Chapter 628 - 862 – Monopolizing the Captain Was Impossible from the Start

Kalifa didn't understand.

Arton in those comics had clearly seemed rather weak, so why was the real Arton so powerful?

After thinking it over, Kalifa could only conclude that even Arton himself probably hadn't expected to become this strong.

That made sense. When Arton created those works, he hadn't yet obtained the voyage diary system.

Arton only began growing stronger after his notebook computer transformed into the voyage diary copy.

If Arton were to redraw those comics now, perhaps they would have a completely different style.

Even though she understood the reason, Kalifa still wished she could recreate the scene from the comics, with herself confidently sitting atop Arton as he looked utterly helpless and blew out clouds of white smoke.

"If I really want to recreate a scene like that, I'm afraid I won't have enough strength on my own."

"As expected, everyone's strength is essential."

Kalifa muttered to herself.

After witnessing Arton's battles with her, Raki, Conis, and Ain, Kalifa even felt that three companions might not be enough.

Unless another person appeared whose strength was comparable to Arton's, ordinary weaker fighters like them would probably need quite a few people working together before they could overwhelm him.

Perhaps if every member of the Flame Blade Pirates joined forces, they might finally make Arton look helpless.

After leaving the hotel, Kalifa told Raki what she was thinking.

Raki listened carefully before nodding. "That might actually be true. Maybe if everyone combines their strength, we could handle Captain. The problem is, not everyone on the ship is always with him."

"Huh?" Kalifa raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

Kalifa didn't quite understand. Logically, every member of the Flame Blade Pirates should have a great deal of respect for Arton.

Wouldn't everyone want to stay close to him?

Take Nami, for example. She had joined Arton's crew long ago, and Arton had saved her life.

Under those circumstances, surely Nami wouldn't mind joining Arton in recreating some of the scenes from those derivative comics.

"Well... how should I put this?"

Raki scratched her cheek, a little uncertain. "Some of the crew want Captain all to themselves, so they keep their distance from one another to avoid giving anyone else a chance to get close to him."

"Huh?! But haven't you already gotten close to the Captain?"

Kalifa was puzzled.

If the members of the Flame Blade Pirates were guarding against one another, how had Conis and Raki managed to become so close to Arton?

"Probably because neither of us wanted to monopolize Captain from the beginning."

"And because the people who do want him all to themselves are too busy guarding against one another, they never noticed what was happening on our side."

Raki explained.

"This is really... kind of frustrating."

Kalifa's mouth twitched.

As far as she was concerned, anyone who possessed a voyage diary copy should know what kind of man Arton was.

And under those circumstances, they still wanted him all to themselves?

How could that possibly work?!

Although Kalifa had only recently gotten close to Arton, she already knew he definitely wasn't the kind of man who would give up an entire forest for a single tree.

Trying to monopolize Arton was impossible from the very beginning.

...

"Of course, that's only my guess."

"Maybe they simply want to be Captain's first woman, so they're keeping one another at arm's length."

Raki smiled.

"They'll probably regret that a lot. While they were busy guarding against each other, someone else already beat them to it."

Kalifa couldn't help teasing them.

"Maybe."

Raki chuckled as she pictured Nami and Carina constantly trying to keep each other away from Arton.

Then she thought of Vivi as well.

"Besides avoiding one another, some of the crew are probably too shy to really get close to Captain."

"That shy? Is that even possible?"

Kalifa was surprised.

"Not everyone is as bold as you and me."

"Some of the girls might secretly want to get closer to Captain, but they're too embarrassed to make the first move."

"And Captain isn't the kind of person who forces others into something they don't want."

"So generally, if we don't make the first move, he won't either."

Raki explained.

"It's hard to imagine Arton, the protagonist of those shameless derivative works, not taking the initiative."

Kalifa's mouth twitched.

"When Captain created those works, he probably thought of us as nothing more than fictional characters."

"So he didn't have any psychological burden when creating them."

"But now that he knows we're real people, he naturally can't treat us exactly the way he portrayed us in those works."

"Besides, Captain doesn't know we have voyage diary copies."

"In his eyes, we don't even know those derivative works exist."

"Maybe he thinks we only boarded his ship as ordinary crewmates, without any other intentions."

"Under those circumstances, it makes sense that Captain wouldn't act recklessly."

Raki's explanation made Kalifa nod. "That's true. If he knew we were willing to board his ship despite knowing about those works, he probably would've made a move much sooner."

"Exactly."

Raki nodded.

If all the women aboard knew about the derivative works and still willingly joined him, Arton might interpret that as tacit acceptance of the relationships depicted in them.

Under those circumstances, choosing to take the initiative wouldn't be particularly difficult to understand.

"Fortunately, neither of us is very competitive or easily jealous."

"Otherwise, who knows when we'd ever get to experience such wonderful pleasure?"

"Speaking of which, that girl Gion really is rather pitiful. She obviously had the chance to enjoy something like this before."

"But because she wasn't assertive enough, she ended up losing the opportunity."

"Back then, Captain was still pretty weak. Maybe she could've even seen him lying on the ground, looking completely helpless as he blew out clouds of white foam."

Kalifa sighed and shook her head.

By now, Arton had already become overwhelmingly strong.

If anyone could still make him foam at the mouth through sheer strength alone, Kalifa figured it would probably take someone on Big Mom's level.

Of course, Arton probably wouldn't have any sort of intimate relationship with someone like Big Mom.

...

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