Chapter 409: Schemes and Temptations Aboard the Ship

“How could a woman like that ever be our crewmate?” As expected, Nami was getting jealous.

Before, she was the only woman on the ship, so she never had this feeling. Now, with another joining, she could really feel some of the guys’ attention drifting away—and it bothered her more than she liked to admit.

Hearing this, Nico Robin just smiled softly.

If anyone was easy to win over on this ship, besides Luffy, it had to be Nami. After all, Nami practically had money signs in her eyes.

Robin knew all too well—Nami had walked out of the royal palace with a full 500 million Berries in cash.

Back then, Robin was right in the palace’s underground vault, and watched with her own eyes—thanks to the powers of her Hana Hana no Mi—as Nami lost herself in a frenzied love for money. There was no one greedier.

Nami pressed on: “You might fool those idiots, but there’s no way you’ll trick me. If you try anything, I’ll be the one to kick you off this ship.”

Robin glanced up at Nami, who was on the second floor, and replied gently, “Mm, I’ll keep that in mind.”

With her left hand, Robin pulled a small pouch from her pocket and placed it on the table. It landed with a clear, enticing jingle. “By the way, I’ve brought some of Crocodile’s jewels with me.”

Clack, clack, clack!

The moment she heard this, Nami couldn’t sit still anymore. With a spring in her step, she hurried down the stairs like the jewels were already hers.

She stood right behind Robin, put her hands together next to her cheek, eyes glued to the pouch in Robin’s hand, and declared with starry-eyed greed, “I love you so much, big sis!”

Robin smiled kindly and handed the pouch to Nami.

Nami excitedly opened it on the spot. The glittering rainbow of gems inside made joy burst across her face. In an instant, she’d been thoroughly won over by Robin.

Usopp, seeing Nami fall so easily, quickly scurried off and whispered to Zoro—who was in the middle of his meditation—”Nami just got taken out.”

“That’s a pretty underhanded move,” Zoro muttered, genuinely surprised that this newcomer Robin could so easily manipulate every member of the crew.

Usopp kept at it: “She’s got us all dancing in the palm of her hand.” It startled even Usopp how quickly Robin had figured out each crew member’s weakness. The more she did, the more convinced Usopp became that Robin had motives for joining their ship.

Right then, the sky suddenly filled with pink-and-red sparkling stars for some reason.

Turned out, Sanji had just finished preparing dessert and slid down the second floor banister.

He broke out an awkward little dance and recited a love poem.

They watched as Sanji was won over by a pretty face just as easily.

Zoro shook his head helplessly. “I mean, I knew he’d react that way, but it still annoys me!”

Usopp could only grunt an agreement. “Mm!”

Zoro added, “But honestly, I never expected anything from him anyway. At this point, it’s just us two holding things together!”

“What a bunch of naive, hopeless suckers.” Usopp agreed completely. The speed at which everyone was won over stunned him.

“Hey, Usopp!”

Luffy’s voice called from the right. Usopp looked up to see Luffy grinning, his Straw Hat now sprouting two hands that matched up with Chopper’s antlers.

Luffy pulled silly faces while his eyes lit up and his mouth kept repeating, “Chopper! Chopper!”

By now, Chopper was laughing so hard he was pounding the floor. Usopp’s eyes nearly popped out at the sight.

In the blink of an eye, Usopp dashed over to join them, bursting into laughter too. Only Zoro stood apart, frowning as he walked up the stairs to the second floor, leaning tiredly against the railing.

Zoro couldn’t believe everyone on board had been bought off this easily. What a hopeless bunch. At least Ye Fan hadn’t shown up yet—that brought him a little comfort.

As for Johnny, Yosaku, and Gin, they were just interns and had no say in crew matters. So, they minded their own business, getting on with their work.

Ye Fan had slipped away to his room alone, busy mixing up one of his so-called serums. He wanted to help Luffy and the others grow stronger since their power had been rising so fast lately.

He had to make each new batch of serum stronger just to keep up. Still, the boost from the serum wouldn’t last much longer. Three or four more times, and—Robin aside—everyone would hit Vice Admiral level. After that, only talent could push them higher, and the serum would be pointless.

Robin saw all this happen, stood, and tried to approach Zoro. But after two brief conversations, she realized how unshakable Zoro was, so she gave up, leaving only a faint, slightly awkward smile.

Downstairs, Luffy had already started yelling: “Sanji, I’m starving!”

Usopp and Chopper chimed in, hurrying Sanji to get dinner ready fast.

By the time Ye Fan came out of his room again, Sanji had dinner on the table.

“Here you go—everyone’s portion for today!” Without another word, Ye Fan filled everyone’s cup with clear water.

Zoro was first to down his drink. He was the most desperate for strength on this ship. “The serum’s effects are just about spent, aren’t they?”

You couldn’t blame Zoro for saying so. After his last few doses of Ye Fan’s serum, he could tell his strength wasn’t rising like before. Even doubling up this time barely made any noticeable difference.

He figured the serum’s boost had limits. After so long, they were just about maxed out.

Once everyone else drank their serum, they quietly tried to feel any surge in power. Sure enough, it was just like Zoro said.

In an instant, everyone’s eyes turned to Ye Fan.

Robin watched as they drank their clear water, then took a cautious sip herself—only to have her eyes go wide a moment later as she felt a sudden, clear surge in her strength.

Forgetting everything else, she gulped down the rest of her cup, feeling her strength leap by bounds. A tear of excitement slipped from her eye.

Such rapid, overwhelming growth—she hadn’t felt this way since she was a young adult.

No wonder the Straw Hat Pirates were so strong. So Ye Fan was basically an apothecary! If anyone sold potions that boosted power like this, they’d be swimming in money.

Robin really was Crocodile’s top support, though. Her first thought was how to make a profit.

But then she heard Zoro’s comment and opened her eyes to glance at Ye Fan.

She thought to herself, Potions like this can’t possibly give unlimited growth. Otherwise, wouldn’t the sea be full of Admirals by now?

“That’s right—the serum’s effect only has one or two uses left. If you want to get stronger, you’ll have to rely on your own talent from here on out,”

Ye Fan just shrugged and laid it out plainly.

He’d already done the ultimate cheat—raising their strength in no time to what they’d reach two years from now.

If he wasn’t trying to speed up the timeline, he wouldn’t have even gone this far.