Chapter 38

"Now for partner practice! Sanji, you're with Zoro," Luffy said, causing Sanji to whine for not being with beautiful women. "Usopp, you're with me," he said, getting a nod from Usopp.

"So what should we do, captain?" Nami asked, causing Luffy to laugh.

"One of you will be blindfolded while your partner will not." "The person who is not blindfolded will have to hit you on the head with one of these sticks," he said as he stuck his hand into the cloud and pulled out five sticks.

"Why do you have a stick in there!?" shouted Nami. Luffy shrugged before answering.

"I picked them up while we were in your hometown," Luffy said, throwing a stick to each pair while taking one for himself before throwing an extra one onto the deck.

"The blindfolded person's main purpose is to avoid the incoming blows." "Don't just guess and move your heads, clear your mind, and try to expand your senses; try to feel the life aura of the people around you," said Luffy, getting a nod from all of them.

It wasn't long before each pair went to a different part of the ship to begin their training. One thing was clear to everyone except for Luffy: the next two days were very painful.

Two days later

The entire crew was currently standing at the front of the ship, staring at the island they were rapidly approaching. The last two days were painful for every member of Luffy's crew, but the training was mostly a success. Everyone could predict where most of the attacks were coming from and dodge them, but occasionally they would still get hit.

Luffy didn't expect them to make good progress on Observation Haki in two days, so the progress they all made pleased him. He knew the best way to learn Haki was when our lives were in danger; that's when our strongest will emerges, which is the will to live.

So, what they need is real-life combat experience to take their haki to the next level. Although everyone was able to dodge the attack, Usopp's advance surprised Luffy when Usopp told him that he could faintly sense Luffy's presence.

Luffy has explained that it is an aura of life that he senses and explained how he can use it to choose his targets.

"So that's it, huh?" Asked Nojiko was behind Luffy, who got him out of his mind. Luffy looked back and saw Nojiko staring at the island in front of them. Luffy turned around and stared at the island with a serious expression on his face before he answered.

"Yeah, that's it," said Luffy in his usual monotone voice. "The city of beginnings and ends," he said before pouring himself a drink. He then turned around and walked back to his throne.

"You all follow me," he said as he walked. When Luffy reached his throne, he sat down and looked at everyone as they gathered around him. He then reached into the clouds, took out a small bag of money, and threw it at Sanji, who was confused.

"What is this for, captain?" he asked.

"That's 1 million berries," Luffy said, causing everyone's eyes to widen. "Use the money to buy whatever supplies and food you need for the kitchen, and whatever is left then is yours to spend," he said, earning a nod from Sanji.

He then reached back into the cloud and pulled out another pouch, this time slightly bigger, and threw it at Zoro before he could speak. "That's 5 million berries; buy two new swords and whatever two weapons they want," he said, pointing to Johnny and Yosaku.

Zoro nodded his head while the bounty hunter duo saluted Luffy before they shouted.

"THANK YOU, BIG BRO LUFFY!" they shouted in unison, which caused Luffy to laugh. Luffy then reached back into the cloud and pulled out another pouch, smaller than Zoro's but bigger than Sanji's, and threw it at Nojiko before he could speak.

"That's 2 million berries," he said, surprising her. Nojiko was about to tell him he didn't need this much money, but Luffy raised his hand, stopping him before he could speak.

"Before you say you don't need that much money, the money in there is for you and Nami," Luffy said, causing him to smile while Nami's eyes turned into berry marks.

"Nojiko is in charge of the money," said Luffy, causing Nami's eyes to turn back to normal and her face to look shocked. "I feel like he might be a bit more responsible with it," he said, causing Nami to frown.

"You two can buy whatever you want, but I have a few requests for you to buy." "First, Nami, I need you to buy more map-making supplies as I don't know when we will be buying them again," he said, causing Nami to nod.

"And secondly, find some weapons for you two to use," Luffy said, causing them to nod their heads in agreement.

"Aye, captain!" they said in unison. Luffy then reached into the cloud and took out a pouch the size of Sanji's and threw it at Usopp before he could speak.

"That's 1 million berries; buy whatever you need for your invention or whatever you want," Luffy said, causing Usopp to nod his head excitedly.

"But be warned, a lot of people in this town will try and sell you equipment and claim it is from the Grand Line or belongs to Gol Roger and such." "Don't be fooled," Luffy warned, causing Usopp to nod.

Luffy then looked around at everyone before he spoke. "Good, you all have orders; let's anchor somewhere where the marines won't find us," he said, receiving a nod from everyone before they ran off to get ready to dock.

Just as they were about to walk down the stairs, Luffy spoke again to get their attention. "One more thing, there's a marine captain here named Smoker." "Many pirates docked here while on their way to the Grand Line, but none of them ever had the chance to leave the island," Luffy said, scaring them all except for Zoro and Sanji.

"He has captured all the pirates who ever set foot on the island and will likely come after me." So none of you need to worry about the smoker. "I am his target; he doesn't know about you guys, but if you hear a commotion involving me, immediately settle what you guys are doing and get back on board," Luffy said, causing them all to nod their heads before running off again to get ready to dock.

Luffy poured himself a drink and took a sip before looking up at the sky with a smile on his face; he was about to achieve his dream, and no one was going to stop him.

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