Chapter 17: Combat Trainer

Josh's PoV:

Hahahaha.. exactly the reaction I wanted. Garp really did a number on my captain, it seems. Poor Luffy, I knew Garp's 'tough love' from the anime, but seeing his eyes filled with familial fear just from me using Haki like his grandpa, is something else.

"No, Luffy. It's called Haki. Not 'Fist of Love'." This scene reminds me of when Bulma first meets Goku and tells him about the dragon balls. Nami and Usopp, along with a mostly recovered Zoro eyed me suspiciously. "Relax. I didn't do anything to our captain. Luffy, why don't you tell us why your so scared." I prompted him.

"Gramps? Oh yeah, whenever he came to visit, he would train me with his 'Fists of Love' and for some reason, they always hurt like what Josh just did." Luffy visibly shivered at the memory. He skipped over a lot more detail than I hoped but it's better to not push it, we'll eventually meet anyway. "How did you do that?"

"It's a power called Haki."

"Haki?"

"Yeah. Luffy, I want to be the crew's Combat Trainer and help everyone become stronger so that they can achieve their goals much easier." I proclaimed as I turned my head towards him. "Would that be alright? I know many neat tricks that anyone with enough training can do." and pitched my sale.

"Umm.. sure. Your really strong so, it's fine!" He grins. Everyone else nodded their heads, even Zoro because he lost and knew exactly how weak he currently is. "Yosh! From now on, Josh is the crew's Combat Trainer!"

"Ou!"

I smiled as I heard the mission completion from the system. I can't wait until I get my hands on that cloak! It's going to be amazing.

"So can you tell us more about Haki?" Zoro asked. He was interested in the prospect of being able to get stronger, no matter the cost. His resolute determination can be heard from his now calm voice.

"Sure. Haki is something that every living being has. All you need to use them is to awaken it. There are 3 types of known Haki. Kenbunshoku Haki, Bushoshoku Haki, and the most rarest, the Haoshoku Haki." I started my explanation. I didn't want to go into too much details right now because none of them are ready to learn it yet.

I want to start with their Rokushiki preference and increasing their physical abilities, especially for Usopp and Nami as they are the weakest right now.

"I'll explain more at a later time. I don't think any of you are ready to awaken your Haki yet. However, there are these neat martial art techniques that you can learn instead."

Zoro wanted to protest, but he also knew that Rome wasn't built in a day, or at least the equivalent saying of it. As a swordsman from a proper dojo, he had to work his way up from being a normal kid to the man he is today, step by step. There were no such things as short cuts.

Third Person's PoV:

"Alright. Pay attention, because I'm going to show you something called the Rokushiki." Josh said as he faced the rest of his crew members. Zoro especially paid close attention after the man's words.

"As some of you already know, this is the Geppo." He said as he demonstrated by kicking the air and lifting off about 20 feet in the sky. Usopp has his mouth agape as he was the only one who haven't seen it yet.

Josh continued to demonstrate all the six moves of the Rokushiki. He wanted Luffy to learn the Geppo first, no matter what, because it is a life saving skill for if he ever fell near water. Zoro wanted to know the mechanics behind the Rankyaku so that he could produce his own wind blade with his swords, so he picked that.

Usopp and Nami were just too weak to learn anything other than the Kami-E, which is a mostly mental skill, but that only suited Nami for now. Josh really wanted Usopp to start practicing the Soru, but his leg muscles just weren't there yet.

In light of these new developments, Josh proposed that Zoro train both Nami and Usopp so that they can up their physical parameters. Sadly, Nami stubbornly refused, so they had no choice but to let her be when she reminded them that they were in a partnership and not a full member.

This was not the case for Usopp though. He also tried to stubbornly refuse, but that only worked for a crafty witch like Nami. When he realize that it wasn't working, he tried to make the lamest excuse of having a disease that prevented him from training. Zoro obviously just dragged him off and forced him to train his body alongside himself.

As everyone else was busy with their own training, Josh made his way to inspect the kitchen. It was a small little place inside the ship, but it gave off infinite warmth that could only be described as familial.

Checking on their remaining supplies, Josh realized that Luffy had sneaked into the fridge and took over 50% of the meat. It was actually a miracle there was half remaining. The blonde realized that their food supplies weren't going to last them the entire journey. It had only been over half a day since they departed from Gecko island and half their supplies are already gone.

He kept the supplies issue at the back of his mind and continued his inspection. There were newly bought kitchen knives, pans, and other cooking utensils. Along with plates and eating utensils. Although they were a bit lacking in vegetables, they still had plenty of meat. Checking the top drawers, the newly made chef found some seasoning, such as salt, pepper, and the like.

Over all? It was a pretty standard kitchen. Nothing overly special, but had everything a chef needed.

As everyone was busy with their own trainings, Josh thought that he would cook dinner for them. He had to make sure to cook extra large amounts for Luffy. Josh went with simple dishes he could make with the abundant meat and little vegetables, utilizing the resources available to him.

On the deck,

It had been several hours since everyone started their own training. Luffy was practicing Geppo which he just seem to never get right, while Zoro and Usopp just finished up their physical training. Nami was in her own room, doing author knows what.

It was just at that time that they smelled a pleasant fragrant coming from the kitchen area. The first to dash off was obviously Luffy who was wildly screaming "foooood....!"

As they all headed inside, they were greeted by a warmly smiling Josh who had a white apron on, his heavy coat was hung on a chair. On the table were many dishes, ranging from vegetables to meat. There were quite a few types of meat dishes.

Although they were lacking on the necessary ingredients, Josh did his best to cook up a simple meal.

Luffy's eyes were shining as he stared at the abundant meat plastered all over the table. "Did.. gulp.. did you make all these food!?" He asked, all the while, saliva was dripping down helplessly from his open mouth.

"Yeah. All of you were training hard, so I thought I'd cook us a big meal." The man replied. He was currently stirring the pot of clear soup that he made as the final touch. Turning off the heat, he brought his gaze back towards the table to find everyone seated and wolfing down everything hungrily.

He chuckled amiably, then he realized, "Oii! Leave some for me too, You bastards!!" He really underestimated Luffy's stomach, as well as everyone else. It was only Nami who was calmly eating her portion as she giggled.

Josh rushed to the table to save himself a portion as he knew they wouldn't leave even crumbs for him.

That night, they all ate, drank, sang, talked, and laughed together. In all of Josh's life, it was one of the most memorable.