Even though the whole ordeal had only lasted two or three minutes…
Even though they'd just been smashed into the deck like rag dolls…
Even though they had seen the gates of hell and walked back...
They had awakened Haki.
That result alone was enough for anyone to yearn for the same "treatment."If Luoyu were to announce another round of gravity-Haki "awakening training," even Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords, might be tempted to raise his hand.
For a moment, the entire deck was gripped in dead silence.
They stared at the five people who had just crawled back from death's doorstep—battered, drenched, but unmistakably changed.
Their Haki had awakened.In less than three minutes.
The earlier scene of them nearly getting flattened now looked like child's play in comparison.
"Admiral Luoyu… this is really Haki?" Ain's voice trembled slightly as she finally snapped out of her daze.
Koby, Smoker, and the others beside her wore similar expressions of disbelief.
They had nearly died.But they had done in minutes what they had failed to do after years of hard work.
"It's a little weak right now," Luoyu said casually, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses,"but it counts. Think of it as… a good start."
"That's the good news."
"Now for the bad news."
"Bad… news?" Ain blinked.
She instinctively felt something was wrong.
But before Luoyu could elaborate, she rushed to speak:
"Admiral Luoyu, it's thanks to you that I was able to awaken my Haki so smoothly."
"I originally planned to request reassignment after this voyage… to step down from my duties as navigator."
"But in order to repay you for your kindness—your gift of power—I'm willing to stay on this ship and give you my all!"
Give her all?
Luoyu paused.
A warm, faintly mischievous smile curled at the corners of his lips.
"Ain… now that's the kind of talk I like to hear."
"So, you just said you'd give me everything, right? No regrets?"
Ain froze.
The heat in her chest from righteous gratitude suddenly twisted into a very different kind of heat.
She could feel Luoyu's gaze—calm and collected, yet somehow razor sharp.
Her mind flashed to some very inappropriate ideas she'd once seen in a few… questionable comic books.
Wait. Wait. Wait. That's not what I meant!
She panicked inside.
But now that she'd already said the words, could she take them back?
Wouldn't that seem… disingenuous?
"A-Admiral Luoyu, I-I really am willing to give everything…" Ain stammered, her cheeks flushing crimson."B-but not that kind of thing!"
Before she could dig a deeper hole—
Smack!
Luoyu lightly flicked her forehead.
"Women… always thinking dirty," he sighed.
"Relax. I'm not interested in you like that."
"I'm a man of discipline."
Ain stood frozen in place, unsure whether to be relieved or… insulted.
But before she could react—
Luoyu turned toward the rest of them.
"Anyway, all of you said you wanted to repay me, right?"
"Well, here's your chance."
"Just now, while helping you awaken Haki, I might've… accidentally gone a bit too hard."
"I may have… shattered the warship."
Everyone stiffened.
"So," Luoyu continued cheerfully,"for the sake of my performance review and monthly bonus—""I'll be leaving the repair costs to you."
"Thanks in advance."
With that, he turned around, raised a hand in a lazy wave, and vanished into thin air.
When he reappeared again, he was already standing calmly on the deck of Crocodile's ship, as if he had never left.
Back on the now-splintering warship, Ain stared blankly at the spot where Luoyu had stood.
Her eyes slowly lowered to glance at her figure.
A well-proportioned build, fair skin, long legs… modestly proud peaks…
Wasn't that worth more than some performance bonus?
She almost threw herself at him—
Only to be told: "Beri is eternal."
If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would've never believed it.
She, the base's number-one beauty—
Lost out to a fifty-thousand Beri bonus.
"Watch out—the ship's breaking apart!" Koby suddenly yelled.
The others turned just in time to see cracks rippling across the deck beneath their feet.
The hull groaned, splintered—and began to collapse into the sea.
The five of them bolted, leaping toward the other warship nearby.
By the time they landed, the original ship had already been half-swallowed by seawater, only a broken frame remaining.
"T-Terrifying…" Hina muttered, lighting a cigarette with trembling fingers.
"That Conqueror's Haki… it actually crushed a specially-reinforced Marine warship."
"Honestly, I'm just grateful we're still alive."
She lifted the cigarette to her lips.
But the moment she remembered Luoyu's voice saying "No smoking," she flinched reflexively—and quickly stuffed it away.
After making sure the Admiral had disappeared again to "slack off," Hina suddenly realized something.
"Wait… do any of you know how much a warship like that costs?"
Smoker and the others stiffened.
They were all top Marine officers, yes.
But even they didn't casually wreck ships, so they had no idea of the actual price.
Naturally, they turned toward the one person trained by Zephyr-sensei himself.
Ain froze, then gave a helpless sigh.
"That… was a special-class Admiral-grade warship," she said slowly."Capable of crossing the Calm Belt."
"According to Zephyr-sensei, its estimated value is around three hundred million Beri."
"Split between us… we'd each have to sacrifice about twenty months of salary."
"…Twenty months?!"
Koby and Helmeppo nearly fainted.
Their wages were already meager.
Now they had to give up almost two years' worth of income?
That was poverty-level torture.
Only now did they realize—
Luoyu hadn't just helped them awaken Haki.
He'd dug them a grave with his own hands… and cheerfully buried them in it.
Smoker exchanged glances with the others, a silent sigh passing between them.
Tina groaned, massaging her temple.
"Admiral Luoyu... technically, under Navy law, Admirals have special exemption clauses."
"If you submit a proper report to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, this damage should qualify for reimbursement."
From a nearby corner, Luoyu strolled back out lazily, adjusting his glasses.
"Nah. Better not."
"Didn't I just blow up the Marine Headquarters not too long ago?"
"If I ask Sengoku for reimbursement now, he might seize the chance to dock my next bonus."
"No way I'm letting that slide."
"Cold, hard performance pay in hand is better than Beri in the clouds."
He waved casually again.
"I'll leave this little mess to you guys."
"Oh, and when you report to Sengoku—start with the good news, then the bad.""If you're lucky and he's in a good mood, maybe he'll deduct a little less from your pay."
Everyone froze like statues.
Watching him stretch, yawn, and vanish again into thin air—
This man…
Was really a Marine Admiral.
And yet all he cared about was performance bonuses.
They didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
Three hundred million Beri…
Gone.
All for a fifty-thousand Beri bonus?
But then again—
They had awakened their Haki.
In mere minutes.
No one could say it wasn't worth it.