Chapter 7 - A Man and His Sword

"Do you have some kind of death wish?! Going there is asking to die!" Nami immediately rejected Noah's completely insane idea. She knew firsthand how fragile humans are when faced with the overwhelming force of the fish-men.

"If you intend to help us in some way by killing yourself, I suggest you stop." Nojiko also rejected, and her brow was furrowed. She felt anger when someone purposefully put themselves in a deadly situation to try to protect others.

"Oh, I think you're mistaken about one thing." Noah waved his hands with a smile, but soon he shocked the two with what he said, "I'm not asking for your opinion, just warning you. My proposal does not need your consent."

"And with what confidence can you say that you will face the entire crew of Arlong, who are as dangerous as he is?? Going there is suicide!" Nami slammed her hands on the table and stood up angrily. She was looking at Noah as if she wanted to strangle him and beat him until he understood that he is not to go!

"No, it's not. If there's something I love more than food and women, it's my own life. So if I go there, I'm confident I'll come back alive and well."

"Are you a swordsman?" Nojiko finally realized why he carried the sword everywhere. And when she asked this, she didn't mean someone who practices casually, but someone devoted to the martial art.

"Swordsman? I saw this guy fighting with a frying pan! He stole that sword from the ship!" Nami revealed she had seen him fighting before and knew he was not a swordsman. What kind of swordsman would lose his sword, would fight with a frying pan and then steal another sword? Shouldn't there be some kind of honor in all this?

"That's exactly what I would like to discuss with you. I'm not as skilled with the sword as I am with my fists, but I'm getting there. I just need a week. In one week, I'll go there and kick their asses."

"And why are you doing this? What could you gain by helping us?" Nojiko felt a strange emotion in her chest, her curiosity increasing more and more.

"And why shouldn't I? I'm no kind of hero, and I'm certainly not a villain either. I have my selfish reasons for saving you, for sure. But to ignore a tyrant who executes lives left and right, even when I have the chance to stop it? I don't think I can do that."

With the three people silently looking at each other, it was as if it was a mental war to decide whether they would accept this idea or not. For the two women, it was such a crazy idea that it reached the absurd, while for Noah it was just an opportunity to start his adventure.

Perhaps their traumas have influenced their views on the fish-men, placing them on high pedestals. But this was largely due to ignorance, as they did not know how large the world was and its power scales. Arlong and his crew were extremely weak, having been beaten all the way to East Blue, the weakest blue, where they decided to be local tyrants.

"And what's your plan? Are you just going to train for a week? Just like that?" Nojiko, being the more stable of the two, spoke for Nami. She saw that her sister was about to refuse because it was too dangerous.

"Well, I'm going to need your help, basically. Even though it's quite cool to sleep in the forest for a night, it's not something I plan to do every day. And as I said, I just need to train, and for that, I'll need a training partner. Which would be you two."

"And why do you think I would train with you? I'm weak. And even though Nojiko knows how to shoot, we're not going to use a gun against you." Nami knew that she couldn't pose any danger to Noah so he could use her to train.

"Well, you know how to use a staff and Nojiko can keep throwing stones at me. I don't need you to hurt me, I just need a training partner." Actually, he didn't need it. With the purple orbs and solo training, in a week he would be as good as an experienced swordsman. Still, as he wanted them both in his crew, he needed to use this tactic to get closer.

"Noah, you know that if you fail there's no turning back, right?" Nami sighed at his insistence and sat in the chair. Her face showed a bit of loneliness at the moment, rethinking the eight years she spent stealing.

"Does this mean you agree?" Smiling at the two of them, the sparkle in his eyes was enough to give them a bit of confidence.

"Well, I guess you better start now then. It's always been my dream to throw stones at someone." Nojiko got up with a smile and pulled Nami with her.

Sighing at how strange the situation seemed, Nami forced a smile. Her heart was still apprehensive about the idea, and she felt nervous when she thought about the image of him facing Arlong. And when she thought about his death…

'I won't forgive you if you die, Noah.' As she looked at him and that smile on his face, she clenched her fists, placing all her trust in him.

°°°

And so Noah's official training began, with him now accompanied by Nami and Nojiko. With her staying on the island, he knew that Luffy and Zoro would have a bit of difficulty facing Buggy and later going to Syrup Village to get the Going Merry and Usopp.

But being honest with himself, he didn't care about that. As a character who has a guardian God with him, Luffy would reach the end of this world one way or another. Maybe with more difficulties he would even become more powerful. Noah would not intentionally interfere with the plot, but wouldn't mind doing so if he had the interest to do so.

Back to the training, Noah organized it in a way that was best for his interests. Therefore, in the first part of the morning, after having breakfast with them, he would train with Nami and Nojiko. After lunch, he would start training alone, using red orbs and purple orbs while training with the sword. The wind-elemental God Art orbs were absorbed during the training, and his understanding of this power increased more and more.

Due to his automatic intake of energy from the red orb, he did not need to stand still meditating to fully absorb the energy. In fact, he realized that exercising helped absorption and sped it up. Therefore, the rate at which he became stronger increased.

And when night came, he slept on their couch and when he woke up, he would go outside the house to exercise and constantly absorb red orbs. And that's how he orchestrated his training process, his strength increasing with each passing day.

°°°

"1997... 1998... 1999... 2000... 2001..." With just one palm on the ground, Noah was in a handstand, his body going up and down relying on the strength of just one arm. When he reached a specific number, he would switch hands, toss a profound red orb in his mouth, and continue.

He was outside at that moment, the sky was still dark and there was one or two hours left before dawn. Shirtless and completely drenched in sweat, he looked like the true nature of a hardworking warrior. It was already his third day of training and his strength had increased a lot compared to before.

His Bone Refinement was already completed and he would be starting the Bone Marrow Refinement as soon as he began to tear apart more green wolves and super rabbits. Unfortunately, he had been killed a few hours after entering, when a Lightning Warhorse appeared out of nowhere and electrocuted him to death. Still, he managed to get some wind orbs to train more later.

"You're quite hardworking, aren't you?"

Noah suddenly stopped what he was doing when he heard the voice. Standing up, he looked at the house window and saw that Nojiko was there, watching him exercise with a cup of tea in her hand.

"I can't break my words, can I?" Noah smiled at her and decided to stop training. His body was absorbing energy anyway. Walking up to her, he picked up his shirt from the ground, "And why are you already awake? Did you fall out of bed?"

"It's hard to sleep when my curiosity speaks louder." She looked at his toned muscles and felt her heart beat faster again. Smiling at him, she continued, "And also because you always make noise when you leave early in the morning."

"You have to fix this door then. It would look bad if I left through the window." Laughing, he put on his shirt and saw that it was a little tight on him, "I need to buy some new clothes, these are already worn out."

"There's a village nearby that sells some nice clothes. I can go there to buy for you." Nojiko immediately offered when she saw this. She also noticed that he had grown and the clothes were getting small, "And take off that shirt, otherwise it's going to stink. I'll wash it for you while you take a shower."

"You're the boss, mademoiselle." Noah took off his shirt and handed it to her, "You certainly know how to please me. You make my breakfast, wash my clothes, and help me at work. Do you want me to put a ring on your finger too?"

"Could you?" Nojiko handed him her hand in a charming way and soon smiled when she saw him speechless, "Well, you asked first."

"Don't do that, otherwise I'll end up putting it on." Noah took her hand and lightly kissed the back of it. And seeing that she was also speechless, he smiled, "Well, you gave me your hand."

"I'm going to make breakfast, go take a shower." Nojiko blushed up to her neck and pulled her hand back. Briefly looking into his beautiful eyes, she quickly went into the kitchen.

"As you command, boss." Noah entered the house and headed straight for the bathroom.

Nojiko, who was in the kitchen and still blushing, confusing an egg with an mikan and wanting to cut the tomatoes with a fork, suddenly heard a scream coming from the bathroom. And at the same moment passing behind her, a naked Noah threw himself out the window.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING??" The scream of Nami echoed throughout the house when she ran out with a towel on her body and a mop in her hand.

"I DIDN'T know you were there! And you also saw me naked!" Noah retorted back from outside. But after looking at Nami for a while, with her wanting to eat him alive, he gave her a thumbs up, "But I will admit, you…"

Before he could finish the sentence, it became even more obvious what he meant. And Nami, who was now as red as a tomato in a mix of anger and embarrassment, slowly pointed the mop at Noah and spoke softly.

"I… will… kill… you…"

°°°

"Sir, daily report on the Cocoyase operation!" A soldier stood at attention within his captain's room. This room was particularly luxurious, much more than it should be for any East Blue captain.

"So? You may speak." The navy captain, seated at his desk, set down the gold notes in his hands and waited for his soldier to speak.

This man's name is Nezumi, captain of the 16th Marine Branch Base, located on the Conomi Islands and, therefore, responsible for everything that happens on them. And more than all of that, he colludes with Arlong in the extortion that takes place there.

He is a slim, dark-haired man with a strongly mouse-like appearance. His eyes are constantly narrowed, while his facial hair consists of a thin goatee and six long, wire-like whiskers on his upper lip.

"As per orders, we are secretly researching the location of the treasure, but the search in the forest was fruitless."

"Then start looking within the village, but be even more careful. If anyone asks, say it's just a regular patrol. Any other news?" Nezumi casually changed the strategy, even though he was irritated at not getting what he wanted immediately.

Since he received a call from Arlong three days ago, informing him that there was a huge treasure in Cocoyase Village and that he was free to "confiscate", Nezumi has been sending his sailors in search groups there. And only when he was sure of the location would he make a move.

"Yes. During the searches in the forest, we found suspicious movements near the Cocoyase village waterfall and spotted a stranger training with a sword. We did not approach as this could be essential information."

"Very well." Nezumi found this strange, but said nothing more and dismissed his soldier. But still, with something making him suspicious, he stopped his soldier, "Wait, give me a description of this man. You don't need to approach him, he might show some clue where the treasure is."

Receiving the description from his soldier, Nezumi took the den den mushi on his desk and dialed a number. And soon after the call was answered.

"Arlong, I have something that might interest you…"