Given the failure of the first version, Vir took the time to analyze his mistakes and develop a second version.
And that very second version was now sitting on his desk.
The primary function of this new sedative was not to induce unconsciousness but to enhance the effects of the Soul-Soothing Incense.
Since he couldn’t successfully develop a direct knockout agent, he simply gave up on that idea!
Still, after a full day of work, walking away empty-handed would have been unacceptable.
So, using the insights gained from the first version, Vir created a second version that could amplify the sedative’s effects.
Though he couldn’t eliminate the risk of drawbacks, at least this would ensure the operation went more smoothly.
It wasn’t a complete waste of effort.
Version Two could at least double the effectiveness of the Soul-Soothing Incense!
However, if used alone, it had no effect whatsoever. It could only enhance other sedatives.
Now, all that was left was to take down Foxy and buy the Soul-Soothing Incense!
Glancing at the sandwich Chopper had prepared on the table, Vir picked it up and took a big bite.
He was starving.
That kid Chopper—so thoughtful.
Stepping out of his room, Vir was greeted by a lively scene.
Almost everyone was training.
With Chopper leading the charge, the rest had followed suit.
Vir’s presence had pushed the entire Straw Hat crew into a competitive frenzy.
The Going Merry was nearly groaning under the weight of all the heavy training equipment loaded onto it…
They should be arriving soon.
Vir couldn’t help but think.
Once they reached Long Ring Long Land, he absolutely could not let Luffy agree to any ridiculous competition.
That would be the height of stupidity.
They had nothing of value to bet, yet they wanted to gamble with him?
Only an idiot like Luffy would agree to something like that.
The whole contest was utterly pointless.
A complete waste of time.
When Vir first watched this part of the story, his blood pressure nearly skyrocketed through the roof.
So this time, he absolutely would not let Luffy accept.
He’d just beat those fools to a pulp, heal them up, and move on.
Vir really didn’t want to waste even a single extra glance at them.
And as the Going Merry sailed forward, an island finally began to take shape in the distance.
“There’s an island up ahead!”
Zoro, who had been keeping watch in the crow’s nest, shouted down.
Soon, the ship docked amid the excited cheers of the crew.
After being stuck on the ship for days, Luffy and the others were practically bursting at the seams.
It had been nothing but training, training, and more training.
And skipping training? Not an option…
Because if you got injured while everyone else stayed fine, the mental blow would be unbearable.
Take Zoro and Sanji, for example.
The two had been training the hardest, fiercely competing against each other with ruthless sparring sessions.
Now, finally seeing land, the whole crew was brimming with excitement.
The moment the ship steadied, they shot off like chickens that had just spotted a basket of feed.
Even Chopper was no exception.
Only Robin remained calm.
She was probably the only one on the ship whose personality wasn’t overly animated.
At this moment, Robin was smiling, her gaze lingering on Vir.
Her expression was identical to the one she had last night.
Vir felt uncomfortable under her stare.
Without another word, he jumped off the ship.
The lush green grass, the pleasant temperature—
Even the sea breeze felt nice.
Come to think of it, he had never really noticed before—this place had a pretty great environment.
The surroundings were familiar too, confirming that this was indeed the island where the story took place.
However, they had arrived about a day earlier than in the original events. Vir wasn’t sure if that gang would still show up.
They should still come—just a matter of when.
But there was no rush. The Log Pose needed time to store magnetic energy anyway.
Might as well eat, drink, and relax in the meantime.
With his Observation Haki, no one could escape his notice once they arrived.
Spotting a massive rock, Vir hopped on top of it and took a seat.
Now, there was another key issue.
If Foxy’s Noro Noro no Mi was ignored, his combat ability was incredibly weak.
And he wasn’t exactly an important character.
Under normal circumstances, he probably wouldn’t yield much negative karma points.
Which was bad news.
If he couldn’t even rack up 2,000 points, things would get troublesome again.
However, Vir vaguely remembered that Foxy had a massive weakness—he couldn’t stand people insulting his face.
That might be the key.
With that thought, Vir pulled up the system store and bought a loudspeaker.
Yes.
The kind used for street vending.
Looking at the loudspeaker in his hand—identical to what he remembered—Vir nodded in satisfaction.
This thing was going to be incredibly useful.
Just how useful depended on how much Foxy hated being called ugly.
At that moment, a shadow fell over him.
Holding the loudspeaker, Vir looked up—
Robin was standing in front of him once again.
“Doctor, it’s time for you to fulfill your promise.”
Robin’s voice was calm and soft.
Originally, she hadn’t been particularly interested in growing stronger.
She was already one of the stronger members of the crew.
But after witnessing Chopper’s true power on Skypiea, her perspective had shifted.
Only slightly, though.
It wasn’t until she saw Vir in action that her mindset fully changed.
As for why?
There were many possible reasons.
But ultimately, she now wanted to become stronger.
Which was a good thing.
However, after last night’s incident, the way she looked at Vir had changed—becoming… bolder.
If it were just about teaching her Armament Haki, Vir wouldn’t have minded.
After all, she had helped him plenty before.
But now that she had leverage over him, her eyes carried a strange glint every time she looked at him…
It was giving Vir a headache.
Seeing her sit beside him with an earnest expression, ready to listen, Vir rubbed his temples.
It seemed like she wasn’t going to let this go without an explanation.
Taking a moment to organize his words, he finally spoke.
“Armament Haki is an innate energy within everyone. It exists in all of us, just in varying amounts.”
As he spoke, Vir raised his palm.
With a mere thought, his hand turned pitch-black.
“What we need to do is gather that energy—just like this.”
Robin nodded thoughtfully.
She had a general understanding of what Armament Haki was now.
But when she tried to sense it within herself, she found nothing.
“Why can’t I do it? I don’t feel anything at all.”
Robin asked, puzzled.
“That’s because your energy level is too low—so low you can’t perceive it.”
“To increase it, you need to train. It’s closely linked to physical fitness.”
“The stronger your body, the easier it is to sense and control this energy. And why is that? Simple—because the energy itself increases.”
“The more energy you have, the easier it is to detect. So getting physically stronger is key.”
“That’s all I can tell you. The rest is up to you.”
Hearing this, Robin’s face showed a hint of understanding.
She tried a few more times and finally managed to faintly sense the energy Vir spoke of.
But only barely…
She knew she had a long way to go before successfully using it.
At that moment, she suddenly realized something.
She looked up at Vir in amazement.
Vir flinched.
‘Oh no… she’s not thinking of something weird again, is she…?’