Luffy's Seriousness

"Yawn! Just how long was I out for?" Zack muttered after yawning. He raised his upper body and looked around. He saw the moonlight from the small window.

His eyes shifted down as he saw a girl sleeping on his lap. He was surprised to her there. Then, he noticed that he was actually in Nami's room. He hurriedly got up and lifted her.

She seemed a bit too tired. She didn't even flinch when he lifted her up. He put her in the bed but when he tried to go out, he felt soreness all over his body.

He decided to give up. It was night time so he wouldn't get food to restore his body. He looked at the bed and hesitated for a moment.

After a few minutes of hesitation, he finally slept next to her. He didn't put his hand over her and quickly closed his eyes. After a few minutes, he instantly fell asleep.

Next Morning,

The ray of sunshine pierced through the window and reached her eyes. Her eyebrows twitched and she slowly opened her eyelid. When she opened it, she saw a handsome face in front of her sleeping with his eyes closed.

She blinked her eyes twice and finally understood the situation. She didn't make any move. Seeing his face up so close made her heartbeat rise. She slowly moved her head near him.

...…

After a few seconds, she got off the bed and her face was burning red. She couldn't believe she was just about to do that. She clenched her fist and shook her head.

'No, I can't do such a thing now. I must be free before I do anything else.'

She loosened her hand and released a sigh.

'It wouldn't hurt to get a single touch, right? But what if he wakes up now?'

"Hmm…. Nami?" Suddenly, Zack's voice rang from behind that almost making her jump. Her body trembled as she realized what kind of mess she was getting into if she had moved even a bit.

Nami calmed down her breath and spoke "Zack, you must be hungry. I will go and ask Sanji to make something for you."

Without even waiting for his reply, she rushed out of the room. Zack stared at the door with confusion. He was already surprised that she didn't beat him for sleeping with her.

He sighed and slowly walked out of the bed. Because of the sleep, he was feeling a little better. He finished his morning routine and finally entered the cabin.

There was a new addition to the crew. Sanji was cooking on the side while Zoro, Usopp, Nami, and Luffy were sitting at the table.

"I didn't see Johnny and Yosaku. Did they stay behind?" Zack asked as he entered the room.

"Yeah! They didn't come with us. Anyway since Zack is also here, I want to tell everyone something." Nami nodded and spoke. Her eyes became really serious but she was still hesitating.

"How about you let me handle this? After all, I know more about Arlong than you." Zack spoke as he walked near them and sat down.

Everyone turned their heads at him as he spoke.

"But, how about we eat first?"

Thud!

"Really guys? I haven't eaten anything since yesterday and used up all of my energy in that battle." Zack got speechless at their reactions and sighed.

"He is right. Nami-san, let's eat first then we can talk about other things." Sanji interfered while bringing the food to the table.

"Food!" Luffy's bored expression changed when he saw food but suddenly, Zack punched his face.

"Luffy, don't hog on all the food. I am the injured one here." Zack spoke as he took a piece of meat.

Sanji had kept the food on a giant plate so everyone could take a part of it but Zack knows if he lets Luffy take a part of it, then, the entire food will be gone.

"Sanji, next time, I hope you don't bring food like this. He won't let us take a single bite before it is finished." Zack spoke.

"I noticed." Seeing Luffy's arm stretching to catch a huge chunk of food, Sanji regretted bringing food like that.

"Zack, look at this!" Usopp giggled as he took out a small tobacco star and opened it. He put the red hot sauce on top of the food which Luffy caught and stuffed inside his mouth.

"Ahhhhh!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Seeing Luffy breathing fire out of his mouth, everyone laughed and the lunch continued. After a few minutes, the entire food was finished. Usopp got the least to eat while Zack ate the most.

"Now that we have finished eating, I will tell you something about Nami. Before, I already told you that I have gathered a lot of information about East Blue before coming here, right?"

"Well, it also included Nami's information. Originally, I didn't want to say this but yesterday, Nami and I finally came to a term."

Zack turned his head at Luffy and said "Luffy, we need to take down Arlong Pirates and free Nami and her village from their tyrannical rule."

At this moment, everyone's expression got serious. Even Luffy made a serious expression but it wasn't because of what Zack said. It was because of how scared Nami looked.

"Winning against them wouldn't be a problem especially now that we also have Sanji with us. But, Arlong himself is a problem. He is a pirate that came from the Grandline."

"He is just like Buggy, a big fish in a small pond. But unlike Buggy who won't fight back, this is a troublesome enemy. Luffy, your weakness is water while his strength is water. You have to be careful while fighting against him."

"I know your strength. And, that's why I am warning you to be careful. Against him or his pirate, don't fight without thinking of the consequences. Although I am not sure why am I even telling you this knowing that you will never think of consequences."

"No!" Suddenly, Luffy spoke.

It surprised everyone as they listened.

"We are going to defeat them. I am going to kick Arlong's ass. We are going to get our navigator back. And, then we will head to the Grandline."

When he said that, everyone was stunned. Zack who had seen the entire journey of Luffy was most stunned.

"Hah! I underestimated you, Captain." Zack sighed. Zoro and Usopp smirked while Sanji also sighed. Nami who was trembling finally calmed down a lot. Zack turned his head at Nami and spoke.

"And Nami, I don't want you to stop hating Arlong and his crew. But, I hope you won't hate Fishman Race. I don't want to explain everything here since our journey has just begun. You will understand when we reach Sabody."

Nami looked at Zack and her eyes almost burst into tears.

"They killed my mother. How? How can I not hate them?"

Zack sighed. But soon, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Alright! You are free to hate them. I won't stop you. Let our journey decide what we should do."

Nami wiped her tears. She couldn't forgive the fishmen for what they did to her village. Even if it was Zack who said that he couldn't forgive them.

"When Usopp said that you came from Grandline, I was surprised. But, it seems like you really know a lot." Sanji lit up his cigarette and spoke.

Zack nodded his head with a smile and said "I really know a lot. I worked at the World News Company established by Mr. Morgan."

"That bird…." Sanji was surprised. As a Germa, he recognized Morgan's name with ease. He didn't expect Zack to be part of such a huge organization.

He suspiciously looked at Zack and asked "With your strength, how did you even enter the Grandline?"

"I was born there." Zack answered. Anyway, it didn't matter much. His original background was completely unknown so he could create anything from scratch.

But now, he was a bit suspicious as well. Although he was a completely ordinary man, his body had one trait that stands out the most.

His healing speed boosting trait. It wasn't normal at all. But, he had two explanations for it. Either, his true background is somewhat extraordinary or, it is because of his soul transmigrating into this body.

No matter the reason, it could be considered a cheat. Because after each battle, he was constantly getting stronger.

"Wow! You were born there." Everyone looked at him with surprise.

"Uh-huh! I was lucky enough to enter World News Company. As for my reason to exit, you already know. Morgan constantly defied the world government's order which made me quite afraid of continuing there, so I left."

Since Sanji was new here, Zack explained it in a shortcut.

"B-t-t-t-but don't they call Grandline 'Graveyard of pirates'?" Usopp freaked out and asked.

Zack shook his head and said "The reason why it is called Graveyard of Pirates is that Marine Headquarters is present there. As long as you don't encounter many marines, you would be safe."

"Of course, there are still warlords of the sea like Mihawk who will kill you."

"Warlords?" Everyone looked at him with confusion.

Zack nodded his head and explained "There are seven pirates in the world who are recognized by the World Government. They can terrorize the kingdom, loot the village, and butcher the ordinary people but the Marines won't catch them."

"What?" Everyone looked at him with widened eyes.

"You mean they are allowed to become pirates by the government?" Nami asked with a terrified gaze.

Zack shook his head and said "Actually, anyone can become Warlord but they need to be strong enough. Like Mihawk. His bounty was zero when he became Warlord."

"It was his strength that made the government poach him. And, there are some who became Warlord due to some other reasons alongside strength."

"Then, if we are strong enough, can we become warlords too?" Nami asked.

"Yes there are seven of them but Luffy wouldn't want that. If you become Warlord, you would need to follow their commands and capture pirates for them." Zack spoke.

"Of course not! I am a captain." Luffy spoke with a serious expression.

"Wait, are all Warlords strong as he?" Sanji asked.

This question even made Zoro excited.

Zack shook his head and said "They are but he is an exception. He is the strongest among all warlords. In fact, with his strength, he can go toe-to-toe against the highest ranks marine."

"Strongest…" Zoro clenched the hilt of his sword. Now that two of his swords were broken, he only had one.

"That's why we have to get stronger if we want to face them in the future. Before we reach Nami's island, I will explain my training method to you guys. Although it would be impossible to master them right now, as we move on, we can definitely master them." Zack spoke.

Hearing his words, Zoro instantly became excited. Unlike others, he was really looking forward to Zack's training method. After all, the weight training method was also good.

It's just that he couldn't find an arm and leg plate with a bigger weight.

"We as individuals have different kinds of skills. Luffy has his devil fruit which gives him the skill of rubber. Zoro is a swordsman which makes it different. Usopp is a sniper and it also makes it different."

"Sanji uses leg martial art that can still be improved but it is also different. As for Nami, your strength can be derived from different methods and this method includes Usopp."

"Me?" Usopp looked at himself with confusion.

Zack nodded his head and continued "Nami was forced to Arlong's pirate because of her exceptional navigation skill. After all, what kind of idiot would let a kid draw map for himself?"

"After staying with Nami for a while, I concluded that she truly has an exceptional talent for the weather. Usopp, you always try to build something that would make your strength grow, right?"

"So, can you build a weapon for Nami as well?"

Usopp thought for a moment while Nami looked at him with puppy eyes.

"Hmm… It won't be impossible but I would need a lot of equipment."

"Don't worry, I didn't ask you to build it now. Once we reach Loguetown, you can purchase any equipment you want. Nami will pay for it." Zack gave him a thumbs up.

"I have to pay?" Nami pointed to herself as her greedy eyes started emerging.

"You can't say no. He is doing this for you." Zack shrugged his shoulders and spoke.

"Alright!" Nami answered in a depressed manner.

"While doing that, you will also train your physical strength. Using those weights while training and basically doing everything else will help your muscles. You can also slowly increase the weight and also train with heavy weights." Zack spoke to Nami and Usopp.

Then, he turned his head at Zoro and Sanji.

"You two are basically too powerful for normal weight training. And, both of you have different fighting styles so I don't have anything to make you physically stronger right now."

"Not Right now?" Zoro looked at him with a bit of disappointment.

"Don't be disappointed! Although I said, I can't help you with physical strength right now. I can help you in another way. Do you remember when I talked to you about Haki?" Zack asked.

Zoro nodded his head while Sanji was clueless.

"Before, I said there are two kinds of Haki dormant in everyone's body. These two types are Armament and Observation Haki. I don't know how to train Armament but I recently asked Mihawk about it."

"And, I think I can formulate an idea to train it. But for now, let's just focus on Observation Haki. It is a unique kind of power that allows you to see someone's next move. It's like an instinct but several times more powerful to the point where if trained perfectly, one can even see into the future for a few seconds."

"I believe this training will truly start after Nami's island so I will simply give you the direction so that you can start training whoever you have time for it."

"Zoro and Sanji, you two will work in pairs. One will sit down with his eyes closed and one will stand behind him with a stick. This training is simple. One of you have to hit another with the stick while another had to dodge it without even looking at it."

"While training, you will be able to sense the breath and spirit of your enemy or someone who is hitting you. The flow of spirit will tell you where he is going to hit next."

"Remember, it is the sixth sense that you have to unlock on your own. And, if you get hit, it's your fault. You can't blame another for hitting you too hard."

Hearing his words, Zoro and Sanji nodded their heads. Zack was unknown of what was going inside their minds but he felt like this would truly help them grow faster.

He turned his head at Luffy and spoke "Luffy, there are several ways you can improve your current power but I feel like the one thing you can do right now would be a contraction."

"Contraction?" Luffy looked at him with confusion.

"Rubber has two major properties and most often, one of them gets ignored. Rubber can be stretched and contracted as well. But the difference is quite huge. If stretching gives you mobility and speed, contracting gives you immense power."

"Since you are made of a rubber, you should be able to contract your body so much so that when you release it, the force generated by the punch would be two to five times stronger than before."

"Of course, it would have a disadvantage. Since you are contracting your body part like an arm, you need to reach your opponent's position before launching an attack."

"Unless you stretch out your arm as soon as you stop the contraction. Or, if you can contract the fist and forearm while stretching out your biceps. If you can do any one of these, your power would drastically increase."

"So, what do you think?"

"You mean like this?" Luffy said while pulling his muscles. His arm started shrinking as it was being contracted but suddenly, Luffy let out a scream.

"Ahhh!"

Bang!

As soon as he let out the scream, his hand struck the table that flew toward the sky by making a hole in the wall.

Everyone went near the hole and looked up into the sky.

After a while, Usopp finally spotted the table nearly hundreds of meters away in the sea.

"Zack, that hurts!" Luffy showed out teary eyes and spoke.

"Can you master this technique?" Zack asked.

"I will master it." Luffy's teary eyes disappeared as he spoke.

"Good! For now, you all can start training as I told you. And Luffy, please don't wreck the ship!" Zack stood up and walked out of the cabin.

"So, I am going first." Zoro said while holding a bat.

"Who said you can go first?" Sanji looked at him with a serious and cool expression as he asked.

"Let's settle who can go first."

Nami sighed at the sight of them. She walked outside the cabin and saw Zack starting his workout. A smile appeared on her lips as she walked down the stairs.

"Can I work out too?" Nami asked.

"Uhh…. You can start with push-ups!" Zack was slightly stunned for a moment but immediately responded.

"Hehe!" Nami giggled and started push-ups but after five, she laid flat on the deck.

"Hah-Hah-Hah! I can't." Nami gave up after five push-ups.

"Don't worry, you can do more tomorrow. When I started, I couldn't even do five push-ups." Zack replied while lifting weights.

"Really? Zack, can I ask you something?" Nami asked.

"Yes!" Zack replied.

"What's your full name?"

Thud!

Zack suddenly fell down as the weight he was lifting fell on his toes.

"Ahhh!"

Zack screamed as he removed the weight. But, he didn't care about pain. He looked at Nami and asked, "Why all of sudden?"

"I'm just curious." Nami curiously asked.

Zack sighed and spoke.

"It's a secret."