"Extra training…"
Those two words caused Nanamo's whole body to go numb.
Because of the "grind-master" Amphitrite, she could already clearly feel how much the intensity of training had increased lately.
If it went up another notch, that really wouldn't be good news for her.
"No, Dad, you've got to believe me, you look your coolest when you're on vacation."
"I don't believe you."
"But Dad, you have the same habit too! You've been 'careless' far more times than I have when facing enemies! This is unfair treatment, I protest!!"
Nanamo was firmly convinced that her behavior had a source, and that as both her father and instructor, Nereus was the root of it all.
After all, Nereus often got playful and liked to toy with his enemies.
"If you had the same Haki as me and the same Devil Fruit ability, then you could do that. Your defense is indeed not low, but it's nowhere near invincible.
At the end of the day, you're still too weak.
If you're going to imitate me, why not learn something good instead?"
Whether they were Logia users or those with special regenerative abilities, when facing attacks from the weak, they would sometimes adopt this kind of dismissive attitude.
After all, no matter what, those attacks couldn't hurt them, so just standing there was enough.
But situations like this could go in two directions.
The first kind consists of those with sufficient strength; they knew very clearly which enemies' attacks they could take and which they couldn't.
As a Marine Admiral jokingly referred to as the "performing monkey," Borsalino could stand still and strike a pose for several minutes, letting Usopp casually fire his slingshot at him. [TN: It's a Chinese or fan-derived nickname likely used mockingly in fan communities, especially Chinese-speaking One Piece circles, to portray Borsalino as a "performing monkey"—someone who acts lazy or nonchalant but performs his duties mechanically like a trained monkey.]
But when the one aiming at him was Beckman, Borsalino wouldn't keep standing there to take hits; he knew the other man's Haki was capable of injuring him.
The second kind were those who thought themselves invincible just because they'd eaten a Devil Fruit. They might not run into their match for a short time, but the moment they ran into someone truly strong, they would immediately be reduced to background fodder.
People like Caribou were examples. Against someone proficient in Haki, their elemental transformations only served to increase their own hit area.
Even Charlotte Linlin herself had moments when her defense failed.
Although Nanamo's mental state was far more stable, and no instances of a sudden breakdown leading to a loss of defense had occurred during her combat training with Nereus so far, certain measures still needed to be taken as a precaution.
"No, actually I—"
Nanamo was just about to explain when she suddenly realized she'd fallen into a vicious cycle.
If she said she hadn't sensed the opponent's intent to attack, that meant her Observation Haki wasn't up to par; that's just being "trash."
If she said she'd sensed it but was confident enough not to dodge; that's called being "reckless".
Whether trash or reckless, the end result might still be extra training. Compared to that, she might as well admit she'd been reckless…
"You fools! Did you never stop to think why I dare to tell you exactly how you will be dealt with, and was not afraid of you fighting back?
Why would I let a little girl unlock your chains, and was not afraid that you'll take her hostage?
Did you really think it's just because we're under the sea?!"
A surge of resentment welled up in Nanamo's heart, finally converging on those troublemaking pirates.
"Little girl, go take a break. I'll handle this myself!"
Nanamo returned to her original position, using a gentle force to stop the Mink who had just been fighting.
Before the Mink could even react to what was happening, she was grabbed and tossed toward the crowd behind her.
"Pan! Catch him! Hermes, same as always! Move! Remember, don't hit the face!"
Big Pan, with one hand, steadily caught the Mink who had been thrown over, while the already furious Hermes even underwent a noticeable change in coloration.
The Homies created by Charlotte Linlin varied greatly in strength. The lowest-level Homies were just talking, running food, with no real combat ability to speak of.
The more outstanding Homies, even within a Yonko's crew, were qualified combatants.
As for these Homies formed by splitting her soul, they were her greatest support. Though they couldn't unleash power equal to hers, they were still capable of joining battles against powerful foes.
"You ungrateful ba*tards! To commit such an outrageous act of disrespect, you deserve the punishment of a thousand needles!! Thousand Cloud Needles!"
Hermes roughly aimed in the direction of those pirates, and from its mouth countless fine needles formed from Iron Clouds shot out.
Devil Fruits usually paid little heed to science. Elemental Homies were essentially aggregates of a single element, and like Logia users, they could unleash large quantities of attacks made from their own element.
As a composite of the various clouds from Sky Island, Hermes could release objects formed from all kinds of Sky Island clouds.
Iron Clouds were comparable to refined iron in texture; not only boasting excellent hardness and strength, but also superior toughness.
Countless Iron Cloud needles flew downward, showing no concern at all for Nanamo, who was also within the attack range. This was exactly what Nanamo meant when she shouted "same as always."
An attack of this level from Hermes couldn't break through her defenses, but it could cause serious trouble for the enemies.
Nanamo didn't even need to throw a punch. Hermes's rain of needles had already dealt with most of the pirates who wanted to seize the ship. The remaining two who were a bit stronger were swiftly finished off by Nanamo with a punch each.
"Don't worry, the bubble coating is very sturdy. This level of attack won't break it.
Even if it does break, we have ways to protect you. We're good people…yeah, good people."
Big Pan, seeing the Mink in his palm glance nervously at the surrounding bubble from time to time, spoke up to reassure her. After the fighting on Nanamo's side ended, he gently set her back down on the ground.
The ship's coating was actually quite durable. Even if a person repeatedly passed through the bubble membrane, it wouldn't immediately burst.
However, if a Sea Beast struck it, the bubble wouldn't be able to withstand it. Breaking it required a bit of technique.
The Fish-Men, who fought underwater year-round, knew very well how to deal with such things.
"4.8 million Berries, 7 million Berries… this one's 12 million… add it all up and it's a bit over 30 million. Not bad, enough to soothe my wounded heart…"
That was why she didn't let Hermes take the lead. If their identities couldn't be recognized, there wouldn't be a single Berry of bounty to collect.
"Na…"
Hermes opened its mouth, but didn't finish the sentence. It knew Nereus probably wouldn't give her all of these pirates' bounties, but pointing that out right now didn't seem appropriate.
Better to let its master bask in the joy of wealth for a little while longer.
This little incident actually saved a lot of trouble. The number of people needing verification was instantly reduced by more than half.
In theory, those who had stayed quietly to the side and hadn't made any attempt to resist should be fine, but they still needed to be investigated.
At the same time, over on Nereus's side, new information was being registered. Questions about these people's hometowns.
When it came time for that Mink, Nereus chose to handle her registration personally. From the moment she had decided to step in, she had, more or less, caught Nereus's attention.
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