After the battle of Qaralzu Island, we sailed up to the Pop Rock Candy, and handed over the "fundraising" money. After that, we sailed our boats to a nearby island, and slept for the night.
It's been a month since our first target. Over that time, it's been improving and focusing over time. Recently, I've switched up my method for devil fruit collection. I purchased a box full of soil, and planted fruit trees. I came up with this idea after seeing some of my apples and peaches were rotting. I had to buy a new sack, but I now have a new way of doing things.
I've continued my Kenbunshoku training during each bounty. Training with the rocks proved to be less effective, so I had to bait my opponents and have them actively hit me. I slowly became more intuned with sensing the intent of people, and even reading their emotions.
It's not effective 100% of the time though, but it is still better than being without it. Plus, I could now consciously turn it on. I also went back to the Gamma Seven occasionally and practiced even more. I even have a sniper rifle now!
Over time, I improved at mundane stuff as well, I picked up a cookbook and learned how to make better food, and I've, of course, taken up Botany to get devil fruits.
We collected a shit ton of bounties since then. I had fun while fighting, and I managed to somehow teach Allie the Soru technique. It's not perfect, but it works.
Speaking of Allie, I decided to give her the title of "Cumin," as Cumin and Paprika together is fucking delicious. I decided to keep with the Spice theming again. Even the ship's name has ties with spices. I believe Sanji in Enies Lobby said something about spice coming from the Devil?
Ding!
Rokushiki Technique #1 Soru Lv. (11/20) → (12/20)
Culinary Skills Lv. (5/50) → (18/50)
New Skill Learned!
Botany Lv. (1/20)
Botany Lv. (1/20) → (7/20)
Kenbunshoku Haki Lv. (1/30) → (5/30)
Hand-To-Hand Combat Lv. (12/50) → (17/50)
Gunmanship Lv. (10/20) → (7/20)
Paprika, Bounty Hunter, Lv.26
Health: 550/550
Exp: (1000/2600)
VIT: 55
STR: 70
AGI: 60
INT: 45
LUK: 20
[Skills]: 9
I was sitting on the front end of the deck, an area I basically claimed as the "Tiger's Den" of the ship. I was usually in beast form, often just laying there or reading something. I decided to pick up a little Taekwondo knowledge from a book from Karate Island. Despite the name, it's basically the home of all Martial Arts. I wanted to incorporate kicks while fighting, as I often have to consciously think about performing Geppo and Rankyaku.
I transformed out of beast form and got to work. I repeatedly kicked the air in front of me. I occasionally reread the book, before adjusting my kicks and how I did them.
I continued for this bit until it reached noon, I took a break and waited for it to arrive.
"Ca-Caw! Ca-Caw!"
Oh, there it is. News Coos are all over the One Piece World as I found out. They deliver to any ship in their routes whether they be Revolutionary, Pirate, or Marine. I grabbed two newspapers, and left a bit of Beri in its beak. It flew off excitedly.
I decided to take a look through the newspaper, and I flipped open the page. Can you guess who I saw? It was Luffy!
The headline of the story went "Local Idiot gets up on Gol D. Roger's execution platform gets struck by lightning and survives." And below that headline was a picture of Luffy's signature shit-eating grin.
If he was in Loguetown today or yesterday… Holy shit. Baroque Works only got a week left to live. Crocodile is going to get his ass beat. Well, I better switch up training and begin to learn Busoshoku, because I am not joining that fight on Crocodile's side.
I sat the newspaper down and got to work.
I placed an empty can on top of a barrel, and began to extend my palm outwards. I was trying to learn either invisible Busoshoku or Emission. I thrusted my palm forward and… nothing. That was to be expected, so I kept at it. Luckily, I already had one type of Haki, so the other one should be somewhat easier to learn. I kept thrusting my palm over and over again. I didn't achieve any results, but this would pay off. I had a deadline of one week to learn conscious Bosushoku, and I didn't want to waste any time.
I continued through out the day. I remember one piece of advice for emission was to "let it flow out" of me. I started to envision that one scene in Wano, when Luffy punched that tree. I help up my fist, and envisioned a liquid-like aura flowing around it. I then took a step back, and threw a punch, stopping it centimeters away from the can. I envisioned the aura flowing out of the fist, and hitting the can, but it failed. I just had to continue.
It was one step at a time. No need to rush. It was like learning to use Geppo or Soru. I eventually became extremely proficient in using those two techniques. I regularly use them as a part of ,my fighting style.
I had a long way to go, but I would always march on. I always remember this one quote:
"To live a life of power, you must have faith that what you believe is right, even if others tell you you're wrong. The first thing you must do to live a life of power is to find courage. You must be ready to reach beyond the boundaries of time itself. And to do that, all you need is the will to take the first step…"
And, I believe.
