Chapter Thirteen : Train
"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" Luffy exclaimed as his arms started stretching far enough to hit his brother.
Sabo just sighed. "Don't use the same attack, Luffy. That's too predictable."
Once Luffy's arms were enough for Sabo to reach, he pulled him and Luffy came flying to him. Sabo kicked him in the stomach that made Luffy flew back. Sabo gave him a smirk, taunting his brother. Luffy frowned and he jumped again towards Sabo.
"Not fair!" Luffy whined.
"Life's not fair, Lu. Get over it!" Ace called out. He was at the chalkboard putting points up for the fight. His fever just died down yesterday. Sabo suggested that he should not train today much to his chagrin. He was forced to watch sideways.
They continue fighting for six more rounds. Sabo just kept on toying his brother much to Luffy's chagrin. And with the final fight, Sabo gave Luffy a punch in the chest that made the younger boy lose.
"Try to improve more, Luffy," Roger commented before booming in a laughter fit.
Luffy stood up and pouted. Of course, he wanted to be strong. Stronger than both Ace and Sabo. He did not want to be the weaker one all the time. His brothers were always worried about him. As much as he appreciated that, he wanted to be independent to look out for himself. He wanted to protect his brothers too.
Because Luffy is going to be the King of the Pirates like Roger.
He cannot just keep depending on his older brothers forever.
And then an idea entered Luffy's mind. He let out his signature laugh. He knew this will work if he wants to become a pirate in the future. He needs help from others whether he like it or not.
"Ne, Roger," Luffy called, bouncing in excitement. "Will you train me!?"
His two older brothers halted their doings and shared a look.
"You're the one who trained Shanks, aren't you!? Train me also!" Luffy continued while waving his hands on the air.
Roger seemed to be amused by his predicament. The older man has a smirk on his face as he stroked his long mustache.
"I'm not a good teacher. It was Rayleigh who trained him and Buggy." Roger responded.
"Rayleigh? The Dark King?" Sabo blurted out.
"Who's that?" Ace raised a brow and asked.
"You don't even know the name of your father's first mate?" Sabo remarked.
"I don't care about it..." Ace looked away but then noticed his father's gaze on him. "Back then anyway."
"C'mon, I need to be stronger. I'm gonna be the Pirate King like you!" Luffy complained in a loud whine.
"You're gonna be my successor, huh?" Roger laughed, amusement in his voice.
"Of course, I am!"
"Isn't Garp already training you three?"
"You called that training?" Ace deadpanned, grimacing at the sessions their grandfather has put them through.
"Torture is the word I prefer to use." Sabo winced and shrugged his shoulder. The only con he had as the brother of Ace and Luffy was to deal with their lunatic old man.
"And you think the training I may put you three won't be like that?" Roger laughed again.
"Nu-uh, you'll be better. Jiichan's a Marine. You're a pirate. We're supposed to learn from a pirate if we want to be one as well!" Luffy countered.
"Hey, Luffy. I'm actually surprised you haven't asked him to join your crew." Ace said.
Luffy's face turned sour. "Don't wanna! He knows what the One Piece is! My adventures gonna be boring if I what that is!"
"You don't wanna know, lad?" Roger piqued.
"Yeah! Let it be a mystery until I find it!"
Sabo chuckled because of his brother's words. "If Luffy doesn't want to, we don't want to as well."
"I guess so..." Ace sighed thinking that Luffy can be quite insightful sometimes. That kind of reasoning was exactly Luffy.
"The journey matters the most, not the destination." Roger laughed again. After containing himself, he gave the trio one of his widest smiles.
"We will start tomorrow." He announced.
The three brothers shared a grin.
- - -
The next morning, Roger woke up feeling excited. A smile was plastered in his face. He did plan to train the brothers. Luffy just said it first.
He saw the potential in all three of them. They were still young but have untamed power inside. Ace was full of energy and prefer to use his brute strength in fighting. Sabo was the level headed one and prefer to use his brain to know his opponent's weaknesses. Luffy has a Devil Fruit that he can use as his advantage. The only thing was, he did not have a full grasp of it and constantly fail to punch his target.
Roger was not the greatest teacher out there. He used swords most of the time but the trio did like to rely on their pipes. Swords and pipes are not that different. As long as you swung it hard to the enemy, you can win.
Back then, it was mostly Rayleigh who taught Shanks and Buggy. The only thing that Roger did was to spar with the duo and teach them a few tricks.
Before he dies, Roger would make sure that they are strong for the Grand Line.
He shrugged the thought off and readied himself. This was going to be a long day. Once done, he went on his way to the training ground of the trio.
And he immediately saw Luffy fighting a tiger on his own.
"What are you doing...?" Roger asked as he watched Luffy tried to punch the tiger that did not even flinch.
"Oi!" Ace screamed. "Luffy's being stupid. Go and help him!"
"You shouldn't meddle with someone else's fight."
"We understand that, Roger-san." Sabo frowned, gulping. "But that tiger was five times stronger than the animals here in the forest."
Luffy's rubbery arms were caught by the claw of the tiger. The tiger just threw him ten meters away. Luffy gritted his teeth and held onto his pipe.
"Oh, why you—" Luffy hissed.
But before he could attack the tiger again, Ace and Sabo immediately grabbed him. Not wanting their younger brother to do anything that will harm him further.
Before walking away, the tiger let out a loud growl that made the brothers flinch and Roger laughed.
"Stupid tiger," Luffy grumbled, crossing his arms.
"You're the stupid one!" Ace scolded.
"But he stole our food!"
"We can always get more, Luffy," Sabo said with an exasperated sigh. "Besides, we have eaten half of it. We'll double our food later."
"If you three are done," Roger called out, clearing his throat.
"Oh yeah, our training!" Luffy exclaimed. "What're we gonna do now?"
"Easy." Roger grinned. "Spar with me."
Ace and Sabo's eyes widened because of the declaration while Luffy's grin just widened. The trio did not ask any more questions. Instead, they clench their fists. It was only Luffy who had a pipe in his hands. Sabo and Ace will just use their fists.
Roger gave them an invitational grin. He wanted to give them a taste. They were too young to beat him of course. But this can serve them of what the real strength pirates were like. The trio needed to experience it to prove that they have still a lot to learn.
Ace was the first one to go. He jumped, ready to kick his father in his neck. Roger was faster and so his punch connected in his son's jaw sending him afar. At that point, Roger knew what Ace's fighting style was. The boy preferred to hit opponents head-on in an attempt to make them unconscious. But there was a flaw in that, some people have a strong bone in the forehead.
While busy sending Ace flying, Sabo decided to attack him on the side. Roger caught the blond's fist and threw him to Ace. The two brothers crashed with one another making Roger laughed at the scene.
"What the hell, Sabo!?" Ace complained, pushing him away.
"It's your fault for not standing up quickly!" Sabo retorted, wiping the dirt in his cheeks.
"Do you think your opponents will let you speak to one another in the middle of a fight?" Roger asked as he lunged forward the two.
But before he could do that, Luffy struck his pipe but failed miserably. Roger didn't even need to dodge from it. As usual, Luffy just missed. It gave Ace and Sabo enough time to be back on the action. Sabo yelled as he walloped the man. Roger finally used his fists. He used Haki, not strong enough to injure the trio permanently. He punched the blond and quickly turned to Ace who was about to attack again. And with that, a swollen bump was formed in their heads.
Luffy, abandoning his pipe, stretched his arms in an attempt for a punch. Roger dodged and rushed forward. He also gave the boy blow in the head. Luffy crouched his head, gritting his teeth.
"Your fist is just like Jiichan's!" Luffy grumbled, not understanding why their punches hurt when blunt attacks do not affect him.
Three minutes had passed and the boys just continue attacking Roger. The trio knew that Roger was just toying them around. The man still had a grin on his face making Ace annoyed by it. And with one final move, Roger threw a punch in their jaws ending the fight.
"See the difference now?" Roger reckoned.
He stared at the three brothers lying on the ground. Each was groaning loudly. Roger thought he went too far but shrugged it off. They were strong for their age and he can't underestimate them.
"Tch," Ace sat up and spit. "Jiji's much better at you."
"Oh," Roger piqued, raising his brows. "And in what way is that?"
Sabo laughed. "Well, he gave us a few broken bones here and there. You can say that we're used to it by now."
"I don't mind giving you that as well." Roger mused. "I just prefer training boys who don't need a walking stick."
"Oh lucky us." Ace said sarcastically.
Roger sat on a rock. He put a hand on his chest as his heart started beating fast. Out of all the times it had to happen. He cannot just show this side of him to them
"Oi! You alright there?" Ace asked, scowling. He had his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at him.
"Aww, you concerned about me, son?" Roger grinned as he teased.
"S-Shut up! I'm not!"
"Are you sure?" Sabo asked, frowning.
Roger nodded with a smile.
"Don't worry about him. He's just getting old." Ace deadpanned, tilting his head.
"I'm not that old!"
"Old man!" Luffy echoed making Roger pout.
Roger just cannot tell them. He did not have the heart to tell. He just met Ace. Telling his son that he would die months from now would only hurt him more. He decided to just live in the present and let the future happen. He knew that it will eventually come
"Ace... Sabo... Roger..." Luffy called, his tone was weak. "I'm hungry."
Ace snorted and rolled his eyes. "Of course that's the only thing in your mind right now."
"That damn tiger." Sabo sighed heavily.
Roger grinned. "C'mon then. We'll continue once our stomachs are full. Sounds good?"
Roger chuckled as he saw that Luffy jumped up in excitement, Sabo smiled, and Ace perked up. He was hungry too after all.
There was no point in training if his students were famished.
- - -
"Luffy, stop drooling all over the place." Ace said.
Luffy looked up at him before wiping his saliva away. "But Ace, I'm really hungry."
"The meat needs to be cook first." Sabo smiled. "You have to wait, Lu."
"Aww..." Luffy pouted, then turned his attention to Roger. The boy had a big grin. "Ne, you told me that you're willing to tell us stories, right? Tell us now!"
Roger smiled at the suggestion. "Well, what do you wanna hear?"
"Tell us about your crew!"
Roger's grin widened before starting his tale. Memories flooded his mind. He spent a whole lot of adventures with the people he considered as nakama. Speaking about them, made his heart soar.
"Well, the first one is Rayleigh. You already know he's the first to join. He had a small boat then. I boarded it and I asked him to be part of my crew."
"That's it? You just asked him to be your first mate and he accepted it?" Sabo questioned.
"Is he stupid or something?" Ace asked dryly.
"No, no, of course not. He tried to throw me overboard many times but I was persistent." Roger laughed before continuing.
"Next is Gaban. He used two axes as a wea—"
"Axes!? That's so cool!" Luffy beamed.
"I know, right!? When I discovered about it, I immediately decided that's he's gonna be part of our crew!"
"I want one, too!" Luffy exclaimed as he turned at Sabo. "Or maybe even a swordsman. Swords are also cool!"
"And then we have Crocus. He's a doctor that's stationed on a lighthouse that was the first thing you see once you entered the Grand Line. He was also taking care of this huge whale! You should have seen it!"
"A whale on the entrance of the Grand Line?" Sabo raised a brow.
"I don't know the details but the whale is waiting for a crew to come back," Roger explained briefly. "Next is Oden—"
"Oden!? That sounded tasty!" Luffy said, licking his lips.
"Here, Luffy. The meat's cook now." Sabo chuckled as he gave his brother a piece of meat.
"He's the last one to join our crew. He's a samurai from Wano! I kinda stole him from his original crew though." Roger chuckled.
They settled into eating first before continuing his tales. Roger cannot allow Luffy to finish it all. He was the one who hunted it in the first place.
He was stopped eating and turned to the bushes. He felt someone coming. It didn't have any malicious intent though. But still, Roger was wary. The trio eyed him with concern.
"So the rumors are true about the Pirate King being here." An old man emerged in the shadows.
"Oh why yes, I am." Roger smiled but he quickly realized his mistake. "I-I mean— Pirate King!? Have you boys see him here?"
"But you're hi—" Luffy revealed. Ace and Sabo immediately shut his mouth.
"I am Naguri. We've met once, Roger." He introduced with a smile.
- - -
A/N: Naguri wasn't supposed to make an appearance. I tried to avoid non-canon characters most of the time but oh well. I just think that another person who knew Roger should appear haha.
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