Chapter 5:

Training Begins

Summary:

Shanks starts the boys training, has his interview with Nighteye and Naomasa Tuskauchi. Night eye observes the boys training.

The boys wake up at 5am to make breakfast. Katsuki suggests whole wheat toast and cereals. Izuku goes to the fridge and grabs fresh fruit, yogurt, low fat milk and eggs. He helps Katsuki prepare a healthy filling breakfast before their workout. Not knowing the plan for today they do not want to show up with an empty stomach or eating any foods that would cause cramping or vomiting. After breakfast they head upstairs to get their training clothes on. At 6am they are out the door to walk to Dagobah Beach.

Arriving at the beach Izuku leads the boys to the clearing they were in yesterday and starts pre-workout stretching. After stretching Izuku suggests a light jog to get the blood flowing. At 6:50 they return to the clearing and continue stretching until Shanks arrives.

The boys notice Shanks entering the clearing a few minutes later carrying the notebooks. Shanks approaches the boys oozing a commanding presence. Handing out the notebooks to each of the boys, he greets his students.

"Good morning boys, from now on when we are training, I will be referred to as Shanks-Sensei, or just Sensei. After training I do not care what you call me. I will be in the mind frame that I am your Teacher not your guardian I will not coddle you. I will push you too your limits and then beyond those limits. I will not half-ass your training, this training will be brutal, it will be hard, it will feel like somedays you wont be able to continue, I promise you when you are older in your hero careers you will look back on this time and be glad that you fought through the pain, conquered your limits and weaknesses, and earned your place among the best. The only way to fail is to give up. If you cannot accept this leave." Shanks states with a hint of Haki lacing his voice, red lightning buzzing under his skin and sparking the ground at his feet.

The boys are awestruck eyes wide; they process this information and settle on determined grins. Ace and Katsuki both sporting a more ferocious grin. Shanks looks at the boys makes note of the commitment and determination on each of the boys faces. He nods mostly to himself satisfied that his motivational speech worked. He cares about the boys and owes Izuku and Katsuki for saving their lives and taking them in, he will take this training seriously as if he was training his crew for battle.

"Any questions before we begin looking at the notebooks?" Shanks questions after giving them a moment to settle.

"No Sensei." The boys immediately respond with respect.

"Now open the notebooks I have placed in front of you" Shanks pauses until the rustling of papers stops. "the first page is a copy of your quirk registration form. The second page is a break down of what you are all going to learn. Some of you may need more help in some areas that will be addressed later. We will be doing a physical fitness test today to see where you rank in terms of Strength, Speed, Stamina, Endurance, Flexibility, Reaction Time, and Observation. My teaching methods may appear to be unorthodox, but I will teach you the way I was taught: Hands on through trial and error. The next few pages are team-based training all four of you are a team, your goal would be to work together as a unit to complete the objective leadership roles and strategizing will alternate. After that you will practice working in pairs to improve combo moves, covering weaknesses and blind spots, you will learn to fight and defend effectively as a group, a pair or individually. After that section are the three forms of Haki that I will be teaching you on. It is a power that was in my world that every living thing if trained properly could unlock. I know all three and I will teach them to you. Towards the back of the book is a list of weapons that I will be testing your compatibility, you will all be required to be able to wield a sword at an intermediate level. If you want Mastery Level, I will teach you. Any questions so far?"

"Shanks- Sensei what is Haki?" Izuku asks.

"When we start that lesson, I will explain the three types and give a demonstration. Anything else?"

"Sensei, why do we not have quirk training in here?" Katsuki asks a little bummed he would be doing quirk training.

Shanks sees the little pout and sighs "I did not put it in there because for now we can not train quirks. I was informed that public use of quirks is against the law. If I get this job with Might Tower, I will be able to open a legal quirk training gym. So, plan on not being able to use quirks for training for at least a week. Does that answer all questions?" Getting nods from the boys he continues "All right we are going to start the physical exam. First we will do a sprint test."

Shanks takes a long piece of metal and sticks it in the sand. "You will run as fast as you can to here and I will time you. Ready. Get set. Go." The boys sprint to the metal pole. Katsuki and Ace tie at 10 seconds. Izuku come in at 10.6 seconds. Finally, Luffy comes in at 11 seconds. Shanks tells the boys their results and tells them to put it in their notebooks. For the next event he finds a microwave that weights 25LBS and several heavier things ranging to 50LBS. "Next event is strength, you will each attempt to push these objects as far as you can they range from 25LBS to will go first"

Ace gets ready at starts with the 25LBS he pushes it 40m, next is the 35LBS he pushes it 25m. Finally, he reaches the 50LBS he pushes it 20m. "Next is Katsuki," Shanks calls.

Bakugo pushes the 25LBS 35m, the 35LBS 30m, and the 50LBS 20m. "Next is Izuku"

Izuku pushes the 25 LBS 25m, The 35LBS 15m, and the 50LBS 5m. "Luffy your up"

Luffy pushes the 25 LBS 30m, the 35LBS 25m, and the 50LBS 15m. "Good work everyone next is the flexibility test. We will be using the sit-and-reach test."

The boys sit down and do the sit- and- reach test. Luffy being rubber got the highest score. The other three were even at about 6inches. Shanks records the results "Next we will do the plank test" The boys get into an elbow plank Shanks starts the timer. Izuku can hold the position for 23 seconds, Ace is the second to collapse at 29 seconds. Katsuki takes a knee at 32 seconds. Luffy is shaking and falls at 35 seconds.

Shanks sensed a powerful presence behind him and looked toward the two people standing behind him in the distance. He flares his Haki to acknowledge them. "Ok let's take a few minutes for a break. Stretch for a few minutes. We will start distance running in 10 minutes. I have to talk to someone" Shanks hands out bottles of water. Shanks walks over and greets Nighteye and Naomasa.

"Good morning" Greets Shanks.

"Good Morning, I assume you are Shanks? I am Nighteye we talked on the phone. This is the detective I told you about yesterday he is a human lie detector." Nighteye greets.

"Good morning, my name is Naomasa Tuskauchi. A little about my abilities I am called True Man, my ability allows me to detect when someone is lying. My eyes change color green resembles no lies, yellow resemble partial lies such as left out information; if in the case of a secret just tell me you can't say. Red appears for blatant lies. In order to use my quirk, I need verbal consent from you. Do you consent?"

"Yes, First I think Nighteye should look through my memories, so he has an idea of what my world was like. And what questions he should ask."

"Agreed, but first do you consent to some basic questions?" Shanks nods and waits for the first question.

"What is your name?"

"Shanks." Green.

"How old are you?"

"25." Green.

"Tell me a lie."

"I was born in Japan." Red.

"Ok I have finished the conditions to use my quirk, Sir Nighteye will look through your memories, and we will open the floors to his questions." Naomasa states.

"Shanks I need to touch you to use my quirk, do I have your permission to put my hand on your shoulder?"

"Yes."

Nighteye places his hand on Shanks shoulder, immediately he is brought into a world of nothing but water in every direction. He controls the speed through Shanks early childhood, pausing a few times when it looks like something important. He sees soldiers in white and blue uniforms moving civilians from their houses onto a ship. His view is obscured hinting that Shanks is hiding. He watches as the houses and shops are set aflame and he is the only one left. Shanks stays in his hiding place for several hours.

He fast forwards to a teenage boy on island talking to a man with a straw hat and huge smile. He watches as Shanks boards the massive ship with the man. He watches the adventures the crew goes on, the teachings he received from the older members of the crew. He sees the corruption of this world, noticing that Shanks was right in his comparison of being cattle. He sees the life of a slave, the rescue and the rehabilitation. He watches as people would rather die than lose their freedom. He watches a young boy be killed for crying in the street, He feels the sadness and anger at knowing he wasn't fast enough to save the boy.

He fast forwards a few years and sees his Captain presented for the world to see being executed with a peaceful smile on his face. He watches as Shanks forms a crew, sets sail on their own adventures, trails and accomplishments. He is a witness to Shanks climb the ladder to Pirate Emperor, how he protects those territories with everything he has. His crew helps rebuild and support the different islands economics. He watches as they take a break to visit a small island where he meets a boy, watches as the boy reminds Shanks of his former Captain. Witnesses a promise that will change the world when the boy gets older. Watches as Shanks leaves the island only sailing a day away when he notices smoke on the horizon behind him. He takes a rowboat and makes his way back to the island watching as the island is on fire. He feels a power he never felt before as Shanks unleashes his Haki to pinpoint the destressed boy. Flares a powerful burst for only the boy to feel his presence and waits until 2 boys are on the cliff contemplating to jump or turn back to the flames. He watches as the boys jump and land in the water Shanks diving at the same time to save them. He sees the boat floating away in the direction it came only to be caught in a storm. Everything goes black. He fast forwards the image is blurry but once it clears, he sees the same beach they are on now with 4 boys surrounding him, feeling lost, confused, relieved and a little guilty that he can not go home to his crew. He watches as the boys interact with him, his conversations with Inko the shopping trip and phone call. All leading up to this interview.

Nighteye lifts his hand off Shanks shoulder and lets out a few shaky breaths. Not only are the visions still playing in his brain all the pain, desperation, and suffering is still lingering. He takes several minutes to grab his bearings. "Shanks, I commend you, your life was not easy. You did what you needed to do to survive. I need to ask a few questions. Shall we start?"

"Whenever you are ready, I will answer your questions to the best of my ability"

"Your world, what was it called again?"

"The Grandline" Green.

"Right, I noticed a power system there what is it called?"

"Devil fruits, the user eats a fruit gains that power loses their ability to swim." Green.

"Did you eat a Devil fruit?"

"No, I have something else." Yellow

"Can you explain this 'something else'"

"I can give you a rundown I would like to keep some of my abilities a secret, if I get the position, I will be more open to sharing. The power is called Haki there are 3 forms of it I use all three" Green.

"Why do you want to join my agency?"

"I need a job, so I can open my own training facility, with no records in this word I will not be able to find conventional work. For once I would like to be on the legal side. I don't want to be an outlaw; my boys don't need to be hunted again because of the mistakes of their guardians. I have the skills to protect people here it is praised. I figured your agency could help me." Green.

"What are your skills?"

"I will not tell you everything. But the basics of my skills and qualifications are all three types of Haki, I am a master swords man. I know several different forms of hand- to- hand combat for defense and offense, I am efficient in most handheld weapons. My physical capabilities are well above average. I have led hundreds of people in defense of my land into victorious battles. I am extremely skilled in infiltration and stealth. I call my Quirk Red Lightning. I was very respected among other Captains. I typically try to solve situations without violence, but if someone under my protection, or under my leadership is in danger or threatened I will protect them with my life." Green.

"I understand if you will not answer this question if you will not answer just say pass, Can Haki be taught?"

"It is theoretically possible; however, I am not 100% sure, I can use mine, so I know it works, is that because I already had access to it. I am willing to try to teach two of the types the other type you must be born with. At least that is the laws of this power back home. You might have something like it here, but I do not know enough to make that assumption." Green.

"Last question, when will you be available to start?"

"I can start as early as today after training with the boys is finished." Green.

"Excellent, shall we head over to the boys, I think they have been stretching long enough?"

The men head over to the boys Shanks speaks up "Listen up boys we have some gentlemen here to observe your training, I hope you stretched we will be doing distance running."

Izuku looks at Nighteye with stars in his eyes, barely containing the urge to fan boy and beg for a signature. Katsuki feels Izuku vibrating with excitement he leans over to whisper "Ask him later after training Nerd" Izuku nods but doesn't lose any of the excitement.

"We will be running the shore of the beach; I will be running alongside you we are not measuring how fast you can run we are looking at how far you can run. We are testing your stamina. The test will be over when you slow down to a walk. On your mark, get set, go." On go the boys take off at a jogging pace slowly picking up speed. Shanks and Nighteye are trailing behind at a brisk walk. The length of the part of the beach they are running is about 5 miles. Running on sand takes more energy then running on pavement or track. The boys start slowing down at the 2.5 miles Ace was the first one to start walking at around 3 miles, Luffy soon after at 3.25 miles, Katsuki stopped running at 3.5 miles. Izuku kept running full on energy and burning with determination to not let down Nighteye. He was so close to the end of the 5 miles, but he tripped right before the end, he laid there breathing deeply brimming with disappointment that he couldn't reach his goal. Shanks jogged up to him to make sure he was all right. Satisfied that he found no injuries he turned to the group "good work boys we will walk back to the clearing and do cool down stretches." He turns to address Nighteye "you up for a spar to test their observation and analyzing abilities?"

Nighteye considers this "what are the terms of this spar?"

"Light hand to hand combat, no quirks, weapons are allowed."

"I agree, but let's make this interesting my quirk allows me to see into the future during combat I would like to use it to see how you react, consider this my own personal test"

Shanks smirks he will use his observation Haki against future sight to see how it stacks. He nods and pulls out his sword he draws a ring in the sand and turns his sword in a reverse grip. "The first one out of the circle loses." And moves to a fighting stance, he closes his eyes and focuses on the area around him sensing the boys, Nighteye and the Detective in his range. He senses another strong presence but pays it little attention as he has been in the same spot all day. "ready when you are" Nighteye starts by throwing his hyper density seals at Shanks showing off some of his speed, keeping in mind that they boys need to be able to see the fight to observe it.

Shanks with his eyes closed dodges every single one of them. To the shock of the bystanders he didn't appear to move. It almost seemed as if the projectiles veered off course at the last second. Shanks readies his sword and opens his eyes cockily saying, "I don't think the boys caught what happened can we try again slower?"

Getting a small tick out of Nighteye "Of course" and throws another round a bit slower so the boys can follow the movements. Nighteye caught on to how Shanks was evading the seals his intelligence shines 'This must be one of the 3 Hakis, I will ask him about it after.' "Now its my turn, be prepared" Shanks calls. Shanks speeds in front of the other man breaking under his guard going for the stomach. In an impressive display of dexterity Nighteye parries and dodges the blow. Unrelenting Shanks keeps on the attack using observation and combat experience to predict how is opponent will dodge and counter. Neither one can land a blow on the other though they are not fighting serious and this is only a spar that is still impressive after 20 minutes of trading blows back and forth the Detective called it a draw with no clear winner.

"You combat abilities are impressive Shanks, I have some questions about how you dodged my projectiles but can wait until the boys give their analysis." Nighteye compliments.

"You were not to bad yourself Sir Nighteye your speed is impressive; I was also amazed at the fluidity displayed when you were dodging and countering." Shanks returns. "Now boys can you tell me what happened in the fight." 'Izuku might have a chance at analyzing the fight maybe Katsuki as well. Ace and Luffy look confused, but with a hint of recognition'

"Shanks- sensei moved like Jiji but faster." Luffy pipes in. 'Garp must have shown them Haki in training but never told them what it was interesting' Ace adds on "It was a little different than Jiji's Jiji used it on the offensive, Shanks used it on the defensive" 'Ace must be thinking armament but still was never told what it was'

"Shanks- sensei used as little energy as possible when dodging the first round, I could barely see it, but you were tilting your body only as far as you needed to for the projectile to move past you. The second time you moved your sword in front so they would deflect the seals." Izuku states hands twitching to write this information down in his notebook. 'I didn't think he caught anything in first round' "What are your thoughts Katsuki?"

"When you were engaged in hand to hand combat Nighteye didn't really counter he only defended except when you had your left side unguarded. I also noticed you were somehow predicting his moves."

"Very good what else the floor is open you all have great observation skills with room for improvement, we will work on sparing and analyzing each other tomorrow."

"Sensei I have something to add to Kacchan's observation, I noticed something Kacchan didn't mention. It seemed like you were using a more advanced version of the movements you used to dodge. Instead of dodging it appeared that you were moving to where Nighteye dodged to. I'm not really sure how to explain it but it was like you through a punch then moved left or right depending on the direction Sir was dodging to."

Shanks smirks "Very good, Impressive Izuku. You boys are all correct. Luffy and Ace your Grandfather Garp probably used something similar while training you (read beating) that old buffoon probably didn't tell you what it was. Great job at finding the similarities even though you didn't know what the ability is called. Katsuki I was using my expertise in combat along with Observation Haki to predict Sir Nighteye's prediction. Izuku you came the closest to being able to analyze the entire fight you missed a few points that probably didn't seem to matter, no one mentioned that neither of us got hit everything was dodged, blocked, or parried. All information in a battle is important. You may not have noticed, but every time I predicted his dodge and would counterattack, he would block. Yes, blocking is better than being hit but he still got damaged. When blocking you are taking a hit to a non-vital part of your body; It is better to get on the forearms than to be punched in the face." He explains.

"What is Observation Haki?" Sir Nighteye asks.

"There are three types of Haki that I will be going over with you, only two can be taught Observation Haki, and Armament Haki. The other one is Conqueror's Haki only 1 in a million have this power. It cannot be taught; you must be born with it. If I see signs of it, I will teach you to control it. I will be teaching you Observation Haki first once you have the basics down, I will ask Nighteye help me demonstrate Armament, if he's up for it if not Maybe another hero that would be better suited for it. First, in the Grandline Haki is an ability that all living creatures can use if trained, many failed to awaken it, or they didn't realize they had it. It is the act of not doubting that is true strength. It is your will, your spirit, it is the power to feel other's presence more strongly this is called Observation Haki. If you enhance this power, you can tell where your invisible enemy is, how many there are and what their next move will be. Some have even trained their Haki to a higher level called future sight. I will be teaching and unlocking the first stage of Observation Haki. I will warn you though it can take years to unlock it. Tomorrow bring a helmet and mouth guard, we will begin practicing. Tomorrow we will be working on one-on-one spars and analyzing. You are dismissed for the day."

The boys fall back into the sand smiling that they were able to accomplish training today. Katsuki nudges Izuku "Now is the time to ask him."

Izuku stands up, the excitement back in his face as he approaches Nighteye "Sir Nighteye, can I get your autograph in my notebook. I have always admired you; I think you are so cool, so strong, your fight with Shanks- sensei was amazing…"

Katsuki stands up and strolls over to Izuku, chops him on the head and shots, "stop muttering you Nerd! You are freaking everyone out." Izuku breaks out of his muttering with a sheepish smile "Sorry Nighteye"

"No worries, you got a pen?" Nighteye says with a small smile. Izuku smiles wide and nods handing the Hero his notebook.

Shanks smiles fondly at the boys "Nighteye what time do you want me to be at the agency?"

"I'll come with you to drop the boys off, then I'll take you to the agency. From there we will set you up in the training room and figure out what you need for training. I would like to learn more of this Haki you mentioned, I wonder if it could be combined with my quirk."

"Alright, boys let us get you home Izuku your mom should be home making lunch. Tomorrow we will meet back here at 7am and train longer than we did today."

The group heads to the Midoriya House. Once at home Shanks tells Inko he got the position and is going to head there now. They boys run into the dining room and sit down talking animatedly about training and saying how cool the others were. Izuku already twitching to write his notes and muttering on possible improvements they can make, what strengths they have and how they could work off each other to play to their strengths. He continues muttering about how they can cover each other's weaknesses while improving them.

The others have slightly scared faces as Izuku keeps muttering, but they leave him be. He earned it after all. Katsuki slides a notebook in front of Izuku. Izuku breaks out of his muttering just long enough to thank Katsuki; his eyes glaze back over, hand moving furiously and thoughts pouring out of his mouth a mile a minute. From what Shanks and Nighteye can catch of Izuku's muttering they are surprised Izuku analyzed the entire training regime and could take notes of not only his performance but of the other boys as well.

As Shanks heads out of the house he smirks 'Impressive, Izuku'