized his skin was coated in a layer of black-red mucus—the impurities expelled during the cleansing process.

"Ugh, that's disgusting!" he muttered, hurrying to the bathroom to wash it all off.

The shower not only cleaned off the grime but revealed something unexpected: all his body hair was gone. He was completely bald.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Ikki couldn't help but sigh. "Seriously? The price of getting stronger is going bald?"

Unlike a certain caped hero, though, Ikki noticed his hair roots were intact. It seemed his hair would grow back in time.

After cleaning up, Ikki's stomach growled loudly, pulling his attention to his now-hollow-feeling midsection.

Grabbing his clothes, he left the cozy cabin and headed for the kitchen on the Going Merry. It was late at night, and while it had only felt like an hour to him, he suspected several hours—or even half a day—had passed.

The kitchen was quiet, but as he approached the refrigerator, Ikki noticed he wasn't the only one seeking a midnight snack. Luffy, naturally, was there with his characteristic hunger, while the little girl they had rescued earlier stood nearby, looking a bit lost.

As Ikki moved toward the refrigerator, a sudden creak broke the silence. Alarmed, he dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding a mousetrap that had snapped shut right where he'd been standing. Luffy, not so lucky, had managed to get himself caught in the trap, yelping in surprise.

The commotion quickly drew Sanji into the kitchen. Switching on the lights, he was greeted by the sight of Luffy struggling with the mousetrap, Ikki crouched on the floor, and the little girl standing nearby with wide eyes.