The Going Merry did not linger.
Ropes were cut, sails were hauled up in a flurry of motion and within moments the ship was already pulling away from the docks of Loguetown. Shouts echoed from the harbor behind them. Marines barking orders, boots pounding wood, but the distance grew with every gust of wind.
Luffy stood at the bow, hands on his hips, grinning wildly as the town shrank behind them.
"HAHA! That was close!"
"I bet you did something stupid again," Nami snapped, gripping the railing while keeping an eye on the shoreline. "We were seconds away from being surrounded!"
Cassandra leaned against the mast, arms folded, calm as ever. "But we weren't."
Sanji exhaled smoke and smirked. "Don't worry Nami-swan. I would've safed you."
Only Bartolomeo looked like he might pass out at any second.
He stood stiffly near the center of the deck, back straight, hands clenched at his sides, eyes shining with manic devotion, as he took in the crew, the Going Merry, the sea and the people he'd just attached his entire future to.
Luffy turned around suddenly. "Oh yeah! I forgot!"
Everyone looked at him.
"This is Bartolomeo!" Luffy said cheerfully, gesturing with his thumb. "He's joining us!"
Bartolomeo snapped to attention instantly.
"I-IT IS AN HONOR TO BE HERE!" he shouted, bowing deeply. "PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME, LUFFY-SENPAI! CASSANDRA-SENPAI! NAMI-SENPAI! SANJI-SENPAI! NOJIKO-SENPAI!"
There was a long pause.
Sanji blinked. "Why am I suddenly a senpai?"
Nami stared. "Did he just rank us?"
Nojiko wondered. "How does he know our names?"
Cassandra tilted her head, studying him. "He's loud."
Bartolomeo nodded furiously. "YES, MA'AM— I MEAN— CASSANDRA-SENPAI!"
Luffy laughed. "He's funny! I like him."
Bartolomeo nearly fainted.
"Before we do anything else," Nami said, regaining control of the situation, "I think now is a good time to show, what I borrowed from the marines. I got nice things from the office of a marine captain named Smoker."
Cassandra's attention sharpened instantly.
Nami knelt down and opened her bag with theatrical flair.
First came the money.
A heavy clink echoed, as she poured a respectable pile of Beri onto the deck.
Nojiko whistled. "That's a lot."
"Emergency funds," Nami said smugly with Beri symbols in her eyes.
Next, she produced two wooden boxes, polished and engraved.
Sanji's eyes widened. "…Those are very expensive cigars."
Then Nami reached deeper into the bag.
Her expression shifted into a cat like grin.
She pulled out a nice, thick notebook. Its leather cover looked very nice and well cared for.
Cassandra straightened.
"That," Nami said, holding it up, "is what you asked for."
Cassandra crossed the deck in three steps and took it carefully, like it might bite.
She opened the first page.
It was handwritten, clean, precise, definitly military.
At the very top, a single line stood out:
"If you are reading this, you should really train in these techniques and not rely so much on your Devil Fruit."
— Hina
Cassandra froze. It seems like the ever diligent Hina prepared these notes for Smoker, knowing he would probably not train. What a nice childhood sweetheart.
Then she laughed soft, genuine and delighted.
"A basic manual for the Six Powers," she murmured.
She closed the book and looked at Nami.
Her eyes gleamed.
Without warning, Cassandra stepped forward and pulled Nami into a crushing embrace, burying Nami's face against her substantial chest.
"Best thief on the seas," Cassandra said fondly.
"HEY!" Nami protested, her voice muffled. "Too tight! Let go! Can't breath!"
Sanji stared, face redder than the sunset, wishing Cassandra would hug him like that.
Bartolomeo looked away respectfully. "I see nothing. I hear nothing."
Cassandra released Nami at last, still smiling.
"This," she said, tapping the notebook, "will make us all a lot stronger."
Luffy leaned in, curious. "What does it do?"
"It explains the moves, that top navy personal uses," Cassandra replied.
Bartolomeo raised a trembling hand. "U-Um… Cassandra-senpai?"
She glanced at him.
"I-I have a Devil Fruit," he said nervously. "But I'm really bad at it."
Cassandra smiled slowly.
"Not a problem," she said. "That just means you'll have to work harder and learn."
Bartolomeo's face sported a wide grin and he was nodding enthusiastically.
Behind them, Loguetown disappeared completely beyond the horizon.
With the wind filling their sails, the Going Merry pressed toward Reverse Mountain.
The sea had settled into a steady rhythm, as the Going Merry glided forward. The sun hung low, casting long shadows across the deck.
Cassandra sat with the Rokushiki manual open before her, the pages fluttering softly in the wind.
After sailing for a while and getting distance between them and Loguetown, Cassandra decided to fully explain the Rokushiki and recommand who should learn which technique.
"These techniques," she began, her voice calm but firm, "aren't magic that just make you the strongest. They aren't shortcuts. They're what happens, when someone pushes their body far beyond what it thinks is possible and give you a good foundation to build upon."
She looked around the deck.
"They exist because Marines needed soldiers, who could fight Devil Fruit users, without relying on Devil Fruits themselves."
She began counting on her fingers.
"Soru. High-speed movement."
"Geppo also called Sky Walk. Kicking the air to stay airborne."
"Rankyaku. Blade-like wind slashes generated by leg strength."
"Tekkai. Body hardening through muscle tension and breathing."
"Shigan. Finger thrusts strong enough to pierce steel."
"Kami-e. Extreme flexibility and reflex-based dodging."
Luffy yawned loudly. He had stopped listening.
"So… it's boring training stuff," he concluded.
Sanji scowled. "Oi! Don't dismiss it so fast! This could—"
Cassandra raised a hand.
"Stop," she said calmly.
Sanji paused.
"No one here is required to learn everything," Cassandra continued. "Forcing techniques on someone who doesn't want them is useless. Strength only grows where intent follows."
She glanced at Luffy.
"You don't need to learn these, but they would make you stronger," she said plainly.
Luffy grinned. "Maybe later," he said, as he walked away.
Sanji opened his mouth again, then closed it.
Cassandra turned to him next.
"Sanji," she said, her tone shifting slightly. "You fight to protect. You always put yourself between danger and others. Especially women."
Sanji straightened, one hand to his chest. "Naturally. A gentleman's duty."
She nodded. "That's why these suit you."
She tapped the manual.
"Soru first. It will grant you speed to close distance and intercept threats, before they reach someone else."
Sanji's eyes sharpened with interest.
"Rankyaku next. You already fight with your legs. This turns your kicks into blades of air. You won't need to strike directly to protect someone and it is always good to have ranged attacks, even as a close quarters fighter."
Sanji imagined for a moment, how he heroically shoots a beam with his foot at an enemy, stopping him before getting close to Nami or Nojiko.
"…That's useful," he admitted.
"And Geppo," Cassandra finished, "because sometimes the safest place for a protector is above everyone else."
Sanji smiled softly. "Flying to rescue a lady in distress… I like that."
Nami snorted. "You'd use it to show off."
"I will be your flying prince, saving you from anything," he said smoothly, blowing her a kiss.
"Tekkai would also be useful to you, but you should learn one technique after the other."
Cassandra moved on.
"Nami."
Nami stiffened slightly.
"You're not that strong right now," Cassandra said immediately. "You're valuable. You see things others don't and you fight methodically and calculating."
Nami crossed her arms. "That doesn't help, when someone way stronger swings a sword at me."
"That's why, Soru is what you need," Cassandra replied. "Speed gives you choices. Choices keep you alive and a sudden blow to the back of the head from your staff, can knock someone out."
Nami nodded slowly. "…Yeah. I like that."
Then Cassandra looked at Nojiko.
"You're different from us," she said. "You fight from a distance. So you should use terrain to your advantage."
Nojiko tilted her head. "So… Sky Walk?"
"Yes," Cassandra confirmed. "Geppo gives you elevation with new lines of sight, new escape routes and the possibility to get to hard to reach places. A sniper who can change altitude at will, controls the battlefield."
Nojiko exhaled, imagining it. "I never thought of the sky as part of my terrain."
"It will be, so get used to that thought," Cassandra said.
Cassandra was good at selling these techniques, because of her understanding of the characters and skills of each member.
She also understood, that Sanji will probably learn them easily, but Nami and Nojiko will struggle. That is why she only recommanded one for each.
Finally, Cassandra turned to Bartolomeo, who had been standing stiffly the entire time.
"Your Devil Fruit," Cassandra said. "Explain it."
Bartolomeo snapped to attention. "YES! I can create invisible barriers, Cassandra-senpai! They're super strong, but I can only make a few before I feel like I'm gonna pass out!"
Cassandra nodded. "As expected."
Bartolomeo deflated slightly.
"You don't need new techniques right now," Cassandra continued. "You need a stronger body with way more stamina. Once your base improves, then you refine your control."
Bartolomeo's eyes shone. "So… I'm not hopeless?"
"No," Cassandra said. "You're just sloppy."
He beamed. "THANK YOU!"
Sanji snorted.
Cassandra closed the book.
"This manual isn't a goal," she said. "It's a tool. Use what fits you and ignore what doesn't."
She looked around the deck.
"Train smart. Eat more. Rest properly. Strength isn't about copying others. It's about refining yourself and using everything at your disposal."
Cassandra was getting better and better in her role as a teacher for these green horns.
The crew fell into a thoughtful silence, as the sea stretched endlessly ahead.
Reverse Mountain awaited.
And beyond it, the Grand Line.
Back at Loguetown.
Smoker was sitting at his desk with clenched fists and gritting his teeth.
A soldier knocked and entered.
"Captain the weapon seller Ipponmatsu and his wife were found murdered in their own shop," he said with a pale face. "It looks like someone cut them down with a sword. It is not known, who did it or why, but their money was stolen. For some odd reason the weapons remained, except maybe some are missing. That is something we can't verify."
He concluded his report, still haunted by the gruesome pictures of the murded couple in his head.
Smoker took a long drag of his two cigars and said: "Prepare the ship. We will follow these damn Straw Hat pirates!"
"Do you think they did it?" the soldier asked.
"I don't know, but someone STOLE MY PRIZED CIGARS!" Smoker slammed his fist on the desk. His face got red with throbbing anger veins.
Smoker would make sure to bring these pirates to justice and get back his prized posession.