One Piece: Starting with Coercion and Enticement of Nami

039. Skill Mechanism!

When did you arrive?

Footsteps rang out, accompanied by Nokiko's clear laughter.

The faint orange scent of shower gel wafted over as the girl approached Thoth, the hem of her white dress swaying gently in the sea breeze.

Tot turned his head to look at her. The dashing young girl's neck-length blue hair was not held in place by the usual hairband; it just fell down smoothly and naturally.

She had just finished showering; her face was fair with a rosy glow, like a lotus emerging from the water, beautiful and charming, yet also pure and alluring.

"They just arrived not long ago."

"Why are you two taking a bath on this boat so late?"

Upon hearing this, Nokiko's eyes showed a hint of helplessness, "Who else could it be because of? That Rat from the 16th Marine Division came over with his men again around 8 p.m.

It's wasting too much of our time.

"They called it a surprise inspection, saying they were sweeping up potential criminals in the nearby waters."

"This is the fourth time he has come here recently, and he has been trying to find out where Ah Long and the others are, both openly and secretly."

"If we didn't know what kind of person he was, we might really think he was an honest and good navy man."

“It wasn’t just us; many people in the village were summoned for questioning.”

At this point, the girl's lips curled into a cold smile: "I've never seen them so dutiful and so frequently come to our remote village before."

"Ha! It's all about profit! Ah Long's account used to show that he would receive a considerable amount of money in the middle of each month."

"I'm here to get my change! No need to be polite."

"Thoth laughed."

"So you'll just do what you did before, using a mix of truth and falsehood to warmly welcome them away?"

Thoth asked her, and Nokiko blinked her bright, pale blue eyes and chuckled:

"He couldn't find anything, and he couldn't get anything out of him. The surrounding villages and towns were only excited about Ah Long and his gang's bizarre disappearance. They didn't know anything either. In the end, what could that rat do besides look terrible? He couldn't do anything."

When he came, we warmly welcomed him and even brought him some fruits and vegetables. How could he possibly repay us? We are the most respectful and simple civilians to the navy!

As Thoth listened to the girl's teasing and the villagers' responses, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curved slightly. Colonel Rat of the 16th Branch, it was like punching cotton. Even if he wanted to get angry, he had no reason to!

However, this is good. The people will not fight against the officials. For the villagers, this situation is the best possible outcome.

As time goes by, all these problems may gradually be forgotten.

However.

"But this can't go on forever. It seems we need to find an opportunity to teach him a lesson."

"Who are you targeting?"

Nami's lively laughter came from behind her. She went to the other side of Thoth and sat on the railing like Thoth, wearing an orange vest and pink shorts, her healthy-looking legs dangling in the air and swinging gently.

Thoth glanced at her, then continued speaking to Nocigo:

"Let's see what happens next. If the rats keep coming over like this, then we can go to Loguetown. I've heard that Smoker there is a guy who hates evil."

"When the time comes, go and give Ah Long his bribery bill. Maybe that rat can get a good drink later."

Nami's eyes darted around, and she immediately understood what they were talking about, bursting into laughter:

“Let’s do it that way! Besides, I’m also a bit tempted to go out to sea; I find myself getting restless!”

As she spoke, she gently nudged Thoth's arm with her slender elbow, her eyes filled with expectation:

"I'm really looking forward to our free and adventurous journey ahead."

At this point, Nami blinked:

"By the way, Thoth, the treasure we buried on Coto Island is still there. We'll go over there and dig it up sometime."

A faint smile appeared on Toth's face as he turned his head away.

"I thought you'd forgotten about it since you haven't mentioned it in so long."

Upon hearing this, Nami gritted her teeth, rolled her eyes, and said speechlessly:

"How could I forget? Do you think someone like me, a master thief, would forget my own treasure?"

"Isn't he just a thief? How did he become some kind of high-class monster thief?"

"Hey! Shut up! You're clearly a thief. I don't steal from ordinary people."

"Touch your conscience and see if it hurts. The first time we met, you stole my wallet."

“I rubbed it, it doesn’t hurt. And you’re not an ordinary person. You were carrying a sword at the time, which makes you look like someone who isn’t ordinary.”

Thoth's smile froze, his gaze fixed intently on her. Nami guiltily turned her face away. After a few seconds, she grabbed Thoth's arm and gently shook it, her voice sickeningly sweet as she flattered him:

"I admit I was wrong, okay? I've already apologized to you! Besides, you disciplined me afterwards."

"Stop rocking me, are you trying to throw me into the sea?" Thoth was speechless, then added, "A lesson? Are you sure?"

Nami glanced at her legs, followed Thoth's gaze, blinked, then immediately lifted her leg, spun around, and jumped onto the deck. She took a few steps back, looked at Thoth warily, and bared her teeth.

"I'm warning you, you're not allowed to lay a hand on my legs. If you dare to break them, I'll absolutely, positively cry in front of you."

"How can you speak so forcefully and say such cowardly things?"

Thoth laughed out of exasperation, and Nami rolled her eyes at him. "What else? Fight you and get beaten up by you?"

Noki watched the two bickering with a smile, glanced at the distant sea, and laughed:

"Let's go home and get some rest. We still have to practice tomorrow."

Thoth nodded, and Nami went to lock the cabin door. The three of them followed the path toward their home at the end of the road.

……

The rat disturbance did not affect anyone, and time returned to the rhythm of Thoth and the others focusing on their cultivation.

Two days passed, and Thoth studied under Dr. Nago, his medical skills reaching the initial rudimentary level.

With a comprehensive understanding of basic medical knowledge, Thoth grasped the concepts of wound suturing, herbal medicine identification and preparation. Once he mastered the basics of medicine, Thoth's learning progress accelerated dramatically.

Dr. Na Gao had to adjust his teaching plan in time and use more profound knowledge to teach.

Meanwhile, every morning after instructing Nami and the others on their training missions, Thoth would go to the sea to fight with his iron rod.

Gradually, Thoth mastered the use of the staff through swordsmanship, and the two techniques complemented each other.

Both swordsmanship and staff skills improved, but due to the dominance of the iron staff, staff skills improved even more.

Eight days have passed in the blink of an eye.

At eleven o'clock that morning, Thoth came ashore from a short distance from the coast, holding an iron rod in his hand, his eyes lost in thought.

"The basic attributes of stick fighting are not rewarded from the initial glimpse to the mastery of the art, and there is still no attribute reward from the mastery of the art to the achievement of some success and then to the mastery of the art."

"From this perspective, in the skill mechanism, when the level of a skill of the same type is upgraded, only the skill that reaches the new level first will have the basic attribute bonus."

Therefore, if you subsequently learn skills in other cold weapon categories such as swordsmanship, halberd techniques, hammer techniques, spear techniques, and axe techniques, you will likely not receive any basic attribute bonuses.

Looking at the skill list in front of him, he had improved a basic combat technique to a more advanced level in just ten days. The progress was quite rapid.

Although he didn't receive any attribute bonuses, Thoth didn't feel it was a pity. Integrating the essence of staff techniques into his swordsmanship would significantly improve his skills.

Moreover, practicing staff techniques greatly mobilizes the body's strength, which in itself greatly promotes physical training.

At this moment, Thoth looked at his [Characteristics] section and saw that he had mastered the art of the staff and his fifth characteristic had been awakened.

Characteristic: Destructive

Effect: Enables you to finely adjust the strength of your entire body to fight, making heavy tasks seem effortless and light tasks seem heavy, and breaking through strong defenses.

This is the application of power, which is strong and heavy, and invincible. At the same time, the sword moves lightly and nimbly, but with an added sense of weight, and the two can be coordinated and unified.

Thoth's understanding of swordsmanship deepened. Power can destroy even the strongest things.

After calming down, Tote then looked at the "Medical" skill.

【Medical Skills (Practice Makes Perfect 20/200)】

The medical skills he had mastered through practice earned him 1 point of the "Refinement" attribute.

In recent days, Tote has thoroughly figured out how to improve his medical skills, firstly by learning professional knowledge, and secondly by practicing in real-world situations.

It can be used to prepare medicines, treat injuries and illnesses, and also to treat external wounds by suturing.

Whenever he had free time, Thoth would find some wild beasts to cut and injure, gather herbs and mix them himself, and then successfully stitch them up. In this way, his medical skills naturally improved rapidly.

Clang! Bang! Clang!

A loud clanging of metal drew Thoth's attention. He looked up and saw the trees not far ahead.

Nami and Nojiko fought each other wielding iron rods, their weapon stances, breathing, and footwork all demonstrating mastery.

Nojiko's attacks were fluid and well-paced, while Nami was agile and used her sense of airflow to anticipate the enemy's moves.

Watching the two sisters spar, a smile appeared on Thoth's face. With just his skillful use of the staff, he was able to keep a dozen or so ordinary haibuns at bay.

At that moment, Thoth saw Nokiko twist the middle of the iron rod with both hands, and the brand-new two-meter iron rod in her hands split in the middle, becoming two one-meter short sticks.

In a close-quarters fight, Nami was in immediate danger. Despite her best efforts to dodge the attacks, she was struck on the wrist by Nojiko's short stick in the left hand just a few breaths later.

Thus, they were utterly defeated.

Seeing this, Thoth walked over, thinking to himself:

"I only explained the principles of the Six Styles: Paper Drawing, an extraordinary technique that uses the airflow in an attack to evade, to Nami. She has already figured it out and mastered it to a basic extent."

Therefore, if we're talking about who can master Observation Haki the fastest between the two of them, it has to be Nami.

Upon arriving, Nami, seeing Thoth approaching, made a distressed face, seeking comfort, and held up her right wrist, on the verge of tears:

"My hand hurts, Tote, would you like to massage it for me?"

"How about I give you a couple of acupuncture needles?"

Thoth glanced at her, then curled his lip in disdain:

"Don't think I can't tell. Nokiko didn't use any brute force. At most, you'll only be in pain for less than ten minutes."

There was no injury to any bones or tendons.

Seeing that she couldn't fool Thoth, Nami rolled her eyes at him helplessly and muttered:

"Can't you comfort me a little?"

040. Shameless!

"Shall I blow on it for you?"

Grasping her wrist, Thoth pressed down lightly with his fingertips. Nami rolled her eyes slightly and squinted as she retorted:

"It's not like you burned yourself. Do you think you have magic powers? You can't just blow on it and it'll be fine?"

Nojiko rolled her eyes at Nami helplessly, but then she looked at Thoth curiously:

"Are you going to get something from Dr. Gao this afternoon, or are you going to continue practicing your medical skills in the mountains?"

At this point, her expression became subtle, and she was also shocked by Tote's bizarre move of first inflicting serious injury and then treating him.

In just ten days, a wealth of treatment experience has been accumulated.

"A veterinarian?" Nami covered her mouth and looked at Thoth strangely. Nojiko's expression immediately became tense upon hearing this, and she suppressed a laugh.

Thoth glanced at them and said calmly:

"If you can cure animals, then you can cure humans. When you get injured, you'll still have to be treated by me."

Seeing the subtle expressions on their faces, Thoth chuckled softly: "For a long time to come, I may be the only veterinarian on our ship who can treat injuries."

From minor ailments like colds, fevers, and food poisoning to serious illnesses like amputations and broken limbs.

Nami covered her face, on the verge of tears:

"Okay, stop talking. I was wrong, alright?"

She quickly came behind Thoth, stood on tiptoe, and squeezed and pressed his shoulders hard with both hands, speaking in a sweet and ingratiating tone: