Start of the New Training Regime

Zandeer POV - Blue Star, South Blue, Swallow Island - 20 GAP

Swallow Island, is an island in North Blue, which is found on the south of Minion Island and Rubeck Island, the reason for this name is that this island's most distinct features are its central mountain formation taking the shape of a swallow, which is covered with trees, and also because the island itself is also shaped like the bird mentioned above, more importantly this is the headquarters of the Heart Pirates in the South Blue, and this is my current location.

After the Random Battle, where I was thrown into the Kuroinu Universe, and goddamit, it wasn't a funny or pleasant experience.

It is one thing when you watch such events as hentai knowing that everything is fake, and is a whole other thing to see such a disgusting thing happen in front of you to real breathing innocent people.

I was so disgusted and angry that attacked everything that was assaulting someone on sight, I was so blinded by rage especially thinking that Nikita could experience something like this if she was truly unlucky that I didn't even realize that in my fury I also killed the opposing champion.

And then after dealing with the monsters that sparked everything and saving everyone in the land of Eostia, the girls there were quite eager to show me their gratitude, something that while gratifying isn't something I desire as I want to stay faithful to Nikita especially since we still didn't confirm our relationship yet.

And so I quickly took advantage of the chaos caused by the eager girls and of the fact that I won the Random Battle to escape back to the Dark Souls Universe, where I waited for Nikita to return, but when she didn't return even when the stipulated time passed I almost fell into despair thinking that the worst happened.

But then I remembered Nikita's plan to stay hidden as long as possible and in case the fight was inevitable to take advantage of the Champions Challenge to at least ensure her survival even in case of defeat.

I also remember that she told me that in case she was defeated if the Champion she fought was a good person, she would try to travel the Omniverse with him, while also trying to direct the Champion toward one of the other universes we choose to visit together.

At the time she told me that, I thought that her plan was naive as you can never truly know what kind of person is standing in front of you, and even more so guarantee that he will hear such a ridiculous request from someone you defeated, but at least I still had a hope that everything will work for the best.

And so with a newly found hope, I went into my Soulbound Territory and activated my Unigate choosing to travel to the first universe that was on our list and stay there long enough to make a name for myself so that Nikita could easily track me, and luckily such a thing was quite easy in that particular universe, especially if you are quite notorious to the authorities.

This is how I found myself in the One Piece Universe, more specifically in the South Blue, and once I realized where I was, the first thing I did was to search for the best pirate crew to join in this place, the Heart Pirates, the pirate crew created and led by Trafalgar D. Water Law, one of the future main players of this world.

After searching for them for a few months, I was finally able to find them and after some time, I was also able to gain their trust and join them, especially since I was quite honest with them and Law, as I told them that my objective is to make a name for myself so that I can be found by someone very important to me and finally be able to reunite with her.

And so here I'm watching over an elderly man as he works on the Polar Tang the submarine serving as the ship of the Heart Pirates giving the submarine the needed repair and maintenance.

He has slicked-back gray hair and wears a strange pattern aloha shirt, short pants, sandals, and a red sun visor something that makes him look quite out of place especially considering the heavy winter conditions of Swallow Island, he is Wolf-san and is the inventor, and creator of the Polar Tang.

While he is working, I once more take a look at the Polar Tang, a yellow submarine with a light green underside lined with torpedo cannons.

Unlike most pirate ships, it is mostly made out of metal and runs on engines instead of sails, however, the upper decks are made of wood, and there are two tall masts on both the front and back levels.

These two masts have retractable sails that are to be used when their engines are not activated, with the front mast having a rectangular dark-colored sail bearing the Heart Pirates' Jolly Roger on it, a smiley face with protrusions in six directions and is in fact pretty similar to that of the Donquixote Pirates, without the cancel sign over it.

Circular windows line the craft, and the Heart Pirates' Jolly Roger and Law's "DEATH" tattoo are plastered on the exterior, there are also lights resembling streetlamps on the outside in order to allow sight underwater, overall it is a pretty awesome design.

(Image Here - Polar Tang)

As I'm looking at the Polar Tang, I hear a familiar calm male voice behind me as it says, "So you were here, Zandeer?"

I turn around and see the man who is the captain of the Heart Pirates and one of the future major characters of this world, Trafalgar D. Water Law, a slim young man of a relatively tall height, he has faint shadows right under his grey eyes and has usual a smirk can be seen on his face.

He wears his iconic northern-style fur hat, which is white and has a spotted pattern along the bottom and the bill which partially obscures his short dark hair, but not his sideburns and a small goatee.

Many tribal-style tattoos can be seen on his arms, and on both of his hands are letters spelled as D E A T H tattooed in black on each of the back of his fingers, he also has a black cross on the back of both of his hands and on his chest, he has a tribal-style heart tattoo with his Jolly Roger on it.

He is currently wearing a yellow hoodie, with black sleeves and a black hood, the hoodie has his Jolly Roger printed on the front of the chest area in dark ink, and he keeps the sleeves rolled up, plus, he sports a pair of jeans with odd dots on both the knee and ankle areas, similar to the ones on his hat, but darker in color with a pair of dark, pointed shoes, and also wears a pair of small earrings on each ear.

(Image Here - Trafalgar D. Water Law)

I also notice that Law isn't here alone, right behind him there is a polar bear mink, he wears an orange jumpsuit that bears the Heart Pirates' Jolly Roger with small brown boots and he also has sharp teeth and claws.

He is as tall as a normal bear, considerably taller than common humans, he is Bepo the navigator of the Heart Pirates, and one of Law's closest friends.

(Image Here - Bepo)

Law and Bepo quickly stand beside me and both start to look at the Polar Tang, then after a few moments of silence Law comments, "We are almost ready, just a little bit more and we can finally start exploring the Grand Line. The waters of the South Blue aren't enough for us now. Especially if we want to grow strong enough..."

Then he looks at me and says, "This is a piece of good news for you. Once there you will finally be able to gain that bounty that you desire so much so that you can reunite with your cherished lover."

Hearing that I feel my face heating up a little and I lower my gaze and look at my feet, I say, "W-Wait... She isn't my lover... at least not yet we didn't have the time to confirm anything but for sure there was something going on between us..." then I stop and again look up and see both Law and Bepo smirking at me.

Bepo then puts his paw on my shoulder and comments, "Don't worry, I'm sure that your future mate is just as eager as you to give birth to your cubs." making me complain to Bepo that we are still too young to think about children.

All of a sudden, Law proposes, "Say, Zandeer, why don't we have a little sparring match? I can't help but notice that even if you always carry around that sword, until now you have never drawn it or used it for fighting... Are you even able to use it?"

Hearing that, I shake my head and with a wry smile I reply, "It is better to not do it if you want to spar it is better that we use some mock weapons, moreover, I'm not actually an expert at using swords." then I explain, "But the main reason why I don't draw my sword is that it is way too powerful and dangerous, so much that even in this state some of its true powers slightly seep out if I'm not careful, and that could be very bad for everyone else. Basically, you can consider this sword a very powerful and wild Yoto (Cursed Sword)."

At the same time, I can't help but hold my Zanpakuto tighter while thinking, 'No shit, Chacales can literally fuck up this world if I'm not careful and that's without even releasing my Resurrection, at first when I heard that I was going to be blessed by the Concept of Decay I thought that my powers could become similar to Baraggan Louisenbairn and his Zanpakuto, Arrogante, which was something I kinda liked. But Baraggan represents the Aspect of Death of Senescence, the aging brought on by time which is quite a broken power in itself, and even now I still don't understand how Soi-Fon was able to off him. But the Aspect of Death that I represent is more sinister, I represent Decadence the death brought by physical, mental, and spiritual decline and that isn't something I want to casually unleash.'

After, I decide to spar with Law using some wooden swords, of course, I still keep most of my abilities sealed like Hierro which I'm sure can be used in the same way as Busoshoku Haki (Armament Haki), and Sonido which is what I personally think a better and faster Soru or my Cero with which I can blast this island out of existence, and only limit myself to use the superior physique of an Arrancar and my swordsmanship to fight Law.

I have to admit that at least on the swordsmanship side, Law's skills are way superior to mine, 'Well, that is also natural as I never trained to actually use a sword before, I mostly attack out of instinct, after all as a Hollow I had my fangs and claws as weapons, and as Arrancar, I became so strong that I didn't need any actual technique to triumph over my opponents... But this seems a good opportunity to make up for this shortcoming of mine as I can't hope to always defeat my opponent with overwhelming power alone.'

And so, I continue to spar with Law, pushing him back with my superior physical abilities while slowly taking in his every movement and sword technique, making them mine as we wait for the Polar Tang to be ready and finally start our adventure in the legendary Grand Line.

Koby POV - Blue Star, East Blue - 20 GAP

I breathe heavily as I feel the crushing weight of my clothes burden on my tired and battered body as I try to find a trace of my elusive enemy, but no matter where I look, I am not able to find even a trace of him, my eyes in this situation are useless.

Then I once again feel a sudden strong impact of the left side of my abdomen and as I'm sent flying for a few meters, I feel many of my ribs crack under the might of my enemy.

As I painfully crash on the ground, I take this moment to look at my enemy's figure, he is a tall and slim man with glasses and slicked black hair, though now during our fight some strands fell off onto his face.

He is wearing a black suit with two golden markings on it over a white shirt with a curious collar, with spiral-like protrusions on the edges, striped shoes, and a standard black tie which is now loose up as he doesn't need to maintain a prim and proper image anymore, he is the pirate known as Kuro of a Hundred Plans, captain of the Black Cat Pirates, and Jayr-san's current prisoner who is forced to work as my sparring partner.

As I slowly get up, I think, 'Well, forced is a strong word, basically Jayr-san cut a deal with him that as long as I'm unable to land a hit on him for the duration of our stay in the East Blue, Jayr-san will set him free while also giving him an amount of money which is enough to live a rich and lavish life for the rest of his life something that I'm sure Jayr-san would do since he did give him his word, but if I'm able to land a hit then he will be given to the first Marine we will encounter to do with him as they like, which it will likely be a death sentence seen his past as pirate and how he tried to avoid capture using a scapegoat as his double.'

I once again stand up and stare at him looks a me with a mocking grin on his face while thinking, 'Moreover, Jayr-san told him that as long as he doesn't kill me or instantly knock me out everything else is allowed, he can be as cruel and vicious as he likes... and he does enjoy this situation a lot as he tries to prolong the sparring to give me as much pain and sufferings as possible. It seems that in the year he went under the radar as Klahadore, a bulter employed by Fuji-san's family, he accumulated a lot of stress, frustration, and anger, especially the last one as thanks to Jayr-san his evil plan failed, and he is now venting everything on me for about a week now.'

Kuro's smirk grows bigger as he starts his several rapid foot movements within a haze of dust before soundlessly disappearing from my sight once more.

This is the Nukiashi, Kuro's signature technique, a maneuver combining speed and stealth for nigh-undetectable movement and the main reason behind my beating, as I can't keep up with his movements, not only my eyesight is unable to keep up with him, but under the burden of my weighted clothes, I also can't react in time.

And so, I once more feel a strong impact this time, I receive a strong blow on my back and as I feel something snap, I suddenly feel an intense pain overwhelming my mind, and as I start to lose control of my body like a puppet whose strings are cut off, suddenly the pain becomes too much and everything blacks out.

I wake up in panic, but the familiar refreshing feeling coming from my body tells me everything I need to know, Jayr-san healed me back to full health once again and now I'm lying on my bed in the room that Jayr-san gave to me in his ship, and so I quickly calm down, while still shuddering a little remembring that sickening sensation after Kuro's last attack and the intense pain that came afterward.

But then I feel Jayr-san hand on the top of my head as he ruffles my hair and asks, "Is everything fine, Koby? Maybe this was way too soon. Should we stop the sparring with Kuro?"

I look at him and see the clear worry in his eyes and regret in his eyes, but I shake my head and then say, "No, it's fine, more or less... This is something I would have to face anyway once I join the Marine, and it is better to do it now in a safe environment where my life is guaranteed than being forced to face it out there."

Then curious, I ask, "What happened in the end?" making Jayr-san reply, "Well, Kuro kicked you in the back with too much force and snapped your spine, nothing much..."

Hearing that I can't help but feel a cold sweat run down my back as I ask in disbelief, "Nothing much...? Then what kind of injury or condition is a problem for you!?" making Jayr-san answer seriously, "Well, death is quite a pain in the ass to deal with. Resurrecting someone is always a delicate procedure with a hell lot of variable and situation to keep in mind, sometimes it isn't even possible to do it without causing some kind of mess to the overall balance..."

At this point, I start to zone out as it seems that for Jayr-san, nothing seems impossible, 'Sometimes I think that Jayr-san is in fact some kind of omnipotent God. He seems to know everything, has an answer for every problem, and powers beyond everything else I ever thought possible...'

Then I once more look at my benefactor and teacher and ask, "Jayr-san, how can I deal with Kuro's Nukiashi? He is way too fast for my eyes to see him and for my body to keep up." then I mutter in frustration, "It can't continue like this... I don't want someone like him to be once again free to harm other people only because I wasn't strong enough to even hit him once!"

Jayr-san smiles and says, "First, you have to remember that you are currently fighting with a big disadvantage, your weighted clothes, slow you down a lot, and I'm almost daily upping their weight so that your body continues to improve, you may have felt almost always the same level of strain, but right you you are constantly dragging 2 Quintals (200 kg), something unthinkable for the previous you."

Hearing that, I can't help but exclaim in surprise, "Wait! What!? 200 kg!!? That's too much!!" while thinking, 'I already realized that Jayr-san was gradually increasing my clothes' weight since that time a week ago when I tripped because of the sudden increase, but I didn't think it would already be increased by so much!'

Then I raise my hands and look at them and at my arms in shock and disbelief and for the first time, I notice the change that my body has gone through, gone where the chubby, flabby, and weak arms that I was used to, and in their place there are now some very firm, lean and arm with taunt muscles as they constantly fight the weight of my absurdly heavy clothes.

Jayr-san's voice brings my focus back on him as he declares, "Anyway, you finally passed the basic threshold. The kiddie time is now over! Now it's finally time for the real training. Your new training menu will be composed of strengthening training in the morning, where we will focus on increasing your body's strength, resistance, flexibility, and speed. In the first half of the afternoon, I will first teach you combat techniques and fighting styles, then in the second half you will spar with Kuro where you'll try to apply what you have learned in a live combat experience."

At this point, a totally evil smirk forms on Jayr-san's face and he concludes "Then in the evening I'll make you go through the same training I went through when I was younger. A type of training that will help you deal with enemies that like Kuro are too fast for you to follow with your eyes. You'll go through the sensory deprivation training!"

Jayr-san then gets up from the stool beside my bed and walks out to my room saying, "We will start this evening. Be prepared, it won't be a pleasant experience." leaving me alone in my room with a little bit of dread and expectation about the upcoming new training menu.

Later that evening, I'm standing in front of Jayr-san on the deck of Jayr-san's ship, the Athena's God Bidoof, as he starts to explain, "Now, you will go through sensory deprivation, which basically means that I will take away one of your basic senses, in this particular case it will be your sight, then your training will truly start."

Quickly after that, I only saw Jayr-san smile at me before, all of a sudden, I couldn't see anything anymore, only the scariest pitch-black darkness I had ever seen in my life.

Right now, I know that my eyes are open, I know that I'm "looking" at my hands, I know that I'm raising them right before my eyes, that I'm waving them back and forth, but I can only slightly feel the wind that they are producing but I can't see anything, only total darkness and it's scary, I can't focus on anything else but the omnipresent darkness in front of me.

Just as I'm about to fully panic, I hear Jayr-san's voice as he starts to teach me, "You can't always rely only on your sight to follow your opponent's movements. Forget about your eyes, calm your agitated heart, and feel everything around you with your other senses, hear the sound of your surroundings, smell everything, and feel everything on your skin. You aren't as blind as you think you are!"

Hearing his calm voice reminds me that this is a training session and that Jayr-san is here with me, I'm not alone in this pitch-black darkness.

So, I follow his instructions and take a deep breath to calm down my heart which is beating very fast, once I'm calm enough, I forget about my sight and focus on my other senses, and slowly but surely new information appears in my mind.

Through my ears I hear the sound of the waves crashing against the hull of the Athena's God Bidoof, through my nose I smell the salty aroma of the sea, in fact, I can even taste it in my mouth, through my skin, I feel the light evening breeze, it is all so peaceful.

Then all of a sudden, my senses pick up a change in this peaceful picture, I hear the sound of footsteps as they calmly get closer, and the closer they get the louder they become, I also start feeling the slight vibration under my feet, then I suddenly hear the sound of the wind splitting apart and then, "Ouch!!!"

A strong impact on the top of my head and a sudden intense pain as I'm clearly being hit by, from what I can gather, a wooden stick, and strangely enough even if it hurts a lot, I can clearly feel that everything is still fine and that there isn't any damage or cut on my head.

But before I could delve into that, "Aiyo!!" I feel another painful impact, this time on my shoulder, and quickly after I hear Jayr-san's voice as he yells, "Don't get distracted! Focus on what you sense! From now on each hit will hurt more and more, if you don't want to feel the pain remember the rules: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive, and Dodge! If you can dodge my stick then you can dodge Kuro's attacks!"

Hearing that, I try to ignore the pain and once again focus on my senses, and once again, I can some fell Jayr-san circling around me from the loud footsteps he is intentionally making and form the disturbance in the air he is producing, but all comes to an end when I feel a sudden crippling pain coming from my shin as Jayr-san hit me once again, and that pain is quickly followed by another one coming from the head that sends me crashing on the floor of the deck.

And so the whole evening passed that way, with me being beaten black and blue as I tried to dodge Jayr-san's nasty blows while blind, and while I'm not sure if this form of training will truly help me in landing a hit on Kuro so that he can finally be punished for his crime, I'll fully trust Jayr-san as I know that he only wishes the best for me.