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After dealing with the Illysia Kingdom, Buggy and his crew immediately left.
This time, they didn't go directly to find crew members elsewhere. Instead, they found a remote, uninhabited island not far from the Illysia Kingdom, where they planned to rest for a while.
There were many reasons for taking a break here. The main reason was that the things they had done in the Illysia Kingdom had too much impact. It was so great that it might even alert the Five Elders and possibly lead to a pursuit by a Marine Admiral.
Buggy knew that he was no match for a Marine Admiral right now. He wouldn't even have a chance to escape. After thinking for a while, he decided to lie low for the time being. So, he found a remote, uninhabited island and took a break.
He chose an island not far from the Illysia Kingdom. This was to hide in plain sight. The most dangerous place is the safest place. The Marines would definitely come to Illysia to pursue them. When they arrived and realized that they had left a while ago, they would definitely chase them in another direction. They wouldn't expect them to be staying near the Illysia Kingdom. This way, they could avoid this crisis.
Another reason was to train his crew. They hadn't been together for very long. Even Kuro, who had joined first, had only been on the ship for a month. Even if he trained them on the ship, they wouldn't improve much. Moreover, there was a lot of work to be done on the ship, and they couldn't train for very long. So, taking a break was necessary.
Buggy also planned to improve his own strength during this time. He would be facing Marine Admirals, elite Vice Admirals, or Marine elites. He definitely needed to improve his strength. Otherwise, he might be captured by the Marines and imprisoned in Impel Down before he even entered the Grand Line. His fate might be even worse. After all, his identity was out there.
It was a case of the blind leading the blind. On this deserted island, they also evaded Sakazuki, who had come from Marine Headquarters. Sakazuki searched everywhere for them, but he couldn't find any trace of them.
But because of this, the furious Sakazuki stirred up a huge storm in the West Blue. Almost all the pirates who had set sail were captured by him.
Just like that, half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Buggy and his crew ended their six-month training. Everyone had made significant progress in these six months.
First, the biggest gain was Kuro. He had made rapid progress in all aspects during these six months. You could tell from his appearance. Before, he was only about 1.6 meters tall. Now, he had grown to 1.75 meters. His body was no longer thin and weak. From his appearance, he gave off a tough and capable aura.
In these six months, under Buggy's systematic training, Kuro had made great progress in his stamina, martial arts, and his versatile cat claw techniques.
First, his stamina had improved. You could see the results from his appearance. And as his stamina improved, he had mastered Soru (moonwalk) from the Rokushiki. He had combined Soru with his cat claws and developed his own technique: "Spoon."
This was his most proud technique decades later. He had developed it ahead of time during this period.
But this technique was several times faster than his later version. The speed was incomparable. Even those crew members who had just mastered Observation Haki had difficulty finding him. If they weren't careful, they might be injured by Kuro. He had also learned Geppo (moonwalk) and Rankyaku (air kick) from the Rokushiki. Now, his later self might not even be his opponent.
As for why his gains were the biggest, it was because his foundation was the lowest, so his progress was naturally the greatest. Buggy and the others had already reached such a level of strength. They couldn't improve as quickly as he did.
Daddy Masterson also made great progress. He learned the essential skills of a sniper, the skills necessary to become a peak sniper. He had developed Observation Haki. With the enhancement of Observation Haki, his sniping skills had greatly improved.
Lafitte mainly developed Busoshoku Haki, which also greatly improved his strength. In the future, if he encountered a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, he would have a way to harm them. Of course, Busoshoku Haki also enhanced the power of his swordsmanship. As for swordsmanship, he didn't improve much. A swordsman wasn't easy to become.
Weevil's swordsmanship had improved. He had reached the level of "Sword Cutting Steel." Before, he had relied on his immense strength to cause so much damage.
Now, with his swordsmanship that could cut steel, his strength had been raised to another level. And his Busoshoku Haki could now cover his entire body. His overall strength had been raised to another level.
As for Buggy, his progress wasn't that great. His swordsmanship had already reached the level of a swordsman. He couldn't improve much in a short time. After the last battle between swordsmen, he had some insights. After digesting them, his swordsmanship had also improved slightly.
His Haki had also made some progress, but he had only taken a step forward towards a deeper level. There wasn't any substantial progress. He was still a long way from Armament Haki Coating, Ryuo, Observation Haki Foresight, and Hearing the Voices of All Things.
His Devil Fruit was also moving towards "from large to small." But it would still take some time to reach the next step. The next step was from piece by piece to grain by grain. This was a stage-by-stage bottleneck that he couldn't break through in a short time.
His martial arts, "Life Return," had already touched the threshold. Buggy felt that after a while, or after experiencing a battle, he might be able to master "Life Return." Then, his wish might be fulfilled.
As for Hogback, Buggy didn't push him too hard. He only made him train his stamina and learn some basic martial arts.
Although he didn't expect him to fight, he still had to give him some self-defense ability. Training his stamina was to lay a foundation for him. Basic martial arts were to give him some self-defense ability in case he encountered an enemy. He wouldn't be instantly killed. He could also delay until Buggy and the others came to rescue him.
He didn't teach him the Rokushiki techniques. His physique simply didn't meet the requirements for learning them. Of course, if he wanted to learn them later, Buggy would definitely teach him.
In these six months, Hogback's relationship with Buggy and his crew had also improved a lot. He no longer harbored resentment like he did at the beginning.
Perhaps because they had been together for a long time, his relationship with the crew had become much more harmonious. With Kuro's deliberate efforts to befriend him, he was now considered Kuro's friend. As for his relationship with Buggy, Buggy didn't push him too hard. As long as his strength remained, Hogback wouldn't do anything. At this stage, as long as he didn't hate him, it was fine.
Everyone's strength had improved. They couldn't improve again in a short time. Calculating the time, half a year had passed. Buggy estimated that the impact of that incident had definitely lessened. Even if someone was pursuing him, it wouldn't be a Marine Admiral.
It was impossible for any Marine Admiral to spend half a year constantly searching for him, a fledgling rookie. And they were still searching for him.
Of course, this was impossible. The situation in the New World was changing drastically. A Marine Admiral couldn't leave for too long. As for the other Marines, those elite Vice Admirals, they had their own defensive areas and couldn't leave for long either.
The ones who could leave for a long time were probably those who weren't the top elite Vice Admirals. For Buggy right now, this wouldn't be a life-or-death crisis. Even if he was defeated, he could still escape.
So, Buggy decided to end this training session and set sail again to find the next few crew members. Their next target was the North Blue.
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