Chapter 215: Setting a Small Goal: To Become a Golden Transponder Snail!
Sunlight spilled across the deck of the Going Merry, the sea breeze gentle, seagulls circling among the masts.
Another beautiful day.
If you ignored the "tragedy" unfolding in the center of the deck, that is.
Thud!
Lufia's fist landed squarely in Ralph's stomach.
Ralph flew backward like a cannonball, crashed into the ship's railing, bounced off, and rolled three times across the deck.
"Hah..."
Lufia retracted her fist, nodded in satisfaction, then finally showed concern for Ralph.
"Ralph, are you okay?!"
Lalph lay on the deck, staring up at the clear blue sky, his mouth twitching.
Feeling Lufia's love-filled iron fist—painful yet joyful!
But not using Tekkai to defend himself was just too painful!
There was no helping it—this was the method he'd devised to master Kami-e.
The core of Kami-e was relaxing the body, sensing the intent of an attack, and dodging with the smallest possible movements.
Ralph's Observation Haki could keep up with Lufia's attacks, but his control over his body wasn't yet soft enough to be like paper.
During practice, it was inevitable he'd take a few punches.
Fortunately, the ship had a professional doctor on board.
"Ralph, are you alright?"
Chopper trotted over, his little hooves pressing gently against Ralph's body.
"No broken ribs, no internal bleeding... just... well, a few more bruises."
"I'm fine."
Ralph got up, rubbing his stomach.
"Let's continue."
"Again?!"
Chopper's eyes widened.
"You've already taken over twenty punches!"
"You have to get hit to learn."
With that, Ralph flashed a bright, toothy grin and gave a thumbs-up!
"That's youth for you!"
Nearby, Usopp and Chopper burst into tears!
"That's a real man for you!"
Nami quipped, "More like a real idiot!"
Meanwhile, Lufia's eyes lit up:
"Want to go again?"
"Let's go."
For the next hour, the sound of fists colliding with flesh echoed across the deck of the Going Merry.
Along with Ralph's twisting, writhing figure.
Sanji poked his head out from the kitchen and glanced over.
"Damn it! I'm so jealous of that guy Ralph!"
"You could join in too."
Nami leaned against the railing, holding a gemstone up to the sunlight.
"Lufia wouldn't refuse a sparring partner!"
"But Ralph would!"
Zoro, who rarely spoke up, was leaning against the mast with his eyes closed as if sleeping, though everyone knew he was listening.
"If anyone dared interrupt Ralph's enjoyment of this process, he'd definitely lose his temper."
Everyone fell silent for a second.
Then, simultaneously, they looked toward Ralph, who was still getting pummeled on the deck, and Lufia, who was doing the pummeling.
Ralph was sent flying again, this time crashing directly into the mast beside Zoro.
"..."
He coughed twice, then turned his head to look at Zoro.
"What did you just say?"
"Nothing."
Ralph smiled and didn't press further.
He got up from the deck and stretched his neck.
That last punch—he could have dodged it.
His Observation Haki had caught the trajectory of the attack, and his body had reacted.
But at the last moment, he deliberately didn't dodge completely.
Because what he was aiming for was to make evasion a natural, instinctive reaction of his body.
That was the essence of Kami-e.
And so, the days passed one after another.
The Going Merry sailed along the course set by the Log Pose, heading toward one unknown island after another.
On these islands, the members of the Straw Hat Pirates encountered all sorts of people—kind islanders, Pirates, Bounty Hunters, Navy soldiers...
They also came across unique creatures and plants.
On some of these islands, there existed primitive populations of Den Den Mushi.
For Ralph, this was practically heaven-sent practice material.
"This breed has a relatively short communication range, but the signal is stable."
"This breed has powerful recording functions, but unfortunately, it can't transmit in real time."
"This one... hmm, this one seems to only know how to sleep?"
Ralph crouched in front of a shrub, holding a small Den Den Mushi that was snoring away, looking utterly helpless.
Chopper squatted beside him, communicating with the Den Den Mushi in animal language.
"Hey, wake up! Someone needs your help."
The Den Den Mushi rolled over and continued sleeping.
"What did it say?"
Ralph asked.
"It said... stop bothering its hibernation."
"But this island doesn't have winter."
"It said it doesn't care, it just wants to sleep."
Ralph: "..."
He sighed and placed the Den Den Mushi back into the shrub.
Oh well, no need to force a Den Den Mushi against its will.
However, during this time, with Chopper's help, Ralph's Den Den Mushi skills advanced by leaps and bounds.
A reindeer who could talk to animals was simply the best assistant for studying Den Den Mushi.
The Den Den Mushi's willingness to cooperate with experiments was largely thanks to Chopper's communication skills.
As for Ralph, he handled the technical aspects—
such as enhancing signals, encrypting communications, and developing advanced functions.
Before they knew it, the entire Straw Hat Pirates crew was using Ralph-brand customized Den Den Mushi.
"This can really make calls, and it's anti-eavesdropping?"
Nami held her Den Den Mushi, half-convinced and half-doubting.
"Baroque Works' encryption technology."
Ralph pointed to a special pattern on the Den Den Mushi's shell, "I incorporated it. Now, even the Navy's Eavesdropping Den Den Mushi would have a hard time intercepting our calls."
"That impressive?"
Usopp leaned in, "Then can we eavesdrop on others?"
Ralph glanced at him.
Usopp immediately averted his gaze guiltily.
"Yes."
Ralph said.
"Really?!"
"But I'd need to get my hands on the Navy's eavesdropping Den Den Mushi to study it first."
Ralph cast an expectant look, "How about you get one from the Navy for me?"
Usopp: "..."
Based on Ralph's preliminary research, it was clear that the technical difficulty of Den Den Mushi depended on their advanced functions.
Some had global connectivity, some were dedicated lines, some specialized in eavesdropping, some in anti-eavesdropping, and some could even take photos, record videos, or even livestream.
He recalled the golden Den Den Mushi from the original story.
The ultimate authority to initiate a Buster Call.
"If one day, I could replicate a golden one..."
Ralph murmured to himself.
Forging Navy orders, initiating a Buster Call.
That would certainly stir things up.
"Ralph, what are you thinking about?"
Chopper asked innocently.
"Nothing."
Ralph snapped out of his thoughts and patted Chopper's head, "Just thinking about the future."
Chopper blinked but didn't ask further.
The kind Dr. Chopper had no idea what a terrifying man he was helping!
All he knew was that he had finally become a useful person on the ship.
As a doctor, watching his monstrously strong crewmates heal from minor injuries just by sleeping, he often felt quite frustrated.
But now, it was better.
Helping Ralph study Den Den Mushi meant he could be useful every day.
Ralph was injured and needed treatment, and he could also help in time.
This feeling of being needed—
It felt wonderful.
"Chopper."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you for helping me."
Ralph said seriously, "Without you, these Den Den Mushi wouldn't have cooperated so well."
Chopper's face flushed bright red.
"I-It's nothing! You jerk, don't say things like that! I just did what I could!"
He spun around twice in place, then stopped and said earnestly:
"Besides, Ralph, you said it yourself—pirate life is full of variety! I believe you!"
Ralph was taken aback for a moment, then smiled.
He remembered he had indeed said that.
Back then, Chopper had just joined the crew and was full of questions about pirate life.
Ralph had said that being a pirate wasn't just about fighting and killing—it could also involve studying science, exploring the unknown, and doing all sorts of interesting things with your crewmates.
He hadn't expected Chopper to remember it so clearly.
"Oh, right."
Chopper suddenly remembered something,
"Lufia's brother, Ace, didn't he also say you were the most pirate-like person in the entire crew?"
Ralph: "..."
Was that a compliment?
Why did it sound a bit strange?
But Chopper clearly took it as the highest praise, his eyes sparkling with admiration.
"To be acknowledged by such a great pirate is just too cool!"
Looking at Chopper's shining eyes, Ralph didn't have the heart to dampen his enthusiasm.
Just then—
[Ding—]
[Detected an increase in favorability from crewmate "Tony Tony Chopper" toward the host]
[Affection rewards have been refreshed]
[Current available reward: Rumble Ball Configuration Technique]