One Piece: Getting Stronger by Writing a Diary

"Please don't praise Hina so much. Hina doesn't deserve such praise."

Hina shook her head and sighed.

Had she truly been as intelligent as Ain claimed, she should have left with Tashigi when Tashigi followed Arton's pirate ship.

Even if she had chosen not to join Arton's Flameblade Pirates afterward, she could at least have avoided being captured by the World Government.

Then she would never have suffered so much.

Hina was secretly grateful that Arton had come to Enies Lobby when he did. Otherwise, she truly might have been defiled.

At that thought, Hina looked toward Arton, who had already beaten Spandam unconscious.

Sure enough, Hina still needs to thank Arton properly.

Other than doing those things, there probably isn't any other way Hina can repay him.

Hina did not want to be someone who broke her word, even if this promise was merely something she had made to herself.

Unless she fulfilled it, Hina felt she might never be able to let the matter go for the rest of her life.

Compared to the debt of having her life saved, sacrificing herself a little was hardly worth mentioning.

Having made up her mind, Hina walked resolutely to Arton's side and knelt before him.

"Arton, please allow Hina to thank you properly."

As she spoke, Hina reached for Arton's zipper.

"Thank me? Wait—how are you planning to thank me?"

Arton stared at her in astonishment.

"Hina thought you already knew."

"I do know, but aren't you taking this a little too far?"

Arton looked at her with sweat beading across his forehead.

"A life-saving debt should be repaid with one's body. That doesn't seem excessive, does it?"

Ain smiled as she spoke.

She was quite happy to see Hina doing something like this.

Thinking back on her own experience, Ain had remained on Arton's ship precisely because she had grown close enough to him that she never once considered leaving.

Hina was clearly still hesitating over whether she should remain aboard Arton's ship.

Perhaps once she did what only a wife would normally do for him, she would become like Ain and no longer wish to leave him.

Although Ain did not know Hina particularly well, she knew Hina was a strong-willed woman.

Once she accepted one man, she would never accept another.

Since Arton was already in her life, Hina probably would not want to leave him again.

"Even when you put it that way, it still seems a little extreme."

Arton was sweating as he responded to Ain.

Seeing this, Ain stepped to his side and whispered into his ear.

"Captain Arton, you want Miss Hina to join the Flameblade Pirates, don't you?"

"Even though we helped her and she must be extremely grateful to us, she is surely still hesitant about joining us."

"In that case, you might as well accept her while she is actively approaching you."

"Once she has gone through your 'baptism,' perhaps she'll be willing to remain aboard the ship."

Ain gave Arton an encouraging look.

Arton's lips twitched. What kind of woman would actively push her own man toward another woman the way Ain was doing?

However, when he remembered the personalities of Uta, Tashigi, and the others aboard the ship, he quickly understood.

With generous women like Uta and Tashigi around, it was hardly surprising that Ain had gradually become just as generous.

...

People often said that one person's behavior could influence another.

Arton deeply agreed.

Perhaps it was precisely because of the generosity shown by Uta, Tashigi, and the others that Ain had gradually become more open-minded as well.

Arton felt both pleased and helpless about this.

He was pleased that Ain and the others were even willing to disregard their own preferences and allow Hina to approach him.

What left him helpless was that Arton wanted a union based on sincere feelings, untainted by any other factors.

He could accept this kind of relationship, but it would never feel as comfortable as one born from genuine affection.

Yet for some reason, relationships that were less than completely sincere seemed to have become increasingly common lately.

Robin had been one example, and Ain had been another.

Both of them had initially offered themselves in order to remain aboard his ship.

Fortunately, as time passed, Arton could sense that Robin and Ain had gradually become sincere toward him.

That made spending time with them far more comfortable.

Hina's situation was very similar to what Robin and Ain had once experienced.

Perhaps after approaching him without complete sincerity this time, she would eventually develop genuine feelings as well.

If so, Arton could accept Hina as she was now.

Still, whether Hina would truly become sincere remained nothing more than a hope in Arton's mind—a mere possibility.

He could not be certain of the answer.

Robin and Ain had been given the chance to change because they had spent a long time aboard the Flameblade Pirates' ship.

Hina, however, might leave the waters surrounding Enies Lobby on her own.

Once they departed and found a relatively safe island, she might disembark.

Because that was a real possibility, Arton could not accept her current attempt to repay his kindness.

"All right, Miss Hina. You don't need to thank me in such an extreme way."

Arton placed both hands on Hina's shoulders and spoke with utmost seriousness.

"I came to save you because of the bond between us. I never expected you to repay me."

"So you don't have to force yourself to do something like this."

"Even if you truly want to thank me, you can do it in a simpler way."

"For example... cook me a meal, sing me a song, or perform a dance. Just show me what you're good at."

"As for anything else, there's no need."

With Arton's hands pressing down on her shoulders, Hina could no longer continue moving her head forward and could only raise her gaze toward him.

Hearing his words filled her heart with emotion.

Spandam had previously threatened her for his own satisfaction and had even said utterly disgusting things to her.

Yet Arton was so gentle and so capable of resisting temptation.

Compared to Arton, the now-unconscious Spandam was nothing more than a petty clown.

What Arton did not realize was that his words had not only calmed Hina's emotions, but had made her even more grateful to him.

Supported by those feelings, Hina wanted to do something even bolder for Arton.

...

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