A Little Training

Chapter 94: A Little Training

Marine Headquarters

Kuzan arrived at Sengoku's office and submitted his mission report. He had investigated and found out why Rodney wanted to take down Moria and how he managed to defeat Crocodile and Moria, despite being weaker than most Shichibukai. It turned out that Rodney's ability to manipulate seawater was the key to his victories.

In addition, Kuzan mentioned that among Rodney's crew was Vinsmoke Reiju, the eldest daughter of the Vinsmoke family, and Perona, a former crew member of Moria. However, he did not report about Robin.

Although they had arrived at the Sabaody Archipelago, which was under the watchful eyes of the Marines, Kuzan decided to wait until they were spotted to report about Robin. He could claim that he didn't see Robin when he was in disguise, thus avoiding immediate confrontation.

Sengoku read the report in silence, updating the information on Rodney once again. This time, it was revealed that Rodney possessed the ability to control water flow, making him even more formidable. 

Sengoku couldn't help but worry about the potential trouble Rodney could cause if he ended up opposing the World Government and the Marines. Having a pirate with the power of Rodney on the opposing side would be quite troublesome.

"Regardless, we should remain vigilant. By the way, where is Rodney and his crew now?" Warring States asked after reading the report.

"Let me think... Oh, I remember now. They are in the Sabaody Archipelago. Hopefully, they haven't clashed with the Celestial Dragons," Kuzan replied.

Sengoku nodded and said, "I hope they haven't clashed with the Celestial Dragons. With Rodney's temper and abilities, even if he killed a Celestial Dragon, we wouldn't have any evidence. Angering someone who can disguise themselves as anyone would not be advantageous for us."

An individual who could create clones, change appearances, and fight was terrifying to them. The person standing in front of you could be Rodney, and the person closest to you might have already become Rodney without you knowing. If he wished, he could even impersonate a Celestial Dragon.

Sengoku: "..."

At this thought, Sengoku shuddered. What if Rodney had already infiltrated the Marines, the CP, or even the World Government?

He fell into contemplation.

Seeing Sengoku's increasingly grim expression, Kuzan yawned and decided to take his leave.

Now alone in his office, Sengoku sighed. Without evidence, they couldn't apprehend Rodney. Kuzan had mentioned that the clones were weak against physical attacks, right? 

…

Haki was an innate power possessed by humans in this world, hidden within their bodies. Many people could never awaken it in their entire lives, but once it was awakened, a person's combat power would soar.

Among the three types of Haki - Armament Haki, Observation Haki, and Conqueror's Haki - Armament Haki could enhance one's defense, acting like a thin layer of armor that could repel ordinary attacks.

Rodney, a "Devil Fruit" user, wanted to learn this ability.

"You've learned Tekkai from the Rokushiki. That's good. It's a technique that the Marines use to teach Armament Haki. However, most people only use it as a defensive measure," Rayleigh said, tossing a few candies into the air one by one and throwing them at Rodney.

The candies moved as fast as bullets, accurately hitting Rodney and shattering upon impact.

"Hiss!" 

Rodney gasped, feeling the pain as he took a few steps back. His whole body was hurting from the barrage of candies. Rayleigh intended for him to use Tekkai to feel the dormant Armament Haki within his body, find that sensation, and remember it.

It sounded convenient, but it was actually quite complicated to practice.

The principle of Tekkai was to accelerate blood flow, increase muscle movement, and grant the body the hardness of steel. However, most people couldn't move while using Tekkai; they could only maintain a specific posture.

"It's not bad. Keep going," Rayleigh said as he took out more candies from a bag and continued attacking. He wanted to train Rodney's resilience and help him learn Observation Haki in the process.

Even if Rodney couldn't use Armament Haki, he could still use Observation Haki to sense his opponent's movements and predict their next attack. Even Logia-type Devil Fruit users could use Observation Haki to dodge Haki-infused attacks by elementalizing the attacked areas of their bodies.

Indeed, Logia Devil Fruit users could become quite overpowered.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The clones were once again dispersed by Rayleigh's candies. They had beaten each other up, with Rodney's main body suffering the most.

"Rodney's clones... are really lively," Kuzan's words could hardly describe the situation as he watched the spectacle.

"Haha, interesting. It's rare to see something like this. Ninjutsu is truly amazing." Rayleigh laughed heartily, as Rodney officially began his training at the Sabaody Archipelago. He got to witness many interesting things.

All the clones were dispersed, battered, and bruised, especially the main body, which received the most damage.

"Cough, let's continue. By the way, have my crew finished their shopping? Poor Leicester," Rodney mourned. With Perona joining the shopping duo, Leicester must be exhausted by now.

"Hehe, the young girls might not have the resistance to the commercial streets here." 

Rayleigh knew that Rodney had several crew members, most of whom were young and beautiful ladies, so shopping was probably quite common for them.

"Brook is holding a concert on the Sabaody Archipelago. They might be there," Rayleigh added, taking a break and chatting with Rodney.

"Brook is having a concert? What has he been doing here all this time?" Rodney inquired.

After arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago, Brook had nothing to do, so he used his remarkable musical talent to become a street performer. It turned out to be quite successful, and he gained a small fan base. 

As time passed, his fame grew, and now he was a famous singer in the archipelago. Sometimes, Shakky even acted as his manager, and a concert would bring in quite a bit of money.

"Haha, he's an interesting guy. After parting ways with Laboon again, he came here. You can go and check it out. You can temporarily set aside Haki training; there's no rush," Rayleigh advised.

"Alright then." 

Rodney patted his bottom and had Shakky treat the injuries on his face before leaving with Rayleigh. After all, he had more than enough clones for the training. Why not watch and learn?