42 First & Last Disciple

Mihawk silently walked over and watched as Shaya practiced her archery. She was currently firing at a target she had placed 300 meters away but was missing every shot.

At 100 meters she was able to shoot the wings off a flying fly, at 200 meters she was able to hit a standard archery target getting a bullseye with every shot but at 300 meters everything changed, she couldn't even touch the target.

"Your breathing's all wrong!"

"Mi… Mihawk senior?!"

"Your breathing's wrong! Close your eyes and take a deep breath!"

When she heard that, Shaya was a little closed but still did as she was told.

"Not like that, take long deep breaths in through your nose and then gently out through your mouth… Like that, now look at the world around you without opening your eyes."

Shaya was confused by what he meant but Mihawk released some of his aura which acted like a sort of beacon for Shaya to lock on to. With her eyes closed she was able to see a giant blue energy source that made Shaya feel as if she was stood before the sun.

Mihawk smiled as he felt her breakthrough.

[Too pick up Kenbunshoku Haki so quickly… She's quite the talent!]

"Can you "see" where you were aiming before?"

Shaya nodded her head.

"Good. Now raise your bow and remember these words "my arrow follows my heart and pierces what I desire" and when you're ready fire!"

[My arrow follows my heart and pierces what I desire, my arrow follows my heart and pierces what I desire…]

As Shaya recited the words Mihawk just told her in her head, her aura changed all of a sudden. It became extremely calm and reserved but hidden inside was an aura that threatened to pierce the void itself.

Mihawk smiled feeling her aura.

[Archery student, not bad.]

Shaya raised her bow with her eyes still closed. She summoned a blood arrow and nocked it against the bow string before firing.

The arrow tore through the air 5 times faster than her previous fastest arrow piercing the centre of the target.

As she opened her eyes she bowed in gratitude towards Mihawk. She understood that she had comprehended Kenbunshoku Haki, but she still didn't understand that other force that empowered her arrows.

Mihawk saw the confusion on her face and understood what was going on in her head.

"You just reached the Archery Student boundary, stepping on the path to become a true Archer."

Hearing that created more questions than answers.

"Archery Student Boundary?"

Mihawk patiently explained.

"There are different boundaries of comprehension for Archery:

Bow user, Archery Student, Archer, Master Archer, Grandmaster Archer, Archery Lord and Archery Saint.

You just reached the Archery Student which means you've become one with the bow. At this stage you're able to pierce through stone with a wooden arrow."

As Mihawk explained the different boundaries, her eyes lit up, she felt as if a new world had opened up to her.

"Remember, as an archer you should be untraceable, with your prey not knowing what killed them until it's too late."

Shaya nodded as she thanked Mihawk for his help. Just as Mihawk was about to leave he saw that she had another question but didn't know if she should ask or not.

"If you have a question you can just ask!"

Shaya nodded as she asked.

"When I used haki I saw your aura as a blue energy which was the same as other living creatures but what was the green energy I saw and why was there specks all over the place?"

When Mihawk heard her question his jaw dropped in shock.

"You can see the green dots that are spread all over? Were they perfectly still and seemingly lifeless yet full of vitality?!"

As he saw Shaya nod Mihawk laughed aloud!

"HAHAHA. To think I'd find another like myself! Monkey D. Shaya, how would you feel about becoming my first and last disciple?!"

Shaya was in a state of shock as she emphatically nodded her head before kneeling.

"Shaya pays her respects to master!"

"Haha good. As my disciple, the training I'm going to put you through is going to be like going to hell and back! Do you still wish to be my disciple?!"

Shaya nodded resolutely.

For the rest of the day Mihawk trained Shaya in the basics of archery helping her build a solid foundation.

Walter and Marcus heard everything and were slightly surprised by Mihawk's decision but smiled when they thought about Mihawk's reasoning.

The next day Marcus lead Mihawk to see Judge Vinsmoke, while Walter stayed back to look after the boys and Shaya went out to follow Mihawk's training programme.