State of Affairs, Sleep and Sparring

_________ POV Narration_________

Two weeks flew by after Shiki and Francisco returned.

The slaves they freed settled quite well on one of the Golden Lion's islands.

Shiki, now 20 years younger, was also a lot sharper, no longer getting into petty disputes with Francsico or Garp in his free time.

The old man still enjoyed joking around with them, but he managed to get over things much quicker than before.

He had also decided to help Francisco with finding Captain John's body when the time came. Admittedly, he was more interested in the treasure than honouring his old comrade, but the Rocks pirates were never truly comrades.

They were a group of powerful and ambitious people gathered under one even more powerful and ambitious captain.

Shiki and Francisco at least were friends. Whitebeard was also their friend formerly, but he did fight Francisco to the death in the end.

Regardless, the two old pirates were still kicking, and now both were back in their primes.

Shiki was technically stronger than back then, as he now had perfected his 4 sword style, which gave him a lot more versatility, and his mastery of haki had also matured a lot since then.

The Sky Arhipeleago was looking more and more crowded than ever, although Shiki's crew was still not allowed to come in contact with any Skypeans.

Old-school pirates were not usually the best company to keep, and Garp directly forbade them from visiting.

The slaves were, however, free to go wherever they wanted. Dragon and the Revolutionaries helped cover their slave marks with tattoos, and they also assisted with building a village for them.

Food was thankfully not a scarce resource now, as Shiki's islands were rather fertile, and the Golden Lion was already using more than half of his crew as farmers.

Enel was also able to continue his training, this time, he and Wyper were training with Francisco directly.

The two of them together needed to clash with the old pirate, using only Conqueror's Haki. They were holding up fine at first, but they were both crushed when Francisco got serious with them.

The First Mate was still pleased with their progress, especially Wyper's who had completely caught up to Enel, who had also slightly improved. Francisco was shocked to find out just how talented his pupil was, but he didn't complain.

The First Mate also made sure to give Wyper his new spear. The spear, 'Yasei no Kiba', or the wild fang.

The god guard immediately took a liking to it, as he had also been training with a spear since young. Alas, he hadn't used one in a while, so Enel helped him get some of that rust off with a spar.

Alas, Wyper still had a long way to go, as Enel was able to dispatch him rather easily when he actually started using his superior speed.

Wyper's observation Haki still being a crap chute didn't help at all against opponents that were too fast for the naked eye to react to.

Instincts only carried him so far, and when Enel started moving faster, the tribal warrior found himself on his back more often than not.

Now that Francisco handled Enel's training, he could finally go back to training the Sky Guards himself, relieving Akainu of his duties and leaving him with little to do.

The training amped up for just about everyone, even Shiki going off to practice and get used to his now younger body.

Kizaru was off to contact the Neo Marines, but the others were also busy.

The Admirals didn't have a lot of room for growth left, but they could at least teach the others and provide them with Sea King meat whenever needed.

It was a piece of cake for Fujitora to fly down to the lower seas and hunt a Sea King after all.

Aokiji didn't have any defined job, unfortunately. Instead, he just helped give blocks of ice to people who needed to regulate the temperatures in their homes. It was just something he did to pass the time.

Larthy and Robin were somewhat running out of things to research, so the two of them also started physical training. Larthy had already decided to get stronger, as she wanted to at least be of help in case an incident like the one at Baltigo happened again.

Surprisingly, Oven was helping them this time, as Sabo and the others were with Kuma most of the time.

Oven was, however, more than qualified. As he had trained with Enel enough to be able to emulate his methods perfectly. That and also the fact that he was still a Sweet Commander, the second strongest in the Big Mom Pirates with the exception of Big Mom herself.

Everything was progressing well, and the Foosha Village was also a bit more crowded than usual, as Garp and a lot of the marines that had helped transport them visited regularly.

So, things were going well for the Sky Islanders... Well, almost all things.

"When do you think he's going to wake up?" Bonney asked Dragon as she rubbed her arm with concern etched on her face.

"It shouldn't be much longer. Kuma is a strong man, he'll pull through." The leader of the Revolutionary Army was quick to reassure Bonney.

Kuma had yet to wake up even after two weeks, which managed to worry Bonney and just about everyone that cared about him even slightly.

Sabo, Ivankov, Koala. Most officers and Army commanders were good friends to the former warlord.

No one liked to see him in such a weakened state. But it was still marginally better than seeing him as an android controlled by pre-set orders and commands.

Every doctor within the revolutionary army had already assessed that he was not in any physical danger. So it was likely that the problem was psychological more than anything.

But it was bound to pass, Kuma was still a strong and determined man. To help the revolutionary army, he had even accepted being turned into a Pacifista, just to get more information regarding the Government's dealings with Dr Vegapunk.

Bonney's power allowed her to heal all wounds, but the trauma was a bit trickier. Her ability also didn't always revert all scars and wounds, it was somewhat fickle really.

Was it due to her lack of control? But she COULD control it. Although, not entirely. Many of her abilities were still undiscovered, even after all of those years.

She had mostly used her powers on herself in her lifetime. And she only ever managed to use it on others by touching them.

The wave of energy she had released earlier was as much of a surprise to her as it was to everyone else in the room.

She couldn't quite remember if it had ever happened before, but she assumed not.

Well, at least some good had come out of it. Enel and Francisco had also managed to avoid having their ages altered as Shiki had.

"Even if he's strong, I still don't like this..." Bonney continued rubbing her elbow, looking at the ground and averting her gaze from Dragon, who simply sighed.

"I understand how stressful it must be for you, from my understanding he's your one living relative... However, please trust him. He isn't and has never been, a man that quits easily."

Bonney smiled a bit while staring at the ground. It was a tad comforting for her to hear that her Nephew had made so many friends, and had that many people who respected him and loved him dearly.

After saying his piece. Dragon took his leave, he still had many things that needed his attention. He was still making time to visit Kuma every single day though.

Kuma was never left alone. Even now, he was with Sabo and the rest by his side, who continued talking randomly around him, hoping he would just wake up and join the conversation eventually.

'By comparison... What have I really done for him? I'm just sitting here and wallowing in self-pity...'

She quickly started admonishing herself. It felt as if she had just been wasting her time for two weeks while waiting for her Nephew to wake up.

But would Kuma even want to see her while she was such a mess?

The answer was most likely yes. But Bonney was not feeling like she could face him regardless.

So, she decided to finally leave Kuma's side, and get back to her training.

Garp was a bit surprised to see Bonney back to training, but he didn't mind. The more the merrier after all.

Bonney started off by sparring with Bellamy a few times, without using her devil fruit, of course, otherwise, the fight would've ended instantly.

The spring human did manage to get the upper hand in the fight, at least for a second or two. But the difference between them was rather big, as Bonney was able to drop-kick him into the ground in the end.

Garp had slapped the spring human awake, as their training was far from over...

The recruits were still sparring all around them, so Bonney's and Bellamy's next task was different... A spar with Garp directly.

More specifically, Garp said that it would be a good experience for them. To see how one should approach a fight against an opponent that is overwhelmingly powerful.

"... Well shit." Bellamy said as he clenched his fists, wishing that he had stayed unconscious.

"I agree! But I doubt he'll go all out on us. We should just aim to survive for as long as possible." Bonney also brought up her guard and clenched her fists.

"Not reassuring..." The Spring human said as he looked at the smiling former Marine Hero 10 meters in front of them.

Garp was dressed casually, but that didn't mean he wasn't ready for combat. He was actually the first to move, instantly appearing in front of the two of them with his fist already brought back.

Bonney reacted first, using Soru(Shave) and dodging to the side. While Bellamy's strategy was a bit different.

The pirate twisted his body, his arm turning into a large spring as he punched at Garp's torso. In that same moment, Garp brought his fist down towards the Spring Human.

'I guess he's the first one to go?'

The Marine Hero raised an eyebrow, with Bellamy's punch not even making him budge.

But the spring unfurled and bounced Bellamy back, sending him twirling to the side and causing Garp's fist to miss entirely.

The ground trembled slightly, as cracks started showing and a dust cloud rose where Bellamy had been previously.

"Hahaha! Good one you brat!" The marine was actually pleased with the inventive way Bellamy had managed to use his powers.

'That was a close one...' Bellamy sweated a bit as he looked at the small crater where Garp's punch had landed.

Garp simply scoffed when seeing the Spring Human's fear.

"I'm barely using any strength, you two better not be surprised by this much."

The old marine then turned his head towards Bonney, who was already moving behind him.

Bonney's eyes widened when she saw Garp's eyes lock onto her, she immediately kicked the air in front of her, causing a flying slash to form and cut towards the old marine.

"Heh!" Garp was rather pleased with her reaction, time, the attack was still far from being able to injure him though.

The old marine slapped the flying slash away with a wave of his hand.

The old marine then crouched down and grabbed a rock. He threw it towards Bonney, his arm slinging it in an obvious move.

"This isn't fair!" Bonney said as she pursed her lips and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the rock that pierced the rocks behind her like a bullet.

"Life isn't fair! Struggle more and maybe you'll get somewhere!" Garp shouted with an amused tone.

Behind Garp, Bellamy dashed and cocked his fist backwards, his wrist turned into a large metallic spring as he hissed and prepared for the strongest punch he could muster.

"Spring Death Knock!" The spring unfurled once more, his fist being rapidly smashed towards Garp's back.

The old marine simply flexed his back and used Tekkai(Iron Body). The shockwave caused Garp to smile a bit, as he could see the ground crack a bit underneath him.

But Garp's Tekkai was perfect, and it ended up causing Bellamy's punch to simply be ineffective and slide off.

"... Don't try a sneak attack if you're not sure you can even damage your enemy!" Garp was quick to give him a lesson, as he backhanded the Spring human into a large rock, causing it to break into hundreds of pieces and knocking Bellamy unconscious almost instantly.

Bonney scowled when seeing how ineffective their attacks were.

"If sneak attacks aren't viable, then what are we even supposed to do against someone like you!" Bonney complained a bit as she tried throwing more flying slashes at the old marine.

"Well, you have a pretty good strategy overall!" Garp spoke out as he punched forwards, the shockwave from his fist easily breaking the flying slashes.

"When facing an opponent that is overwhelmingly powerful, try to find ways to stay away from them, especially if they prefer fighting in close range as I do!"

Garp then used Soru (Shave) and appeared in front of Bonney, who once again was forced to roll to the side, as the marine's fist crushed the ground where she had been.

This time, the punch was much stronger, as the shockwave sent her tumbling to the ground.

She recovered rather quickly, looking back towards Garp, only to realise that he was no longer there.

"Also, never take your gaze away from your opponent." That was the last thing she heard before being knocked out cold with a chop to the neck.

Garp still smiled when realising that both Bellamy and Bonney had improved quite a lot. He had held back a lot, but they had still stood up against him rather well.

The old marine then continued with the training, not sending the two knocked-out recruits to the infirmary.

It was around that time that Enel also started contemplating departing on another journey. He had another place to visit besides Shanks and his crew...

Where exactly? Well, there was still a certain clown he needed to look into...

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