101 Chapter 14

The old man sputtered and looked at Markus in surprise, "You want the keel to be made of WHAT?!"

"Treasure Tree Adam wood."

"Do you have any idea how rare and expensive that wood is?!"

For his reply, Markus pulled a couple of gold ingots out of his inventory and started setting them out on the table. He used six of them to make a small pyramid of glittering gold. Seeing that, the eyes of the old man nearly bulged out of his skull. Markus grinned, "Just give me a price. Money isn't an issue. Just get the wood off of the black market. You can keep the change."

The old man leaned back in his chair while taking a few gulps from his bottle of rum. After wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he looked at Markus seriously, "I guess a pirate with a bounty of four billion is bound to have at least some resources."

He scratched his scruffy chin and let out a sigh, "The last time I heard about some Adam wood being sold, it went for two hundred million. The next one to come up for sale will probably be even more."

Markus nodded. That piece of wood should be the one Franky bought to make the Thousand Sunny, "I don't care about price."

To prove his point, Markus pulled out six more gold ingots and built a second pyramid of gold on the table. It actually began to groan under the weight of so much gold sitting on it. Gold was not a light material and the table was as decrepit as everything else around. The old man looked at all the gold and let out a deep sigh, "Alright. I'll see what I can do. No promises though! Adam wood is exceptionally rare!"

Markus nodded in understanding. He was willing to pay for it but sometimes money just couldn't buy some things. The old man picked up one of the ingots and examined it while feeling its weight, "These should be more than enough to purchase everything, build the ship, and have some leftover."

"Do you need any help building such a large ship, old man? If so, I have some connections with Galley-La and could probably get Iceburg to help out."

The old man scoffed, "Those young punks? Forget it! I'll bring in some of my old friends." He had a nostalgic look on his face, "Back from the days when Tom was still around and the best-damned shipwright to ever set foot on this island!"

"You knew Tom?"

The old man smiled wistfully, "Of course, he was the greatest. I even had the pleasure of working with him on a few projects." His eyes started to glitter as he spoke in a conspiratorial voice, "I even helped him work on the Oro Jackson!" He let out a deep sigh, "Those were the days. Before the Marines became a bunch of pansies and went around trying to erase anyone who had anything to do with Roger. Blaming a man just for making a ship that happened to be used for piracy? Preposterous! If they were going to go that far, why not hunt down every person that made a sword, gun, or bullet that happened to be used by Roger or his crew? Bunch of cowards they are."

Markus was shocked, "You worked on the Oro Jackson?!"

The old man laughed, "Aye, but that was decades ago when I was a much younger man! Still, those were the good days."

Markus grinned from ear to ear. The Thousand Sunny was built by an apprentice to Tom. His ship would be built by someone who worked with Tom back in the day. How amazing was that?! In his excitement, Markus pulled out two more gold ingots and dropped them on the table, "When you're building my ship, I want the best of everything! Don't hold back. If you need more money, I can give it to you!"

The old man sighed and shook his head, "This should be more than enough to pay for everything. I'll give you a final bill when the ship is finished."

Markus isn't blind to the small flash of a greedy merchant on the old man's face. Not that he minds. Capitalism at its finest! With the deal struck, Markus climbs out of the chair as he asks, "About how long will it take to build the ship?"

"Normally? About two weeks. If your dead set on the Adam wood, I'm not sure. I gotta not only find some but find a piece big enough to be the keel of a sixty-foot (20 meters) long Caravel. That won't be easy. If I can't find one in a couple of weeks, I'll give up on it. So, I estimate about a month."

That was acceptable to Markus. He didn't expect the old man to work night and day nonstop as Franky, Iceburg, and the others had on the Thousand Sunny. A month was still pretty fast compared to how long a ship like that would have taken in his old world. Ah, the benefits of people having a physique that would put world-class athletes in his previous life to shame.

After leaving the old man with a pile of gold, he made his way into the city and started checking out any shop that caught his attention. He was still on the hunt for an Eternal Pose pointing to the Drum Kingdom. He could guide them there, but without the Eternal Pose, he would be the only one who could. The girls would easily get lost in the strange weather of the Grand Line without the pose.

To do his shopping in peace, he took on his fat face disguise. He needed to remember that he was a wanted man with a monstrous price on his head. Any bounty hunters who found his location would either hunt him or report his location to someone else. It was even possible for the Marines to come after him. He wasn't the least bit afraid of any of them, why would he be? No, what he didn't like is that they would be annoying and while he was a force to be reckoned with, Rei and Bonney were not.

Rei didn't have much to fear, she wasn't wanted and no one knew of her connection to him. Bonney was a different case. Aokiji knew that Markus had rescued and taken Bonney away. She was also a wanted pirate and the world government had a special interest in her. He would need to protect both of them until he could train them up to be strong enough to protect themselves. Thinking about that, he decided to stay in Water 7 for a few days and begin their training. It was time to introduce both of them to 'leg day - Markus style.'

As he was shopping, he stumbled upon a large store selling Log Poses and Eternal Poses. Unfortunately, they didn't have any pointing to the Drum Kingdom. At least this store had heard of the place. He got a recommendation to check a second shop and decided he would head there tomorrow. It was getting late into the afternoon and he wanted to catch up with Bonney and Rei. After reverting his face to normal, he used the hood on his jacket to hide it in shadow.

Finding the girls was a piece of cake. He hurried in their direction and froze when he spotted them. Both of them were carrying dozens of bags filled with all sorts of things, though clothing seemed to be the major contributor to the bulk. The moment Bonney spotted him, her eyes practically shined. She scampered over to him with Rei following closely behind her. As she got close, Bonney put on a coy look and spoke in a breathy voice, "Captain~ you're just in time. Can you help us carry our stuff?"

Normally, Markus would have refused her. Of course, normally she would have demanded he take her things to store them away. However, this time she not only asked, but she did it in such a sultry voice that he felt a shiver run down his spine. So, he smiled and agreed. He led the two of them into a small alley to store their items. He wanted to keep a low profile but his setting for using his inventory was a bit flashy. The alley would help hide the light show from the public.

After storing all of their baggage, he looked at the two women, "So, looks like you found plenty of stuff."

Rei nodded enthusiastically while Bonney laughed and said, "You bet! We got plenty of clothing for Rei and some stuff for myself. This place is pretty amazing. Though it is a bit annoying that all their food starts with 'water water.' What's up with that? Still, I wish my Log Pose had led me and my old crew here on our trip through Paradise."

Rei still seemed quietly excited from all the shopping. On her home island, there was nothing like this place. The sheer number of people and things had shown her a whole new world. She never knew that so much could be on sale. Bonney had introduced her to a whole new world of feminine products. They had some on her home but from what she had seen, her home was decades, if not more, behind the fashion trends of the rest of the world. She now had styles and types of clothing that she'd never even imagined could exist before.

The three of them... well two of them discussed the girls shopping spree while Rei just nodded along or shook her head. Markus hoped he could help her come out of her shell one of these days. If for no other reason than to simply be able to communicate with her better. The nodding and gesturing could be hard to translate sometimes. Though it seemed like Bonney didn't have too many issues with it. Women's intuition perhaps?

After walking and window shopping for a bit, the group of three stopped at a nice restaurant. Before they entered, Markus turned to Bonney, "Eat like a normal person when we're inside. I'll give you more filling food once we find a nice hotel, alright?"

Bonney looked at Markus askance before nodding. Since being with him she rarely felt the same level of hunger she did before. She could hold back for a little while to enjoy some good food but it wouldn't fill her like his food did. Seeing her agree, Markus smiled and spoke to both women, "Feel free to order whatever you like while we're here."

Rei looked a little concerned at his words. She was used to a pretty conservative lifestyle so all this spending didn't sit well with her. In her entire life she'd rarely had any Belly. It just wasn't needed on her small island where everyone mostly just bartered. Her job had been as a warrior so her needs were provided by the other residents while she went hunting and tried her best to protect everyone. As far as she knew, the money Markus had given her earlier that day was more than her entire island contained. It was a lot for her to take in.

The three of them stepped into the restaurant and were guided to a table by a hostess. All three of them ordered some food. Markus ordered himself a nice large steak meal, Bonney actually ordered a pizza margarita, and Rei pointed to a simple fish dish on the menu. While they waited for their food, Markus spoke up, "We'll stay here in Water 7 for a day or two. I want to do some training with the two of you and show you some more of the Rokushiki so you can have a better understanding of it."

After he spoke he got two distinct reactions from the girls. Rei practically had stars in her eyes at the prospect of training with Markus. Getting stronger is why she willingly joined a pirate crew. She had the drive and determination it took to get stronger. Bonney, on the other hand, let out a groan and sagged a little. As much as she wanted to get stronger, she was a bit lazy and wasn't looking forward to the work she would need to put in. As much as she desired abilities like Geppo, she didn't want to have to put in the effort.

Soon the food was delivered and devoured. Though everyone showed at least some manners when eating. Bonney didn't have the need to stuff as much food into her body as possible so she actually quietly enjoyed the meal. It was amazing how much different she looked when she wasn't stuffing everything in sight into her gaping maw.

The three of them enjoyed their nice dinner, a little more window shopping, and retired to a nice hotel. Markus cooked two rooms. He originally wanted to book three but Rei insisted on staying in the same room as Bonney, who didn't seem to mind, so he booked them a twin room. He booked the largest suite for himself. As they were separating to their rooms, Markus warned them to get plenty of sleep. After breakfast, they would begin training.

A little late into the next morning, three people could be seen inside of the ship graveyard of Water 7. The two women of the trip could be seen sitting in makeshift leg press machines. Resting on the balls of their feet were simple metal bars with small metal weights attached to the ends. The weights didn't look like they could weigh more than a couple of pounds each. Despite how light the weights looked, both women were sweating bullets as they slowly struggled to push them up. In front of both women stood a man not doing much more than watching the two women struggle.

To an outsider, the scene looked like two exceedingly weak women struggling to lift even the small weights. The two of them were occasionally subjected to looks of pity for being that weak. Even a normal housewife would be able to lift the small weights. However, to the two women, the weights were like small mountains they were struggling to climb.

Markus had begun his leg day with Bonney and Rei. He made the leg press machines by reshaping some scrap metal, the same for the weights they were lifting with their long legs. Their struggle to lift the weights came from his use of the Zushi Zushi no Mi to increase the weight of the barbells to a weight they would just barely be able to lift. It took some time to get to this point, but now the women were getting the most they could out of the exercise.

Neither woman complained, though judging from the look Bonney was giving him, he would get an earful later. Thankfully, her legs would be too sore to chase after him. Not that she could catch him if he didn't want to be caught. He loudly counted each rep for their current set and when they got to the last one and struggled to extend their legs, he encouraged them with a promise of good food.

With a burst of strength, Bonney shoved the weight to the top of the leg press while huffing loudly and trying to catch her breath. Rei finished her last rep shortly after and was breathing just as heavily as Bonney. With their reps done, Markus lifted the extra gravity from the weights and plucked them off the presses with ease. The two women lay in their seats while Markus set the weights aside and retrieved water for both of them.

The two sat up and greedily drank the water, though Markus warned them to take it slowly. Overhydration could be as much of a problem as dehydration. Though he might not need to worry in the case of Bonney. While they continued to recover, Markus stored away the workout equipment. He didn't want to hurt the two of them by overworking them. They could steadily build up their strength and with his help, it wouldn't take long.

After recovering a bit, Bonney looked at Markus, "Explain the Soru technique to us again."

As much as Bonney wanted to lean Geppo, she knew that Soru would be better for her fighting style. Being able to instantly get close to people and touch them would greatly increase the efficiency of using her Devil Fruit in combat. Hearing her request, Markus nodded, "Soru sounds like a simple technique when described but is incredibly hard to actually pull off. To use Soru you need to kick off the ground at least ten times in a maximum of 0.1 seconds. Once you can move your legs that fast and they have enough strength you can..."

Markus vanished from in front of them and appeared behind them in an instant, "Get the drop on your opponent. Provided they can't react in time. To counter Soru you need a fast reaction time. We'll work on that next."

Both women jumped and quickly turned to look at Markus. Though he had demonstrated Soru to them a few times now, it still took a lot to get used to the speed he moved at. One second he was in one spot, the next he was in another. It was a little disconcerting, to say the least.

To follow his words, Markus pulled two blindfolds out of his inventory along with a bucket of soft balls he'd purchased that morning, "To work on that I'm going to teach you about Haki, particularly Observation Haki. Rei already instinctively knows how to use Armament Haki, but I'll teach that to the two of you later on. We need to work on your abilities to dodge and escape from stronger opponents first."

As he explained, he set the bucket of balls in front of them and put on a blindfold while explaining, "I'll demonstrate Observation Haki to you first. This skill is something almost anyone can learn. It allows you to take in all the information around you, not just your sight but your hearing, sense of touch, and smell. Using all of that information, you can predict the movements of your opponents and even things you can't see with the naked eye. There are even legends about masters of the skill being able to predict the future. Truly, it's an excellent skill."

Markus took a few steps away and faced the women with a grin, "Now, pick up the balls and throw them at me. Don't hold back at all! I'll dodge them all with the blindfold on."