Chapter 165: Nami's Ordeal (Bonus)

"My daughter?"

Bell-mère, newly summoned into the world, looked toward Nami in disbelief. Her eyes narrowed in confusion.

That was when Ryuji noticed something else—her hairstyle was… courageous, to put it mildly.

He'd seen women with half their heads shaved, and even that took guts. But Bell-mère's style? It defied categorization entirely.

The burning desire that had been kindling within Ryuji? Gone in an instant.

Though Ryuji wasn't usually picky about hair, bald women just weren't his thing—and Bell-mère's look wasn't far off.

But for Bell-mère, none of that mattered. Her eyes were locked on Nami.

"Nami? Is that really you?"

Her eyes widened, and the moment she saw her daughter bound and helpless, her first instinct was to rush forward to help. But then she caught a glimpse of the pirates in the distance, and remembered Ryuji's earlier words.

Her expression shifted. She narrowed her eyes.

"You want me to entertain you? Fine."

No sooner had she spoken than Ryuji felt the murderous intent rise. Bell-mère didn't hesitate—she lashed out, aiming a powerful kick straight at his groin and immediately fell into a combat stance.

She had been a Marine, after all. Her instincts were sharp.

Unfortunately, it didn't matter.

Ryuji raised his arm lazily, effortlessly deflecting her entire offensive.

Bell-mère stepped back cautiously, shocked. She'd left a wide opening in her attack—had Ryuji counterattacked, she would've lost instantly. And yet, he hadn't.

One look at Ryuji's expression told her why.

"Your haircut killed the mood," he said coldly. "Seriously, what is that? Still… whatever. You've only got ten minutes of life left, anyway."

Ryuji had no intention of keeping her summoned for long. Any true mother would never let her daughter be sacrificed for her sake. Bell-mère was undoubtedly a real mother—there was no question.

And that was exactly why he didn't need her to stick around.

"My hair doesn't matter," Bell-mère said sharply. "But you didn't bring me back just to threaten Nami, did you?"

She was smart. She pieced it together quickly, and her glare turned venomous.

Ryuji wasn't surprised. He already knew Bell-mère would never allow her daughter to suffer for her.

"What if I throw in the defeat of Arlong?" he offered. "He's still ravaging your village, right? I kill him, give you ten more years of life, and in exchange—Nami becomes my lover. Seems fair."

He opened his hand, offering the deal. Bell-mère furrowed her brow, troubled.

"You're surprisingly reasonable… but why are you being so blunt about it?" she asked, stepping in front of Nami with a mop in hand like a weapon.

She couldn't understand. If Ryuji had first helped Nami defeat Arlong and then revived her afterward, things would feel very different. She wouldn't have felt so distrustful. Surely someone like Ryuji could figure that out?

"Because I'm building a harem," Ryuji replied with full confidence.

"…You're unbelievable."

Bell-mère finally understood—and immediately felt a headache coming on.

If she had come back to life only to discover Ryuji sleeping around while involving her daughter, she would've insisted Nami leave him at once. But his honesty? It made arguing difficult.

And then—

"I'll do it!" Nami declared from behind her.

"What?" Bell-mère turned in shock.

"As long as you bring Bell-mère back—and kill Arlong—I'll be your lover for the rest of my life!"

Nami's voice was unwavering. She knew Arlong would never keep his promise to spare the village. And she had no better options. Here was someone willing to fight Arlong for her body and and resurrect her mother, there is no way she would hesitate! 

This was her life's deepest desire.

"Shut up, Nami! We'll find another way to deal with Arlong! I'm already dead—I can't return to the living world. And how can you just trust a man like this?! You're still so stubborn!"

Bell-mère was furious. Nami had always been rebellious, and it hadn't changed.

"I'm not a kid anymore! I've gone out to sea on my own—I can make my own decisions now, Bell-mère!"

Nami's voice rang with conviction.

Bell-mère had died for her. She wouldn't treat this lightly.

Even without touching her, she knew this was her mother—the scars, the presence, the protectiveness—it could only be her.

"You're going to drive me crazy!"

Bell-mère clenched her fists, torn between frustration and heartbreak. If not for her wariness of Ryuji, she might've slapped some sense into Nami.

Ryuji chuckled. "Well, looks like you two have a lot to talk about. I'll give you some privacy."

He hoisted Robin over his shoulder and began walking away. But after a few steps, she stirred, groaning softly before shooting him a scornful glare—like she'd just awakened next to scumbag.

Without a word, several arms sprouted from his body and gently set Robin back down. She looked utterly unimpressed… especially as he was still touching her butt.

"You're such a scumbag," she said coldly. "I could forgive the trick you pulled on me… but using the same one on another girl? What is that? Lack of imagination—or just proof you're really a scumbag?"

Her eyes were full of disdain. She hadn't caught every detail, but she'd heard enough.

"I've never denied that," Ryuji replied, unbothered. "But wait, how did you know? Were you pretending to be unconscious earlier?"

Robin turned her head away in contempt.

"I was testing you, obviously," she said, turning her head with disdain. "And you failed. You really were planning something perverted, weren't you? Ugh… if you're that desperate, just use my clone."

With a snap of her fingers, a clone of herself appeared.

Ryuji looked from the clone to the real Robin, who had now returned to her seat. Then, without hesitation, he reached out…

And grabbed the real one.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"You."

"!!"

Robin tried to flee, but it was too late. Ryuji had already thrown her over his shoulder and carried her back into the cabin.

When the storm passed and calm returned, Ryuji stepped out of the cabin, leaving behind an unconscious Robin. Waiting for him on the deck, nervously fidgeting in her chair, was Nami.

Bell-mère had vanished. Maybe she'd tried to talk Nami out of it to the very end. But in the end, the little cat burglar had still chosen his offer.

To her, the deal was simply too tempting.

Ryuji had left them alone on purpose—so Nami could judge for herself whether the woman he revived was truly her mother.

And clearly, she had decided she was.

"…I accept your terms. But you have to kill Arlong," Nami said, biting her lip.

A mere ten years of servitude? It meant nothing. She was still young—when she gained her freedom, she'd still only be in her twenties.

Yes, there was a chance she might fall for him… or bear his child… or never be free again. But in the face of what he was offering, her body and freedom felt like a small price to pay.

"That won't be a problem," Ryuji said.

With his current strength, he could maintain Dragonforce for several minutes. Arlong didn't concern him.

Besides, it had already been agreed that Roger would take care of it. It felt like using a missile to swat a fly, sure, but a deal was a deal. He wasn't letting Roger eat for free.

"I'm serious," Nami insisted, her voice intense. "Unless you prove you can defeat Arlong, I won't become your lover!"

She was perfectly clear-headed. If Arlong wasn't dealt with, Bell-mère's resurrection meant nothing. Her death would just happen all over again.

The village would still be lost.

"I want to save Bell-mère… but I also want to save everyone else."

"That's a pirate with a 20 million bounty!" she shouted.

Sure, Ryuji had taken her down easily—but she wasn't ready to believe he could handle Arlong. Not yet. She needed more proof.

"Twenty million, huh…" Ryuji muttered.

He had just—ahem—dominated a girl with a bounty of 79 million. And truthfully, Arlong, while a memorable boss, wasn't exactly top-tier.

Forget his tyranny over the East Blue—if not for certain plot conveniences, Luffy could've wiped the floor with him. Even Zoro, if he hadn't been wounded by Mihawk, could probably have soloed Arlong.

As for Ryuji?

He might not know exactly how his current strength ranked, but between his mastery of fire and water manipulation, he was practically designed to counter Fishmen.

He hadn't mastered Observation or Armament Haki yet, but under Roger's training, his Life Return technique had advanced significantly.

•Life Return – Level 3: You now have full control over every function of your body, down to individual cells. You can consciously choose when to divide or restrict growth. At this level, you can begin tailoring your combat style—e.g., using your hair like flexible blades or reshaping your limbs mid-fight.

However, permanent transformation and infinite regeneration remain beyond reach.

However, all those so-called secret techniques and hidden arts—once you understood them clearly and stripped away the complexities involving energy—they could be instantly learned. Even if energy manipulation was involved, you could still mimic a portion of the technique.

His skill level was already incredibly high. In other words, even though he didn't yet know techniques like Rokushiki, Geppo, or Shigan, as long as he saw them—or decided to create something similar himself—it would be a relatively simple task.

And honestly, if the Navy truly wanted to take down Arlong, they wouldn't even need a single officer proficient in the Six Styles.

In terms of raw strength, he might still be slightly behind Luffy at the very beginning of his journey—but in a real fight, even if the Straw Hats' top three fighters came at him together, he'd probably take them all down.

The reason was simple.

Once enveloped in Dragonforce, none of the three could get close. Zoro's swords would likely be destroyed outright.

On top of that, he was a swordsman himself. The magical sword techniques passed down in Rias's family were no weaker than any of the sword styles in this world.

Arlong? He was hardly a problem.

Still, as he looked at Nami, Ryuji had a question he couldn't hold back.

"Come to think of it… with pirates being so dangerous, why didn't you ask the Navy for help?"

He was genuinely curious. Whether it was Smoker or Garp, neither of them would care that Arlong was once a member of the Sun Pirates. Garp didn't even need to be mentioned. And if Smoker really cared about that sort of thing, he wouldn't have been exiled to this noob village of the East Blue.

But Nami simply scoffed.

"The Navy? Are you joking? They're either teaming up with Arlong, or they're too weak to defeat him. If I ever dared to report him to a marine, my entire village would be wiped out before morning! How could I possibly go to them?"

There was sorrow in her voice.

It wasn't as if no marine had ever tried to challenge Arlong. They had—but all of them had been defeated.

The survivors? Most of them ended up collaborating with Arlong, either for protection… or profit. If she told the Navy about what was happening here, how could she be sure the information wouldn't leak? How could she know the marine she spoke to wasn't just another Captain Nezumi?

Sure, Smoker had a big name. And Garp's reputation was legendary. But her reputation has long been ruined!

Some pirates might not know who she was, but many people in the East Blue knew the name Cat Burglar Nami. And who would believe a thief?

Even if she only ever stole from pirates… where did pirate treasure come from?

And she still had to fence the stolen goods.

"I see."

Ryuji nodded in understanding.

Nami's situation was like a famous thief in ancient times trying to accuse a corrupt magistrate of colluding with bandits to oppress the people. Reporting it to the authorities would be a gamble: you'd have to hope the official you found was honest, and that his subordinates could keep the secret. Success stories existed—but with so many lives at risk, who would dare roll the dice?

Not to mention the World Government's reputation—it didn't encourage trust.

"Well then, our deal is done. You've seen my sincerity. Now... how about yours, Miss Nami?"

Ryuji gestured politely toward her.

Nami bit her lip, hesitating before speaking.

"I… I accept. But until Arlong is dead, I won't do that kind of thing!"

She looked at Ryuji. He wasn't exactly someone she could trust either, but if he could really bring Bell-mère back to life for even a short time… even if it was a lie, she wanted to believe.

But the final step—that was off the table.

"So, aside from the final step… everything else is allowed? That's acceptable. But Nami, you'll need to show more sincerity in return."

Ryuji nodded. Right now, Nami was thin and frail—he wasn't particularly into that. Holding her would probably feel like hugging a bundle of sticks.

So, he decided he'd fatten her up first.

Still, there were plenty of other things they could do.

For example—her mouth.

"What... what do you want me to do?"

Nami looked up at him with wary eyes, genuine fear flickering in her gaze.

"Hmm, how about this—you'll give me a blowjob, and from now on, you'll eat more and train harder.I don't want the person next to me to be a skinny little girl!"

Nami froze as if struck by lightning.

"S-skinny ?!"

She had always been confident in her looks, but Ryuji's blunt assessment hit her like a hammer. Still, with no other choice, she had to comply.

"Okay! I agree!"

Taking a deep breath, she watched as he smirked and settled into a chair, his expectant gaze locking onto her.

Nami hesitated for a second before understanding what he wanted. Steeling herself, she stepped forward and slowly knelt before him.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she pulled down his zipper—only for her eyes to widen in shock the moment his fully erect length sprang free, standing proud before her.

She gulped.

H-How can it get this big?!

It wasn't that she was feeling lustful—at least not yet. The version of Nami who might start drooling at the sight of his dick hadn't shown up.

While Ryuji believed that Robin, Seria, and even Chobung lady all had potential in that area, Nami clearly wasn't there yet.

She was just… simply terrified.

"W-Wait… it can actually get that big?!"

She had seen men's thing before—hell, she'd even kicked a few to pieces—but never in such an excited state. The sheer heat radiating from it, the scent of Ryuji and Robin still lingering on it—it all made her feel something strange.

What she felt was a different fishy smell. This fishy smell made her feel like something in her body was opened, but it also made her feel anticipation and fear.

Her face twisted in disgust as she tentatively poked it with a finger, clearly hesitant.

Seeing the hesitation on Nami's face, that familiar mischievous streak in Ryuji began to surface again. With a smirk, he gently placed his hand on her head and spoke.

"Open your mouth."

Instinctively, Nami followed his command and parted her lips.

Without a hint of hesitation, Ryuji shoved his dick deep into her mouth—causing her eyes to widen in shock.