One Piece: SSS-Rank Haki at Age Seventeen

"Rayleigh! Sanji! Tra-guy—I'm here!!!"

The shout pierced through the sky like a signal arrow, rushing closer with unrestrained excitement and recklessness.

Then—

BOOM!!!

It wasn't an attack. It was simply the violent declaration of speed and power smashing into the ground.

A streak of blue lightning crashed down like a meteor at the edge of the island.

In an instant, an explosive shockwave erupted outward in a circular blast—far stronger than any training collision before. Sand, gravel, and dry grass were swept up into a raging cloud of dust that surged toward Rayleigh, Sanji, and Law like a brown tidal wave.

Rayleigh didn't even raise his eyelids. He merely tucked his sake flask safely into his arms and casually waved a hand.

The incoming dust slammed into an invisible wall and obediently split to both sides.

Sanji, meanwhile, was focused on finishing the last wrap of Law's bandage when he was suddenly blasted with sand.

"Pfft—cough, cough!"

He snapped his head away, instantly irritated.

Law, on the other hand, instinctively tried to activate ROOM the moment the dust storm hit. But because of his injuries—and Sanji's grip while bandaging him—he reacted half a second too late.

The result: his entire face was coated in dust.

His expression, already usually emotionless, darkened even further. Only his sharp eyes glinted dangerously through the haze.

Slowly, the dust settled.

Standing in the center of the crater he had created was a very young black-haired boy.

He adjusted the straw hat on his head, looked up, and revealed a dazzling grin full of white teeth—like the sudden appearance of the sun over the desolate island.

But when he saw the scene in front of him, his smile froze.

Then he scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"Huh? Why does everyone look like that?"

It was Monkey D. Luffy.

For a moment, silence froze the island.

Surprise lingered on Rayleigh's slightly raised brow, in the tears Sanji had coughed out from the dust, and in the twitching corner of Law's mouth beneath his bandages.

The next second—

Whoosh!

A black blur shot across the ground, kicking up dust.

It crossed more than ten meters instantly and appeared right in front of Luffy.

Smack!

Two hands grabbed the wrinkled collar of Luffy's red vest like iron clamps, lifting the still-grinning captain slightly off the ground.

Dust drifted between them.

Sanji slowly raised his head.

The handsome face that could normally charm countless women now looked completely different—eyebrows raised sharply, the corners of his eyes twitching, while an oddly curved smile hung at his lips.

Was it anger at the captain's lateness?

Jealousy that he might have just returned from some paradise surrounded by beauties?

Or simply a physical reaction from choking on dust?

—Probably all three.

Sanji leaned close until his nose was almost touching Luffy's face. His voice dropped low, each word dripping with eerie resentment.

"Well~ if it isn't~ our~ great~ Captain~."

"We agreed to start the next round of joint training early this morning…"

His voice suddenly rose into a sharp accusation.

"But the sun's almost overhead now! And only now has your noble rubber body finally decided to 'bounce' over here from wherever you were?!"

Suddenly, Sanji's nose—refined through countless culinary battles and practically a human scent analyzer—picked up something unusual.

From Luffy's clothes, soaked with sea breeze, sweat, and the faint scent of rubber…

There drifted an extremely faint fragrance.

A floral scent.

It was elegant and slightly cool, yet carried an indescribable hint of temptation—like a rare flower blooming quietly beneath moonlight, its fragrance accidentally clinging to someone's clothing.

Sanji's brows instantly knitted together.

His expression, previously twisted with jealousy and irritation, shifted into the sharp scrutiny of a detective.

He pulled Luffy even closer, almost pressing his nose against Luffy's collar, and took a deep sniff.

"Hey, Luffy…"

Sanji's voice suddenly turned low and serious.

"This smell on you… where did it come from?!"

The question had an immediate effect.

Luffy's usually crystal-clear eyes flickered for a moment like a glitching screen.

Fragments of last night's memories surged up—

The dim moonlight.

The magnificent palace.

And Boa Hancock's watery, burning gaze…

"O-Of course it's from the bed!!"

Luffy blurted out almost instantly.

His voice rose in sudden panic, even stuttering slightly.

He tried to sound overly confident to hide the brief flash of guilt—but his slightly reddened ears and wandering gaze had already betrayed him.

The reaction actually made Sanji pause.

He stared at Luffy for two seconds, eyes sharp as blades.

But in the end, Sanji simply clicked his tongue.

"Whatever. You idiot."

He released Luffy's collar and even smoothed the wrinkled vest with a look of mild annoyance.

Then he turned away, his tone returning to its usual impatience—with a hint of helpless trust.

"Next time we train, wake up earlier! Don't waste precious training time on… weird stuff!"

He genuinely believed him.

Or rather, he chose to believe his understanding of his captain.

In Sanji's worldview, any normal—or abnormal—man entering Amazon Lily would be like a starving ghost diving into a royal banquet.

There was no way they'd return "untouched."

But Luffy?

Who was he?

He was Monkey D. Luffy.

A super idiot whose brain contained only meat, adventure, comrades, and the One Piece.

Anything else—especially romance—probably existed in his mind at a density lower than Skypiea clouds.

Expecting him to harbor romantic thoughts about the most beautiful woman in the world?

That was less likely than Bellamy suddenly turning over a new leaf.

That scent… probably just incense or flowers unique to Amazon Lily.

Sanji convinced himself.

After all, the entire island was filled with women. A special fragrance lingering in the air wasn't strange.

He even imagined Luffy rolling around on palace floors covered in flower petals and picking up the scent that way.

He completely ignored the other possibility.

Or rather, that possibility never even rippled against the iron wall of logic built upon his understanding of Luffy's steel-level obliviousness.

He would never imagine that the woman revered across the world as a goddess—

The Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock—

Instead of maintaining her usual pride and aloofness after meeting Luffy…

Had become unbelievably proactive.

So proactive that she shattered all logic and expectation.

Branding her unparalleled beauty and affection onto a certain dense idiot who understood absolutely nothing about romance.

Nearby, Law silently tied the final knot of his bandage.

He pushed down the brim of his spotted hat and decided to file this minor incident—perhaps not so minor—into the same category as the countless absurd events surrounding the Straw Hat crew:

"Not worth analyzing."

After all, on this sea, trying to apply common sense to events involving Monkey D. Luffy was the most foolish thing one could do.

Suddenly, the rhythmic flapping of wings cut through the wind and crashing waves.

"Caw—! Caw—!"

Everyone looked up.

Against the blue sky, a small black dot approached from afar, flapping steadily toward the island.

It was a News Coo—a seagull messenger carrying its signature mailbag. Its white feathers gleamed under the sunlight, and the coin box hanging around its neck swayed gently as it flew.

"Oh?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Rayleigh's eyes, quickly turning into amusement.

"That's rare. Even on an island this rundown—one that probably isn't even marked on maps—we still run into a passing News Coo."

As the seagull circled lower, seemingly checking if anyone below wanted its service, Rayleigh calmly took out a coin.

The coin flipped between his fingers, reflecting sunlight. The number 100 was clearly engraved on it.

"Here you go, little guy."

With a light flick of his wrist, the coin traced a perfect arc.

Clink!

It dropped neatly into the small metal coin box hanging from the seagull's chest.

The News Coo, clearly used to such accurate payments, chirped twice in satisfaction.

"Caw! Caw!"

Then it skillfully pulled a neatly folded newspaper from its mailbag with its beak.

With a flap of its wings, the paper drifted down as if guided by invisible hands, landing steadily toward Rayleigh.

Rayleigh raised a hand and caught it easily.

The seagull didn't linger. After completing its delivery, it immediately turned and flew back toward the vast ocean, continuing its long journey across the seas.

Rayleigh unfolded the newspaper and glanced at the headline on the front page.

Who knew what kind of storm had erupted on the seas today?

Sanji, Luffy—and even Law, still tending his injuries—instinctively turned their eyes toward the newspaper in Rayleigh's hands.

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