One Piece: Heaven-Defying Luck

With newfound knowledge in their minds, none of them could remain lying around in boredom any longer.

Aside from eating, everyone was immersed in their own tasks.

Zoro and Nami brimmed with motivation. Over the next three days, their small boat drifted aimlessly across the sea, and none of them seemed to care about a destination. They were far too engrossed in their personal growth to be concerned with direction.

Even Xun was no exception. He continued dividing his god form into more components while monitoring the transformation of his body, which seemed to progress at an outrageously fast rate with each passing day.

SPLASH!

The slashed corpse of a red, bull-like Sea King surfaced from underwater as Zoro emerged, his face alight with joy.

"Finally, I've mastered the sword slash!"

After all, Zoro's foundation was solid, and his mastery of body control had made breaking through the first major swordsmanship hurdle much easier. He had achieved the ability to cut through iron and steel by hearing their "voice." Today, using water pressure, he had finally condensed his first long-range slash.

Over the past few days, aside from meditating and learning to control his body—which he greatly enjoyed—Zoro steadily increased his control from tenfold to an all-around fiftyfold enhancement. With Xun's occasional guidance and a boost from shared luck, along with the enhanced learning speed that body control brought, Zoro faced no bottlenecks in his training. His progress was swift, and his understanding grew in tandem with his efforts.

The only limitation was energy, but with the vast sea full of Sea Kings and other resources, this problem was hardly more than a minor inconvenience.

Zoro himself had visibly changed. Standing around 190 cm tall, his muscles were now dense and radiated raw power. Compared to his former self, the difference was staggering—his past physique now looked malnourished in comparison.

Carrying the Sea King's massive corpse on his shoulders, Zoro ignored the water pressure and leapt back onto the boat as though he were walking on solid ground.

On the other side of the boat, Nami was in the midst of her own transformations—though hers were quite different. She had become ten times more stunning, her height, weight, and curves constantly shifting. At times, her figure was so exaggerated that Xun struggled to keep his composure, while at other moments, she'd appear entirely flat or even shrink into a child-like form. Nami was clearly enjoying herself, playing with her newfound abilities.

Though her progress was far slower than Zoro's, she was still far stronger than Zoro had been just three days prior. Now, she felt confident enough to defeat Arlong without needing to sacrifice her accumulated wealth to him.

Nami had also mastered the presence-erasure technique, suppressing her presence to such an extent that, unless someone with strong Observation Haki was nearby, she was effectively invisible—a true Phantom Thief.

At that moment, both Zoro and Nami froze, their attention drawn to the distant horizon.

Nami squinted, her senses heightened from her recent growth. "Is that... a pirate flag?"

Zoro nodded, his gaze sharpening. "A clown-like flag…"

Xun, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, his thoughts racing.

'No wonder my luck value has been surging. I've run into the legendary Buggy!'

Buggy's pirate ship was still far away, separated by countless nautical miles, but with their enhanced senses, it wasn't difficult for Zoro and Nami to spot it.

Breaking the momentary silence, Xun asked, "Zoro, did you master your sword slash?"

Zoro nodded confidently, gripping the sheath of his Wado Ichimonji.

Xun smirked, teasing, "Impressive. You've even pushed your power to fifty times its original strength. It seems you're halfway to reaching a hundredfold. It won't be long before your Haki awakens naturally. Have you tried combining your slash with your fiftyfold increase yet?"

Zoro froze in place, startled by the suggestion. While his body control allowed for precise and immense power, he had been practicing his sword techniques at a more "normal" level to solidify his foundation.

But now, thinking about it—his ten-meter sword slash, amplified by fiftyfold...

That would create a five-hundred-meter slash.

Zoro swallowed hard, his body trembling slightly with excitement.

'Have I really grown this strong already?'

Meanwhile, aboard Buggy's pirate ship, a small pirate with circus-style makeup stood watch on the lookout post. He squinted at the horizon, spotting a small boat steadily approaching their ship.

Alarmed, he scrambled down from his perch and dashed toward Buggy's quarters, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Captain! There's a small boat heading straight for us!"

A shriek erupted from the captain's quarters, loud enough to make the pirate flinch. Moments later, the infamous Buggy the Clown stormed into view.

"BASTARD! Who just called me 'red nose'? Do you have a death wish?!"

The panicked lookout froze in terror, frantically shaking his head.

"N-No, Captain! I didn't call you that! I swear! I was just saying—a small boat is coming straight toward us!"

Buggy's eyes narrowed as he snatched a pair of binoculars from a nearby table. He peered out at the sea, zeroing in on the approaching boat.

"Hmm... three figures?" he muttered before his expression shifted to one of excitement. His eyes gleamed dangerously as recognition dawned on him.

"Wait... green hair? Three swords? Is that... Pirate Hunter Zoro?!" Buggy erupted in maniacal laughter. "HAHAHAHA! Has he come to claim MY head? What an idiot!"

The surrounding crew, now tense from Buggy's outburst, hurried to show their support, shouting in unison.

"He's seeking death!"

"How dare he target Captain Buggy?!"

"The Captain is invincible! That Pirate Hunter won't last a second!"

Nearby, Buggy's lieutenants, Mohji and Cabaji, exchanged cruel grins. Even Richie, Mohji's massive lion, licked its chops, clearly relishing the thought of tearing into new prey.

Buggy puffed up his chest, soaking in the praise and admiration of his crew. With an insolent smirk, he barked an order.

"Yarō-domo! Prepare for battle! But don't fire the cannons—there's gotta be treasure on that little boat! I can smell it!"

The pirate ship picked up speed, closing the distance toward the small boat carrying Xun, Zoro, and Nami.

Onboard the trio's boat, Zoro's face darkened as the commotion on Buggy's ship grew louder, the voices of Buggy's lackeys clear to his enhanced hearing.

Nami crossed her arms with a mocking smile. "Zoro, your reputation doesn't seem to be all that great, huh?"

Xun grinned, finding the situation amusing. Buggy truly was like a walking joke. Since Xun had already gained the luck value he wanted, he decided to stir the pot a little more.

"Hey, Zoro," Xun began with a smirk. "Didn't you want to test out your sword slash? That ship over there looks like the perfect target. Sure, Buggy won't die—he's immune to swords—but if you cut his ship in half, I'm pretty sure he'll still drown."

Before Zoro could reply, Nami interrupted, her arms crossing into an X as she protested.

"No way! What if there's treasure on board? Don't you dare think about it!"

With her recent power-ups, Nami was certain that Zoro could easily obliterate the ship. That thought alone was enough to ignite her protective instincts over any potential riches.

Xun chuckled and offered a compromise. "How about this: you suppress your presence, and I'll throw you onto the ship. You can loot all their treasure while Zoro gets ready to destroy them. With your body control at tenfold, you'll be able to glide back afterward—no problem."

Nami hesitated, then considered his plan. The old Nami wouldn't have dared such a thing, but the current Nami was fearless. With the body control art, things like natural talent were meaningless—she could enhance every aspect of her physical capabilities. Even being thrown into enemy territory seemed manageable now.

After a moment, she smiled mischievously, hugging Xun's arm. "Alright, Captain. I'll leave it to you!"

Xun wasted no time. Effortlessly, he grabbed Nami by the legs and launched her into the air. Her figure soared gracefully over the water, almost like a bird, her presence completely erased thanks to the technique she had mastered.

The pirates on Buggy's ship didn't notice a thing. Even as she began to descend rapidly toward the ship, no one looked her way.

Nami's landing was flawless. She calmly nullified her momentum, touching down silently on the deck. Even the pirates stationed nearby failed to sense her presence.

With a triumphant smirk, she sniffed the air, her sharp senses catching the faint scent of gold and Beli.

"There it is," she murmured to herself, her eyes gleaming with greed. "I knew it! That green-haired idiot almost cost me a fortune…"

Humming a cheerful tune, she disappeared into the corridors of Buggy's ship, following her nose toward the treasure.

Back on the small boat, Zoro's sharp vision allowed him to catch a glimpse of Nami's smug expression from afar. Reading her lips, he clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth, trying to suppress his urge to destroy the entire ship along with her.

Xun, watching the whole thing, chuckled. "She just called you 'green hair,' by the way."

Zoro's fury surged, his fingers twitching as they gripped the hilt of his sword. He redirected his anger toward Buggy, focusing on the clown pirate's grinning face.

Only to hear Buggy shout from afar, "Three-swordsman! What a flashy skill! Hey, how about joining my circus?"

That was the final straw.

Xun burst into laughter as Zoro, his patience completely gone, unsheathed his sword and unleashed a flying slash.

The attack tore through Buggy's ship with brutal precision, slicing the mast and sails clean in half—and sending Buggy himself flying with a dumbfounded expression plastered across his face.