14 Chapter 14 - Sufferings of a Youngster

Half a month passed since the Vice-Admiral Gion tried to capture Levi.

A bandaged youngster stood on a big ship's floor while waving his sword continuously, and big weights were attached to both of his hands and feet. Even after half a month, his injuries weren't healed yet, and that counted with the fact that he had a superior regeneration compared to others.

Levi was constantly thinking about the Sword Energies that Vice-Admiral Gion shot at him, and his eyes would brighten up every now and then. Suddenly, from his sword, a blue blade-shaped energy was shot upwards!

''No, that's not it... I'm confusing the use of my fruit with my path as a swordsman, ugh, this is goddammit hard.'' Levi complained in a low voice, every time he thought that he was very close to understanding the next step, he would get confused. Not to mention the fact that understanding Sword Energy was extremely hard, he was confusing fruit and sword.

Letting out a sigh, Levi stopped today's sword training. Half of the day passed, but there was no progress, so he went for physical training. He also started teaching Leo about Observation Haki.

He suddenly thought of something, ''Hey, Laffitte, do you know Observation Haki or Armament Haki?''

The man in question shook his head negatively, ''No, I don't know Armament Haki, only Observation. Are you going to teach Armament Haki?''

''Nah, I also don't know Armament Haki.''

''...''

''Oh, I see.''

Somehow, Levi felt that he was slightly despised by Laffitte, and his eyebrows twitched slightly. Shaking his head to dispel these thoughts, Levi started teaching Leo the Observation Haki, ''Try breathing in and out calmly, so that you can achieve a state of inner peace.''

''Un.'' Leo nodded as he did what Levi said, and quickly achieved such state. This wasn't the first time he was being taught Observation Haki, so it wasn't difficult for him. Thinking of something, Levi added, ''Don't use your beastly instincts to feel the attack, that's not Observation Haki.''

''Close your eyes, and try imagining the world around you, as if it is visible. This must be easier for you, who has been relying on instinct, so you believe in it. If you don't rely on your instinct, your body will unconsciously rely on another thing.'' Levi said while guiding Leo, whose body relaxed after hearing such words.

As most other attempts were unsuccessful, Levi decided to try another way this time. The other times, Leo was relying on his instinct, which is natural as he is technically a humanoid beast.

So, Levi thought of letting Leo ''deactivate'' his instincts. His body would desperately search for something that would take the empty place that was supposed to belong to the instinct. And the next action proved it.

Recently, Levi had discovered a new way of using his fruit. In the air itself, there is water, so he used the water in the air to change the air trajectory. It had more practical uses, but Levi was now using it to confuse Leo.

He punched at the left side of Leo's face, but the air shifted slightly on the right side of Leo's face. Without Observation Haki, it would be impossible to predict his attack beforehand.

Surprisingly, Leo dodged his attack. Levi smirked while feeling slightly proud that Leo was finally getting the hang of it, 'Ah, being such a good teacher is satisfying. My dumb student is learning Observation Haki!'

If Leo knew Levi's thoughts, his inner peace would be instantly broken. And a thousand scratches would appear in Levi's face. The person in question started to do the same method, but sometimes, the air would shift in the side he was attacking.

But every single time, Leo was dodging it correctly. Levi got slightly bored of punching after a few hundred punches, and started throwing water projectiles at Leo, whose difficulty increased.

'Hehe, this is very fun.' Levi smiled childishly as he kept throwing these water projectiles, but Leo finally had enough, ''Oi, Levi, stop throwing water at me! Even if you miss, the water keeps splashing at me! You're doing it purposefully, aren't you?''

Levi dodged Leo's angry gaze with a guilty conscience, ''E-Eh... I didn't, n-not at all...''

Even Laffitte was shocked, 'Captain has no experience in lying, it seems! We should work on that, would be bad if the marines questioned him if he is a pirate and he lied so badly...'

As for Leo, he was just speechless, ''Y-Y-You suck at lying, Levi! PFFFT! HAHAHA, it's the first time I've seen you trying to lie, and you absolutely suck!''

''I don't! I'm faking that I suck at lying on purpose!'' Levi's words were serious, and would be more convincing if he wasn't dodging Leo's gaze once again. In the end, Leo and Laffitte looked at each other knowingly, 'Aight, let's just not mention this to him anymore.'

The poor Levi was almost crying at the ground, 'I'm good at lying, okay? I wasn't lying, not at all. I- I swear that I wasn't... I...'

He almost had a mental breakdown, before nodding with determination. They were just too good at knowing when others lied, it's not that he is bad. They're just too good.

R-Right?

Laffite and Leo went back to do whatever they had to do at the ship, one was doing his job as a navigator while whistling, and the other was doing push-ups with just one finger. They were holding back their laughter too hard, and their faces were red due to it.

It was the first time they saw the fierce, strong Levi nearly crying on the ground, utterly defeated by himself. The two of them had an understanding with each other, 'Hmph, if Levi ever threatens to upgrade the level of my training again, he is going to suffer the wrath of the Great Leopard! Hmph!'

These were the unfortunate, first sufferings of a youngster who was just helping his crewmate to get stronger. Levi was still doubting life, sitting in a corner of the ship with a dazed expression.

Such sadness...