One Piece: Wudang Bai Ye, Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat Crew

-----

-----

"Food! Gimme some!"

Before Bai Ye could even explain what the pills did, Luffy had already latched onto the key detail.

You can eat it? Say no more.

He reached for them immediately.

BAM!

Bai Ye smacked his hand and scolded, "I said take ONE, you glutton!!"

"Pills, huh?"

Zoro took one and said, "What kind of crazy effect is it this time?"

Honestly, Zoro was probably the only person in the whole world who'd eaten multiple of Bai Ye's pills.

Whether it was healing pills, blood-replenishing ones, or that spiritual liquor known as "Water Pills," they'd all helped him a ton.

So without thinking too much, he popped this one into his mouth.

Nami and Usopp, though, were more cautious. They'd seen how effective Bai Ye's healing pills were, but being naturally scaredy-cats, they waited for an explanation.

Sanji did the same.

"Well, it's nothing too amazing," Bai Ye said softly, glancing at their curious faces.

"It'll just boost your physical abilities several times over and unlock your full potential. That's all."

"Nothing to write home about, really~"

As he spoke, he waved it off like it was no big deal.

If it weren't for that unmistakable "Yeah, I'm awesome" smirk on his face, the others might've believed him.

Usopp: "Why do I feel like Bai Ye's really asking for a punch right now?"

Nami: "Totally agree."

Sanji: "+1."

Even so, they were all still shocked by what Bai Ye had said.

Pills that could definitely boost a person's physical strength several times over? If Bai Ye wanted, he could mass-produce them and build an army that would throw the Navy and World Government into chaos.

With that thought, the three of them also took the pills.

What they didn't know was—these Grade-7 pills were still tough for Bai Ye to make, given his current skill level.

Even if he could make a lot, he wouldn't.

Are you kidding? This was a Marrow Cleansing Pill—a foundational treasure for Adepts.

Basically a fast-track ticket into the world of immortals.

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

Right then, Luffy suddenly started howling like a gorilla on fire.

He was the first to eat the pill, so he was also the first to react.

His whole body turned red, and steam started pouring out of him like a boiling pot.

If Bai Ye had to describe it, he'd say—Luffy looked exactly like he'd activated Gear Second.

In the original, Gear Second used Luffy's limbs like pumps to accelerate his blood flow and enhance his strength.

It was like he'd just taken some crazy energy booster.

The most important effect of the Body Refining Pill was that it massively strengthened the body.

Even better than Gear Second—because once Luffy fully digested the pill's power, he'd permanently gain the physical strength he normally only had when activating Gear Second in the original story.

Seeing this, Bai Ye nodded in satisfaction.

With how Luffy is right now, he could totally go beat up Rob Lucci in Water 7.

"Ahhhh!!! So hot! Water! I need water!"

Maybe his body was overheating too much, because Luffy looked like he was going nuts.

His eyes lit up when he saw the pool at Arlong Park, and he was about to dive right in.

[Trigram of Water — Ice Lotus!]

Right before Luffy hit the water, Bai Ye raised his hand and froze the whole surface solid.

In the original, Luffy got messed up pretty badly because of this pool when he fought Arlong. But at least that time, he got tricked into falling in.

Now? He was literally about to jump in on purpose!

Bai Ye shouted, "Luffy! Moving around a lot will help burn off the effects of the pill too…"

Halfway through his sentence, Bai Ye suddenly had an idea and cut himself off:

"Luffy! Do you see Arlong? Go beat the crap outta him! Once you're done, you won't feel hot anymore!"

Arlong: "???"

Luffy didn't understand the stuff Bai Ye said before that, but this part? He got it loud and clear.

Beat the crap outta him!

Instantly, Luffy locked onto his target.

"ARLONG!!! I'M GONNA PUNCH YOU INTO NEXT WEEK!!!"

[Gum-Gum… Pistol!]

The very next second, Luffy's stretched-out fist slammed right into Arlong's face.

It wasn't that Arlong didn't want to dodge. He just couldn't. His body didn't even react in time.

And when he felt the sheer power behind Luffy's punch, Arlong was even more shocked.

How the hell does someone in the East Blue have this kind of power?

This is the kind of strength only those monsters in the Grand Line should have!

Before Arlong could think about it any further, Luffy's punch sent him flying. He crashed into the building behind him, shattering the wall and kicking up a huge cloud of rubble and dust.

"ARLONG!!!"

Luffy clearly wasn't done yet. He roared and charged straight into the smoke after him.

"Boss Arlong!!!" Hatchan the octopus shouted in panic. He drew all eight of his swords, ready to rush in and help.

Clang!!!

But before he could even take a single step, three blades suddenly appeared in front of him.

They came at him so fast that Hatchan had to swing with everything he had just to barely block them.

Good thing he had eight swords—if he had fewer, he'd probably already be injured.

Standing right in front of him, Zoro slowly looked up and exhaled.

Feeling the strength surging inside him, he grinned excitedly and said:

"Your opponent… is me."

"Damn it!"

Chuu, the kissing fish guy and one of Arlong's top officers, was starting to panic.

He was about to launch his spit cannon attack.

But the next moment—

[Shoulder Meat Kick!]

A leather shoe slammed right into his face, cutting his attack short before he could even fire.

Sanji landed smoothly, then lit another cigarette.

The way he looked at Chuu was like he was sizing up a piece of meat to be cooked.

Fwooo~

He took a puff and said sharply:

"My legs are feeling real itchy right now."

Aside from those three, Nami and Zoro were also starting to feel the effects of the Body Refining Pill.

Usopp's body began to bulk up with muscles.

In no time at all, he went from looking all weak and skinny to that classic "slim with clothes on, jacked without them" look.

Feeling a kind of strength he'd never experienced before, Usopp got fired up.

He picked up his slingshot and started wiping out the random fishmen goons all around him.

[Special Attack: Gunpowder Star!]

Maybe it was just in his head, but his eyesight seemed sharper now too.

Eventually, though, he got so overheated that he gave up on sniping entirely.

He just grabbed his slingshot and started charging into the fight like a madman!

Nami was having a similar experience—though she did feel like certain parts of her body were growing weirdly fast...

But aside from the physical boost, she also noticed a subtle improvement in her awareness of her surroundings.

Still, no time to think about that now. She picked up a random stick she found somewhere and joined Usopp in whacking the remaining fishmen.

"Looks like it's just you left."

Bai Ye turned to the last fishman officer still standing: Kuroobi.

"Hmph."

Kuroobi didn't bother saying much. He just grunted and got ready to fight.

As Arlong's second strongest after himself, Kuroobi was a karate master—especially deadly in the water.

But now… he stared at the completely frozen pool in front of him and felt deeply uncomfortable.

This guy in front of him... he might be stronger than he looks.

Bai Ye noticed the change in his expression and gave a friendly smile.

He made an effort to look as nice as possible and said:

"Relax. I'll finish you off real quick~"

"After all, it's not like I'm a bad guy or anything~"

"....."