…
…I open my eyes…
…I can only see the sky…
I can feel that I am lying on the grass but why?
I try to remember what brought me to this situation… I finally remember.
And because I am calm enough to think it through, I realized who the hidden figure is. Nobody would dare to infiltrate and attack a celestial family. Especially not in this time and age, before Fisher Tiger and the Revolutionary Army make their scene. Only after all of this did I realize who it was and why Gigi hadn't appeared yet. It was Bogard! He was supposed to arrive in two days, but I guess he arrived before that. I get up and try to warn everyone else, but they are all already on the floor next to him.
Me: Everyone!... I am sorry officer Bogard … I didn't recognize you… How should I call you?
Bogard: Instructor is fine. Do not worry about it. It seems you are pretty resistant. I assumed you were a spoiled little brat, so I planned to scare you off and go back. But it seems things might get interesting … Very well, I shall teach you from now on! Lord Kuromura told me that you weren't like any other Tenryubito so, I decided to test you. Hope that is fine with you… He also told me you already have a certain plan in motion and that you would explain all of it to me?
When I asked for Bogard, I was afraid that he would waste too much time with formalities and such, but it seems I was wrong. Guess being with Garp all that time must have influenced him. The memories I have of him are of a demanding and dedicated teacher. He never talked much, but he still trained Coby and Helmeppo throughout the night, even though he had a lot to do during the day, so he still seemed like a decent marine. He seemed like a quiet fellow in the short seens he appeard, but perhaps this is his true personality. Either that, or he changed through the years.
I explain to him how everything works and how he would only have to intervene in the middle of the morning and in the middle of the afternoon, meaning he still gets most of the days to deal with marine paperwork and other personal activities. I introduced him to everyone over lunch and talked about each of our own qualities and strong points. He seems to attentively listen and to be taking mental notes.
Everything progresses as expected and Instructor Bogard teaches us some new moves and exercises. Our training was already pretty tough, but he made it so much harder. But I guess this is what it takes to become stronger … no pain no gain ... I guess.
Now, everything is in place. Gigi already got us all the executives ready for the classes and the other teachers I've asked for have already arrived, so I don't need to worry that much with what is going on. More importantly, because we finally have supervision, we could, at last, start using weapons in our spars.
About one month ago, Toup and Leheim determined that the remaining executives were ready to start teaching us, so we decided to organize ourselves and divide their classes into three main groups:
Science, Martial arts and Weapon mastery.
Within science we will learn General Studies from Leihem, Skimi, Rekard, Marsit and Toup;
Navigation from Toup and Medicine from Bruno and Xavier.
In Martial Arts, we will learn how to improve our strengths and fighting capabilities and learn different types of fighting from each teacher:
Freed will teach us martial arts more focused on striking, strength and speed, such as Muay Thai, Karate or Kickboxing;
Ashe will teach marial arts more connected with movement, flow and prediction, such as Kempo or Kung Fu;
Leihem will teach us how to use our opponents strength against them, how to grapple and force our enemies into submission with Judo and Ju-jitsu;
Oga and Brock will try to teach us ways that focus more on brute strength, as they will teach us wrestling, sumo and boxing;
Pout will teach us more agile and more leg' based martial arts, as those may turn out to be our strongest points, such as taekwondo or capoeira.
In Weapon mastery we will learn how to properly wield and use several weapons, later focusing on the one we show most talent. They decided to divide the classes into two main groups, as there were too many of us interested in following the classes:
Swordsmanship, taught by Mark, Pout, Journ, Marsit, Ahambi, Lout, Annabelle and Vorskt, each with their own specific style;
Weapon Mastery, taught by Resid, Totim, Brock, Rekard and Skimi, each teaching us how to use different weapons.
The main problem is that, although a lot of us wanted to focus on weapon mastery, after all this time, most of us still feel like we haven't been able to do much.
In the first few weeks, before we divided ourselves between swordsmanship and weapon mastery, we had to learn everything about all kind of weapons, which was extremely interesting and entertaining. We learnt about the qualities of different weapons and different ways of fighting. Before choosing, we got to wield them and see how it feels to swing, pierce, slash or even throw them. When they said we needed to experience with several weapons before we could even decide to go for swordsmanship or weapon mastery, we got really excited because we thought we could use them in our spars, but the instructors said it's still too risky as we are not ready.
Our weaponry practice consists of two methods: testing our weapons against dummies/targets or performing something called kata, fictional fights against made up opponents. I do know that fighting in imaginary battles can be a great source of training and help us improve ourselves, but it is also true that we were simply slicing or piercing threw the air, every single day, for hours and hours. Until now, we were only allowed to use weapons on our individual training which is the least favorite part of our daily routine, at least for most of us.
Due to our gloominess, they decided that we should focus more on our regular martial arts and wait for the proper time to make weaponry training a more meaningful part of our daily routine.
Fortunately, with the arrival of Bogard, the time has come! The teachers have given us permission to finally use them in proper matches. They believe most of us are ready and with the support of Bogard they won't have to worry so much with supervision! I believe they were most concerned because they weren't sure how far we could go in our matches, and they weren't used to dealing with that kind of situations. They didn't know what needed to be done to properly conduct the training and avoid mishaps. They wanted to avoid serious injuries. Bogard has dealt with such things numerous times so he would definitely know how to handle it.
Bottom line is I can start using swords!
Even though the weapon training hasn't been as exciting nor productive as I planned, I have to admit our skills are still improving by a large margin! I don't know about my sword skills, as I haven't been able to test them on proper opponents, but my strength, agility, movements, reflexes, instincts and overall martial arts have tremendously improved. The hints and clues that were given to each of us by our instructors made us grow a lot more than what I was expecting. Initially, I considered making these executives into our real teachers without having to go through all that effort with the marines. However, they seem much more comfortable teaching us the theoretical classes than the practical ones. They seem more like academics than proper fighters.
After questioning them how they achieve their strength, I learned that most of them, due to their own circumstances, needed to become stronger but didn't know anyone that could teach them. As such, they read through several books on martial arts and other subjects and developed their own styles after years and years of experimenting, trial and error, until they achieved something that they were comfortable with. They were never taught and, as such, they have a certain difficulty explaining what we need to do, hence why Tout and Leheim decided to train them for as long as they did. Now they are able to explain the basics with much more ease, but it's still hard when they try to explain how we should do it ourselves. They can show it to us and tell us how it feels but they can't give the best instructions on how to adapt that style to ourselves. But I am sure that after they see how Bogard teaches us, they will slowly start to learn and, eventually, they might be able to teach on their own.
Either way, it's good to have different teachers so that you can receive different points of view. Besides, based on what Gigi said, I think they are not weak, but their strength should still be lower than a vice or even a rear admiral, except for one or two of the executives.
I believe the best option to improve our fighting capabilities would be to let the executives teach us the theoretical knowledge, while Bogard and the remaining marine officers Sengoku agrees to send us would be responsible for the physical training, practical classes, group exercises and sparring matches. Finally, another group would help us understand our own style and improve it according to our capabilities. One group to help us learn, one to help as practice and another one to helps us develop. We are still at the beginning of our training, so the last group is not a priority. We still have a lot of time to create it and change things, if needed.
Today is the first day we can use our weapons in our matches. When we got to the big yard, Gil was there to receive us. Gil's is not only Gigi's most trusted man and a member of the Kuroihono family, another branch of our clan, as he is also one of the best blacksmiths of his generation. He had created innumerous blunt weapons of all kinds and shapes to help us practice to the best of our abilities. The best part is he told me that he is working on a present for me and when he finishes it, he will let me know!
Until now, Laxus, Urek and I were easily the best fighters in the group. In order to avoid injuries and to better improve ourselves, we try to fight against each other as much as possible. The others are strong too, but we can't go all out against them every time. We can do one or two good matches against Goku or Vegeta, but, after that, they are too exhausted to keep going. However, today's results seem a little different. Although the three of us were still able to come out on top, the disparities in our strengths greatly diminished. I trusted my knowledge of swordsmanship was somewhat decent, after all those classes and the hours I spent with a wooden sword in my hand but using it in a real fight is much more demanding than I had thought. The sword didn't move the way I wanted it to, and its weight was utterly ruining my balance. Nevertheless, I was still able to win most of my fights, so I can still maintain my pride and still say I am the strongest among all of us … or, at the very least, in the top 3.
Some of the teachers said that my talent is mostly directed towards martial arts, so I shouldn't focus on weapons too much. However, I really want to wield a weapon, especially a sword, so I will keep trying to improve on it. I believe I showed more talent in martial arts because I have more experience with it, as I have only started using weapons recently. Nonetheless, if I still show no talent for weapons wielding, then I will have no choice but to quit and focus on my martial arts.
Right now, we are all still trying different weapons, but it would seem I still prefer using swords. I am not necessarily better with them, but I do feel more comfortable and bolder when I use them. Right now, I haven't mastered any weapon, so I am a little inconsistent and have trouble dealing with their shortcomings. For example, when I am facing Urek I show the best results whenever I use a spear but when I am facing Laxus I have more wins when I use daggers. I think both weapons allow me to use my martial arts more efficiently so it's easier to get better results compared to a sword.
Throughout this past month the teachers were always ready to answer our questions and help us correct mistakes in our posture or technique but only now are they giving us proper feedback and helping us choose which path we should follow, whether that is the path of the sword, some other weapon or simply focus on martial arts. They already had some suggestions from all the individual training we were doing before Bogard arrived, but they wanted to observe us in proper fights for as long as they could to improve their solutions. Hence, we agreed that one month should be enough for them to make their assessments.
With the instructors' help, we each start picking the weapons we are most comfortable with.
Because of all the anime I witnessed in my previous life, I've been trying to become a master of dual katanas, after this whole month, I concluded that such a thing does not appear to be in my near future. I am most proficient in martial arts, especially those related to striking, so I was told that if I really want to use a weapon, I should try to use one that still allows me to fight with my martial arts. I still want to be a swordsman but, apparently, I am still too inexperienced with swords and my skills in martial arts even prevent me from doing better, as I am trying to apply the same movements from a kick or a hook to my sword. According to Marsit, I use my sword more like a bat than a sword, as I "swing, rather than cut or slash".
Pout believes that with a decent amount of hard work and time, I could become pretty good at using a great sword while Lout considers that I should put more focus on my strength and put less weight on my swordsmanship, as that will eventually develop itself with time.
I am currently trying to create my own style, trying to create some kind of swordsmanship that completely merges with my martial arts. Unlike my expectations, creating your own style is incredibly hard and our teachers can't really help me because they all have different and really specific styles and approaches. But they all agreed that I should first try to master swordsmanship and martial arts separately and only afterwards merge them both into one, in order to completely understand their strengths and weaknesses. Only then can I, perhaps, make one complement with the other, solving its flaws and sharpening its qualities.
I guess they are right because, with every fight, we keep getting stronger and know a little more about the kind of path we should follow. It has been only two months since we started with the real training, but we've gotten so much stronger it's hard to measure. The groups and lessons are no longer temporary. Everyone has already picked which group they will stay, which areas and paths they want to follow, develop and improve.
In the combat group, every member already learned the basis of every weapon, and now we are trying to pick our favorite one.
After a lot of experimentation, I realized that although I am pretty decent with a spear, I should focus more on wielding a sword. I am still a bit indecisive between a long katana and a pair of double sabers, so, for now, I am training in both. I've showed the most growth with a sword, but I still seem to be more proficient with the daggers, as those allow me more freedom of movement and to attack in a more unpredictable way. Well, they are not really sabers nor daggers, but more like a mixture of dao and falchion swords. As soon as I heard Gil was a terrific blacksmith, I decided to draw a bunch of weapons I witnessed in anime, in my previous life. I kept a Katana based on Ichigo's Bankai, from Bleach, and the dual Ying Yan swords from Fate/Stay night to myself and presented the other experiments to my fellow brothers and sisters. Some of them loved them while others preferred more generic weapons. Gil even went to the trouble of creating two weapons for everyone that wished to use them: the first version that is meant for training and therefore blunt; and another one for proper use, as sharp as they can be.
Everyone seems to have reached a conclusion on what kind of weapon they wish to use, at least for now.
Laxus prefers to simply use his fists and Urek favors his kicks, so they didn't want to take any weapons. However, because we haven't learned haki, they have to use gauntlets or shin armor whenever we duel with weapons. However, Laxus seems to be a big fan of Vice Admiral Garp so he was also training with throwing weapons, such as heavy cannon like balls and javelins. Urek seems to be really talented at using a hammer, perhaps due to his dream of becoming a shipwright.
Goku is easily the most talented for martial arts among all of us, perhaps even a prodigy that comes once in a generation. He is already trying to merge several styles into one of his own. A lot of the teachers admitted that he shouldn't even bother with weapons as those would just restrict him, but Goku seemed a little disappointed with it. Skimi realized that and convinced him to try and use a spear, as that should be the weapon that mostly compliments his fighting style. It didn't take long for him to master the basics of wielding it. Nevertheless, he still wasn't satisfied. Even though he had reached a point that was good enough to please Skimi, Goku still insisted that something was missing. He definitely improved a lot, but he still felt a little uncomfortable with the spear. Even though the spear increased his reach and capabilities, Goku still feels it restricts a lot of his movements.
Before Skimi could reach a conclusion, Marsit intervened and asked Goku to try similar moves but to try and use a long staff instead of a spear. Goku didn't seem too pleased as he believed that the spear should be a better alternative than the staff. Even so, he still did as he was told without complaining, as he was the student and they the teachers. Goku started spinning the staff over his head and all around him, as he had previously done with the spear. All of a sudden, Marsit performs a quick slash in his direction. Before he could even realize what he was doing, purely on instinct, Goku pushed the floor with the bottom of his staff, elevating himself several meters in the air, over the attack. As soon as he landed, he was already in position, with perfect balance and ready to counterattack. Marsit smiled and kept changing some moves with him.
Marsit: OK! That should be enough… so, what do you think?
Goku: Yes! This is it! I can simply swing the staff with my regular movements without having to focus on the position or angle of the tip of the spear. I can use it much more flexibly and defensibly.
Skimi smiled as Goku was still delighted with the result. He kept screaming "This is it!" as he hugged both Skimi and Marsit. He had finally found his perfect weapon. From then on, Goku kept using the spear and he has become incredibly harder to defeat.
Until a few months ago, Goku and Vegeta seemed like copies of each other, from their similar looks all the way to their competitive personalities, to their fighting style, to their eating habits, etc. Their paths are finally diverging now they have made different choices.
Unlike Goku, Vegeta has quite the talent with blades, to the point that he is already trying to double-wield twin samurai swords as he seems to have quite the talent with them. I never had trouble distinguishing the two of them, due to the size difference, but it's now even easier to tell them apart, as they usually carry their own weapons around.
Brolly likes to use either his mace or his fists, trying to perfect his technique by training with Heracles and his enormous baseball bat. Every time they brawl the whole patio roars with the sound of their weapons clashing.
Ulysses carries one long chokuto sword and one short wakizashi sword as his secondary weapon. He uses a similar style to Fujitora, using small hand and wrist movements to make up for the loss of speed that comes with their large size.
Aang also uses a staff, but his is a little longer and thinner than Goku. He was initially helping Goku get used to the weapon but now Goku might be the one helping him improve.
Yami uses a single-handed katana, but he also throws some pretty good kicks. He helps me improve my fighting style as there are several similarities with the way both of us fight.
Erza likes to experiment with new weapons, but still prefers to use swords. She can use the blade rather skillfully for someone of her background. She shouldn't have had much experience before she came here but she seems to be extremely talented with it. And I am not sure if it's just talent because the way she wields it seems to come with some experience. Is she hiding something? Perhaps I am just being overcautious… Gigi told me that, as of now, the government has no interest as to what we are doing as they simply believe me to be a spoiled celestial… I am probably overreacting. She is not even the most talented swordsman!
Unlike what anyone expected, Meliodas is by far the most talented with the sword among all of us. Unlike Erza, it was clear that he had no experience in the beginning, but as most of us lost interest in Kata and slashing at dummies, he focused most of his training on that and was able to be a big surprise since the first day we implemented weapons on our spars. His biggest weakness is that he still doesn't have enough physical strength. He has been able to almost defeat everyone throughout this last month, including Laxus, Urek and I, but he was unable to do so, due to the difference in our physics. He did hit us with the blunt sword, and if he had enough strength, he would be able to defeat us … however, due to his pour physique, it often felt more like a tap than a proper hit. And after those close intensive fights, he needed a lot of time to rest, or he would easily lose all the remaining matches.
Another thing that his making him have a harder time is that Meliodas decided to switch between a really big sword or a pretty small dagger … I don't really understand why, but I guess he changes them depending on the opponent. Well, I can't really say much because I also switch between my Katana and my dual swords.
Killua's weapon of choice is a spear although he also uses throwing weapons and small daggers very frequently. He focuses more on speed and agility, so he is a really tough opponent for everyone.
Gon uses mainly a katana, but he also carries dual small sabers on his back. He really is trying to be just like me. I can't really complain because he seems to have decent talent in both, so I will just let him be.
Kendrick is trying to create his fishman martial arts and plans to make weapons out of water, but he can only do whips as of now. He reminds me of Aqualad from Young Justice League.
Uriel gives more focus to seimen kikan, so she doesn't wish to use any weapons other than her hair.
Majeh prefers to use a double-edged sword.
Kenichi is trying to use a trident, but he is still pretty weak in fights. He is around the same age as Gon and Killua, but he seems to be taking a lot more time to develop his fighting style compared to those two. On the other hand, he seems to be a lot more advanced in the academic department. Maybe, in a couple of years, he will decide to abandon combat and focus more on knowledge. It doesn't really matter to me. I need both areas to be full in the future, so he is free to choose the path he wishes to follow.
I am more worried about Asta… He is a total air head so the knowledge path is nearly impossible … but worst, he is really clumsy so he can't do any proper fighting either. The only thing he has seriously improved is his physique, as he already has reached a pretty good level of strength. If only he wasn't so clumsy, he could properly fight pretty decently. In terms of fighting, he is below even Kenichi, a 3-year-old kid whose favorite hobby is reading.
And then we have the members that prefer to avoid sparring. Lilith is the only one that has tried to master a weapon. She decided to become a sniper, being that she isn't a really good fighter but has pretty good eyes and steady hands. She tried using a gun and it seemed her accuracy was pretty good, so she decided to give it her best. Alice chose to use a set of small throwing knives, but she only has a decent talent for it. She trains it in case she needs it to defend herself or others in extreme situations where she must depend on herself.
Merlin has some good accuracy with the bow, but she opts to direct all of her focus to acquiring new knowledge and information. I think I am going to make her head of intel, making her something like a googling device. Every time I came across an unknown subject, I will turn to her to get as much information on it as I can. Something like what Robin did in the Straw Hats. Finally, we have Erina and Raxel who have almost no battle power, so I rather not involve them in weapon training. They stayed for a couple of sessions to understand the very basics of defending themselves, but that was about it.
As I was saying, before I got distracted with weapons, each member has, finally, found his place and took the first step in the long and unending path that is perfecting oneself.
In the Combat group we have Laxus, Goku, Vegeta, Brolly, Heracles, Ulysses, Yami, Gon, Majeh and Asta keeping me company.
In the Mixed group are Urek, Uriel, Aang, .Erza, Killua and Meliodas.
In the Specialized group we can find Lilith, Alice, Merlin, Erina and Raxel.
In the Dive Force remains only Kendrick and Kenichi, as of now.
We have different classes available, so that everyone can learn exactly what they want.
Swordsmanship was the favorite one, as most of us decided to study it, such as I, Vegeta, Ulysses, Yami, Erza, Gon, Kendrick, Majeh, Meliodas and Asta. The second most favored one is martial arts studied by me, Laxus, Urek, Goku, Yami, Gon, Uriel and Asta.
In weapon mastery one would learn to deal with other weapons, such as spears and clubs, so it was the perfect choice for Goku, Brolly, Heracles, Aang, Erza, Killua and Kenichi.
Besides this, we also have a Beast taming class, frequented by me, Gon and Kenichi as we all liked to deal with animals.
In Biology one would learn everything about the human body, and it was pretty useful for someone looking for ways to improve themselves, their martial arts or simply to further progress their understanding of the human body. This made Laxus, Vegeta, Ulysses, Uriel, Majeh, Alice, Erina and Raxel join it.
Brolly and Heracles wished to be hunters, so we created a special Survival class for them.
For Killua, Meliodas and Lilith we created a Presence Hiding class.
Urek wished to be our shipwright, as he and his brother once dreamt about creating a ship that could travel through the skies, so I made sure he could get that knowledge and make that dream come through. He is not only taking Shipwrighting as he is also learning about aerodynamics.
Aang is some sort of Buddhist, I guess, so he wished for some time to meditate. We created a special quiet space just for him and anybody else that wished for a peaceful moment.
Erza is really interested in weapons and armors and that same interest transgressed into blacksmithing and tailoring, so I convinced the household blacksmith, Gil, and several talented tailors around our house to take her under their wing. They were all extremely good in their respective fields so it would be hard to find better teachers.
We still haven't been able to find a fishman to teach Kenichi and Kendrick, so, for now, fishman studies is for them to experiment and put to practice what Dr. Frank theorized. They seem to be making some progress so it should be okay for now.
Alice and Erina wanted to be cooks, so both of them are also studying cooking and simple medicine.
Raxel wanted to be a doctor, so she was taking more intense Medicine classes in her private sessions.
Merlin not only takes General classes, where she learns a bit of everything, as she also studies different subjects by herself and attends other classes she finds interesting, such as navigation together with Kendrick or aerodynamics together with Urek. In her free time, she tries to read every book she can find.
In these two months we were able to get our hands on quite a couple of teachers, but I still want to have more. Ideally, I want every member to have a private teacher that will focus only on a couple of members, one at a time. They would have only two or three students, no more, even when new recruits arrive. Kind of like a private tutor that would help us use everything we learned and develop it into our own styles.
I knew Gigi was going to be trying his best, but I wasn't expecting him to get such good results! Not only did he get me a bunch of new great teachers, one for each extra class I asked, as he also, somehow, got 3 talented scientists to help Dr. Mark.
We got Dr Frank, who specializes in biology, but has a certain interest in inhuman creatures, reason why he is helping in the fishmen studies. He seemed fascinated when he learned I planned to have all kinds of species in my crew. I could see him thinking about all the experiments he wanted to do... I was a little worried, but he assured me that he wouldn't harm them nor do anything they weren't comfortable with.
We also got Dr John, whose major field of studies is physics, but he also likes to study other non-related subjects. He seems to be interested in a little bit of everything. He seems to have a certain knowledge about several elements and minerals, about weapons, about chemicals, about robotics, etc. He also had his own studies but, most of the time, he focused on helping other people. He even took some of his time to give some classes.
Finally, Dr Peanuts, which main focus is chemistry, with a special interest on dangerous substances such as explosives or poisons. I don't know for sure, but I still think that he is just as dangerous as Caesar … but at least he has a moral compass.
I don't know where Gigi found them, but they are all incredibly good in their fields, perhaps even on the level of Vegapunk. It seems that my crew will definitely impact this world!
I also know that Gigi has been collecting several devil fruits, but he hasn't shown a single one to me yet. I don't know whether he is afraid that I will be disappointed with what he has gotten me or if he is just waiting to surprise me. Either way, the Tontatta found the Heal Heal fruit about three weeks ago and should be arriving sometime today, so I should take that chance to question him about it.
…
As planned, the Tontatta arrived this afternoon and we finally get the chance to personally meet each other.
Me: Welcome to our base of operations. This will be the place all of you will be able to call home.
I could see that the Tontattas were all really surprised with the size of the base. Truth be told, this place is huge. Not even a giant would dare to consider the place anything else other than enormous, so these little guys couldn't even find the words to describe it. Even so, I could see that there still were a handful of dwarves that were doubting my words. But only a handful in about 2.000 is a really small amount. And after introducing them to everyone and showing them how everything works, I am pretty confident to say that amount turned to 0. But now that I see them, they really are much more than what I was expecting. In the main story line, only about 200 joined the straw hat fleet, so I wasn't counting on these many joining me. Originally, those 200 should have been the ones that survived Doflamingo's takeover, the endless labor, the torture, the final battle to retrieve Dressrosa and were still young enough to travel the seas and willing to adventure throughout the world. I guess a lot of their race really did die… well, at least this way I feel like it really is the best move for them to join me.
The rest of my crew were just as happy as the dwarves as they could finally get a day off and party. Although we usually were all really happy with our situation and nobody was having a bad time, every day was about training. We all liked training but, even though we had the night for whatever we wanted, it felt good to change the vibe sometimes. However, parties and celebrations only happened when new members arrived, so they were waiting for this moment for quite some time.
Either way, I send some Tontatta to deliver the fruit to Dr Mark so that he could confirm that was indeed what we were looking for.
The party kept going and everyone was getting along with each other. The Tontatta were acting weird at the beginning, because they thought it was strange that someone as "young" as me was the one in charge of all of this, but as they kept talking to everybody, they seemed to have thrown those thoughts out of the window. They also had several conversations with me since we first met, so they knew I have what it takes. They simply didn't know I was so young until they met me.
Eventually, someone comes to call me to Dr Mark's office, as he has already done his evaluations and is waiting for me. I call the Tontatta chief and Gigi, telling both of them to come with me. We arrive and Doc seems pretty excited.
Dr Mark: Hi! You finally arrived! This new devil fruit you brought is just amazing. Well, it is a paramecia fruit like no other. It actually allows the user to heal other people using only his stamina. Well, I am not sure of how many ways there are to use this power as it is my first encounter with this type of fruit. When you first presented me with the idea of this fruit, I sketched a drawing on how it would look like, but to be honest, I never completely believed it was real …
Me: Indeed, this fruit is so amazing that it seems unreal. It is the best fruit we could get right now! This is just great! Great job Gancho!
Gancho was the representative of the dwarves. He had spoken with me several times during the last few months through the Den Den mushi we gave them, so both of us had gotten a little familiar with each other.
Gancho: No problem! You are our leader now, so it is or job to try and make you happy. Are the other fruits we brought to your liking as well? Because they looked strange as well, we decided to bring them to you.
Me: Other fruits?
Doc then explains to me that he had also brought several other devil fruits, most of them were normal zoan insect fruits, but one was especially interesting. It was the Stich Stich paramecia.
Me: Oh… you did even better than what I was expecting. Not only did you find the devil fruit much sooner than I planned, but you were also able to find extra ones. As a reward and proof of good faith, I decided to grant all these zoan devil fruits to you, as I trust you to choose among your subordinates. It shall be proof of our union. As for the stich fruit, I am going to leave that one on the side until a great Dwarf warrior rises and earns the right to eat it.
Gancho was falling for everything I said. In truth, none of the insect zoans were all that useful to me either way, so I could only benefit by giving them to him. They should be pretty good as a couple of them could give an exoskeleton as hard as armor and a decent increase in strength. However, I still think they will be more useful to them than to me. That way I can also rest more peacefully knowing that they are strong enough to protect themselves against most of the forces they can find. The Tontatta are so gullible that Gancho considers those fruits as a gift from me when they were the ones who found them in the first place! The only one I kept was the Stich Stich fruit because I planned to give it to Leo when he grew older and make him join the main crew. It will be really useful to have a strong tailor with useful abilities on our travels.
I send the dwarf away to spread the good news to his people. Gigi realizes I give him a look, so he doesn't leave.
Gigi: Is there a problem, my dear Zeus?
Me: None, I think … it's just … I know you have some more devil fruits but … why don't you want to show them to me?
Gigi: Well … I am … I just … let me show you the fruits first ….
And as soon as he says that Doc takes the fruits he had in a safe and shows me the results of Gigi's hard work.
Paramecia Gold Gold fruit, allowing one to manipulate all gold around them as well as hardening it or making it take any given shape. It was the fruit that allowed Tesoro to grow on the world and to become feared by many.
Paramecia Grow Grow fruit, it allows one to control and communicate with plants. The user is able to make plants grow beyond reason and common sense, as they are also able control it as they see fit. The fruit's power shows the most capabilities when the user is in a forest or in a field with a lot of herbs and vegetation but is basically worthless when there are no plants nearby. However, there exists ways to avoid that, such as carrying seeds or small plants. The user is especially weak towards fire. This fruit should be the one later acquired by Zephyr's subordinate, Binz.
Logia Ash Ash fruit, which allows the user to create, control and transform into ash at will. It is capable of defending against most explosives without its user taking any damage.
Zoan Rabbit Rabbit model: Lapahn, allowing its user to change forms into a giant rabbit, reaching a maximum height of almost 7 meters. The user gains a good increase in strength besides a gigantic increase in speed.
Ancient Zoan Ape Ape model: Blue Gorilla, which allows the user to turn into a giant-sized blue gorilla. If the user can properly dominate the fruit, they can make their hybrid form take any size between the user's normal height and the Giant Gorilla.
Mythical Zoan Dragon Dragon Model: Leviathan!!! A fruit that allows its users to become a giant sea dragon that can reach the bottoms of the ocean as well as the clouds in the skies. The user should be able to freely control and bend water to their will. Besides it's great offensive abilities, the user can attain extremely hard scales and the perfect skills to control the seas.
Oh my god! I can't believe I get all of these fruits at the same time.
… I don't even know how to react …
The heal fruit was already more than enough to make my day. Scratch that, it would be enough to make my whole week.
And the other bonus fruits were already great because they consolidated our union with the dwarves.
Grow Grow and Ash Ash are not the best fruits, but they can be pretty decent if their users master them. The Lapahn devil fruit is pretty good but nothing worth mentioning. The Ancient Blue Gorilla seems like a pretty good devil fruit, but I don't have enough information.
The gold fruit should only be okay because it cannot create gold itself, but only control it. However, I am incredibly rich so I can easily attain a lot of gold. This will definitely help me reach unlimited power.
All of these would already make me jump and scream from excitement.
How the hell am I supposed to react after getting a Mythical devil fruit???
Even something on the level of a Logia would leave much to be desired in front of the Mythical Dragon fruit. I remember that Kaido has a similar fruit and that will contribute a lot to his future achievements. I never even expected to get something of the same level on this life... especially not so soon. I know Kaidou already ate his own, so I never even considered getting another one like it … but now … it is in front of me … I can't believe I haven't eaten it yet. I am just glad I am in this safe place where no one will dare to invade. At least not for now … I guess Fisher Tiger will come to Mariejois in a couple of years, but I don't know how far he will be able to go. In the anime, they only mentioned he freed the slaves, so I have no idea. Either way, our base is one of the furthest away from the gate, with more protection around us than any other family. According to my memories and calculations, I still don't need to worry about that for a couple more years. By then, we should be strong enough to help defend our own base.
Me: Why did you sound so disappointed Gigi? Did you not know what these fruits mean? I would assume that you would gloat about this for months if not years and make me praise you for that. And I would even be willing to do so!
Gigi: Oh well … it's just that … never mind … just go ahead … I will explain to you when you are older …
Me: Ok, I guess… either way, please put them in the devil fruits room and make sure they are safe.
Gigi: …You are not going to eat one of them???
Me: … no… I mean, they are safe there, right? Do you think anyone would be able to steal them?
Gigi: Oh no, they are definitely safe! No one would dare to even think about stealing them. What I meant was to ask was if you are hoping to get your hands on a stronger one? These were already pretty hard to come by so it should take quite some time to find one on these level …
I realize that although Gigi is truly confused and agitated, he still seems to be speaking the truth. However, even though he mostly sounds somewhat irritated and annoyed, I can notice a slight happy and hopeful gaze on his eyes … almost as if he is internally celebrating the fact that I didn't ate those devil fruits. His he perhaps against me loosing the ability to swim? Perhaps e just doesn't like the idea of me eating a devil fruit?
Me: Well, I don't know for sure which devil fruit would be perfect for me, but I don't plan on eating any of them until I have a certain level of strength. I don't want to focus too much on the devil fruit and forget the rest so …
Besides, I am not even sure what kind of fruit I want … Logia, Zoan or Paramecia … They each have their own qualities. The dragon fruit seems pretty good, but I am not sure it is the best choice… maybe? I do like the ability to control water and the nearly indestructible scales but between that one and the lightning lightning fruit … it's a hard choice. I guess I will just keep waiting till the day I have to choose. For now, only the support fruits shall be eaten, so please bring me the Heal and Bubbles fruits so that I can assign them to someone.
Gigi: Yagagagaga! Perhaps if you keep waiting, you will find a better devil fruit. I promise you, if you give me enough time, I will get you the best devil fruit. Just give me enough time! Yagagagagag!
I am not sure if he means it or if he just doesn't want me to eat any devil fruits, but I guess I will trust him. He has done so much for me that I have no reason why I should not put my faith on him. Even if I don't eat those awesome devil fruits, I can still become strong without them and those fruits won't be put to waste as they will be eaten by a companion of mine. Their strength is my strength and my strength is theirs, so no point in worrying about it.
The day keeps going and so does the party. Eventually, I assign the Tontatta to their own building and they officially became part of our group. They will not train with us, so their organization is a little different. I told them that they should stay for a month, at the very least, to get used to their new lifestyle and, only then, could they consider when they would begin to work. They seem a little impatient and want to help me as soon as possible so I help them plan how everything will go. We decided that among all the dwarves, the oldest, the most talented, the youngest and their parents would stay on the base. The elders and the talented ones' jobs will be to instruct the youngest dwarves as their parents should just raise them and try to help out as much as they can. All the other dwarves should work as part of our intel force, stationing themselves all over the seas. Whenever one of them gets sick or pregnant they can come back to base and stay for as long as they need. In fact, anyone that does not wish to go can stay here without any punishment. My initial idea wasn't supposed to be so much more favorable to the Tontattas but after seeing how friendly and eager they are to help, I had to come up with measures to make sure I wasn't taking too much advantage of them.
Before we even decide where everyone will go, I assign a small team of the best warriors in the Tontatta Tribe to go to Birka. Urek and Aang help me show them the general location on a map and this elite force is tasked with finding Eneru, contacting us immediately and, only after, should they begin looking for the lightning lightning fruit. Everyone was extremely excited. The Tontatta elite group was eager to take on their first mission and show us how talented they are. The angels were eager to know of the whereabouts of Eneru and everybody on Birka.
The morning comes and with it a new day of training. Before all of us start our routines, I decide to create a meeting, so we all assemble in the Big Yard. I give a little speech about our plans and try to improve their motivation as much as I can.
Me: So, as you remember, I want to make our crew the strongest possible, hence why we all need to start training so soon, so hard, almost every day. And I also believe acquiring the best devil fruits will help us to become even stronger. So, today, I present to you the first two devil fruits that will be eaten. As most of you have already realized, I already have quite a few good ones, but I believe we are still too young and too weak for those. These two are different. And so, I ask that both Erina and Alice to come here.
They look at each other, excited, get up simultaneously and hurriedly rush towards me.
Me: Before anything, I must ask: Are you really sure you wish to eat these devil fruits? You know what happens to those who eat them!
Both of them nod, still pretty excited for what they might get.
Me: Very well! Both these devil fruits are meant for support … are you sure you still want them? Once you eat them there is no turning back…
They take almost no time to think and quickly answer.
Erina: Well, I don't like fighting and I really don't have a talent for it, so I think it's for the best.
Alice: I can throw some knives but that's about all I can do so … I also prefer to focus on support.
Me: Perfect! Then here you go!
I gave the first fruit to Alice. I gave her the Bubbles Bubbles fruit and explained as best as I could the several uses of the fruit. The most visible ability was obstructing several minor enemies, but I explained to her that I was pretty sure that if she perfected her powers, she could also use the fruit to help her teammates' physical condition. It could work like some kind of special spa.
I asked her to try her new acquired powers on Asta, as he unknowingly volunteered himself. She used her power and he immediately turned clean, shiny, sparkly and extremely smooth. He kind of looked like an old cartoon. He, eventually, fell on the ground as his legs were no longer strong enough to support the rest of his body. Asta complained that he was feeling weaker and weaker. I explained all of the strengths and weakness of the fruit, as I threw a bucket of water towards Asta and brought him back to normal. I kept telling her that she needed to experiment to figure out anything more and to perfect her usage of the fruit. She looks really happy and excited with her new abilities. It seems it was a good fit.
I turn to Erina and give her the other fruit, the Heal Heal fruit, giving her a proper explanation on all of the abilities the fruit brings as well. Manly all the ways it could help heal our crew. I explain that she can even restore inanimate objects, but she shouldn't try it as it will shorten her lifespan.
Erina: I know it's already too late, as I have eaten it, but wouldn't this devil fruit be more suited for Raxel? She wants to be a doctor afterall…
Me: I have already spoken to all of you before about devil fruits and she was among the ones that does not wish to consume it. Besides, the Heal fruit is extremely good, but it's not perfect. I think it would work best if you both work together.
She looks at Raxel and they both smile towards each other. Erina seems convinced so we move on towards the experimentation phase once again.
Asta seems a little reluctant, but eventually agrees to be a test subject again. Alice creates some sort of honey drops from her hands and places them on Asta. He immediately feels his condition improving and his stamina returning to normal. I explain that she needs to get used to the fruit and to not exert herself. Her powers depend heavily on her stamina so she should try to improve it. I am not really worried about that though. Even though she's only a part of the specialized group, she still performs the mornings exercises with everyone. In the original timeline, Princess Cherry was the devil fruit owner and she seemed incredibly weak. Even so, the Doflamingo pirates still used her powers on minor subordinates, meaning the fruit shouldn't be that much demanding.
I explain that I believe she can find new uses for the fruit and even try to fuse them with her cooking. According to Ivankov, some special recipes can help whoever eats it, making them stronger and more energetic. Both her and Alice are already learning something similar, but if she can infuse these powers to that same food … it would almost be the same as a healing potion. And if we take them every day, in every meal not only will our bodies become stronger as we will also be able to train to our hearts content.
Me: So that is it for today. Thank you everyone…
Everyone else seemed a little disappointed that only those two received devil fruits and most of them were reluctant to leave.
Me: Ok, I understand that the rest of you also want to get a devil fruit and the cool powers that come with it … and you will, if you still want to, when the time is right … for now just focus on becoming as strong as you can be. That way you can use your devil fruit in a much better way and become even stronger.
They understood my intentions, as I have already explained before how getting a devil fruit too soon might make you forget the basics and other points you might need to improve. I remember that Zed once pointed out that Borsalino was still too dependent on his fruit and he was already an admiral, so it should be really easy to get lost on the power that comes with the fruit.
One month passed along and Alice and Erina have finally become proficient enough to use their devil fruit powers in our daily life. Every time we finish a training session, we all can simply relax in the bathhouse and enjoy the Bubbles Bubbles fruit benefits. That's already pretty good but put together with the Heal Heal infused meals, and we can train all day long without straining ourselves. Because they properly developed their devil fruits, we can now easily relax and recharge our bodies and minds. Our morale has never been better.
For these reasons, everyone can now give it their all in sparring, as even if they do get injured, it won't take long for them to recover. We only have to be careful of broken bones and such, as those take quite a lot longer to heal. Other than that, only a couple of minutes and you are as good as new.
Perepereperepere … Perepereperepere … Pereperepere_gotcha
It has been about a month since the Tontatta have left in search of Birka. They have been searching for it this whole time, as they only informed me now that they have finally found it. It took them another full month to finally be able to contact Eneru. According to them, he seemed a little suspicious of the dwarves, so they simply said they were his allies and slowly handed him the Den Den mushi. As soon as I realized who was calling me, I went to get Urek.
I knew he tried to avoid asking about how the mission was going. In these past 8 months he was really worried but avoided showing it. When I informed him that the Dwarves had finally reached Birka, I could tell that he was really nervous and excited, but he still tried to remain calm and maintain a serious face.
I contacted him through a giant speaker Den Den Mushi whose sound reaches all off the household and it only took a couple of seconds for him to arrive. It seems he was also waiting and hoping to be called. I didn't say anything and simply passed him the Den Den Mushi, with a smile on my face. He had a confused look as he was still trying to fight the emotions that were trying to show on his face. He was somehow holding it all in but when he picked up the Den Den mushi and heard his brother voice, he couldn't contain his tears. I left him alone with his brother and told him to inform me when all was taken care off. I also told him that he could take as long as he wanted to. I went to train and about half an hour passed by before he contacted me again.
Me: So soon? When I said you could take as long as you wanted to, I meant it. Even a full day would be acceptable. You can always make up for the missing training tomorrow…
Urek: Thank you Z, but I am all right. I just needed to know he is safe. He told me he was about to get caught a couple of days ago, but then someone caused a distraction and allowed him to escape. I know the dwarves must have been responsible for that so I must thank you as well. You were the one that convinced me to join you and you were the one who send them to save my brother. Thank you…
Me: No point in taking things so far. We may not be blood brothers, but we are brother in arms.
Urek: Thank you… Thank you very much…
I noticed that he was acting a little weird … almost as if there was something else … something he wished to say but couldn't get the words out of his mouth.
Me: What is it? Is there something you want to say?
Urek: Well … after everything it seems hard to ask but …
Me: Wait … Do you wish to leave the family? Do you wish to join your brother???
To be honest, I am really reluctant of letting him leave, but if he really wants to, I can't stop him. If he really wishes to go to his brother, then there isn't much I can do.
Urek: Wait … what??? No, I would never … It is actually the opposite … I was wondering if my brother could become a part of our crew as well. I know it is asking a little too much after how much you already helped me … showing me how to deal with my anger, giving me power, saving my brother, I can't thank you enough … but … I really need to ask this … I promise you he is pretty strong, and he can even use that same technique as the young lord, mantra or kenbushou haki as you call it! … and I made sure he wouldn't come back before he finds the devil fruit and personally delivers it to you. And I promise you, he will be obedient. Please, Young Lord …
I was so surprised that I had to take a while to get my thoughts together. I was afraid that Urek wanted to leave, but as it turns out, he actually wants me to accept Eneru. I wasn't sure what was going to happen after I brought Eneru back … I didn't even think about it. This is actually the best possible option.
Me: Why are you so worried? Even calling me young lord…
Don't you know what my goal is? It's to make the strongest crew! If you know someone strong that wishes to join us, obviously I will accept him. Even if he was a bother, I would still accept him because he is your brother.
Urek keeps crying as he hugs me, still shacking and trying to take control of all the emotions he is filling right now.
Urek: Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me!
Me: I already told you, don't worry about it. We are brothers, and brothers always help each other. But are you sure that you don't want him to come to us right away? I know how much you miss him, and it will probably still take some time to find the fruit.
Urek finally stops crying, wipes his tears and regains back a bit of his usual fearless aura.
Urek: No problem! We are people of pride so it will make him feel better to bring you something. If you accepted him just like that, he would feel like he was being a burden. I told him how you accepted the Tontatta and was able to convince him to do things this way.
Me: As you wish. Let's get back to training then.
It took about 6 months for Eneru and the Tontatta to come back with the devil fruit. As soon as he came in, the two brothers hugged and a couple of tears started running across both of their faces. It was a really sentimental moment. Aang and Uriel were also there, and I could see that even though they were trying to stay composed, both of their faces were also a mess as they were crying even more than the other two. I am pretty sure they were tempted to turn it into a group hug, but they didn't want to ruin the moment. I was expecting Eneru to make his way to those two afterwards, but instead he came right at my direction, looked down at me and before I could even say anything, he kneeled in front of me and kept looking at the ground.
Eneru: I just want to show my appreciation for the way you took care of my brother and his friends. I can feel that he has grown a lot stronger since the last time I met him, and I have a feeling that most of it is because of you. There is nothing I can do or say that will make this debt any smaller. Nonetheless, I have brought you this devil fruit in hopes that it can help diminish this debt.
As soon as he finished his sentence, he gave me the Lightning Lightning devil fruit.
Eneru: As for saving my life and allowing me to join your crew, I do not have anything to present you, so I ask that you give me a task so that I can repay you.
This behavior is the opposite from what I was expecting. This Eneru is completely different from the one in my memories … I guess that something brutal must have happened to make him change this much.
He started calling himself God after consuming the lightning devil fruit, but I don't think that was all it took for him to change so drastically. Right now, he still has his wings and was reunited with his brother, so I have already created a hypothesis on what was supposed to happen, had I not intervened... According to my speculations, Urek should have either died or remained as a normal slave, never getting the opportunity to return home or contact his brother. Eneru should have been caught and, as some kind of punishment, they took his wings. He should have been able to eventually escape, and, by chance, he acquired the Rumble Rumble fruit. After getting all that power he must have made sure every enemy paid for their sins, destroying all of it in the process. This should explain why he is so different right now, not losing his brother and becoming a victim of torture… but I guess I will never know the truth. It doesn't really matter either way. And I think I got the perfect fruit for him, but for now he needs to become stronger with everyone.
Me: You do not need to act like that. You will soon be one of us, so no point with all the formalities. I helped your brother because he is one of us. I made him stronger because his strength is my strength, same as mine is his. I will accept the devil fruit but not as a way of payment, but as a favor, from one brother to the other. And if you really want to help me then the best task you can accomplish is becoming as strong as you possibly can.
Eneru was hit with a loss of words but eventually nodded. I presented him to everyone and let the party begin. I let everyone take the day off and celebrate the reunion of our new member. No training today.
In fact, I think it is a little tiring to train every single day like this. Even if we have fruits that can helps us be in perfect physical and mental shape, it is still good to take a breath of fresh air every now and then. So, I decide that at least once every fifteen days there shall be a day when we play sports in the morning and the afternoon shall remain free for group activities, such as parties. Most of what we can do on our free time is related to sports and childish games. I am not really a fan of the second one, so I taught them about several sports from my previous world and we usually create teams and compete with each other, although we still need a couple more members to make things more interesting.
I wanted to make the whole day free, but what's the point? Even if I wanted to do more things, I don't have a lot of hobbies being that a lot of the previous activities in my old world aren't possible in this one due to poor technology advancements.
We are too young to drink and we have feasts almost every day … and we even got our own private time every evening to make sure we do whatever we want to. I myself, usually spend that time reading. In my old life I used to love reading fantastic and fictional stories but now … my current life is already filled with such things, so I mostly find joy in reading books to acquire more knowledge, although my collection is almost nothing compared to Merlin's…
The next day comes along and Eneru officially joins us, as he is now part of the crew.
Eneru was nowhere near as strong as he is in the original story. Besides being much younger, he didn't get to eat the Lightning devil fruit and even his mantra is much weaker. Nevertheless, he's still pretty decent and is able to train with all of us. I decided to put him in the same group as his brother because both of them seemed to have similar likings. Eneru immediately became a part of the Mixed group and started taking shipwright, aerodynamics and weapon mastery classes, as he used to dream of building ships with his brother and uses a long staff as a weapon.
With Eneru here, we decide to create an extra class, mandatory for every member. Haki lessons. For now, we are all too weak and inexperienced for armament haki, so observation will have to do. The first lessons are meant to be theoretical, but the remaining ones are meant to be practical exercises. Instructor Bogard has agreed to teach everyone Kenbunshoku Haki, mantra for short. I already reached quite an advanced level and I can finally start predicting moves. I have been developing this ability for quite some time. I literally have been practicing this from the moment I was born, so I already have 5 years of experience.
My development was much slower than Luffy, but I didn't have anyone to teach me, so I got to this point merely by relying on my previous memories of it. I started by using presence sensing, then reached emotion sensing, a couple of months ago I reached strength sensing and now I can finally start feeling intent sensing. I am sure that, with proper guidance, I will be able to reach an extremely high level of haki.
Me: Instructor Bogard. I just wanted to inform you that I previously explained to everyone the basic concept haki, but I didn't get too into it. I have not taught them anything because I haven't mastered it and my understanding isn't enough to teach anyone. Basically, I just explained to them that there was a certain technique that allows one to see things without using their eyes and another technique that allows one to create some sort of armor around one's body that can work either offensive or defensively. I also mentioned how it is also one of the few ways to confront certain devil fruit eaters, especially the ones from the logia category. I didn't teach them anything concrete because I rather they learnt from proper teachers.
Bogard: Very well. Then I don't need to approach what haki is but simply how it works. Well done. It was a good decision to not teach them based on your experiences as haki is a bit different for everyone. If you try to explain what it is without having a clear concept of it, then they might misinterpret what it really is it and have more trouble afterwards, because they will have conflicting ideas on how to develop it.
Instructor Bogard starts his class and begins by giving some more information on haki. He was able to give a much more detailed description and explanation, compared to my simple approach. The first few classes went as planned and all he did was give the theoretical knowledge. But apparently, that was enough for several people to start grasping that power. Laxus was among the first ones to understand it and use it accordingly. He could grasp presence sensing in the very first lesson. I understand that this is the easiest form of haki, but after only a couple lessons he already reached the same degree as me in Intent sensing… His physical strength has already reached mine and now his mantra two… I don't know for how long I can stay in front of him…
Eneru already had some bases, so he also quickly understood it. When he joined us, he could already use presence sensing to a certain degree, which was extremely useful to avoid getting caught when he was on the run in Birka. He could also use some emotion sensing, but now he finally learned about intention sensing. Urek and Aang didn't take that much longer to understand both presence and emotion sensing, and it probably won't take long to reach intent sensing.
Goku, Vegeta, Erza and Brolly took a little longer than Laxus and the others, but they still managed to grasp at intention sensing pretty quickly.
Gon can only start to understand emotion sensing. Killua and Kenichi seemed to focus more on presence sensing. They are among our youngest, so the fact they can still understand it so quickly is pretty impressive.
Yami, Majeh, Meliodas, Heracles, Ulysses, Kendrick and Lilith took a little longer than most, but eventually started grasping at presence and emotion sensing.
Once the theoretical part was all taught, Bogard decided we were ready for the practical classes. As such, he taught us several exercises to improve our observation skills.
The first level was to simply cover our eyes and try to figure out what was happening around us.
The second level was blind hitting, where we were supposed to cover our own eyes and hit small moving targets.
The third level was blind dodging and, similarly to the previous level, we had to cover our eyes and dodge from whatever attacks were coming our way.
Each level had different difficulties, as the easier levels had less obstacles compared to the higher levels. One would increase as they progressed. There was supposed to be another level, but I guess we still were too weak for it.