Luffy's dream left a strange impression—Uta as a little demon with black horns, delicate wings, and a devil's tail ending in a red heart. Waking up, he was left with a lingering feeling of confusion and intrigue. Shaking off the dream, he headed out, freshened up, and went to find Uta at breakfast.
"Good morning, Uta." He greeted her, tray in hand, but felt a strange hesitation. Memories of his dream left him strangely self-conscious.
"Good morning, Luffy!" Uta's cheerful smile was as warm as ever, and she beckoned him to sit beside her.
He settled down, and soon after breakfast, Uta set off for her morning run around the palace grounds while Luffy made his way to the pool. He took a deep breath, stretched, and waded in to begin his latest experiment.
Once he'd warmed up, he tried balancing on the water's surface. At first, he managed to stay afloat, but as soon as he shifted weight onto both feet, he began to sink until the water reached his knees.
"If I train enough, I wonder if I can fully stand on water one day?" he thought, flipping himself onto his back and letting the water buoy him up. Gradually, he began to experiment with supporting his body on just his hands and feet, feeling out the subtle balance.
Each attempt became a little steadier until he finally managed to hover just above the water, using a combination of his lightweight technique and strength. But each move threatened to disturb the fragile balance. One wrong shift, and he splashed back into the pool.
"Tricky…" he muttered, though he could sense progress.
It wasn't long before Uta's morning run brought her to the poolside. She watched in amazement as Luffy did push-ups on the water's surface.
"Luffy always has the weirdest training ideas," she said, fascinated by his balancing act.
A few other students from the music school, now allowed into the palace grounds to join the concert preparations, gathered to watch Luffy's unusual workout, their awe and curiosity matching Uta's.
"How are you doing that?" she asked, leaning closer to the pool.
"It's about using the armament technique to grasp the water," Luffy replied, sitting up and noticing the group gathering around him. Uta's wide-eyed stare followed his every move, curiosity written all over her face.
"I wish I could use that technique too!" she said, watching him intently. "Poor Yasopp got beaten black and blue trying to learn it and still hasn't managed."
"Take it one step at a time," Luffy advised, turning back to his push-ups with a grin. "There are ways to learn without the 'getting-beaten-up' method."
Seeing that Luffy was focused, Uta soon resumed her run, heading off to her rehearsal. Meanwhile, Luffy continued experimenting, testing his strength in the water by doing push-ups and shadowboxing in the pool. Each punch created waves and stirred up steam as bursts of flames flickered on his fists, briefly boiling the water around him.
On a rooftop above, Shanks watched him with mild amusement. "So, humans can punch fire, huh?" he mused aloud to Benn Beckman beside him.
"Who knows?" Beckman replied, holding a small flame between his fingers. "Luffy's the type to surprise people."
"Are we going to Uta's concert?" Beckman asked.
Shanks shook his head. "Better not. Don't want to scare the fans. Besides, we get our fill of her music on the ship."
And so, Luffy's training continued, with the ocean's call in the background, reminding him that bigger challenges awaited.
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