Training

"Hush! You are the one who scared us." Nami sighed.

"Anyway, let's eat, and tomorrow, we can start our journey." Zack didn't think too much and started eating. He had already created enough background stories that even if he told them about the world, it wouldn't matter much.

He highly doubts that Luffy will take this into consideration. Zoro might start training vigorously but Luffy, Usopp, and Nami won't care much.

After they finished their dinners, everyone went to the ship and slept. The next morning, they bid farewell to Gaimon and finally set sail.

"So, how long till we reach the next island?" Luffy looked at Nami and asked while sitting on the front of the ship.

"We just started sailing." Nami rolled her eyes and looked at Zack.

"Zack, don't you think we should get a proper chef? Where should we go now?"

Zack nodded his head and said "I think we can go to Baratie. I heard it is a floating restaurant on the sea. We might be able to recruit someone from there."

Although he knew they will eventually meet Johnny and Yosaku and head toward Baratie, he doesn't have any problem telling them about the destination. Now, even if they don't encounter Johnny and Yosaku, it won't be a problem.

"Floating Restaurant on a sea? Does that even exist?" Usopp's eyes widened as he asked.

Zack nodded his head and said "It is a restaurant made by a pirate though he has already stopped being a pirate and started the restaurant. There are many capable cooks in that restaurant but I have my eyes on certain someone. I wonder if our captain will be able to recruit him?"

"Is he good?" Zoro asked.

Zack touched his chin and said "Although I haven't seen him or even tasted his food, his mentor was known for his cooking. He was a cook and a captain of his crew, probably one of the best cooks in the world."

"Knowing guy I have my eyes on is with him, he should be a good cook. And, if that man has taught him his own martial art as well, his strength shouldn't be less than yours."

"You know an awful lot about a random person." Nami suspiciously looked at him and asked.

Zack shrugged his shoulders and said "Well, he isn't a random person. He is quite unique. His background is also very disturbing. Though there is no point in knowing all this right now. Let's just go to that restaurant and see if our captain likes him or not."

"So, where is that restaurant?" Nami asked.

"I actually don't know."

"Then, why the hell did you mention it?" Nami roared at him.

Zack looked at Luffy and asked "Captain, wouldn't it be more interesting to find a target without knowing where it is?"

Luffy turned his head at Nami and said "I will smell it."

"The hell you will." Nami shouted at him as well. She patted her forehead and sighed "We know the destination but we don't know the path. It is really chaotic."

"By the way, why don't we try something else for now?" Luffy said and ran inside the cabin. He took out a box filled with cannon balls and said "Let's train with these."

"Hmm…. There is a nearby place where you can practice target shooting." Nami muttered.

"Alright! Let's go there." Luffy shouted.

"Usopp, come here with me." Zack said and turned his head at Nami "Miss Navigator, wait a moment before you start giving orders to change the direction."

At this moment, Zoro looked at Zack from the top of the cabin for a moment and then closed his eyes.

"Hmm…. What do you want to do?" Nami asked.

"Usopp told me that he wanted to train with me. So, I thought it would be a good chance to start training." Zack said as he took out those training sets.

"Right now? B-b-b-but… I am not ready yet." Usopp suddenly shuttered as he replied to Zack.

"There is no need to be ready. I have moved on from the lowest weights to the middle. So, these are currently empty. You can use it." Zack said while passing the lowest weight set to Usopp.

"Umm…. Zack, can I try those as well?" Nami asked while being a little bit hesitant.

"You want to train as well?" Zack looked at her with surprise.

Nami bit her lips and thought 'Even though he was just an ordinary person, even though he was so weak, he still got stronger than us with a little bit of training. So, why can't I?'

'If I get stronger, stronger than them, I will be able to take my revenge. I must get stronger for the sake of my village.'

"Alright, Usopp, you wear the arms while Miss Navigator will wear the legs part. You are a snipper and the faster you can move your hand, the more you can shoot. Eating, Sleeping, Working, no matter what you are doing, don't take these off."

Zack said.

Usopp nodded his head and paused the leg set to Nami.

"Miss Navigator, you would need to move around the ship more times than others so it will be a greater training for you as well." Zack spoke.

Nami nodded her head with a serious expression and wore those. Zack turned around and walked inside the back of the ship. He was planning on training more.

Currently, his strength was probably five to ten times lesser than Luffy's. So, if he wants to get strong as Luffy before they leave East Blue, he can't skip training.

While he was doing pushups, he began to think about his previous battle.

'When I was fighting Buchi and Sham, I remember that my body was moving on its own to evade or attack. It felt like my mind was subconsciously controlling it better than my conscious mind.'

'At that moment, I felt like I had awakened the Observation Haki but I was wrong. It wasn't Observation Haki at all. It was just like how Zoro senses the danger or people around him.'

'It was more like an instinct than Willpower. Anyway, it was great that I managed to unlock the Instinct for battle. It will be useful in the future. Don Krieg, Arlong, Navy, there are still threats in front of us.'

'Despite this crew being Straw Hat Crew, I have changed many things. Whether it was for better or for the worse, I need to work hard in order to protect my crew.'

At this moment, Zack gritted his teeth and continued 'I still remember what Usopp said during the end of Thriller Bark. Luffy is a type of guy that will keep pushing his body to the limits to keep his friends safe.'

'For a dreamless pirate like me who wants nothing but adventure, he is the person I admire the most. Whether it was dumb luck or fate that I am here, I will bear the captain's pain, I will fight for my captain and help him become the Pirate King.'

At this moment, he didn't realize that he was radiating a strange aura around him. It wasn't too powerful or loud but it was certainly there.

After a long practice, he finally walked to the front. He had already known that Yosaku and Johnny has arrived but he didn't go there to check. There was no reason to do so at that time.

"Hmm….. Who do we have here?" Zack asked while looking at Luffy.

"They are Zoro's friends. Usopp accidentally shot a boulder over them and now so, they are resting on our ship. By the way, they also know the way to Baratie. They are taking us there." Luffy smiled and replied.

"Oh! Well, I will go take a bath." Zack nodded his head and walked away.

At this moment, Nami said "I thought you would know them. They are famous bounty hunters."

"Are they?" Zack looked at her with a confused expression and asked.

"Aren't they?" Nami looked at Zoro and asked.

"Are you?" Zoro looked at Johnny and asked.

"Big Bro, we might not be famous now but we will be famous one day." Johnny almost burst into tears and shouted.

"Well, I only know the strong people or people with the background." Zack spoke and entered the water drawing room and started drawing water for a bath.

After taking a bath, he came out and entered the cabin. They were starting to have dinner. The night was arriving soon so after having dinner, they slept soundly.

Next Morning,

"Yawn..." Nami yawned as she walked out of her room with a toothbrush in her hand.

"Ninety-six….. ninety-seven.... Ninety-eight... ninety-nine…. Hundred....."

"Hu…hu…hu..hu… Oh, Miss Navigator…. Good Morning!"

The moment she came out, she saw Zack doing pushups. He noticed her but only after he finished his pushups.

"Good Morning! When did you wake up?" Nami asked.

Zack walked toward the water drawing-room as he replied.

"Half an hour ago…. Now that I am finished with a warm-up, I will take bath and prepare some breakfast."

Nami saw him walking around the boat with a bare chest and noticed.

'It seems like his body is slowly becoming more and more like Zoro's. Is this the effect of intense training?'