After Rayleigh put him through a round of brutal experiments, it was finally proven that Rayleigh's guess was correct.
The more serious the injury, the more stamina it took to recover. For minor scrapes, the stamina loss was basically negligible.
Bai Chuan lay on the floor. He clearly had not done any physical labor. He had only been getting chopped, yet he was already drenched in sweat. It was hard to tell if he was exhausted or just scared out of his mind.
But judging from how sharply his chest rose and fell, it was obvious he really had burned through a lot of stamina.
"I've already decided your training plan."
Rayleigh looked at Bai Chuan sprawled on the ground, took a sip of wine, and spoke calmly.
"How are we training?" Even though Bai Chuan was dead tired, hearing Rayleigh say that still made him a little excited. This would be the start of him getting stronger.
"Simple. See all this equipment lying around? Train whatever you want. It'll build stamina and increase strength too. Two birds with one stone."
...
"And then?" Bai Chuan waited forever and still did not hear the next sentence, so he asked in confusion.
"And then? What 'and then'?"
"That's it? That's way too irresponsible."
"Irresponsible? Don't worry, it won't be. I'll supervise your training and make sure you don't slack off. If I catch you slacking, heh, you can think about what will be waiting for you."
"Devil. Pervert." Bai Chuan cursed silently in his heart.
Right then, Rayleigh somehow produced a wooden stick from who knows where and struck Bai Chuan on the head without mercy.
"What are you doing? That hurts!"
Even though Bai Chuan's ability could heal injuries, he could still feel pain before it healed.
"Because you were cursing me in your head."
"I wasn't."
"Still talking back?" Rayleigh smacked him again.
"Do you think my Observation Haki is just for show? I might not know your exact words, but I can tell whether what you're thinking is good or bad."
"Seriously?" Bai Chuan thought again.
"Of course."
Hearing that, Bai Chuan's eyes widened.
"How did you know what I was thinking just now?"
"I guessed."
"Amazing." Bai Chuan gave him a thumbs-up. Back when he watched the anime in his past life, he never realized Observation Haki could do something like this.
"Heh. Naturally. Take a look at who I am." Rayleigh's personality was still arrogant right now, nothing like the refined, easygoing man he would seem like twenty years later.
"Alright. Start training. For you, anything you train right now will be useful."
After saying that, Rayleigh brought over a chair, sat down in front of Bai Chuan, and watched him.
"Then what about Shanks?"
"Shanks? Isn't that because of you? That kid's still asleep."
"Asleep? Haha!" Bai Chuan laughed awkwardly.
"Then you have to teach me how to control Conqueror's Haki too, right?"
"Of course. Since you've got that thing, you might as well use it. And if you burst it out again in a fight with another pirate crew and end up hurting your own people, then you'll really be committing a sin."
So over the next two months, it was not only Bai Chuan who suffered inhuman torment. Even the ordinary crewmates endured dozens of waves of mental pressure.
To help Bai Chuan control his Conqueror's Haki better, the "stimulation" Rayleigh used on him got more and more intense each time.
As a result, most of the crew started looking at Bai Chuan with strange expressions. After all, he was the culprit who had made them pass out again and again.
In the end, Heaven rewarded the diligent. After two months of constant mental pressure, Bai Chuan finally gained the ability to control his Conqueror's Haki freely. He could also choose who it targeted.
Of course, those two months were not just about Haki. Bai Chuan improved in every aspect at rocket speed, strength, speed, and stamina.
He still did not have much in the way of fighting technique, but he had an undying ability.
If he could stop fearing death in battle, then anyone close to his level would not be his opponent.
Even so, Bai Chuan did not get arrogant, because the person he faced every day was the Dark King, Rayleigh. No matter how hard Bai Chuan trained for two months, he still could not catch up.
That also left Bai Chuan unsure of his exact strength. All he knew was that he went from not lasting a single move against Rayleigh to becoming a "powerhouse" who could take three moves.
"If only my stamina didn't change."
More than once, Bai Chuan happily fantasized about it. If it could not increase, then at least it should not decrease either.
During those two months, Bai Chuan also witnessed the New World's ever-changing weather. One second it could be clear skies, and the next it would turn into dark clouds and torrential rain, followed immediately by raging winds and a blizzard.
It made Bai Chuan fully understand just how cruel nature could be.
Every time they ran into harsh weather, every member of the pirate crew treated it with utmost seriousness.
Because in the New World, at least half of pirate crews were wiped out by natural disasters. The disasters pirates feared most were things like tsunamis and sea tornadoes.
And during one such disaster, Bai Chuan finally saw Rayleigh make a move. It was a violent sea tornado. If they got caught, the ship would be torn apart instantly.
Then Rayleigh slashed out a terrifying sword wave in an instant, and the massive tornado that had been so imposing a moment ago was split cleanly into two.
Bai Chuan did not know whether Rayleigh had used his full strength, but that strike left an extremely deep impression on him.
Maybe it was also because it was his first time seeing something like that.
Just as Bai Chuan lay on the ground resting, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the training room. And it was clearly more than one person.
"Did we run into another bout of weather?"
That was Bai Chuan's first thought, because every time this happened, it was usually due to extreme weather.
"Vice-Captain, what's going on out there?" Bai Chuan asked Rayleigh.
"That mad dog is here again." When Rayleigh said that, he gave a bitter smile.
"Mad dog? What mad dog?" Bai Chuan still did not understand. Everything that had happened during this period of training had his mind spinning.
"Come out with me and you'll know."
Bai Chuan followed Rayleigh out of the training room and saw everyone looking tense, fully prepared.
That made Bai Chuan grow serious too. "What kind of enemy could make the crew's atmosphere this oppressive?"
He followed Rayleigh to the bow of the ship and saw a dog-headed warship blocking them not far away.
"Hero Garp." Bai Chuan blurted out in shock.
If someone said "mad dog," Bai Chuan might not immediately think of Garp. But with such a distinctive warship, he truly could not think of anyone else.
/-\
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