They had set sail and it had been a few hours. Ben was working on training his abilities. He still had no luck learning haki. However he was getting better at using his other abilities. He still could not access his full beast form either. It was strange, he thought.
Ben who was in his hybrid form. He recently learned he could breath black fire by focusing on the warm feeling in his stomach. The principle was the same as the energy he could feel in his body. He channelled the warm feeling into his fist. "Demon's Inferno Fist," Ben said as he released his energy into hand and black fire combusted.
Ben smiled. He thought this attack was going to be useful. He changed back into his human form. He had worked on this move the entire day after leaving BM, Emeraude and Rubis on the Miss Love Geese. They will have their own dreams to follow, Ben will follow his.
He thought about his dream. Was it to be the Pirate King? That is Luffy's dream or part of it. He was just copying his dream. His dream before this was to help his mum and sister, to make sure their lives would be better. His deadbeat dad left them. He missed them both. The girls think he should be the Pirate Harem King. That sounded a bit too much however it had a nice ring to it. Ben shook his head. He thought no.
He stretched his arm. He thought about meeting the other girls and seeing what they were up to. Ben walked towards the center of the deck. He saw on the port side, Kaya, Nojiko, Vivi and Saphir were training together. On the starboard side, he saw Marianne, Honey and Robin together.
He approached Kaya, Nojiko, Vivi and Saphir. "Hello ladies," Ben greeted. They all smiled back and greeted Ben.
"What are you all doing today?" Ben asked.
"We saw you were training so we thought of doing some ourselves," Vivi replied.
"Vivi breezed through the training course effortlessly," Nojiko chimed in, a note of admiration in her voice.
Vivi smiled and looked a little embarrassed."So did Saphir and it was her second go," Vivi added.
"I am a fishwoman, so we have better stamina compared to the average human," Saphir said.
"It is hard work at the end of the day which will prevail," Ben stated.
"It is," Kaya replied, nodding.
"Any luck accessing your hybrid or beast form, Vivi?" Ben inquired.
Vivi's expression shifted, a touch of sadness evident in her eyes. "No, Ben. I'm still working on it," she responded with a hint of disappointment.
"Well, today hasn't been all about honing our abilities. We decided to take it a bit lighter," Nojiko chimed in.
"We should have worked harder on it," Vivi said with a determined expression.
Ben pulled Vivi into a comforting hug. "You don't need to push yourself; you're amazing just as you are," he whispered into her ear. Vivi's smile returned, gratitude shining in her eyes. He was, in her heart, a knight, a prince who believed in her.
"Pervert," Kaya remarked.
Ben chuckled and let go of Vivi. "My bad, I should hug you too," Ben offered.
Kaya paused for a second. Saphir then quickly said, "I want a hug," Saphir replied.
"He offered it to me," Kaya said. Nojiko smiled.
"I want one as well," Nojiko added.
"Hugs for all," Ben stated. He first hugged Saphir. Saphir felt his strong arms around her. Her heartbeat quickened. She smiled and embraced the moment.
Ben shifted his attention to Kaya, offering her a warm embrace that she accepted without resistance. As he enveloped her in the hug, he thought her feistiness appealing, a quality that added a unique charm to her character. He smiled.
He finally hugged Nojiko. She had a big smile on her face. She seemed to be more happy after seeing BM. She had this extra spring in her. Nojiko rested her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat pounding. It was strong. She liked being in his arms. Her mum, or BM, felt nice but it was different. This was her lover's embrace.
Nojiko sensed a shift in the wind, an unspoken warning that something was amiss. Her eyes turned towards the horizon, where the once-clear sky now bore the ominous presence of dark clouds gathering, casting a shadow over the landscape. "Ben, there is a storm coming," Nojiko warned.
"Okay, Nojiko head to the bridge, everyone else, go and gather the girls and head there, we are getting close," Ben ordered. It was time, Sweetie told him to trust the ships. The Miss Love Duck will not let them down.
Kaya, Vivi and Saphir all dashed to find everyone. Nojiko and Ben headed to the Bridge, where they saw HQ monitoring the control.
"Hello Master, Nojiko," HQ greeted.
"Hi HQ," Ben greeted back. Nojiko also greeted back,.
"HQ, there is a storm coming, we need to prepare Miss Love Duck for it," Nojiko said.
"Okay, should we divert?" HQ asked.
"No, we can carry forward, there is something we need in the storm and happens during this time," Ben explained.
"Okay Master," HQ replied.
"What are we searching for here?" Nojiko inquired, her gaze fixed on the approaching dark cloud that now loomed ominously overhead. As if responding to the inquiry, the skies opened up, unleashing a torrential downpour.
The sudden deluge created a cascade of raindrops that pounded against the windows of the Bridge, distorting the view beyond. The dark cloud and the heavy rain intensified the air of unpredictability in these seas.
"The Knock-up stream," Ben replied.
"Knock-up stream?" Mikita asked as the entire crew gathered on the Bridge. Vivi, Kaya and Saphir had gathered, Mikita, Honey, Marianne, Alvida, Zala and Robin.
"What is that?" Zala asked.
"It is a phenomenon which occurs in these seas. There is a powerful thrust of water which shoots the ship up into the sky," Ben replied.
"That sounds absolutely crazy," Kaya remarked incredulously, her skepticism etched across her face. Vivi's eyes widened in agreement, reflecting a shared sense of apprehension.
"Scary," Marianne chimed in, her voice carrying a note of concern.
"They say if a ship ventures there and falls, it's crushed, and everyone meets their end," Robin stated,
"What!" Honey and Marianne said together.
"We need to trust our Captain," Alvida asserted with a tone of seriousness, her words carrying a weighty sense of responsibility. Ben, ever observant, couldn't help but notice the absence of the endearing "my love" that often accompanied her reference to him.
"Alvida is absolutely right. We've come this far because we've placed our faith in him," Mikita emphasised, aligning herself with Alvida's sentiment.
Vivi, voicing her unwavering confidence, chimed in, "We trust Ben."
Nojiko, nodding in agreement, added her support. "Indeed, we all do"
"Let's do it," Zala added. Robin smiled and looked around, they all had big smiles on their faces and trusted their Captain fully.
"Master there is the Going Merry there," HQ reported.
"Set a course to them and get next to them," Ben said.
As they got closer, they noticed the Going Merry had a pair of wings on the hull. The figure on the head had a roosters red top. There was a table on the back of the Going Merry as a stabiliser.
The Miss Love Duck got right next to the Going Merry. "Girls stay here and hold on," Ben ordered. They all nodded. Ben walked out of the Bridge and went down the stairs and onto the deck. He saw Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Zoro and Sanji on the deck of the ship.
"Ben," Luffy shouted as he greeted him. He stretched his arms and wrapped him. Ben had a bad feeling about this. Ben then was taken from his feet and he flew towards the Going Merry. He was propelled into the path of Nami where he face planted into her chest.
They both fell down. Nami let out a cute scream. "Get off her you beast," Sanji remarked.
"Ouch," Ben said as he got up. He looked at Nami who was mad. He smiled. "How are you doing, my beautiful girl," Ben said.
"Get off me," Nami shouted back. Ben got up and helped Nami up. She accepted his hand and looked flushed. Nami thought his sister would be endangered because of him.
"Ben, nice to see you again," Luffy said happily as he wrapped his hands and legs around Ben.
"Nice to see you as well Luffy," Ben replied.
"So are you coming up to the Sky Island as well?" Luffy asked.
"Yes, we are, we had to fight a robot on the way," Ben replied.
"That is cool," Usopp and Chopper said.
"We need to focus," Zoro remarked.
"Your ship does not look ready," Nami remarked.
"She will be. We trust her," Ben stated. Luffy looked and nodded.
"We should trust," Luffy said as he got off Ben.
At that moment, they heard a laugh, "Zehahaha." Ben knew who this was. He looked to see a tall round man with dark skin. He had a prominent lipped mouth with several missing teeth. He had a crooked nose and a very large and hairy chest and torso. Long, thick, woolly black hair falls down the back of his neck and a small scruffy black beard. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants.
"Blackbeard," Ben said.
"He was the one who destroyed my homeland," Chopper added.
"Zehahaha," Blackbeard laughed. "I came here to take your bounty, Monkey D Luffy, 100 million bounty," he added showing his bounty poster.
"Captain there is someone else there," said a thin tall man, with light brown hair. He had no emotion on his face. His eyebrows were almost always furrowed. He wore a rectangular eyepiece on the left and on the right eye it was circular and held what appears to be a crosshair. He sported a large black hat and wore a long black cape and a pale lavender shirt with loose sleeves, and simple black pants.
Blackbeard looked to see someone else there. He smiled. "I wonder who that is, Van Augur?" Blackbeard asked.
"It looks to be Demon King Ben with a bounty of 100,000,000 Beli," Van Augar.
"Perfect, we can take them both," said a large, tall, broad-chested, broad shouldered, muscular man, with a broad upper body and a thin lower body in comparison. He had curly violet hair reaching down to his shoulders. He was wearing a dark brown mask with orange decorations on it. He wore a sleeveless black shirt and a pair of white pants. He also had a championship belt around his waist.
"Yes we will Burgess," Blackbeard added.
Suddenly they heard the water rumble. They felt the Going Merry shake. The ocean around them started to form currents. There were bubbles from the ocean. A large whirlpool formed next to them. Both the Going Merry and The Miss Love Duck went into the whirlpool.
"Shishishish, lets go" Luffy said. The two ships went around the whirlpool until they were at the bottom of it. Ben was wondering how the girls were doing. He did not plan to be here.
"Is it over?" Chopper asked.
All of the sudden, the sea exploded upwards. "This is the Knock-up Stream," Usopp remarked. Both ships were launched into the air. At the same time, the wooden raft which Blackbeard and his crew was on, was destroyed by violent waves.
Nami also got launched into the air. "Help," Nami shouted.
"I will save you," Sanji said. However Ben transformed into his hybrid form quickly and grabbed Nami in mid-air. The sudden jolt made him not fly straight and he landed on the Miss Love Duck`s deck. He held Nami tight.
"Why you?" Sanji shouted.