"..."
Ren could not help raising an eyebrow, and instantly understood why Robin had said that.
"W-What is it?"
Seeming to notice the change in Ren's expression, Vivi grew nervous as well.
She instinctively checked herself from head to toe, trying to find anything improper.
But there were no real flaws. At most, the hem of her dress had not fully spread out.
"All right, no need to look. You look beautiful today."
Ren rubbed his chin, then turned a subtly complicated gaze toward the direction of the Judgment's engine room.
How should he put it... There was a faint feeling that he was about to sneak a bite of forbidden food.
No.
Judging from Robin's reaction, there was probably support from others behind the incident of Vivi appearing here now.
Simply put, after completing a major event, Ren's crew would enter a period of rest.
Under those circumstances, it was obvious what Nami and Nojiko, who did not want history to repeat itself, would do.
Tch. This is a little rude.
Although he had benefited from it, Ren still had quite a few complaints about having become the "problem" himself.
No matter what he was thinking now, the situation before him was still moving forward.
"You saw?"
Vivi's cheeks flushed red, as if she had misunderstood something. "Robin suggested it... I thought... thought..."
Compared to how decisive she had been when knocking and entering, she now seemed extremely flustered.
Ren could not help laughing softly. He beckoned to her while making room beside him.
"Come here."
Vivi obediently walked over and sat down beside Ren.
The two of them were almost pressed against each other, and her earlier nervousness gradually began to fade.
Because this was not the first time something like this had happened.
Most of the time, Nami needed to monitor the state of the airship, while Vivi was responsible for internal management.
When Ren was present, he usually interacted with Vivi.
Their previous interactions included, but were not limited to, chatting, playing cards, sparring, and so on.
It was precisely because of that that the present scene could happen.
Of course, this was still Vivi's first time doing something like this. She had been able to converse easily before, but now she could not even form a complete sentence.
Ren thought for a moment, then suddenly reached past Vivi's cheek and pointed somewhere.
"Look over there."
"?"
Vivi was startled. Even though her Observation Haki had not caught anything, she still turned her head instinctively.
Yet there was nothing in sight.
She seemed to realize something and immediately turned back—
Ren's hand happened to catch her smooth, fair chin, pulling that stunning face, now covered in a blush, closer.
"Mmph..."
Their lips met. Ren wrapped one arm around Vivi's waist and pressed her down onto the sofa.
Her breathing grew ragged. While twisting her waist to resist the large hand roaming beneath her skirt, she barely managed to squeeze out a few words.
"Not here. Go to the bed."
The sunlight outside the window remained bright and dazzling.
It was a sleepless day.
And inside the bedroom, Vivi, who should have been the prey, suddenly found strength from somewhere the instant she was carried onto the bed.
She flipped Ren over in one motion, then straddled him from above.
Her beautiful eyes shimmered like autumn waters, and her fair, breathtaking face was so red it looked as if blood might drip from it.
Yet her movements were not hesitant in the slightest. Instead, she tore open the troublesome upper garment in a wild manner.
For a moment, it was hard to tell who the prey really was.
Ren was a little stunned. Just as he was about to move, Vivi pressed down on both of his hands.
"Don't move. Let me take the lead!"
The desert princess displayed a heat nearly as fierce as the sun itself, along with a burning ambition.
Although it was her first time, she was trying to ride the "sun."
No matter the result, this was a brave attempt.
Only when she was truly taken did Vivi realize that she had underestimated Ren—or rather, that she had not fully believed what Nami and the others had told her.
For her, it seemed a little too much to bear, so much so that even blood could not flow out.
She bit her red lips, tears circling in her eyes, yet still stubbornly moved herself.
"Hiss—this isn't very good."
Ren sucked in a sharp breath, finally unable to endure the feeling of being squeezed to the limit.
He flipped over Vivi, who was in pain yet growing increasingly excited, and seized absolute initiative under her dissatisfied gaze.
"I'm not done yet..."
Vivi's eyes were somewhat resentful. She had imagined the opening of this moment for a very long time.
To her, there was no better way to begin her first time than by riding the powerful, unbelievable, and arrogant captain beneath her.
Ren did not answer. He held his fingers together like a blade and swept them across the pure white, gold-adorned garment.
After the sound of tearing cloth, the bound peaks suddenly sprang free, swelling into round, jade-like northern and southern hemispheres.
He gripped those two points of leverage, lowered his body, and took the posture most convenient for exerting force.
Amid Vivi's cries, he completely shattered the novice's arrogance in an unbroken storm.
A low, hoarse, and alluring voice echoed through the bedroom.
In the corner, the faint crackle of electricity quietly disappeared.
Inside the engine room, Nami, who was still operating the Judgment's advance, curled her lips, but did not interfere after all.
One more person to share the burden meant less pressure for her afterward.
Pleasure was not a bad thing. It was even a form of enjoyment.
But Ren's way of doing things was truly too excessive.
In the end, the only one who would be happy was him.
So this was the decision Nami and Nojiko had made together.
Otherwise, Vivi would not have had the chance to cultivate feelings with Ren aboard the Judgment.
Time passed.
The Judgment crossed the sky and finally arrived above Kuja Island.
Facing the sudden arrival of the flying warship, the people of Kuja Island fell into brief chaos, but quieted down under Hancock's notice.
Those guardian warriors looked toward the flying warship with traces of expectation in their eyes.
Because Kuja's Uncrowned King had returned.
That made Hancock gnash her teeth in hatred, but unfortunately, even she herself had no real sovereignty.
There was nothing she could do about her subordinates' change in stance.
The Angels of Glory began to move. They converged with the angels stationed on Kuja Island, then together unloaded the petrified cargo imprisoned inside the Judgment and sent them into the Reincarnation Pool.
The prisoners and Beasts Pirates members packaged and delivered from Wano were also sent to Kuja Island at this time.
The former were collectively imprisoned in a valley, guarded by Zoro, who had come here.
The latter were all sent into the Reincarnation Pool.
Dense masses of Angels of Glory crawled out of the Reincarnation Pool on top of the previous two groups.
They were not newly born angels, but old angels who had died before and been reincarnated back.
After obtaining powerful shells, their rate of improvement would only become faster.
This was Ren's arrangement.
And during this process, he was also preparing for the next matter.
For example, how to handle Blackbeard.
This ambitious villain had caused quite a bit of trouble during transport. Unfortunately, the gap in strength was too great, and he had no way to pull off any tricks in Ren's hands.
At present, he was already a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
In other words, Blackbeard's special constitution, the secret that allowed him to possess multiple Devil Fruit powers, was practically within Ren's grasp.
First obtain Blackbeard's special constitution that lets him eat several Devil Fruits, and then...
Ren repeatedly calculated his next plan.
Although the Marineford War had ended, and he had gained a great deal through this incident, the situation afterward could not be underestimated either.
He needed to accelerate his own growth in strength in order to deal with what came next.
Obtaining the More-More Fruit was only the beginning, not the end.
At present, the greatest benefit the More-More Fruit gave him was the multiplier expansion of energy scale.
Of course, that was a change in scale, not a change in quality.
The essence of high temperature was the acceleration of particle movement.
A multiplier increase in scale did not interfere with that aspect.
That was also why Ren had reached that deal with Whitebeard.
From a certain factual perspective, vibration was a Devil Fruit ability that manipulated particle movement!
Whether it was an airquake, a seaquake, or an earthquake, at the smallest level, the expression was vibration, followed by using resonance amplification to affect the outside world.
That was the fundamental reason Ren coveted the Gura-Gura no Mi.
Because it could indeed bring about a qualitative change in his current strength!
Imagine it.
Meteor Burst + More-More Fruit + Mother Flame + Lunarian race talent + Gura-Gura no Mi.
If those five were united—or rather, if they complemented one another to complete a qualitative transformation—what kind of terrifying power would that form?
There was no conclusion yet, but perhaps it truly could be called the sun!
And that was not even all. Do not forget Kid, who had been captured at Sabaody Archipelago.
Kid's Devil Fruit ability was the Paramecia-Type Magnet-Magnet Fruit.
It could control magnetism and electricity, manipulating iron and all other metallic objects.
It could create magnetic fields, magnetize metal objects, and use magnetic force to draw them around the user as offensive weapons or defensive equipment in battle.
Combined with rich scientific knowledge, it could even assemble them into precise and complex machines.
It counted as a Devil Fruit ability with an extremely bright future.
For Ren, this Devil Fruit ability could also count as a component.
Of course, the prerequisite was that Blackbeard's constitution had to be extracted and transferred onto him.
Otherwise, one person could not possibly possess three Devil Fruit abilities at the same time.
As for the weakness of Devil Fruit abilities—
Ren still had a Weakness Transfer Rod in his hands.
While that thing was active, seawater and Seastone had no effect on him at all.
Of course, turning a concept into reality still required time, one step at a time.
For now...
Ren placed his attention on the cluster network, where Angel of Glory 001 had posted the specific situation.
After the large-scale conversion, the Angel Legion's mid-level combat strength rose rapidly.
This filled the shortcoming caused by explosive troop production in a short period of time, which had left ninety percent of the Angel Legion's combat strength weak.
But this was not the end, because Nojiko had brought a large number of Artificial Devil Fruits to Kuja Island.
The pink giant dragon soaring through the sky stirred up a wave of commotion.
However, under Ren's reassurance, no trouble broke out.
The Artificial Devil Fruits that had been brought over were invested in large quantities into the Glory Sanctuary.
Then the War Armaments trait was activated.
A large amount of "knowledge" was absorbed, and the Glory Sanctuary obtained knowledge regarding Zoan-type Devil Fruit abilities.
After that, the angels who possessed the cluster network also gained access to channels for learning this technology.
The direct change this brought was a change in appearance and data.
The former referred to the Angels of Glory's armor, bodies, and other related physical entities.
At this moment, Ren was standing beside the Reincarnation Pool.
Standing in front of him was an Angel of Glory holding a scythe.
Yes.
This was the angel converted from Killer.
(End of Chapter)