The massive waves slowly receded.
Ryuen, now in his hybrid form, hovered in the air with his wings flapping. He looked at the pink dragon with a somewhat resentful expression.
Kuina hadn't expected that just one blast of dragon breath would cause such a huge impact.
No wonder everyone wanted a Mythical Zoan!
She turned to Ryuen, her eyes filled with joy—after all, ever since she had followed Ryuen, he had been teaching her.
Now, she had even planned to get such a powerful Devil Fruit for herself.
She felt really grateful to Ryuen.
"Hey!"
"Kuina, that's enough. We should head back now." Seeing Kuina lost in thought, he interrupted her.
"Huh?"
"Oh, I got it..." Kuina snapped back to reality. She transformed into her half-beast form, and with flames surrounding her, she slowly descended back to the deserted island.
Ryuen looked at Kuina's flame cloud with a bit of envy. "That's really convenient. As expected of the Azure Dragon Fruit—you get flame clouds even without awakening it. I wonder if artificial fruits can awaken. I should find a chance to ask Vegapunk."
Saying that, he also returned to the ground.
Ryuen walked over to the live broadcast Den Den Mushi and picked it up, only to find it barely alive. "Damn, even a wave that huge couldn't wash you away."
"It's still here?" Kuina walked over, a little shocked.
"If it got washed away, you'd have to compensate Nami. I don't want my allowance getting deducted again." Ryuen rolled his eyes at Kuina.
Even though Nami had asked him to bring it, if he lost it, she would definitely make him pay for it!
That would mean another cut in his allowance...
"Hmph!"
"I haven't even scolded you yet for live streaming without my permission!" Kuina snorted.
"Hehehe~~~"
"Anyway, we should head back. They're probably all waiting for us. By the way, you don't need me to carry you this time, right?" Ryuen asked awkwardly.
He had completely forgotten about this.
"Of course I do. You want everyone to find out I've become a Devil Fruit user?" Kuina shot him a glance.
Since she had a free ride, she was happy to take advantage of it.
Besides, revealing her new abilities now wouldn't be good for their exploration team.
Ryuen thought about it and realized she had a point.
"Yeah, true~~~" He put away the Den Den Mushi, then lifted Kuina into his arms and flew toward Sabaody Archipelago.
~~~~~~
Back at the villa.
Everyone waiting there was overjoyed—Kuina had eaten a Mythical Zoan Fruit, and her strength had instantly skyrocketed!
"That's amazing!"
"Kuina, I feel like you've gotten way stronger!" Nojiko still felt a bit dazed.
Kuina looked down at her hands, clenched her fists, and said, "I feel like, besides the Devil Fruit abilities, my physical strength has also improved a lot!"
"Of course! You ate a Mythical Zoan Fruit worth at least 3 billion Berries!" Nami said seriously.
"Damn it!" Kuina puffed up her cheeks and glared at Nami.
"Kuina, I have a question. When you ate the Devil Fruit, why did it seem like you were enjoying it?" Daisy asked curiously.
"Uh~~~"
"When I ate it, it just tasted really bland. Maybe because mine was an artificial Devil Fruit? It didn't have the taste you guys mentioned." Kuina paused, then thought about it.
"Ugh~~~"
"That's so unfair! When I ate mine, it was disgusting! If Nami hadn't forced me to eat the whole thing, I would've spit it out after one bite..." Daisy flopped onto the sofa, still traumatized by the memory of the Devil Fruit's taste.
Nami and Nojiko covered their mouths, trying to hold back their laughter.
~~~~~~
The next afternoon.
A call interrupted Ryuen as he lay by the pool, bored out of his mind.
Today, he was the only one at the villa. The others had all gone out—Hog was still learning coating techniques, and the girls were, as usual, out shopping.
"Moshi~~ Moshi~~~" Ryuen reached out and answered the Den Den Mushi.
"Ryuen, this is Sengoku!" Sengoku's authoritative voice came through the Den Den Mushi.
"Yo~~~"
"Old man Sengoku, what made you call me? Are you inviting me for some senbei?" Ryuen teased weakly.
"Ryuen, Captain, take this seriously! Otherwise, I'll freeze your promotion!" Sengoku sounded frustrated with Ryuen's attitude.
"Oh, speaking of that, old man Sengoku, I haven't received my salary lately. You're not trying to skip out on paying me, are you?" Ryuen suddenly sat up, eyes lighting up as if he had just remembered something.
"You have the nerve to ask me for your salary? No matter where you go, you're either staying in luxury villas or five-star hotels!" Sengoku felt that kids these days were just too shameless!
He's already so rich, yet he's still asking for his salary!
"Listen, old man Sengoku, don't even think about skipping my paycheck, or I'll spread the word that the Marines don't pay their soldiers!" Ryuen said angrily.
Right now, all his money had been taken by Nami, and he was worried about having no income.
If it weren't for Sengoku reminding him, he would've forgotten that he was still on the Marine payroll—oh, and there was also the World Government!
"You want your salary? Fine, come to Marine HQ. I'll make sure you get every single coin!"
"Oh, and by the way, because of your recent achievements, the Marine HQ has promoted you to Rear Admiral. Ryuen, Rear Admiral—keep up the good work and continue fighting for justice! That's all!"
*Click!*
By the poolside, Ryuen stared at the now-disconnected Den Den Mushi, completely dumbfounded.
That shameless old man Sengoku actually dared to withhold his salary and told him to pick it up at Marine HQ? That was obviously a trap!
He suddenly thought of Kizaru—could this guy be getting his salary delayed all the time too?
"No salary, huh? Old man Sengoku, just wait. I'll make you pay for this!" Ryuen gritted his teeth.
*Creak~~*
A spatial door opened, and Nami stepped out.
Ryuen was still lying on his chair, lost in thoughts about his missing paycheck, so he didn't even notice her arrival.
"Huh?"
"Ryuen, what's wrong with you?" Nami asked, seeing his fierce expression, as if he was about to break his own teeth from grinding them so hard.
"Nami, listen to this! That shameless old man Sengoku actually withheld my salary! Isn't he way too stingy?" Ryuen turned to her as soon as he heard her voice.
"What?!"
"That greedy old man dared to withhold my money? Give me the Den Den Mushi!"
The moment Nami heard that Sengoku was holding back Ryuen's salary, she exploded with anger. After all, Ryuen was *her* man, which meant his money was *her* money!
Seeing Nami fuming, Ryuen hesitated for a moment before handing her the Den Den Mushi with shaking hands.
Without any hesitation, Nami dialed Sengoku and immediately started yelling at him. She kept going for a full three minutes before finally hanging up, looking satisfied.
Handing the Den Den Mushi back to Ryuen, she grinned and said, "Ryuen, my money is coming back! Hehe~~~"
Ryuen: *Sengoku, what the hell just happened?*
Nami: *We're getting rich~~~*
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