Cursed Seas and Slashing Tides

The Ramen Weirdo

"Was this really necessary?" Ryomen asked, his voice dry as he inspected his new outfit. It wasn't much—just a pair of black pants that felt slightly snug.

"Of course! We're going to save Robin with a renewed outlook!" Nami beamed, spinning in her short blue jacket, bra, light blue skirt, and high heels.

Ryomen raised an eyebrow. "Renewed outlook or lighter wardrobe?"

Nami ignored him, glancing his way and discreetly wiping a small trail of blood from her nose. 'Sanji's perversion might be influencing me…'

"You shameless woman! Cover your stomach and your legs!" Paulie's outraged voice cut through, then he turned his fury on the Square Sisters. "And you too, Square Sisters! You people are corrupting society!"

"Shut up! Pervert!" One of the sisters retorted.

"Yeah, shut up!" The other added with a smirk.

"Why you—!!" Paulie fumed, shaking a fist in indignation.

"Hey, Paulie." Ryomen interrupted, a sly smile playing on his lips. "Are you just embarrassed? You don't seem to have the same issue with us."

Paulie flushed red, spluttering incoherently, until his eyes landed on Ryomen's second pair of arms. His jaw dropped, and a chorus of gasps rippled through the shipwrights and workers around him.

"What are those!?"

"What?" Ryomen deadpanned, glancing at his arms. "I don't like wearing shirts. They make my arms feel constrained."

"I don't mind it one bit!" Nami cheered, punching the air enthusiastically.

"No need to look so excited…" The Square Sisters muttered.

"It's not that…you've got four arms!" Paulie blurted, pointing accusingly.

Ryomen's eyes widened slightly before narrowing in annoyance. "No, I don't." He quickly tried to hide his lower arms behind his back, a futile gesture given the number of witnesses.

Zoro, observing the scene, sighed deeply. "This guy's becoming more and more on Luffy's level…" He glanced at their captain, who was busy trying to stuff meat into his new pant's pockets.

"Hope not…" Sogeking muttered under his breath, subtly glancing at Zoro. "There aren't many level-headed people left here."

Ryomen stood in tense silence, waiting for more backlash, but was instead met with surprising reactions.

"Man…why wasn't I born with four arms? I could've done twice the work and had more time for gambling…" Paulie muttered.

"I could've stolen so much more money!" One of the shipwrights exclaimed wistfully.

"Huh?" Ryomen blinked, startled, as they continued to whine about the unfairness of the world.

Nami stepped closer, patting his shoulder with a warm smile. "See? No reason to hide yourself. Just like we accepted you, others can too."

Ryomen hesitated, then nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah…thanks, Nami."

"Hey, Nami." Zoro's voice cut in, snapping them out of the moment. "Did you change your weapon or something?"

"Hm? No." Nami turned to him, crossing her arms with a hint of irritation. "This is the perfected Clima-Tact! I used it against the CP9 agent back at the factory. Weren't you paying attention?"

"I was too busy beating square nose to notice whatever you were doing." Zoro replied with a dismissive shrug, rolling his eyes.

"It seems like a very powerful weapon!" Sogeking chimed in, his voice full of curiosity. "Who was the genius that designed it?"