Chapter 176 - 34

Chapter 34"Rubber... balloon?"Gordon's eyes went wide."Try it again. Look at me carefully. Pronunciation technique isn't something that can be rushed; it requires a long period of training..."Gordon was already mentally prepared for Luffy's performance.Did you expect someone with absolutely no foundation to do it perfectly right away?That's impossible.That would be a second Uta.[After expert instruction, your (Song) proficiency + 20]Luffy's eyes lit up.He had just been gnawing on books for so long, and his total proficiency was only 10 points. A casual piece of guidance from someone gave him 20?In that case, if he wanted to become a swordsman, that man called Hawkeye who was known as the World's Greatest Swordsman—if he let him teach him two moves, wouldn't he be able to become a minor swordsman very quickly?So, teachers are that important.From this moment on, Luffy understood the importance of a teacher.Of course, the one he finds must be an expert teacher like Gordon, not a mediocre one!At this moment, a certain old handsome guy on the Sabaody Archipelago sneezed.After combining theoretical knowledge with practice, the proficiency points went up, up, up.Vocalizing and articulation.Practicing breath after vocalizing—Gordon's method was to practice breath and then go back to learn vocalization.Luffy's second attempt at breath practice made Gordon pause for a moment."Not bad this time."Gordon asked Luffy to try again. "Breath can be continuous or it can be overwhelming; this aspect is still quite difficult..."As a result, just after he finished speaking, he was slapped in the face.Luffy got it on the first try. The progress was so obvious that the expression on Gordon's face became even stranger, changing his method from teaching a layman to teaching a beginner.He originally thought there would be some difficulties, but it only took Luffy two tries to go from imitation to surpassing.Then came articulation training and sound transmission training.Gordon had seen a great many geniuses.For example, Uta, a rare talent monster who hadn't been seen for many years, was completely gifted by the heavens and understood things as soon as they were pointed out.Before meeting Gordon, Uta had already built a solid foundation through self-study, and then she soared; that kind of person belonged to the category of innate talent.If Uta was a shining star, then Luffy's performance was undoubtedly like a moon covered in dust.[New Genesis][Where the Wind Blows][Backlight]...Uta's little mouth was wide open, looking at this scene in disbelief. Just because she couldn't teach people didn't mean her musical attainments were weaker than Gordon's. Of course, she also noticed what Gordon could notice.Is this still the Luffy she knew?The few songs Gordon taught were all original tracks written and composed by Uta, so naturally, she knew the difficulty. From the very beginning of learning breath, Luffy puffed himself up into a balloon, but after the whole process, he was directly able to sing it out.Although he still couldn't compare to Uta, in Uta's impression, Luffy wasn't even related to music... he was completely tone-deaf, right?Could it be that he was actually a genius, and the "tone-deaf" wasn't "idiot" deaf, but "obsessed" deaf?[Congratulations! After vocal practice, your Song level has increased to Lv1]Song proficiency: 0/200 (Lv1)[Special reward time, stage two, let Uta use the uta uta no mi to sing a song with you, current (Nika) consciousness awakening level: 30%.][Hint: The uta uta no mi possesses magical power. Singing on the going merry might yield unexpected gains, activating the potential Klabautermann.]There could be unexpected gains?Luffy was stunned for a moment. He was still confused about the so-called Nika consciousness, and what was a Klabautermann?Could a Klabautermann be considered a new crewmate?If understood according to the name... the Klabautermann should be Merry, right?"Wait... I seem to have heard of Klabautermannsomewhere.""Luffy?"Uta noticed Luffy was spacing out and walked forward to ask.Uta's voice appearing allowed Luffy to catch that fleeting thought."Right, Uta."Luffy suddenly turned his head.Their lips were almost just a line apart, their breath spraying on each other's faces. Luffy saw his own reflection completely in Uta's dilated pupils.Gordon: "..."Young people these days.Why are you so close?Luffy's heart beat wildly involuntarily.Under the filter of childhood sweethearts, many things would be different.For example, when others praised her as a talented, beautiful woman who could sing and dance, Luffy only felt that Uta was still the hateful woman who tried to take a hot spring bath with him in a wooden barrel when they were kids, and the one who would crawl into his blanket and steal his quilt after hearing ghost stories at night.After the filter was suddenly broken by something.Luffy realized why Uta's expression and lips were so good-looking.Cute, want to...The warning sound rang out inopportunely, and the sudden reaction made Luffy shudder all over.Business! Business!"W-what do you want to say?" Uta stepped back, feigning calmness."I want to sing with you!" Luffy's expression changed.Th-this, is this a confession?We-well, Luffy, I treat you as a friend, so you've actually been harboring evil intentions toward me all along!She didn't hate Luffy; he was her only friend... but did not hating mean liking?!Absolutely not!But why did the relationship between childhood sweethearts suddenly go bad?Could it be that after being separated for so many years, Luffy had actually been missing her all this time?Thinking of this, Uta's heart was about to jump out. Since that day, she had always felt that she was alone..."Let me think about it." Uta covered her blushing cheeks, her eyes drifting."What's there to think about? You aren't afraid that I'll sing better than you, are you?" Luffy said hurriedly.Uta's smile stiffened.The atmosphere was gone as soon as he said that.Did she misunderstand?"Why do you want to sing with me?" She asked.Why?Because he was curious about the Klabautermannand Nika, but he couldn't say it outright.Then he should use that excuse again; it wasn't really an excuse, actually.Wasn't everything he was experiencing right now for that final goal?"To become the Pirate King!" Luffy's gaze was firm."... I really give up on you."Uta chuckled, "Alright, I agree."Chapter 41: I remembered something happyLuffy often did things that surprised people.When he was a child, he dared to shout that he wanted to become the Pirate King right in front of Shanks.Now that he had grown up, it was even more incredible.Except for that familiar sense of foolishness that would pop up from time to time, Uta felt that Luffyhad become even more outstanding than she had imagined.It was a good thing that Uta could agree to his request.But Luffy soon thought of another troublesome matter.Uta hated pirates; could she agree to go to the going merry?For some reason, Luffy always felt in his heart that this was not a good thing.Nika was fine; she could sing anywhere. The problem was the Klabautermann... what was a Klabautermann? He did have an impression of this name; it seemed like he had heard it somewhere."Hey, what are you thinking about?" Uta waved her hand in front of Luffy."Right, Uta, have you ever heard of a Klabautermann?"Luffy met Uta's gaze and suddenly remembered something, shaking her by the shoulders with both hands.Mentioning the Klabautermann, that scene in his mind seemed to have surfaced for Uta."Don't shake me, I'm dizzy." Uta stared at him with somewhat resentful eyes."Ah, sorry, sorry.""The Klabautermann you mentioned should be a kind of legend."Uta pondered for a moment and said, "It's passed down by word of mouth among pirates. Sometimes, when there's clearly no one on the ship, one sees a figure holding a wooden mallet and wearing a raincoat, acting like a crew member on board.""Is it a ghost?!"Luffy's eyes lit up.Could he actually see a living ghost?"It should be considered one, but it's just a legend; whether it exists or not is another matter."Uta knew what he was thinking as soon as she saw Luffy's appearance. Her childhood sweetheart just liked all kinds of messy things.The first reaction of ordinary people when hearing about ghosts would be fear, right? What about him? He was getting excited.Uta even suspected that if she and the Klabautermann stood together and let Luffychoose, he would push her aside without hesitation."Uta, come with me!" Luffy grabbed Uta's hand."G-go, go where?" Uta was stunned for a moment, her voice trembling involuntarily.Hand, her hand was being held!There were other people here.Gordon: "..."Do I already count as "other people"?Gordon noticed Uta's eyes and couldn't help but sigh.Although you are childhood sweethearts, is it a bit too much to kidnap someone in front of me?"To sing."