Saying Allen felt completely confident about this would be complicated.
"Am I really this pathetic?"
Allen shook his head and walked firmly toward the cabin. Wasn't he going to level up Nami? He had no other impure thoughts in his heart. Besides, the girl was in a similar situation. It would be worse if he acted indecisively and made her feel even more embarrassed. He needed to take the initiative.
Knock knock.
Allen waited at the door with a confident half-smile. However, the moment it opened, his expression froze.
Nami was wearing a bathrobe; it was obvious she had just gotten out of the shower. Drops of water were still trickling down her face and through her hair as she looked at him, a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Maybe I should come back in a few minutes," Allen said, about to turn around, but Nami grabbed his hand and stopped him.
"Nami?"
The girl lowered her head as her blush deepened.
"Come in," she said before slightly raising her gaze shyly. "You're here to level me up, right? I'm ready..."
Allen felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He really needed to stop reacting like this, but he couldn't help it. Nami was already beautiful, and acting this way only elevated her beauty to another level.
The cabin door closed.
Inside, Allen looked around the room. Ever since he had created the cabin, he had never gone back inside.
As expected, the walls were covered with maps of various islands, including Little Garden and Nanimonai, which Nami had obtained in Nanohara despite never actually visiting them.
Once he finished observing the room, he noticed a faint sweet scent in the air. When he turned around, he saw Nami sitting silently on the bed.
Allen walked toward her, and when he reached her, he extended his hand.
Nami silently placed hers over Allen's. Last time, it had been embarrassing to see the reaction leveling up had caused in her body, but this time she seemed more prepared, so Allen believed it would be easier.
Just as he was about to begin, Nami tightened her grip on his hand and pulled him toward her. It caught him by surprise, and he stumbled.
When he regained his bearings, he was on top of Nami on the bed. She looked up at him with dilated pupils and rapid breathing.
"Nami?"
"You kissed Kaya?" Nami asked.
Despite her blush, her eyes remained serious as she questioned him.
Allen widened his eyes in surprise. However, he couldn't lie when she looked at him like that, so he answered honestly.
"Yes, I did."
"Was it because of the heat of the moment, or do you like her?" Nami asked.
"I... I'm not sure," Allen replied.
Like? Love? Wanting someone? Those were things that hadn't existed in his mind for many years.
For him, surviving in the world had always been the priority. No friends, no family, and with his closest connection, Robin, far away, he had never planned on something like falling in love.
"I'm not sure, but she's definitely someone important to me. But so are you... and all of you."
Nami's eyes dimmed slightly, but she smiled as well.
"Thank you, but that's not the answer I wanted."
Nami smiled mischievously, grabbed Allen by his shirt, and before he could react, she kissed him.
It was clumsy and inexperienced, but it seemed to convey her feelings.
Feeling Nami's trembling hands and realizing she was afraid he would reject her, Allen couldn't help but be touched by how adorable she was.
He cursed himself for being such a pathetic man and wrapped an arm around Nami's waist before returning the kiss.
Nami's eyes widened when she felt Allen's tongue enter her mouth. She trembled and felt weak, but pleasant sensations flooded her body.
Nami wrapped her arms around Allen's neck and entwined her tongue with his.
Their bodies pressed together as they kissed, letting go of all thought and acting on desire, setting everything else aside—nothing else mattered.
When they pulled apart, Nami was panting. She looked into Allen's eyes before saying something that changed everything.
"I heard Lenalee mention something—a method that would make us stronger, something called dual cultivation..."
"…!"
Nami smiled mischievously and shyly as she used her hand to guide Allen's hand toward her breasts.
Allen instinctively tightened his fingers, sinking them into the soft flesh.
"Ah~" Nami couldn't help but moan; this made them both stop, and only their ragged breathing could be heard.
Allen looked at Nami with the seriousness of a man who had made up his mind, and she opened her eyes before smiling affectionately and nodding.
Allen opened Nami's towel, exposing her breasts, and without another word, he began to caress them.
Nami bit her finger, enduring the pleasure that was overwhelming her.
....
Ten minutes later, Allen withdrew his hand, covered Nami's chest—she was still panting—and got up from the bed.
— Nami: Level 2 > 4
[Two levels at once, not bad. I can have high expectations for when you do it for real~]
Allen didn't reply and left the room, leaving Nami behind in silence. The moment she heard the door close, she buried her face in her pillow, unable to believe what had just happened.
'I want to die!'
Despite that, Nami smiled as her eyes filled with feelings she could no longer deny.
....
(The next day)
Allen remained silent as he prepared to leave the Black Pearl and head into the desert.
"Is something wrong?" Vivi asked worriedly.
"It's just that I'm not the luckiest person," Allen replied with a frown. "I mean, my entire life, whenever something looks like it's going to go wrong, it somehow gets even worse. Every stroke of luck comes with a catch, and on top of that, I've always felt like I somehow offended the goddess of fortune, because she never smiles at me..."
"Aren't you exaggerating?" Tashigi mocked.
Allen turned to look at the black-haired girl with glasses.
Tashigi crossed her arms proudly, as if to say, "You don't scare me, idiot," but Allen's silence and calm gaze, as though he were looking at a foolish little girl, made her feel offended.
"What?!" Tashigi shouted.
The girl could no longer endure it and stomped on the deck.
"When I was ten years old, I found a gold coin on the ground..."
"So what? Isn't that a good thing?"
"That same day, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and destroyed the cabin I had built with great care in the forest."
"That... can only be a coincidence."
"There wasn't a single cloud in the sky."
"Maybe... it was some Devil Fruit power," Tashigi said, not sounding convinced of herself.
Allen smiled mockingly.
"When I was twelve, on an island in the South Blue, I found a treasure map. When I went looking for it, I ended up running into pirates who kidnapped me and tried to sell me to a noblewoman. Of course, being me, I managed to escape and burn their ship before that happened."
"..."
The girls fell silent.
"When—"
"Okay, okay, I get it. Sorry," Tashigi said, feeling defeated.
Uta, who had been laughing, leaned toward Allen with a mischievous smile like a playful little devil.
"In short, our captain is worried about leaving us here alone~" Uta leaned closer and whispered into Allen's ear. "Didn't you say yesterday that you trusted me?~"
Nami became annoyed by Uta's shameless flirting, but when Uta looked back at her with a trace of teasing, Nami blushed and panicked.
'Did she notice what happened yesterday?!' Nami thought as she turned red remembering everything that had happened in her cabin.
Kaya narrowed her eyes at Nami, making her even more embarrassed. Although the Black Pearl's walls were thick and both cabins were spacious, Kaya's cabin was right next door.
Robin sighed before speaking.
"Then you think we should assume the worst-case scenario?"
Allen nodded.
"I still don't think the Marines are worried enough about us to send an Admiral. However, a Vice Admiral wouldn't surprise me. No... maybe even more than one."
Tashigi immediately scoffed.
"Do you have any idea how huge this world is? Do you think Vice Admirals grow on trees? How is the Fleet Admiral supposed to divert two of them from their duties just to hunt down a rookie pirate? That's not—"
"Hina doesn't think it's impossible," Hina interrupted while smoking. "Allen Walker has currently achieved two major feats that few pirates could accomplish. You can argue that the fight with Portgas D. Ace was only a brief sparring match. You can say Monkey D. Garp was caught off guard. However, the fact that Allen fought them and lived to tell the tale cannot be denied."
Robin nodded at Hina's reasoning. Beyond that, Allen possessed powers from other Devil Fruits. As far as she knew, there were no records of anything like that. That alone was enough to attract the attention of the World Government, and Robin knew firsthand what happened when the World Government set its sights on you.
"Exactly. I'm worried something might happen while I'm away. It's not that I don't trust you to handle it. In the worst-case scenario, you can flee aboard the Black Pearl, because no ship would be able to catch it. But you're here because I brought you with me, and it's my responsibility to protect you," Allen said, slightly embarrassed. He wasn't used to saying things like that.
All the girls looked at Allen with warm smiles, which only made him more embarrassed. He coughed to keep himself from blushing.
[Aww, in that case, can I suggest something?]
'What is it?'
[You can exchange a legendary ship trait for one of a higher rank.]
"Huh?" Allen widened his eyes.
The girls exchanged looks, but only the official crew members knew about Lenalee's existence.
[Just as there are three levels of Skills, there are also three levels of ship upgrades. However, the price increases dramatically...]
'Hey, why are you telling me this now?'
[What are you talking about? You're the one who never wanted to know anything about weapons because you preferred spending your money on your own power. Besides, it's not my fault. Like I told you, all of this is new to me too. Before you, I didn't even know everything I could do.]
Allen sighed.
'Fine, sorry. But what trait could help right now?'
[Hehe... just trust your big sister Lenalee~]
Hina, Tashigi, Vivi, and Mikita were perplexed. Allen kept changing expressions without saying a word, while the rest of the girls, including Robin, were laughing. Allen gave off the impression of being crazy or schizophrenic, but that was exactly why it was so funny.
This lasted only a few minutes before Allen began laughing in a rather disturbing manner.
"Hehe... he..."
"Allen?" Robin called.
She reached out toward her younger brother worriedly, but before she could touch him, Allen looked up with a big, bold smile full of confidence.
"Change of plans, we won't be landlubbers!" Allen turned around and walked toward the helm. "Raise anchor! Unfurl the sails! And hold on tight! This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime voyage!"
The girls were shocked that Allen suddenly started acting like this. However, Nami, Nojiko, Kaya, and Uta, being more accustomed to Allen's madness, immediately began moving around the ship and carrying out his orders.
The wind filled the sails, and the Black Pearl accelerated as it left Nanohara's port under the gaze of countless people.
Among them were Marines and members of Baroque Works. Everyone had expected Allen to divide his crew before entering Alabasta, but instead, they turned around.
"What do we do?!" a Baroque Works member exclaimed.
"I don't know. We were supposed to attack the black ship after Allen Walker left it. We need to report this to the boss!"
The Marines found themselves in a similar situation. They had received information that two Marine warships carrying Vice Admirals were heading toward Alabasta. They didn't need to do anything except keep track of Allen's crew. After all, Alabasta was so massive that it would take Allen a long time to find Crocodile, giving Garp enough time to catch up.
....
The Black Pearl sailed away from Nanohara, but it didn't move far from the coast. This made the girls think Allen was planning to land somewhere away from the port so neither the Marines nor Baroque Works would know who stayed behind and who went with him.
'It's a good strategy,' Robin thought. However, seeing Allen at the helm with that smile that suggested he was about to do something insane made her uneasy.
"Where are we going?" Nami asked as she stood beside Allen.
"My dear Nami, just trust me the same way you trusted me yesterday," Allen replied with a teasing grin.
"Shut up," Nami blushed.
"Suspicious..." Kaya muttered.
She observed them from the deck.
"They seem strangely close. Maybe something happened between our captain and our navigator?" Mikita teased as she stood beside her. "I hope our doctor doesn't just sit back and do nothing~"
"Why do you care, Mikita-san?" Kaya asked coldly.
Mikita laughed while covering her mouth.
"I just love gossip. Romantic drama is the best~"
Without saying a word, Kaya pinched her cheek. She was Level 3 now, meaning her strength was comparable to a muscular man despite her slender maiden's arms.
"Ouch! Sorry!"
"Stop fighting! There'll be plenty of time for that later!" Allen exclaimed as his grin widened. "Today is a day to make history! Hahaha!"
No one understood why Allen was so excited. However, he suddenly spun the wheel sharply, forcing the girls to grab onto something to avoid falling, and then they realized he was steering the ship directly toward the shore.
"What are you doing?!" Nami exclaimed.
The ship was close to the coast, but there was no harbor, and the waters near the beach were shallow.
At this rate, the ship would run aground!
"Allen?" Robin said in confusion.
"We're going to crash!" Vivi cried in panic.
"What are you doing?!" Hina shouted.
"Are you insane?!" Tashigi yelled.
"The Pirate King conquers the sea!" Allen shouted with a daring grin. "But my goal goes beyond that. The sea, the sky, and the land! I will be the King of Everything!"
Far from slowing down, the Black Pearl accelerated toward the shore. Several girls screamed and braced for impact, but it never came.
That's right—the Black Pearl didn't run aground. It continued moving forward, emerged from the water, and began sailing across the sand!
"What?!"
Every girl aboard was stunned, while Allen couldn't stop laughing.
"Hahahaha! What are you all so surprised about?! Everybody knows my Black Pearl can sail on land!"
There was no way anyone could know that!
No matter how absurd it was, the Black Pearl was indeed sailing across the beach sand, and soon it would reach solid ground.
— Slot 2: T2 Land Navigation.
In exchange for "Stealth," Allen had granted the Black Pearl the ability to sail on land. As absurd as it sounded, as surreal as it seemed, solid ground was no longer an obstacle for the jet-black ship.
Robin leaned over the railing and couldn't help but be astonished. The ground around the ship appeared to behave like liquid whenever they passed nearby.
"Incredible..." Robin gasped.
The rest of the girls weren't doing any better. Even Vivi had to calm Karoo, who was on the verge of panic.
"Calm down, Karoo! Everything's fine!" Vivi said, though she herself couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Hehe, I guess we're all going now," Uta shrugged. "Captain, should I sing?"
Allen laughed.
"Of course! A Binks' Sake to celebrate the world's first landship!"
"As you command!~ Yo ho ho ho~ ya ho ho ho~"
"Nojiko, bring some drinks!" Allen called out.
Nojiko blinked in disbelief before finally laughing and giving up.
"As you command, Captain. Mikita-san, can you help me?"
"Hehe, of course."
The two girls headed into the kitchen.
....
(Marine Headquarters)
Sengoku was famous for being a natural strategist, one of the smartest men in the Marines. Consequently, very few pirates could escape the palm of his hand once he decided to hunt them.
Of course, the Fleet Admiral was not an ordinary Marine. His responsibilities kept him busy, and he rarely spent his time focusing on a single individual. However, pressure from the Five Elders who controlled the World Government had forced him to take action against Allen Walker.
"What did you say?" Sengoku asked in confusion through his Den Den Mushi.
Just moments ago, he had been preparing an ambush for Allen and his crew, but he had received an emergency call he couldn't ignore.
"Fleet Admiral, sir, we've lost track of Allen Walker's crew after they entered Alabasta," the Marine reported.
"Yes, that doesn't matter. You only needed to keep track of Walker," Sengoku replied with a frown.
Follow the Black Pearl?
Sengoku didn't believe any ship could catch that monstrosity if it truly wanted to escape. However, Allen was different. No matter how monstrous the albino youth was, his crew included several ordinary girls who would inevitably slow him down while crossing the desert. That was why the Marines could keep track of him.
"Admiral, we lost them! They entered the desert—all of them!"
"What? Did they abandon the ship?"
Sengoku widened his eyes. That ship had already demonstrated capabilities far beyond any ordinary vessel. He had even received orders to send it to Vegapunk once Allen and his crew were captured.
He couldn't believe Allen would abandon his ship.
"No, sir. They didn't abandon their ship..." the Marine replied, unsure how to explain it.
"What do you mean?!" Sengoku became irritated. The Marine was contradicting himself.
"Sir, they entered the desert with their ship!" the Marine exclaimed. "The ship, sir! Allen Walker's black ship is sailing on land!!!"
"...!"
For perhaps the first time in a long while, not even Sengoku's intelligence could comprehend what he had just heard.
....
Alabasta possessed a vast desert. In this place, any trace of moisture disappeared, making people feel as though they were on a continent rather than an island.
A pair of merchants riding camels was crossing this desert on their way to the city of Erumalu.
Both merchants looked across the desert in despair. The drought was becoming increasingly severe, and water was harder to find with every passing day. Nevertheless, they had to continue trading to survive and hope things would eventually improve.
As the merchants lamented their circumstances, an enormous shadow suddenly covered them, accompanied by a cool breeze.
"Good gentlemen, would either of you happen to know the way to the capital?" Allen asked from the deck.
He leaned casually against the railing while sipping a cocktail, completely carefree.
"That way!" one of the merchants pointed.
Allen nodded and tossed the man a coin before turning around.
"See? I told you I knew how to navigate a desert," Allen laughed toward Vivi.
"That's cheating," the blue-haired girl huffed.
The ship moved away, leaving a trail of ice behind it. That was the power of the Ice Logia. Allen wasn't about to suffer through the desert heat if he could avoid it.
The merchants, meanwhile, remained silent as they exchanged looks.
Had they really just seen a ship sailing through the desert as though it were the sea?!
The merchant examined the coin. It was silver and bore Allen's Jolly Roger. Unlike the gold coins, which carried special meaning among pirates for settling debts and similar matters, the silver ones were more like tips or autographs. Naturally, that had been Allen's idea, and only he did it.
"That happened, right?" one merchant gasped while staring at the glittering sands.
"He's the White-Haired Demon!" the other merchant exclaimed as he recognized the ship and flag.
Soon, another legend would be added to Allen's journey—one so absurd that people would refuse to believe it.
A ship sailing through the desert!
====
A/N: The dual cultivation gets more intense with each level... in more ways than one. 🗿
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