At the Sabaody Archipelago, Island No. 13, in front of Shakky's Rip-off Bar, Bardock carefully landed the ship and anchored it.
"Shakky, we're back!" Hancock pushed open the door of the bar and called out loudly.
"Oh my, Hancock, you've certainly come back quickly. I was just thinking about you. Bardock, it looks like your trip went quite smoothly," Shakky said, glancing at Mansherry and Leo, who were perched on Bardock's shoulder, and giving them a wink.
"Shakky, these are Mansherry and Leo, my new companions. The trip went well."
"Hello, Leo and Mansherry. I'm Shakky. Why don't we all sit down and have a chat?"
"Nice to meet you, Shakky," they replied.
Shakky flipped the "Open" sign on the door to show "Closed" and served some juice to everyone.
"By the way, Shakky, where are Sandersonia and Marigold? I don't see them around," Hancock asked.
"Don't worry, Hancock. They're recovering well. Old Rayleigh is teaching them something. They'll be back before nightfall."
"Really? That's great news."
…
As evening fell, the bar door swung open again. It was Sandersonia and Marigold who had returned. Behind them came another man — a charismatic older man with white hair and a distinct beard. Despite his age, he still exuded a powerful aura. This man was none other than Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King.
"Sister!" Sandersonia and Marigold immediately ran up to Hancock with joy, expressing how much they missed her during this time and asking if her trip had gone well and if she had accomplished her goals.
"Yes, everything went very smoothly. We achieved our goals. This is Mansherry, the princess of the Tontatta Kingdom. She helped me a lot. Come over here, I'll introduce you," Hancock nodded repeatedly, calling Mansherry over to introduce her to Sandersonia and Marigold.
"Hello, I'm Mansherry. Nice to meet you all," said Mansherry.
"We're happy to meet you too, Mansherry," they responded.
"Shakky, I'm taking them to the back for a bit," Hancock excused herself, leading her sisters and Mansherry to the living quarters behind the bar. Her two sisters must have been like her, wanting nothing more than to rid themselves of the shameful marks they bore.
"So, you're Bardock? I'm Rayleigh. I've heard quite a bit about you from Shanks. Truly, a hero among the young," Rayleigh said with a smile.
"Haha, you flatter me, Rayleigh. You're still full of vigor, as always!" Bardock replied.
"Oh? So you've heard of me too? Seems like today's young people are quite well-informed, recognizing even an old retired man like me," Rayleigh chuckled.
"Rayleigh, you're a legend of the seas," Bardock remarked.
"What legend? Nowadays, he's just an old man working as a coating craftsman, trying to make ends meet," Shakky interjected with a playful snort. "He loses more money at the casino than he makes."
"Come on, Shakky, don't put it like that. I've been avoiding the casinos lately," Rayleigh responded with a helpless smile. "And I'm helping you train them, aren't I?"
"Hmph, like you need me to ask for that favor?" Shakky retorted.
"So, Rayleigh, you've been living in hiding here at Sabaody. Haven't the Marines reacted? I hear those government dogs have pretty sharp noses," Bardock chimed in, steering the conversation away from the banter.
"Oh, they're sharp, alright. But Roger's gone, and I've retired. Destroying Sabaody just to deal with me would be a bit of an overreach, don't you think? It'd be better for them to let me fade away in obscurity," Rayleigh replied with a chuckle.
"You truly are the Dark King, always so bold. Only someone like you could hide right under the World Government's nose. Leo, you're the 'Little Ray,' and this here is the 'Old Ray.' You should aspire to be like him, a legendary figure on the seas!" Bardock joked.
"Oh… a legendary figure!" Leo stood on the table, placing his left hand over his chest and raising his right fist to the sky, imitating the pose Bardock had taught him for a hero's entrance.
"Hahaha," everyone laughed at Leo's adorable display.
"What are you all talking about that's so funny?" Hancock and her sisters, along with Mansherry, returned to the bar's main hall to find everyone laughing.
"Oh, nothing much. Have Sandersonia and Marigold's troubles been resolved?" Bardock asked.
"Yes, thanks to Mansherry. Thank you, Mansherry," Hancock replied gratefully.
"Thank you, Mansherry. Thank you so much," Sandersonia and Marigold added, some tears welling up in their eyes.
"It's nothing, really," Mansherry said with a shy smile. "It's just what I should do for Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold."
Bardock, Leo, and Mansherry stayed at Shakky's Rip-off Bar until late into the night before finally heading back to Bardock's place on Sabaody Archipelago, having even managed to get a free meal — a rare occurrence, as few people could mooch anything off Shakky.
"Leo, Mansherry, tomorrow we're going shopping, and the day after, we'll set off for the West Blue. Our adventure is finally about to begin! Are you excited?"
"Yes!" they replied.
"Are you thrilled?"
"Yes!" they shouted enthusiastically.
"Great! Let's get some rest tonight, and tomorrow we'll go shopping," Bardock declared.
"Yay!" Leo and Mansherry cheered.
…
The next day, Bardock wore a bag shaped like a Flying Nimbus Cloud across his chest, with some holes on its surface. Leo and Mansherry hid inside, able to peek out and observe the outside world through the holes.
Bardock bought a lot of fine fabrics for Mansherry and Leo. It's worth mentioning that Leo's Devil Fruit ability made him particularly skilled at sewing. He had a hand in making many of the clothes worn by the Tontatta people — truly a talented and industrious man.
He also purchased a Den Den Mushi for long-distance communication, sea charts for the West Blue, and various supplies, nearly spending all of his savings.
Back at their lodging, Leo and Mansherry started a conversation with Gancho using the Den Den Mushi.
"Bero bero bero bero…" The Den Den Mushi soon connected.
"This is the Tontatta Kingdom, Gancho speaking," came a voice.
"Father, it's me. Can you hear me?" Mansherry asked.
"Gancho, it's Leo here!" Leo added.
"Mansherry, my daughter…" Gancho's voice came, filled with emotion.
…
That night, Bardock decided to go out and see if he could find some poor soul who, seeing a young man with two kids, might take pity on him and offer up their riches to contribute to his comfortable life.
That same night, Tony Tony Chopper went on a rampage through the underworld of Sabaody Archipelago, taking down more than a dozen pirates with bounties ranging from several million to over ten million berries. All these pirates were knocked out by surprise attacks and sent to the Marine base. The name "Chopper the Bludgeoner" began to spread from within the Marine ranks to the bounty hunter community, and it wouldn't be long before even low-level pirates started fearing the "Bludgeoner."
Additionally, the bounty hunter Kakarot made his move that night, too. Not only did he kill a pirate captain with a bounty of 40 million berries, but he also wiped out the entire crew. The name Kakarot began to circulate within the Sabaody Archipelago Marine base.
Like Chopper, Kakarot was one of those fearsome individuals who would return multiple times a night to claim bounties.
Sabaody's nights remained as lively as ever, and the ones who had stirred up the excitement were already back in their beds, sleeping soundly.
With a blink of an eye, the time had come for departure. In front of Shakky's Bar, Bardock had already said his farewells to everyone, with only Hancock remaining for the final goodbye.
"Bardock, are you really not staying?" Hancock asked.
"Hancock, we all have our own paths. Parting is only temporary. As long as we continue to sail the seas, I believe we'll meet again sooner or later."
"Here, a parting gift. Sandersonia, Marigold, and I prepared it for you."
Hancock handed Bardock a package, which he casually accepted. It felt like books. Scratching his head, he said, "As expected of you ladies, so thoughtful. I didn't prepare anything like this. Can I open it?"
"Open it later, along the way."
"Alright then. So, farewell, Hancock, everyone. I'll miss you all. Leo, Mansherry, let's set sail."
"Let's go!"
"Safe journey, Bardock!"
"Mansherry, make sure to come and visit us!"
"Bardock, don't charge into any more storms!"
"Don't jinx it. We're off."
With those parting words, Bardock controlled the ship, lifting it into the sky and quickly disappearing into the distance.
As Bardock and his companions disappeared from view, Rayleigh took out his flask and took a sip. "Bardock's right. We'll definitely meet again. Now, I'll start training you all properly. Your strength is still far from sufficient to survive on the seas."
"Rayleigh, please train us rigorously. We're counting on you!" Hancock said seriously, her face filled with determination.
"Please!" Sandersonia and Marigold chimed in together.
"Don't worry. Just don't give up halfway. Let's move to a more suitable place for training. We can't do much here."
Bardock's ship soon sailed far from the Sabaody Archipelago. He took out the package Hancock had given him and gently opened it. "As expected, it's books. Navigational Skills: From Beginner to Master, West Sea Sailing Guide, Medical Compendium of Drum Island, Knitting Mastery: 108 Knitting Techniques Unveiled, and a nameless manuscript: Nine Snake Haki Training Method. Well, this is…"
Although Bardock had learned about Haki development from Shanks, those were Shanks' personal experiences—based on his own understanding and comprehension of Haki. However, people's constitutions and aptitudes vary greatly, sometimes even more than between humans and animals.
Despite Bardock's short training time, he had already encountered several issues, but he hadn't found any answers. Shanks was currently wandering around the East Blue, so Bardock could only fumble his way through trial and error. Now, just when he needed it most, Hancock's book Nine Snake Haki Training Method came as a lifesaver. It provided a systematic method to develop Haki, specifically designed for the warriors of Amazon Lily, offering a more general and comprehensive approach, which perfectly addressed Bardock's current concerns.
"Mansherry, Leo, time to divide up the gifts!"
"Bardock, what kind of gifts? Something tasty?" Mansherry asked excitedly.
"It's knowledge."
"Huh?"
...
Bardock had two ways to quickly reach the West Sea. One was to fly over the Red Line, crossing the Calm Belt to reach the South Sea, and then cross the Red Line again to get to the West Sea. The other was to first cross the Red Line and then fly directly along it through the Calm Belt to the West Sea.
He ultimately chose the second route since the first would take him near the Navy Headquarters, and it wouldn't be ideal to accidentally run into Borsalino.
The Calm Belt's existence was quite unreasonable. The sea was calm and windless, with massive sea kings swimming beneath the surface. Fortunately, they were flying high above, so there was no need for concern.
Bardock mused, "Do storms just stop when they reach the Calm Belt? What about tsunamis? This seems more and more like the work of a Devil Fruit power. If humans mastered this kind of power, storms and tsunamis would be things of the past."
"The air is moving again. Have we crossed over already?"
Feeling the breeze against his face, Bardock flew the ship forward for a while longer until they were well past the Calm Belt. Then, he lowered the ship to the sea's surface.
"Illusia… Illusia… Here it is. Wow, it's so far."
Bardock flipped through the map, finally locating his destination.
"Leo, Mansherry, let's sail the rest of the way. We can't stay in the sky the whole time."
"That sounds fine."
"I have no objections. It'll give Bardock a chance to practice his navigation skills."
"I do need to learn navigation, but what about training? The Great Sage is a bit too small for that."
"Yeah, Bardock, I barely have any space to move around!" Leo complained, running a few steps before reaching the edge of the ship.
Mansherry remained silent, smiling at Leo. She didn't mind the small ship. In fact, with the ship being smaller, she could see Leo all the time.
"Got it! I can control the Flying Nimbus to fly upward, so naturally, I can make it apply downward force too."
An idea struck Bardock. He wrapped the Nimbus around himself like a blanket and then controlled it to change shape. The Nimbus eventually transformed into a suit of clothes. With a thought, Bardock felt a force pressing down on him.
"Now I've got full-body resistance training covered. Every movement I make will be a workout. But there's only one Nimbus. How can I train all three of us? Leo, you're in charge of lookout duty for now while I work on this ability."
"No problem, Captain."
Bardock restored the Nimbus to its original form, then extended three tendrils. One tendril wrapped around Bardock, gradually transforming into clothing. He let the other two tendrils wrap around Leo and Mansherry.
"Captain Bardock, these clothes are beautiful," Leo and Mansherry said, admiring the cloud-like attire.
"Let's see if you still like them in a minute," Bardock said, applying downward pressure.
"It's so heavy, Captain! I can't move!" Mansherry, who wasn't used to training, quickly struggled under the pressure, and Bardock immediately lessened the force.
"Sorry, Mansherry. From now on, I'll gradually increase the weight. Let me know how you're feeling at any time."
"Okay, Captain," Mansherry responded softly, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Mansherry, there's no need to be embarrassed. You haven't trained yet, and you're a doctor. I don't expect you to fight. The main reason for your physical training is to ensure you have enough stamina to use your abilities and escape in dangerous situations. So, don't push yourself, alright?"
"Understood, Captain."
"Good."
Bardock continued refining the Nimbus-weighted gear. Since the Nimbus was a single entity, he couldn't apply different amounts of pressure to each person. Luckily, he noticed that the amount of Nimbus covering each person determined the force they experienced. Bardock, having the most Nimbus, bore the greatest weight, followed by Leo, and then Mansherry.
To balance stamina and effectiveness, Bardock set the pressure for himself and Leo to twice the normal gravity, while Mansherry had 1.2 times gravity. This meant Bardock and Leo were under double the usual gravitational force, while Mansherry was only slightly above normal.
"That'll do for now. I'll keep improving it later."
"Captain Bardock, there are pirates ahead! They're firing cannons at a merchant ship!"
"Haha, West Sea pirates, huh? Let's get closer."
After speaking, Bardock realized he was the one who had to steer the ship. He glanced toward the battle—since the pirates were after loot, the merchant ship could still hold out for a while. There was no rush, so he awkwardly navigated the ship toward the pirates.
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