One Piece: Starting with Coercion and Enticement of Nami

As he spoke, Thoth looked at the girl and then said something that stunned her:

Do you want to beat me up?

"Huh?" Nokiko looked bewildered, somewhat confused: "You didn't bully me, why would I hit you?"

Toth just smiled, then looked at the two black bears five meters away that were raising their heads to peek at him. He pointed to the three whole wild boars roasting over a fire not far away, smeared with wild honey:

"Your mission is complete for today. Go and enjoy your reward."

Upon hearing this, the black bear's ears twitched, its two pairs of eyes immediately lit up, and with a whoosh, it charged straight ahead.

Upon seeing this, Tote spoke in a calm voice: "Bear Big and Bear Two, you are only allowed to eat two heads. If you dare to eat more, you two will be used in your place."

Suddenly, the two black bears braked sharply, turned around, and nodded repeatedly, their faces displaying a human-like, ingratiating expression.

Thoth chuckled. Three days ago, he had discovered these two black bears that were unexpectedly inseparable. They were quite strong and very intelligent. So, under Thoth's threat of force and the temptation of delicious food, he took them in.

They willingly and voluntarily became Tote's punching bag opponents.

Without a sword, it would take Thoth considerable effort to kill these two tough bear brothers and sisters.

"You've completely tamed those two!"

Nocigo's eyes were smiling, while Thoth returned to the previous topic:

“I wasn’t joking just now. I’ve encountered some minor difficulties in my spiritual practice, and I need your help.”

"I'll be blindfolded later, so you can hit me with the stick. Just don't hit my eyes or my manhood; the rest of the body is up to you, but aim for the head if possible."

Then, to Noki's astonishment and bewilderment, Thoth, sword in hand, came to a tree not far away, leaped into the air, and with one sword stroke, chopped down a tree branch as thick as an arm.

Soon, he used the broken steel sword to trim away the irregular branches.

A 1.5-meter-long wooden stick appeared.

He solemnly handed it to her.

Next, Tote decisively took off his short-sleeved shirt, folded it in half, and blindfolded himself, tying a tight knot around his eyes.

Standing in front of her, the blindfolded Thoth smiled and said:

"You can begin, but attack me from different angles, directions, and frequencies, and try to be as quiet as possible. Avoid unnecessary noise."

Seeing that Thoth wasn't joking, Nokiko's lips twitched. "I won't kill you like that, will I?"

"It's not that I look down on you, but if you can kill me, then you can go and assassinate Ah Long right now."

The blatant, undisguised mockery turned Nokiko's face dark, and he gritted his teeth, saying:

"Now I understand why Nami said your mouth is the most annoying thing about you."

Before she could finish speaking, Noki gave a cold snort, took a step forward, and swung the wooden stick at Tot's upper arm.

There were still some reservations.

His eyesight was completely gone, and his hearing was also impaired. Thud! A dull, heavy blow landed on Tot's upper arm, and a dull ache came through.

He staggered slightly to the side.

At this moment, the pain in his body seemed to activate Thoth's physical instincts, reflexively wanting to launch an attack in the direction from which the wind was coming.

However, Thoth suppressed his anger, and at the same time, his brow furrowed slightly:

"Aim for my head. Your attack makes me feel no danger at all. My physical condition can completely withstand your blunt force."

An attack like yours, unless it leaves me nearly dead, is unlikely to trigger my dangerous instincts.

Thoth's voice reached her ears, and Noki took a deep breath, her gaze becoming serious: "Then be careful."

With a flick of his wrist, the wooden stick traced a path as it hurtled toward Thoth's head. At that very moment, like a shooting star streaking across the darkness, Thoth instinctively sensed the danger, and a phantom pain quietly surfaced above his head.

With a slight shift in his steps, the wooden stick missed its mark.

Seeing this, Nokiko raised an eyebrow and then smiled slightly. He then increased his speed and began to swing his stick around Thoth.

It's not that the blows are aimed all over the head, but rather that the blows are applied to various parts of the body before suddenly striking the head with a single blow.

Therefore, "Cicada's Awakening" could not be activated every time. Even though Thoth kept dodging in a small area, he was still left with red marks and bruises all over his body.

As time slowly passed, Thoth unknowingly entered a state of concentration.

By clearing your mind of unnecessary distractions, a light would occasionally appear in that dark consciousness.

This is a kind of description of the "cicada's premonition" when it is activated.

While honing his perception, Thoth was also constantly adapting to this physical training that required him to withstand blows.

Nojiko swung her baton while observing Thoth's condition. Once she realized that Thoth was completely fine, she let loose completely.

Holding the stick, she swung it like a longsword, using the techniques Thoth had taught her to practice combat on Thoth herself.

As the blows continued, Nokiko's eyes became somewhat dazed. She suddenly realized that the stick in her hand was more comfortable to use than a sword.

In her confusion, she became more and more adept at fighting, and at one point, she even instinctively launched a counterattack that pierced straight into Tot's mouth.

Unfortunately, it was knocked off by Toth's sudden backward tilt of his head.

Immersed in "Cicada's Awakening," whenever she dodges hundreds of blows, she briefly uses Observation Haki to sense Nojiko's aura and her body movements.

I entered intermittently, and once in that state, I could dodge with ease as if divinely aided. But once I left the state of Observation Rhapsody, during that window of opportunity when I could sense the aura, I would always get hit hard.

Amidst the dull thuds of the blows, the physical pain continuously interfered with Thoth's concentration on learning.

This caused Thoth's "study mode" to occasionally slip out.

The only way to eliminate this interference is to adapt—to adapt to the pain, to adapt to the interference of the external environment, and to adapt to maintaining absolute focus in battle.

Thoth. Constantly growing.

With the accumulation of experience from hundreds and thousands of uses, the proficiency of the novice Observation Haki gradually began to increase.

Time passed quickly as the two helped each other. During their training, Nokiko rested several times.

Her physical strength was ultimately no match for Thoth's, and it was already evening.

The two walked side by side on their way home, with Nokiko rubbing her sore wrists, shoulders, and slender waist with a helpless expression.

Looking back at Thoth, whose body was swollen but who seemed perfectly fine, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, you look so funny right now, Tote! You're almost as fat as a ball!"

Hearing this, Thoth narrowed his eyes, turned his head to look at her, raised his fist and shook it at her, "You weakling, you can beat me until you're exhausted? Ha!"

A soft "Heh!" carried an unspeakable sarcasm, and Nokiko's expression immediately became tense; she could no longer laugh.

However, she couldn't laugh, while Thoth chuckled softly with delight.

"Stop laughing. If you keep laughing, I won't help you tomorrow."

Noki was quite angry.

Thoth stopped smiling at the right moment, then changed the subject, and the two chatted as they walked towards home.

Taking a moment to check his proficiency with Observation Haki during the journey, Thoth glanced at it.

Observation Haki (Beginner 0 → 3/10)

And surprisingly, his proficiency in "self-recovery" and "hand-to-hand combat" has also improved significantly under this training in resisting blows.

They returned home chatting and laughing. Nami had come home early today and prepared dinner.

The three of them sat together eating, chatting and laughing, just like a family.

But during the meal, Nami teased him quite a bit about his swollen body.

In response to this,

Nami was suppressed by Thoth's single hand, while the little girl resisted.

027. Observation Color!

"..."

With her legs crossed and her left elbow propped on the table, Noki watched the two bickering with a smile, her chin resting on her hand. It seemed like it had been a very long time since the house had been this lively.

At some point, she turned her gaze and began to scrutinize Thoth without making a sound.

From the forehead to the brow, then to the eyes, the bridge of the nose, the lips, and finally to that strong and well-proportioned physique.

My heart rate increased slightly without me even realizing it.

"Huh? Thoth. I've noticed that the swelling in your body has gone down quite a bit."

At this rate, you'll probably be fully recovered by tomorrow morning. I'm worried it might affect your practice tomorrow.

As soon as the words were spoken, Nami, who was playing with Thoth, stopped what she was doing, her bright eyes blinking with a hint of dissatisfaction:

"It seems so? It doesn't look as swollen as it did before."

As he spoke, he swiftly reached out and poked Thoth's swollen cheek, watching as Thoth's cheek slightly sunken in, and grinned:

"It's actually quite fun?"

Thoth rolled his eyes and pushed her face, which was leaning closer to look at him, away.

"You're outrageous! I'm your captain! You know that's called taking advantage of my kindness?"

Nami didn't take it seriously, and with a quick chuckle, she said, "Yes, you are the captain."

But have you forgotten that on a voyage at sea, a top-notch navigator is the ship's most prized asset?

"My precious ancestor?"

Thoth raised an eyebrow, reached out and pinched her chubby cheek, and said:

"You? A pushover I could easily subdue with one hand. You're really getting itchy if you don't get a beating every three days?"

Nami rolled her eyes and slapped Thoth's hand away. "Don't move. I'm warning you, if you dare hit me, I'll definitely stuff your breakfast full of chili peppers tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Thoth's lips twitched, and Nojiko covered her mouth and chuckled, because Thoth didn't like eating spicy food.

Over the years, she had become quite familiar with Tote's tastes, so when cooking, she only used chili peppers as a garnish.

Of course, delicious ones are an exception.

When Nami saw that Thoth was silent, she immediately felt as if she had won a battle.

"Alright, it's getting late, I'm going to rest."

With that, he got up and went back to his room.

I've already washed up and am lying comfortably in bed.

Watching the bedroom door close, Nokiko said helplessly:

You should give way to him.

Nami pouted and shook her head, saying:

"No way, I won't let you."

However, at this point, Nami turned her head to look at Nojiko, her face full of suspicion:

How could you side with him?

Nokiko was speechless: "Where is it? Okay, I'm not talking about it anymore, let's go back to our room and rest."

With that, he got up and went back to his room.

Looking at her back, Nami blinked, feeling that something was off. Why did she feel like she was the bad guy?

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore, I'm too tired.

……

Early the next morning.

My body has returned to normal.

After the three finished their morning training, Nami went to Arlong Park. Thoth, on the other hand, took Nojiko with him to continue their training in the mountains.

Nojiko beat Thoth, who was blindfolded, with a wooden stick from morning till night. Thoth spent the whole day training his Observation Haki.

Another day has passed in the blink of an eye.

It was five o'clock that afternoon.