Bill was about to laugh and tell Yoko to leave Sasha alone while she was training, but the girl asked another question:
"Hey, can I become as strong as you?"
Hearing this, Sasha lowered her stance, put down her long sword, looked at Yoko, nodded, and said, "First, hang up this cloak."
Then she turned, quickly ran down the steps, and soon returned with another blade and a wooden sword. The blade was longer than the usual one-handed sword, but for an eleven-year-old girl, it would become a long sword.
Leaning the wooden sword against the wall, Sasha handed Yoko the real blade and simply said, "Here you go."
When the girl took the sword, Sasha nodded and added, "Watch my movements and see how I position my feet."
Then Bill watched as Sasha demonstrated several basic stances for the long sword: from "Tail" to "Side," then "Plow," "Long Position," "Bull," and finally "High Guard."
"These are the basic stances for the long sword. Throughout the day, I want you to alternate between them until you feel confident assuming each one."
Bill was surprised that Sasha could teach, but then he remembered that Sasha was not much older than Yoko when she first picked up a sword herself.
"Did T-Bone teach her that way?" he thought.
Pondering this, Bill returned to his office. There wasn't much to do, but he needed to prepare documents for Yoko.
She needed to become a cabin girl—that was the only way she could stay on the ship, and at the same time, it allowed Bill to keep an eye on her.
Then Bill began drafting blueprints for his laboratory, using the maps of the caves he and his team had already sketched. There were still routes in the cave systems that they hadn't had time to explore, but even so, they found three large caves where Bill could place his production equipment.
The caves had some amount of diffused light, but it was clearly insufficient, so he also needed to design an electrical system, including the location for thermonuclear generators.
He would have to order the material for the thermonuclear generators from Vegapunk because Bill didn't know how to build machines that produced such materials, but once he had them, these generators could operate for several decades before needing to be refueled. During that time, they would not only provide power to the laboratory but also allow the conversion of H2O from the surrounding ocean into hydrogen, which would be used as a portable energy source similar to gasoline.
Once he had a portable electric power source, his development opportunities would truly open up.
"But that's getting ahead of myself," Bill thought and laughed.
At the moment, they only had 43 million Beli, and although he hoped that the iron vein discovered on the island would be substantial, realistically he understood that the cost of his proposed laboratory would amount to several hundred million Beli.
"There's never enough funding," he smirked. Considering this, he began designing the base, starting with one production workshop. In this way, he planned to begin production with a minimal budget of 30–50 million Beli.
Days passed as the "Border Breaker" moved towards the Calm Belt.
The situation was almost the same as the last time they crossed the Calm Belt, except now it was a bit more cheerful thanks to Yoko. Sasha became her favorite, but strangely enough, Miyagi took second place.
If Yoko wasn't mimicking Sasha, swinging a longsword, she was in the medical bay with Miyagi.
Mink was still working on his panacea, but he gave Yoko small puzzles and word games to help pass the time. These puzzles had additional meanings, teaching the girl medical terminology.
Whether she understood this, or she was just so bored on the ship, Bill didn't know and didn't want to ask, so as not to spoil the moment.
Fia finally brought the kitchen to a perfect state, and Ricky asked Rans to build him his own office.
Although Rans and Sasha almost always took charge when Bill was absent, Ricky's natural administrative abilities made him Bill's closest advisor. As a result, Bill delegated some tasks to Ricky, freeing up more time for himself to train.
This was clearly a beneficial move, but Bill had more long-term reasons for involving Ricky in such work.
Sitting in his quiet office, crossing the Calm Belt, Bill envisioned a future where he would need a team of managers.
Bill's expectations for success grew every time he saw an underdeveloped island. For instance, in the Kingdom of Torino, residents barely had clothing, yet the island was rich in valuable minerals, which allowed everyone to have iron tools.
On their journey, they didn't stop at small islands, but Bill saw several from a distance. Dirty rags, dilapidated huts, and other remnants of civilization filled him with good prospects.
These small islands, of course, didn't have cash. However, they had natural resources that Bill could exchange for profit, and then turn these materials into more valuable products.