The next day.
After discussion, Captain Brogy was to teach Reno the combat technique Hakoku.
All the female crew members, including Nami, found a spot behind Reno and sat down.
They were also preparing to admire just how powerful the Giant's combat technique truly was.
"Reno, you can do it!!" Kaya cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, cheering Reno on.
Seeing this, The girls also followed suit.
"If you are ready, we will start now," Brogy looked at Reno.
Reno nodded in agreement.
"Reno, I'll demonstrate it once first, watch carefully."
As the Captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates, both Brogy and Dorry could perform Hakoku.
And when the two of them teamed up, the power of Hakoku would be even stronger.
Brogy, holding his longsword, stared intently at a giant hundred-meter-high mountain in front of him.
The next second, Brogy mustered all his strength, and a powerful aura suddenly erupted.
Reno stared intently at Brogy, not missing a single movement.
"Hakoku!!!"
Brogy let out a loud roar, swung his longsword, and a giant shockwave, dozens of meters thick, swept out.
Wherever it passed, strong winds howled, and the atmosphere shrieked.
The giant shockwave instantly traversed several hundred meters, directly destroying the hundred-meter-high mountain.
Rumbling, countless boulders rolled down, and the earth shook.
The Hakoku did not diminish in power, rushing towards the distant horizon until it disappeared.
The girls behind him all gasped.
"This... is this Hakoku?! It's simply too strong!!" Tashigi's mouth hung open in astonishment.
One move shattered a hundred-meter mountain?!
Such a powerful combat technique, she definitely had to ask Reno to teach her when the time came.
Once she learned it, wouldn't she be able to slaughter indiscriminately?!
"The power is indeed good," Reno looked at the collapsed mountain in the distance, very satisfied in his heart.
"Reno, this move..."
Immediately after, Brogy meticulously taught Reno the key movements and the method of exerting force when performing Hakoku.
To Brogy's surprise, Reno was also a Grand Swordsman.
That made it even simpler.
Hakoku, to put it plainly, once familiar with those few movements and combined with the correct way of exerting force, and after thorough comprehension, one could successfully unleash this powerful strike.
In less than an hour, Reno had already easily mastered all the techniques.
His physique was sufficient, and his understanding of swordsmanship was sufficient.
Everything fell into place naturally.
"Reno, your comprehension is good, but the key is whether you can successfully perform it; that is the most important thing."
"Brogy is right," Dorry chimed in from the side.
"Then I'll give it a try," Reno took a deep breath and casually took the Wado Ichimonji handed to him by Tashigi.
At this moment, all of Reno's muscles were activated.
Reno's gaze was sharp as he slowly raised the hand holding the Wado Ichimonji.
"This..."
Brogy and Dorry, both Captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates, stared blankly at Reno, at this familiar movement, "Could it be that he really..."
"Hakoku!!!"
With a loud roar, Reno swung the Wado Ichimonji and fiercely cleaved a blow towards the forest.
Boom!!!
A giant energy shockwave was directly unleashed by Reno.
The terrifying shockwave swept out, and ancient towering trees, hundreds of meters tall, snapped like fragile tofu, without any power to resist.
The ground appeared to have been plowed, with a huge gully more than ten meters deep appearing.
"The Captain is so strong!!!" Tashigi watched with wide eyes, and The girls also had their mouths agape.
In less than an hour, Reno had learned Hakoku, the combat technique the Giant was so proud of?!
He must be cheating, right?!
"As expected of Reno," Nami sighed inwardly as she witnessed this horrifying scene.
The first time Reno performed Hakoku, the power he unleashed was in no way inferior to Brogy's.
Vivi, standing nearby, didn't speak, but the smile on her face couldn't be hidden.
Her sixth sense was indeed correct; Reno was so powerful, he would definitely be able to defeat Crocodile.
"It feels pretty good," Reno nodded in satisfaction, looking at the huge gully in front of him.
With a little more practice in the future, the Hakoku he unleashed would be even stronger.
Brogy and Dorry exchanged glances, both wearing wry smiles.
"Kabababababa Reno, you learned too quickly; many Giant warriors can't even learn this move."
"Gagagagaga My friend, we have nothing more to teach you."
Brogy and Dorry both felt hurt; they were exceptionally talented, and it took them about a month to learn this move.
Even if Reno was a Grand Swordsman, learning Hakoku in just an hour was truly a blow.
Reno returned the Wado Ichimonji to Tashigi and turned to face the two Giant Captains.
"Brogy, Dorry, thank you for your guidance. I have urgent matters and must leave here immediately."
Brogy grinned: "We're really going to miss you all."
Dorry nodded in agreement.
Reno laughed heartily and said, "It won't be long before I bring Kashi and Oimo back; we will meet again."
"Farewell, both of you!"
Reno waved goodbye to Brogy and Dorry, and led The girls back to the going merry.
Before leaving, Reno gave all the remaining alcohol to the two giants.
After all this was done, the going merry ascended again, flying directly to Alabasta.
Reno had no interest in Drum Kingdom along the way.
There were no pretty girls there, and as for Chopper, Kaya was already on board, so no other doctor was needed.
And the assassin Mr.2, dispatched by Crocodile to Drum Kingdom, thus escaped a calamity.
During these few days en route to Alabasta.
Besides his daily training, Reno would tease The girls, living a carefree life.
He showed no sense of urgency about facing Crocodile soon.
One day, Reno walked out of his room and saw Vivi standing outside, acting somewhat unusually.
"What's wrong, Vivi?!" Reno asked, puzzled.
Was she worried about facing Crocodile soon?! There was no need at all.
Vivi directly pulled Reno to an deserted corner, feigning anger: "Reno, do you not like me?!"
Reno:...
Reno was utterly confused; what was wrong with Vivi today?
"Vivi, why would you say that?!"
Vivi secretly glanced around, and after making sure no one was there, she shyly lowered her head, clasped her hands in front of her, and whispered, "Every night there are sounds coming from The girls' rooms. Out of curiosity, I... I already asked them."
"Even, even Mikita and Golden Week have already—"
Vivi's face flushed, and she couldn't continue.
Reno suddenly understood and looked at Vivi with a half-smile, teasing, "So what?!"
Vivi suddenly turned into a fierce little lioness, hands on her hips, and puffed out her chest: "Is there anywhere I'm inferior to them?"
"Is it my looks, or my figure?!"
"Uh..." Reno awkwardly touched his nose, somewhat surprised by Vivi's boldness.
Was this still the Vivi he knew?!
Alabasta was currently plagued by internal and external troubles, facing grave crises.
Reno had originally planned to bring up the matter with Vivi after resolving Alabasta's crisis.
He hadn't expected Vivi to approach him first.
Reno guessed that Vivi probably felt confident that he could defeat Crocodile, and since they were already rapidly heading to Alabasta without any delays, Vivi decided to bring up the matter herself.
"Vivi, I know your heart is set on Alabasta right now. Actually, we can wait—"
"Reno, it's alright." Vivi shook her head, stopping Reno from continuing his sentence.
"Claim reward." It was the familiar segment again.
"[Essence of Body]!"
This... could it be?!
Reno's eyes became a little subtle.
Annotation: The Host's... has been transformed and can help improve the physique of others until it assimilates into the Host's Steel Balloon Talent.
Reno understood, but he was somewhat speechless.
It could be played like this too?!
It was actually very simple: as long as The girls consumed it, their physiques would subtly improve until they possessed the Steel Balloon Talent.
As for how much it would improve and when the assimilation would be complete, it varied from person to person.
"It's a good reward for them, though." Reno nodded in satisfaction.
No matter who it was, possessing a strong physique was beneficial and harmless.
Especially for combat-oriented girls like Nami and Tashigi, the importance of Steel Balloon was self-evident.
With the Steel Balloon Talent, Nami wouldn't be limited by her physique and could better develop her Weather-Weather Fruit.
The same went for Tashigi.
He had been thinking of teaching Hakoku to Tashigi once he had mastered it proficiently.
If it were before, with Tashigi's physique, she would likely be willing but unable.
"It seems I'll have to pay special attention to Nami and Tashigi from now on." Reno stroked his chin, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes.
"There's no time like the present." Reno used instant teleportation and appeared directly in Nami's room.
Nami, who was resting, suddenly opened her eyes, lightning flickering.
With the three types of haki training manual, her Haki had already significantly improved.
After sensing that the newcomer was Reno, she relaxed her guard and pouted unhappily, "It's so late, what are you doing?!"
In a daze, Nami grumbled, but then instantly sobered up.
"Weren't you with Vivi tonight? Is it over already?!"
"Yeah." Reno nodded, "I missed you, so I came to find you."
"Hmph." Nami rolled her eyes.
"But..." Nami's tone suddenly shifted, and her gaze dropped, "These past few days, you've been giving your time to Mikita and Golden Week. Are you looking for novelty, huh?"
"You haven't come to see me for days." Nami pouted, a little displeased.
Reno was a bit embarrassed, but he couldn't help it.
After all, there were only twenty-four hours in a day.
Aside from necessary daily life and his daily cultivation, he simply didn't have that much time.
He could only be selective.
It would be great if he could get a Time Room as a reward sometime.
Then, whether it was for cultivation or doing other things, nothing would be delayed.
"What are you still standing there for?!" Seeing Reno lost in thought, Nami lightly snorted.
Reno understood and once again began his 'tutoring' of Nami.
The next day.
By the time Reno walked out of the room, The girls had already finished breakfast and were all sitting around the dining table, chatting and laughing.
Seeing Reno approach, all of The girls looked at him in unison.
Reno felt a chill from being stared at by all the women.
What had he done now?!
Was it the sounds from last night?
It had been so long; they should be immune by now, right?
Sitting at the head of the table, Reno casually said, "Just say what you want to say. Don't look at me with such strange eyes."
The women looked at Nami again, and Nami nodded.
Tashigi bravely said, "Captain, Nami said that after eating... after eating that last night, she feels like she's not quite the same as before."
"My physique is a bit stronger. Although it's not very obvious, my feeling must be right." Nami nodded again.
Nami was the strongest person on the pirate ship besides Reno.
Her perception was beyond doubt.
Since she said so, it must be true.
Was it that effective?
Reno mused inwardly.
"Reno, when... when did that thing have such an effect?!" Nami was uncharacteristically bashful.
"What... what kind of look is that in your eyes?!"
Looking at the gleam in The girls' eyes, Reno shivered.
That look was like a pack of wolves that had been hungry for a long time suddenly seeing a lamb, eager to pounce.
"Reno, we also want to improve our physiques." Vivi tugged at Reno's arm, shaking it constantly.
The other girls also stared at Reno with eager eyes, as if they wouldn't give up until they tried it.
Who wouldn't want to strengthen their physique with such a simple method?!
Besides, they had eaten it before.
"Reno, I can help you with my Healing Power." Just as Reno was despairing, Kaya added another blow.
Reno's heart shattered.
Even kind little Kaya had been led astray by them.
Damn it!!!
Today, he was going to properly reorganize his harem.
"All of you, come here!!!"
Reno got up and walked to the largest room on the going merry.
The shy girls exchanged glances, then, with anticipation, followed him step by step.
The going merry flew through the air.
The sounds startled flock after flock of birds away.
Reno finally experienced the power of the Healing-Healing Fruit.
At this moment, he felt that the Healing-Healing Fruit was the most amazing of all rewards, without a doubt.
Reno severely disciplined The girls for their rebellious behavior this time.
And after this incident, the feelings between The girls also deepened considerably.
Especially Mikita and Golden Week, as they were members of Baroque Works and had previously intended to oppose the Reno Pirates.
"Captain, there are also the Vice President and Salome, two beauties, in Baroque Works. Are you interested?!" Mikita blinked, coming up with another mischievous idea.
"Mikita, you don't understand, do you?!" Before Reno could speak, Nojiko, who was nearby, interjected.
"Although I don't know these two people, as long as they are beauties, they are probably already on the Captain's personnel list."
The other girls all nodded in agreement.
Reno seemed to have a unique ability; no matter where he went, there would always be beautiful girls.
Their experiences were so similar.
"I know!" Vivi suddenly shouted, "Reno, you wouldn't have come for us, would you?!"
Looking at the uniform group of naked beauties around her, Vivi belatedly realized.
Reno reached out and hooked Vivi's nose, "Congratulations, you guessed correctly."
But then, Reno's expression became serious again: "However, eliminating Crocodile is also part of my plan."
"We'll reach Alabasta tomorrow. Let's put an end to everything."
"Mm, I believe in Reno." Vivi leaned intimately into Reno's embrace, her gaze distant.
To crush Crocodile's conspiracy and save Alabasta—she had been waiting for this day for a very long time.
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