Clang!
The sound of Zoro's blade clashing with Luffy's defense rang out, but his sword was halted mid-strike by a blackened arm. Haki. Kai's armament haki had blocked the blow, preventing Zoro from making any progress.
"What the... how is this possible?" Zoro's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You're surprised? Just because you've mastered cutting steel and fancy yourself a true swordsman?" Kai said calmly, though inwardly, he was sweating. Good thing Zoro's just discovered cutting steel... otherwise, my armament haki might not have held up against that attack!
Kai turned to both Luffy and Zoro, irritation clear in his voice. "Are you two idiots trying to kill each other?"
Originally, Kai was just enjoying the spectacle of their fight. But as the battle escalated, he realized the danger. Zoro's last strike could have seriously injured, if not killed Luffy.
"I'll never forgive someone who betrays the crew!" Luffy shouted.
"I'm done explaining! I'll just cut you down!" Zoro retorted, not backing down an inch.
Without hesitation, the two charged at each other again.
"You two really want to die, huh?" Kai growled, losing his patience.
Bam! Bam!
With two swift punches, one for each, he sent them flying. If talking didn't work, a little force would surely calm them down.
As expected, it worked.
Some time later~
"Ahaha, Zoro! If you'd just told me what was going on earlier, I wouldn't have fought you! Why didn't you just explain?" Luffy laughed.
"Explain?! You didn't even give me a chance! You just started throwing punches!" Zoro fumed, even more irritated now.
Luffy, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, said, "Aw, don't worry about it, Zoro~ It was just a misunderstanding."
"Alright, enough! Let's go back and meet up with the others," Kai said, cutting off their banter.
"Yeah, let's go!" Zoro replied confidently, marching off... in the wrong direction.
"Zoro... you're going the wrong way," Kai sighed.
"Ahem!" Zoro coughed awkwardly and nonchalantly changed direction, pretending nothing happened.
Kai shook his head, following close behind. If he didn't, Zoro might get lost again. As for Robin, she had slipped away during the fight, but that was fine. He had no intention of stopping her—he still needed her to decipher the Poneglyphs later.
"Kai !" Luffy suddenly called out.
Kai turned, surprised. "What is it?"
"Teach me to fight! I need to get stronger!" Luffy's voice was full of determination.
The recent battle with Zoro had opened Luffy's eyes. Zoro was growing stronger without him even realizing it, while he himself felt like he was falling behind. If it hadn't been for Kai's intervention, Zoro's sword might have seriously injured him.
Kai gazed at Luffy, deep in thought, not responding right away. Luffy stood firm, eyes locked with Kai's, waiting.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kai nodded. "Come tomorrow."
Luffy grinned wide, clearly excited. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.
As they continued walking, Kai thought to himself, I really do need to help Luffy get stronger. The enemies we'll face next are only going to get tougher... if they don't improve, they'll be in real danger.
He let out a sigh. Looks like I'll have my hands full for a while...
The reason he hadn't trained them earlier wasn't due to anything complicated—he'd just been too lazy. But now there was no choice. Luffy and the others had to grow stronger to survive what was coming.
Zoro, at least, was progressing rapidly. In the original timeline, Zoro only learned to cut steel when fighting Mr. 1 in Alabasta. But now, thanks to Kai's training, Zoro had reached that level much earlier.
Thinking about it, Kai couldn't help but smile. If Mr. 1 shows up in Alabasta, Zoro will take him down without breaking a sweat. Maybe I'll have to find tougher challenges for them...
He was actually looking forward to it now.
The next day~
"Mr. Kai, are you sure I don't need to pretend to be Princess Vivi to distract the pursuers?" Igaram asked nervously.
"No! I've told you a hundred times—no!!!" Kai shot back, veins bulging on his forehead. He was practically ready to explode.
"Igaram, what's wrong with you? You've asked this question at least ten times since last night!" Kai gritted his teeth. "Let me make this clear—one last time. You don't have to do anything. Just stay in this town and keep quiet!"
"As long as I'm here, even if Crocodile himself shows up, you'll be safe. Got it?"
"Yes, I understand!" Igaram raised his hands in surrender, a sheepish look on his face. Despite Kai's reassurance, Igaram couldn't help but worry. After all, Crocodile was one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
He almost asked another question, but one glance at Kai's murderous expression made him think better of it.
"If you say one more word, I'll end you right now. Do you believe me?"
Igaram swallowed hard, nodding quickly. "I understand! I won't say another word!"
Kai exhaled slowly, trying to calm down. Dealing with Igaram had his blood pressure through the roof.
Turning to the rest of the group, he ordered, "Follow me."
"Wait, do I have to go too?" Usopp asked, his voice trembling. Luffy had told him that Kai was going to train them today. And where there's training, there's pain.
"Of course you do! Stop whining and keep up!" Kai snapped, leading the group out of town.
Everyone followed, though Usopp was dragging his feet. There was no getting out of this now.
Vivi, Igaram , Mr. 9, and Miss Monday also tagged along. Although Kai hadn't explicitly invited them, he didn't stop them either. Watching the training could help them learn a thing or two.
And so, the group marched out of the town, ready for whatever intense training Kai had in store for them.
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Power Stones would be appreciated if you like the story