Ray was deeply annoyed.
Ever since entering the Grand Line, it felt like someone was always threatening him.
And the root cause was always the Marines.
'You treat me like a pawn? Fine. Watch out – I might just blow up Marine Headquarters someday.'
Sensing his crewmates' discomfort from his dark aura, Ray reined it in.
"Luffy," Zoro asked, "what's your decision about becoming a Warlord?"
Luffy tilted his head, looking irritated.
"Become a Warlord? That means no freedom. I refuse."
Zoro then turned his gaze to Ray. "What about you? You could probably become one by yourself."
Ray just glared at Zoro.
"Come. Training."
Zoro's face immediately fell.
'Ugh, I regret asking... but I'm also kinda glad. I was right about him.'
But the consequences of testing Ray were... painful.
"Take it easy! Don't hit the head~ Ouch! Ray! I'll fight you! Ah~"
Ten minutes later, Zoro was unconscious on the deck, covered in lumps, but smiling faintly.
The rest of the crew erupted in laughter.
The decision was unanimous: to hell with the Warlords!
The only one who got hurt was the Moss Head.
…
That night, Ray started organizing the gains from their Alabasta adventure.
His Sesshomaru fusion rate had increased from 50% to 55%.
The daily growth was even faster here than in the East Blue.
He'd thought opening up to his crewmates would slow his progress, but it had actually increased it.
'Weird system. But, hey, it's a good thing.' His thirst for strength was intense.
[Ding! The system is here again!]
[Congratulations, Host, for completing the major One Piece event: Alabasta Arc.]
[Compiling achievements: Defeated awakened Crocodile. Used Demon Transformation to Deters Elite Vice Admiral.]
[Rewards: Fusion rate increased from 55% to 59%. Additional reward: Conqueror's Haki. Special companion rewards: Detailed explanation of Haki, Encyclopedia of Rubber, Detailed Sword art Principles, Basic Principles of Geppo and Soru, Climate Science Encyclopedia, Special Plant Cultivation Manual, Pharmacology Compendium, Women's Combat Techniques, 108 Dog Training Methods.]
[Please perceive these. I'll take my leave now!]
The system fled, leaving Ray fuming alone.
Combat techniques were usually implanted directly into his brain.
Which meant...
'Women's Combat Techniques?!' Ray wanted to drag the system out and beat it.
'How am I supposed to teach that? And what's with the last book?! 108 Dog Training Methods?! Are you insulting me or Chouchou?!'
After calming down, Ray analyzed the rewards.
Conqueror's Haki was a huge win.
He'd realized for a while that he wasn't from this world, so he couldn't train Haki like a native.
He could only get it from system rewards.
Now, his own Demonic Power already did what the three Haki types did (sense, attack, intimidate), but having both would be a massive power-up.
As for the companion rewards... they were all the things the crew learned during their two-year training in the original story.
'Is the system hinting that things are going to get bad soon?'
'Forget it. Just stay calm and get stronger. I'll... give these to the crew tomorrow. I'll just say Chouchou found them or something.'
(Ray had never just given gifts before; it felt weird to do so now.)
…
Somewhere on the Grand Line...
"Kahahaha! Your great Captain Buggy has made another fortune today!" Buggy cheered, standing on the deck of his newly modified ship, the Ugly Emperor.
"Eat and drink, my men! We feast!"
He was ecstatic.
He'd found a huge treasure!
Now he just needed to buy some weapons and... research.
Recently, he'd accidentally applied his Chop-Chop power to a bunch of Buggy Balls at once.
One of them had massively amplified in power, creating a mushroom cloud that nearly wiped him out.
'If I can figure that out,' he schemed, 'it won't matter who it is – Ray, Shanks, Marine HQ – they'll all kneel before me! Celestial Dragons? One cannonball, boom!'
(If Ray knew, he'd realize Buggy had accidentally discovered nuclear fussion. But without the science, he'd probably never figure it out again.)
Just as Buggy was laughing, a voice spoke up from beside him.
"Wow, so much delicious food! Can I join in?"
Buggy, in a great mood, just waved.
"Eat, eat! Help yourself!"
...Then it hit him.
He turned and cursed, "Who the hell are you?! Coming on my ship to freeload?! You tired of living?!"
The man stuffing his face wore a cowboy hat, no shirt, and had a familiar tattoo on his back: a white beard on a skull.
Before he could even answer, Buggy's eyes went wide.
"Fire Fist Ace?! Holy shit! Captain Roger's son!"
Buggy's heart was pounding.
The guy in front of him... he was Captain Roger's actual son.
In Buggy's mind, that basically made him his little brother.
Ace, who was in the middle of inhaling food, overheard Buggy's muttering.
"What did you say?" he asked, his voice suddenly sharp. "You called Roger... Captain?"
His flames started flickering uncontrollably.
Buggy immediately guessed the situation.
'Oh, right. Luffy mentioned he has issues with his dad.'
"Ace," Buggy said carefully, "I was a crewmate under your father."
Ace stopped chewing, his eyes wide.
"You... you must be Buggy the Clown, right? A 300 million bounty... you must be pretty strong."
Buggy laughed, relieved.
"Haha! You've got a sharp eye, Ace! Your father practically raised me! So, you could say we're kinda like..."
"Hey, why are you attacking me?!"
A cold glint flashed in Ace's eyes.
(If Ray had been there, he would have been facepalming. Buggy, with his zero emotional intelligence, was basically rubbing salt in Ace's deepest wound. Of course he was going to get punched.)
And so, the party was postponed.
Ace and Buggy flew off to a distant island for a "friendly sparring match."
…
One night passed. Fourth day since Alabasta.
Ray was up early, waiting on deck.
Beside him was a large pile of books.
It was the first time in his life he was giving gifts, and he was... weirdly nervous about it.
Ten minutes earlier, he'd yanked Chouchou (who was sleeping belly-up on his back) awake.
'How can you sleep so soundly when I'm this anxious?!'
"Chouchou," he ordered, "in a minute, you're going to hand these out."
Chouchou, rubbing his sleepy eyes, just nodded.
A little later, the crew started trickling onto the deck for morning training.
Robin and Nami came up for coffee.
Just then, Chouchou cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Master says he has a big gift for you today!"
Thump!
"Ouch~" Chouchou rubbed his head. "I mean... Master said I should deliver the gifts..."
Thump!
"┭┮﹏┭┮... It is I, Chouchou-sama, who has prepared gifts for you~"
Ray's face darkened.
'What use is this puppy? He got zero acting skills.'
Chouchou started handing out the books like a teacher.
"Ship-wide textbook:Detailed Explanation of Haki. Hang this in the dining room. Everyone memorizes it."
"Luffy:Encyclopedia of Rubber."
"Zoro:Detailed Explanation of Sword Art."
"Sanji:Basic Principles of Geppo and Soru."
"Nami:Encyclopedia of Climate Science."
"Usopp:Special Plant Cultivation Manual."
"Chopper:Encyclopedia of Pharmacology."
"Ahem, there's also a... martial arts technique for Robin. And Nami. No book. You learn that... from Master. Oh, and... 108 Ways to Train a Dog... Is this for me? Or Master? Ouch~ Or for you guys?"
Thump!
Chouchou lay flat on the floor while Ray was speechless.
'That book was for training Chouchou. Why would I give it to them?!'
The crew, however, was delighted.
They figured Ray must have secretly written or collected these books just for them.
He'd put so much thought into it!
After breakfast, everyone dove into their new books.
Even Luffy, who hated reading, got hooked when he saw detailed explanations of... Gears.
Robin and Nami started their new "women's combat techniques" training with Ray.
They could barely hold in their laughter, but one threatening look from Ray shut them up.
Their training partners? Zoro and Sanji.
"How vicious!" Zoro yelped, dodging a very... targeted kick from Nami.
"Are you mad at me?!"
Sanji, after getting kicked by Robin, just had a blissful smile.
"Ah~ From now on, I'll be Robin-swaaaan exclusive training partner! Get lost, Moss Head! I'll be Nami-swaan partner, too!"
…
This went on for a full week.
Everyone was training and studying like crazy.
They knew, after rejecting the Warlord offer, that the Marines would be coming for them, and they didn't want to be a burden on Ray anymore.
Usopp could now hit birds from 2 kilometers away.
Nami was getting scarily good at weather science.
Zoro's steel-cutting was proficient, and he'd even unleashed his first real flying sword slash.
Sanji had basically mastered Soru and was getting the hang of Geppo.
Chopper was deep in his medical book.
And Robin... Ray was teaching her everything.
Dragon Claw, Wing Chun, Jujutsu... combined with her Flower-Flower Fruit, she was becoming a close-combat god.
She could spawn dozens of hands and feet to attack from all angles, and even Ray was having trouble defending against her attack.
(She also really enjoyed trying to slap his butt, though she hadn't succeeded... yet.)
…
That night, on the deck...
Two sneaky figures were whispering to each other.
"Nami, are we really going to do this?"
"Robin, as they say: the timid starve, the bold feast! We only have a chance while Ray is asleep."
Robin paused, then nodded. "Let's do it."
Using her ability, Robin's hand sprouted in the men's quarters and snagged the book.
["108 Ways to Train a Dog"].
The two women giggled, ran to the kitchen, and started studying it by candlelight.
(Two hours later, Robin obediently returned it.)
…
The next day...
Suddenly, wooden fragments started falling from the sky.
The crew looked up...
Nami and Robin.
"Ray! There's a big ship falling from the sky! We're so scared!"
The two women immediately ran behind Ray, pretending to be frightened but secretly laughing.
(Step one of "108 Ways to Train Your Dog": Increase intimacy by frequently calling the dog's name and asking for help.)
Ray just glared at them.
'Nami's one thing, but Robin too?!' He sighed and looked at Zoro.
"Cut down that ship."
Zoro grinned. "Two-Sword Style: 72 Pound Phoenix!"
Two massive sword slashes shot out, cutting the giant ship (which was at least ten times bigger than the Merry) into three pieces, which fell harmlessly into the sea.
Seeing this familiar scene, Ray knew exactly where they were.
They had arrived below Sky Island.