"Good job, everyone," Ben said, nodding approvingly.
"That felt almost too easy," Raki remarked as she crossed her arms.
"Well, it was 17 against 1," Mikita pointed out with a smirk.
"The numbers were definitely in our favor," Kalifa added.
"But he was still pretty tough," Kaya noted thoughtfully.
"This Smoker could be hit without haki, but it seemed like he could withstand a lot more," Hina observed.
"Yes, Captain Smoker is strong, but he wouldn't have held out against so many of us," Tashigi agreed. She sensed something unusual about this island.
"My love," Alvida began with a glint in her eye, "I was thinking we could use this place as a training ground," she added.
"What do you mean?" Conis asked.
"These enemies are ones we've fought before, so we already know their powers," Alvida explained. "It would be perfect for practicing and strengthening our new abilities," she added.
"That actually sounds ideal," Mikita agreed, her enthusiasm rising.
"Yes, it would be a great challenge," Honey chimed in. They all were training together in the morning.
"But we have to be cautious; we could still get hurt," Vivi warned.
"We're strong, and Kaya can always patch us up," Robin said with a reassuring smile.
They all looked at Kaya and nodded. "The best way is to avoid getting hurt in the first place," Kaya remarked.
Ben thought for a moment, weighing the risks. It was dangerous, but Alvida had a point. "Alright," he decided. "We can train here as well but everyone stays sharp and looks out for each other."
"We should break out into smaller groups then," Nojiko said.
"Yes, it will be better if we do and we cover more ground," Robin added.
"How should we decide the groups?" Maya asked. They all looked at Ben with puppy eyes.
"Okay," Ben responded. He thought this might be a trap of some kind. He shrugged his shoulders. "We will divide into four or five groups," Ben said
The girls for some reason looked excited. He saw Tashigi and Hina looked a bit interested.
"Group 1 will be me, Maya, Conis and Hina," Ben said.
Conis and Maya smiled at each other and then at Ben. Hina gave a small smile as well. The rest of the girls looked disappointed slightly. He could hear a few sighs.
"Group 2 will be Mikita, Marianne, Raki and Nojiko," Ben stated.
"Sure Ben," Mikita agreed. Marianne, Raki and Nojiko nodded.
"Group 3 will be Vivi, Tashigi, Kaya and Saphir," Ben said.
"We are together," Vivi said.
"We are," Kaya responded.
Tashigi nodded. She thought she would be with Vivi, the Princess of Alabasta. She knew Ben had saved her home country and she loved him for that but was there more.
Saphir smiled at Vivi and Kaya and nodded.
"The final group will be Group 4 with Alvida, Honey, Robin, Zala and Kalifa," Ben said.
They all nodded. "Now, while the list has past enemies there are certain people who we should only face all together. People like Dracule Mihawk, Portgas D. Ace, Shanks, Whitebeard, Aokiji and Evil Guardian we will only fight together," Ben stated.
"The World's Strongest Swordsman," Tashigi remarked.
"Yes, he is said to have duelled with Shanks, a Yonko of the sea," Ben said.
"Do you think these Phantasms will be as strong as them?" Vivi asked.
"No, I don't think so, but they will be very strong," Ben responded.
The girls understood the situation and nodded.
"Also, we should avoid exploring at night. We should rest up," Ben added.
"Rest up and get our rewards from my love," Alvida remarked.
"Captain Duties," Zala teased and winked at Ben.
"Pervert," Kaya said.
"Sexual harassment," Kalifa said, touching her glasses.
The girl giggled and thought about what they would be doing. Hina looked a little flustered. Tashigi thought of the kiss and shook her head.
"We also have these aprons," Robin said.
"All in different sizes, colours and shapes," Nojiko added.
"They might be useful," Ben added.
"My love, they will be very useful," Alvida said.
"They can be," Zala agreed. They both smiled at each other.
Ben again thought there was something else to do. "Okay, let's move, we have the Den Den Mushi and Walkie Talkies which have been repaired and tuned by HQ and NT," Ben said.
"HQ and NT said they were already done, someone else had done it," Mikita said.
Ben thought who could have done that. Everyone pulled out their communication devices and nodded to see they were working.
They all walked ahead and saw several paths. "Okay we can start splitting from now," Ben said.
At that moment. a faint light appeared. The light began to coalesce, gradually forming a distinct shape. As it grew brighter, a figure started to emerge. They could see a blue, light-blue, and gold patterning armour form. The light went away.
They saw an armoured looking character. The upper body had a golden, helmet-like structure. It featured a golden collar. The main torso area was dark blue with pink. The lower half resembled a spinning top with alternating blue and gold stripes. Below this, there was a blue crystal at the very bottom. The character also has floating, disembodied arms on each side, each ending in a large, armored fist. The arms and fists were a matching blue. He had one large sword in his hand. "Sword Soldier," Sword Soldier said.
"What is that?" Conis asked. She thought it looked different.
"Something, tell me that is not friendly," Raki commented.
He rushed toward the group of girls. "Sword Attack," Sword Soldier said as he swung his sword arm.
"Cutting Mist," Tashigi said as she drew her sword and dashed towards the Sword Soldier and they clashed. There was a small shockwave. She looked at the weird golden face.
"Shave," Vivi said as she moved quickly towards the Sword Soldier. She dashed forward and appeared behind him. "Touche Slash," Vivi said as she held her sword and delivered a horizontal slash on its back. Vivi started to pant. There was sweat dripping from her forehead. She had used a lot of energy, she thought.
Tashigi and Vivi jumped back. "Inferno Strike," Conis said as she channelled the intense heat into the tip of the javelin. She thrusted it forward, releasing a scorching blast of flames. It hit the Sword Soldier who was thrusted back. The fire burnt the armour plate.
"Hex`s Fire," Maya said as she scraped the sword on the ground. The friction created a black-coloured flaming projectile that she launched at the Sword Soldier. The Sword Soldier was thrusted backwards. The black flames burnt its golden head.
"Shave," Kalifa said as she moved quickly towards the Sword Soldier and appeared in front of him. "Bendy Finger Pistol Whip," Kalifa said as she pulled back her arm and then whipped her arm out at the Sword Soldier at high speed, causing her arm to appear as if it was bending like a whip would. She hit the Sword Soldier on the face who went flying back and crashed on the ground. His body changed to light and he left two items.
Robin approached and bent down. "It looks like Clay and Waste Iron," Robin remarked.
"Let's collect it for now," Ben responded. "These seem stronger than the regular Marine Soldiers, keep an eye out for them," he added. They all nodded and headed down their paths in their Groups.