One Piece: Hashirama Template

"Wow... so cool!"

Carina and Nami exclaimed, then each hugged one of Vivi's arms, grinning. "Vivi, we'll be counting on you to protect us from now on."

"Not at all, I'm just one step ahead of you," Vivi said with an embarrassed smile. "Your Devil Fruits might be even more powerful than mine."

"Really? Link?"

Carina and Nami looked at Link with anticipation.

"Guess?" Link raised an eyebrow.

"So annoying, Link is being mysterious again!"

"Yeah, let's get him!"

Carina and Nami immediately rolled their eyes, then let go of Vivi's arms and lunged at Link.

Link dodged and ran towards the wooden house.

Carina and Nami chased after him.

Vivi, Robin, and Perona watched this scene with smiles.

Over the past few months, the relationship within Link's crew had reached a very special level.

Within them, one could see all sorts of relationships. There was the bond between a captain and his crew, the dynamic of older and younger siblings, the ambiguity of almost-lovers, and the warmth of a family...

The awkwardness and distance from when he recruited four members in one month was long gone!

After their playful chase back to the wooden house, Link said to the girls, "Pack up. It's time for us to leave this place."

"We're finally leaving?"

"That's great! I haven't seen the sun in months."

Carina and Nami's eyes lit up, and they bounced into the wooden house.

Link said to Perona, "Perona, go get a pen and paper. I'll leave a letter and a Transponder Snail for Moria. After he has fully come to terms with things, I'll bring you back to visit him in the future."

"Okay."

Perona nodded immediately, not wanting to see Master Moria argue with Link.

After Perona went into the wooden house, Link formed hand seals, and his entire body erupted in a tangible blue aura of Chakra.

Three branches extended from his back, quickly transforming into three Wood Clones.

The moment the Wood Clones appeared, they vanished in a flash.

Robin and Vivi were already used to this scene.

After all, they had long known that Link's intelligence-gathering capabilities all came from his Wood Clones.

Every so often, Link would send out a batch of Wood Clones, undoubtedly to gather intelligence from all over the world.

This batch of Wood Clones was clearly no exception.

Link didn't explain to Robin and the others, as there was no need to say anything and risk creating an accident that would lead to disappointment.

Once he reaped the fruits of his labor, he would naturally tell Carina and the girls.

No, the clever girls like Carina would figure it out on their own by then.

For example, after witnessing Teach seize a Devil Fruit, they understood why Link had spared Crocodile's life instead of handing him over to the Marines or the World Government.

Robin also finally understood why Cobra had so readily agreed to let Vivi go to sea with Link.

The grand promise Link had made to her indeed had a high probability of getting Vivi the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit.

As the sole heir to the Alabasta Kingdom, no Devil Fruit was more suitable for Vivi than the Logia Sand-Sand Fruit.

With this ability, once Vivi inherited the throne, she would be the strongest queen in the history of the Alabasta Kingdom.

A short while later, Perona came out with a pen and paper.

Link and Perona each left a letter for Moria.

Subsequently, Link released the Tree Binding Eternal Burial that was sealing Moria and then used Medical Ninjutsu to heal him.

This act once again earned him Perona's goodwill.

Over the past few months, after Carina and the girls completed their daily high-intensity training, Link would use Medical Ninjutsu to help them recover.

Perona had long been aware of the secret that Link was not a Logia Forest-Forest Fruit user but possessed a special talent.

Link was, just as Carina and the girls had said, a kind and gentle man!

This was only because Perona hadn't seen Link's ruthless side with women; otherwise, while she would have been scared, her affection for him would certainly have grown even stronger.

Because she would discover that Link's kindness was special, not something he showed to every beautiful woman.

This uniqueness, in a sense, was a huge plus.

After Link finished healing Moria, Carina and Nami had also finished packing.

Using a Transponder Snail to hold down the two letters, Link created another Wood Clone to retrieve the one billion Berries from the sailboat. He then had the Wood Clone use an invisibility technique to hide, waiting for Moria to wake up before dispelling itself. With that, he left Thriller Bark with Carina and the girls.

As she turned the ship's helm, Nami asked, "Link, is our next stop the Sabaody Archipelago?"

"No, we're going back to the East Blue."

Link's answer greatly surprised Carina and the others.

Nami asked, confused, "What are we going back to the East Blue for?"

Link sat on a wooden chair, crossing his legs elegantly, and smiled. "Nami, you have a sister, right?"

"Mhm..."

Nami nodded repeatedly. "Her name is Nojiko. She and I..."

Link caught the vine-wrapped Door-Door Fruit and tossed it in the air. "The Door-Door Fruit is incredibly significant to me. It's not just an invincible sanctuary; it can also let me pass directly through the Red Line to enter the New World or the Four Seas."

"This is a strategic-level Devil Fruit. I don't feel comfortable entrusting it to a stranger, so I plan to recruit Nami's sister. It'll be up to you to persuade her."

"Really?"

Nami's face lit up with joy. After securing the helm, she ran to Link and said excitedly, "Can I bring Nojiko out to sea with us?"

"Of course."

Link patted Nami on the head, pinched her cheek, and asked with a smile, "Are you confident you can persuade her?"

"Mhm..."

Nami nodded repeatedly, patting her sizable chest confidently. "Leave it to me. I'll definitely get Nojiko to come out to sea with us."

This decision from Link made Nami extremely happy.

All this time, Nami had felt that she had let Nojiko down.

Nami at least had a dream; Nojiko only had Nami.

To comfort Nami, she had even gotten a tattoo.

To let Nami set sail without worry, she chose to stay behind and take care of the tangerine grove, not having any thoughts of going to sea herself.

It wasn't that she didn't want to, but she couldn't become a burden to Nami.

Because after growing up, she no longer had the ability to protect Nami!

Nami had always felt incredibly guilty towards this sister who was closer than a blood relative.

If possible, Nami also wanted Nojiko to come out to sea with her and see the wonders of the world together.

Now, that choice had appeared!

The Door-Door Fruit, an invincible sanctuary!

As long as Nojiko became the user of the Door-Door Fruit, she could set sail without any worries.

At this, Nami could no longer hold back. She cupped Link's head with both hands and gave his forehead a firm peck, her beautiful eyes slightly moist as she smiled. "Thank you, Link... You're the hero in my heart!"

That last sentence resounded in Nami's heart.

If she didn't know that Link was sensitive to displays of emotion, Nami really would have said those cheesy words out loud.

"Wow... quite bold, little Cat Burglar."

Watching this scene, Carina secretly glanced at Vivi not far away.

Seeing that Vivi didn't look upset, but was watching Link and Nami with a smile, Carina's beautiful eyes shifted slightly, and the corners of her lips slowly curved upwards.

Her extremely sharp mind was already scheming something.

The ambushed Link was slightly stunned. After meeting Nami's soft, beautiful gaze, a gentle smile appeared on his face. "You're welcome. You are my navigator, after all."

Reaching out to pat Nami's head again, and seeing that she didn't resist at all, but rather seemed to be enjoying it, Link's heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.

After several months of effort, another one's affection level has finally broken through!

The days ahead were going to be happier and happier.

<><><><><><><><>

~ 20 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!

https://p-atreon.com/Kaizo247

(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)

<><><><><><><><>

~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!

~# Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter

~# Add to Library!