One Piece pirates salty life

"Ahhhh!"

Behind the Merry, on the vast, shimmering sea, all the crew members except for Luffy and Leo were thrashing desperately in the water. Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and the others swam with all their might, their arms pounding the waves, eyes wide with panic.

Pursuing them relentlessly were massive sea beasts — terrifying creatures from the deep that churned the water into frothy white caps. Their enormous jaws snapped hungrily, intent on closing the distance with the exhausted swimmers.

Just a few days ago, after Nami had stolen the wallets from Ajian and his friends, they had left Kekoyasi Village behind. Naturally, Leo had started to retaliate — or rather, he had taken it upon himself to train Nami, much to her dismay.

As for the others? They were simply along for the ride — unfortunate runners-up in this chaotic chase.

"Hey, Nami! Can't hold on any longer, huh?" Leo's voice rang out cheerfully from the deck of the Merry. His broad smile was infectious, even as he held a skewer of sizzling barbecue in one hand, waving it enticingly in front of her face. "Just open your mouth, and I'll scoop you up right away!"

"Leo! You're such a liar!" Nami shot back, her voice trembling with a mixture of exhaustion and irritation.

"Ah, come on! I don't want to be your Bailey snack!" Leo teased playfully, grinning as he chewed on his food, clearly enjoying himself on the deck while the others struggled below.

Nami's glare could have burned holes through the skewer he held. She was furious — and rightly so. She had trusted Leo when he told her that his training would be good for her. He promised that if she endured his brutal sessions, not only would she be spared from paying back the seven million Baileys she owed him, but he'd also give her an extra five million Baileys on top of that.

But now, with the giant sea beasts hunting them, it was hard for Nami to see the benefit. Survival was far from guaranteed.

If it weren't for the fact that she had already endured several days of his relentless training, she would have given up and shoved him off the ship long ago.

"Stop crying! There's no time to waste on tears!" Leo laughed wickedly, showing no sympathy whatsoever.

"Just—stop talking. I can't hold on any longer," Usopp panted heavily, gasping for air. He was in the worst shape of them all, his strokes growing weaker and smaller in the turbulent sea.

For days, their lives had become a grueling cycle of swimming, eating, sleeping, and—well—barely surviving. They only managed about three hours of sleep a day, and the rest of the time was spent either battling exhaustion in the water or trying to keep up with Leo's insane training regimen.

If they had been ordinary sailors, they'd have been wiped out by Leo's harsh methods long ago. But somehow, despite everything, they were growing stronger — much stronger. Leo himself admitted he could now take on ten times the number of opponents he could before.

The biggest mystery of all was how Leo managed to catch the Sea Kings and somehow get them to chase after them, instead of attacking directly. It was a cruel, merciless tactic, and Usopp silently swore that no matter what, he would never provoke Leo again.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Luffy's hearty laughter rang out as he plopped down beside Leo on the deck, wiping barbecue grease off his hands. "Leo, they look so happy down there!"

Leo chuckled and ruffled Luffy's messy black hair. "It does look like fun. Too bad you can't swim, huh?"

Nami, already on the brink of collapse, glared fiercely at the two carefree eaters.

Summoning all her remaining strength, she gathered moisture from the surrounding air and condensed it into a huge ball of seawater — the first time she had used her magic without the aid of her wooden staff. It was a desperate attempt, fueled purely by the magic patterns etched into her body and her own raw talent.

Leo glanced at the greasy smear on his shoulder from where Luffy had leaned on him and, with a smirk, swiftly dodged the attack. He then accelerated, moving quickly to redirect the ball of water with a casual flick of his hand.

Bang!

The sphere slammed directly into Luffy's face with a deafening splash. The shock sent him tumbling backward and plunging into the sea with a loud splash.

"Gulp… Gulp, gulp!" Luffy flailed wildly beneath the surface, thrashing to catch his breath as he sank deeper.

Leo calmly wiped the barbecue sauce off his shoulder and then sprang into action. He moved to rescue the swimmers still struggling behind him, scooping them one by one onto the Merry's deck. Just when Luffy was about to drown, Leo dived and pulled him out, timing it perfectly.

"Luffy, how could you be so careless? Falling into the sea while eating barbecue!" Leo's voice was sharp as he clenched his fist and gave Luffy's bulging belly a hefty punch.

The blow shook the Merry and knocked all the seawater from Luffy's stomach in one go.

"Ahem! I'm alive again… alive again!" Luffy clutched his belly, dramatically swearing he'd never mess with Leo again.

But why "again"? Everyone knew he'd say that every time.

Ignoring Luffy's theatrics, Leo turned his attention to Nami and the others, who were collapsed, too exhausted to move.

Nami, who had just summoned a powerful water ball, now looked like she'd been beaten to a pulp — her eyes dull and lifeless.

Leo pulled a wand from his inner pocket and waved it over the group.

"Life. Restore."

Milky-white spots of light condensed out of thin air, flowing like gentle streams into their bodies.

Within seconds, the four who were on the brink of collapse stood up again, rushing toward the piles of food Leo had prepared earlier in the center of the deck.

Leo didn't specialize in recovery magic. His technique mainly stimulated their natural cellular regeneration, a process that left them ravenously hungry.

Watching them devour the food with such enthusiasm, Leo simply shook his head and said nothing more.

"We're not far from Logue Town now," he said, "Let them rest."

After half a day of rest and recovery, Nami was back to her old self — full of energy and mischief. She eagerly counted out the five million Baileys Leo had promised as a reward for enduring his training.

"Money makes Uncle Leo right," she muttered happily.

The other three, feeling significantly stronger than before, had an even simpler recovery plan: eat, sleep, and repeat. After a good meal and several hours of sleep, their strength was fully restored.

Once fully refreshed, the first thing Nami did was pull out the newspaper she had bought earlier and leaf through it, venting all the complaints she'd saved up during the stressful days at sea.

"Is the world really this chaotic now, or is it just that the price of newspapers has gone up?" she muttered.

"If I hadn't earned more Baileys, I probably wouldn't even be able to afford clothes," she complained.

As she grumbled, several strange pieces of paper slipped from between the pages, fluttering to the deck.

She picked one up and froze for a moment.

"What's this? A wanted poster?"

Luffy, who was nearby, immediately noticed and snatched up a similar paper with his name on it.

He laughed heartily, utterly unbothered.

"Wahaha! Looks like we're wanted!"

He pointed proudly at the bounty printed below his face: 30 million Baileys.

"Are you stupid?!" Nami snapped, her face growing pale. "Don't you realize how serious this is? With a bounty on our heads, someone's after us!"

Loki, who had been quietly looking at the posters with Usopp, suddenly perked up when Nami spoke.

Sanji, always the gallant knight, rushed over at once. Hearing Nami's distress, he dropped to one knee with theatrical flair, brandishing a bouquet of roses he seemed to have conjured from thin air.

"Dear Princess, your knight Sanji is here to protect you!"

Pink hearts seemed to swirl magically around him.

Leo stared at Sanji with a dumbfounded expression. Where on earth did he get that bouquet? it was almost as magical as his own wand.

Øóffer going on for diamond tier

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