Chapter 18: The Navigator's Back-Scrubbing Service

Hearing this, Ka Li Na lifted her head from the tabletop and pouted, "Hehe, I was too tired. Between singing and drinking, I just thought I'd pretend to be drunk to rest for a while. I knew I couldn't hide it from you, but as long as I hid it from them, it's fine; I didn't want them to say I was ruining the mood."

Luo Di gently stroked Ka Li Na's flowing hair and chuckled, "You are an officer, so you should have the bearing of an officer. You don't need to look at their expressions to do what you want."

"I know," Ka Li Na said, sticking out her tongue.

Then she suddenly stared into Luo Di's eyes.

"Why are you looking at me?" Luo Di asked.

"Can't I look?" Ka Li Na stood up, stretched, and looked toward the large room where the crew members were sleeping, sighing, "Luo Di, when we first met, I actually didn't truly consider you my captain at all. I just thought you were very strong and could protect me, so I planned to find a chance to ditch you once I was safe."

"I know," Luo Di nodded. "It would have been too fake if you were devoted from the start. You are a Little Fox, after all."

"You knew and you still kept me?" Ka Li Na looked astonished.

Nonsense, you are a top-tier SSR card; if I don't want such a good seedling, how am I supposed to sail the seas?

Luo Di maintained his smile, "And now?"

Ka Li Na pursed her thin lips, a hint of cunning appearing on her face. She grabbed Luo Di's hand and said playfully, "Please take care of me from now on, Captain."

She suddenly realized that doing this wasn't very appropriate, so she hurriedly let go of his hand and turned her head away shyly.

This guy is quite lecherous; a woman as beautiful as me must be careful and cautious.

But he really does have a sense of security when he fights.

As Ka Li Na's thoughts drifted, Luo Di suddenly grabbed her hand and walked toward the captain's quarters.

"Why are you grabbing me?" Ka Li Na asked in surprise.

"If you can grab me, why can't I grab you back?" Luo Di retorted.

"You... I..." Ka Li Na was speechless.

"You smell like alcohol, go wash up," Luo Di replied.

The ship had already stored sufficient fresh water; as the captain, taking a bath occasionally wasn't a big problem, as long as he was mindful of the water usage.

"Oh," Ka Li Na nodded, then suddenly realized something, "Wait, why are you grabbing me to take a bath?"

"I'm the captain now, shouldn't someone scrub my back while I bathe!" Luo Di put on airs of authority.

Ka Li Na's face was flushed red, and it was unclear whether it was from the alcohol or shyness. Feeling the warmth of Luo Di's hand, although she wanted to break free, she hesitated. After a repeated internal struggle, she came back to her senses only to find they had already arrived at the shower room in the captain's quarters.

The hot water had already been heated in advance; just as they entered, a basin was floating in the air, pouring water into the bathtub.

Ka Li Na was already accustomed to Luo Di's abilities and didn't feel surprised, just nervously saying, "Hey, do you really want me to scrub your back? I've never done this before."

Luo Di had already begun to remove his clothing. Ka Li Na immediately covered her eyes, then secretly left a gap between her fingers, her excuse being that she was afraid Luo Di might take further action that would be disadvantageous to her.

That's right!

But this guy is really going too far!

As Ka Li Na thought this, Luo Di had already sat into the tub, resting his hands on the edge. A cigar flew into his mouth on its own, a match in the air struck and lit it, and as he exhaled a cloud of smoke, Luo Di's face was full of contentment.

On the sea, you never know what will happen in the next second; of course, you have to seize every second to enjoy yourself, otherwise, sailing would be meaningless.

Ka Li Na pouted, scrubbing Luo Di's back with great reluctance. As she scrubbed, she recalled her previous encounters.

I wonder what the situation is with those guys now. They wouldn't really chase us here, would they? That Da Xiong Wang is an Ability User just like Luo Di; if a fight really breaks out, it would definitely be a death match.

Forget it, considering how hard you've tried to protect me, I'll reluctantly scrub it for you this once, but just this once, there won't be a next time.

I'll scrub you to death! Swish, swish, swish...

"Hey, my back is about to start smoking!" Luo Di shouted.

"Hee hee, who told you to ask me to scrub your back," Ka Li Na scrubbed fiercely in retaliation.

Of course, this level of force felt like nothing to Luo Di; he didn't need to use Armament Haki at all. Luo Di closed his eyes and said, "Ka Li Na, use your fist to punch me from behind the head."

"Huh?" Ka Li Na looked confused, thinking, I just wanted to scrub you, I didn't want to punch you.

What if I break your brain!

Previously, he had used Platinum Star to observe Hanke's Qi pulse flow, thereby using Armament Haki and the Six Powers. When Hanke used Observation Haki to track Platinum Star, he had already been caught, but the battle was too intense, and after Luo Di grasped those moves, he had put all his focus on the Ripple.

Luo Di closed his eyes: "It's fine, I'm very tough, use some strength."

Although she didn't know the reason, seeing that Luo Di didn't look like he was joking, Ka Li Na clenched her small fist and punched toward the back of Luo Di's head.

Observation Haki works by strengthening the five senses to perceive biological Qi and emotional changes to predict danger, then using one's own abilities to evade. Hanke's Observation Haki wasn't strong; being able to see Platinum Star and the next move was already his limit.

Even if he saw through it, without the ability to evade, it was futile. The power Luo Di unleashed afterward had already surpassed the scope of what he could avoid.

Just as Ka Li Na's fist was about to land on the back of Luo Di's head, he opened his eyes abruptly, a red dot flashed in his pupils, and he tilted his head slightly to the left, just barely dodging the fist.

Ka Li Na said in surprise, "Is this... Observation Haki?"

Having spent many years in the East Blue, she had seen some powerhouses who could use Haki. Thinking back carefully, the abilities Luo Di had displayed recently were truly terrifying. Besides his own innate abilities, he could learn the opponent's moves in an extremely short time; he was simply a monster.

"Hoo~" Luo Di exhaled a cloud of smoke, "It's not refined enough yet, at most it can only dodge ordinary attacks. Those guys who have trained Observation Haki to the extreme can actually foresee the future."

"Foresee the future? Are there really such strong existences on the sea?" Ka Li Na was puzzled.

"Of course there are, you'll see them later," Luo Di smiled, "The sea is very magical."

Having experienced several battles, plus the crew members he had just recruited, and the jewelry piled up in his room, all these signs told Ka Li Na that Luo Di's claim about becoming the Pirate King was not a joke.

She had drifted in the East Blue for many years, and she had only read about the horrors of the Grand Line in newspapers; she had never experienced it firsthand, nor had she ever thought about sailing to such a terrifying place. But now, her mindset was gradually changing; she wanted to see how far this captain of hers could go.

I need to work harder to improve my navigation skills, otherwise, I'll be a burden... Ka Li Na thought, seeing Luo Di's well-defined back, and looked shy, "It's scrubbed, I'm going out first, you hurry up and get up to put on your clothes."

"No drying service? You should see a good deed through to the end, hey!" Luo Di expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Can't hear you, can't hear you!"

But Ka Li Na had already slipped out, scurrying into her own room as nimbly as a fox.

A quarter of an hour later, she peeked out from her room again, filled a basin with hot water, and began to wash herself.