บท 22: Sad Sensei
While Usopp retreated from Luffy's excited demands for more sparring, Lucius felt a warmth spread through his chest as notifications started flooding his vision.
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[Student Loyalty Update - Current Progress]
Monkey D. Luffy: 50% (5 star potential)
Roronoa Zoro: 50% (5 star potential)
Sanji: 45% (5 star potential)
Nami: 50% (3 star potential)
Usopp: 50% (3 star potential)
Nefertari Vivi: 50% (3 star potential)
Karoo: 50% (3 star potential)
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[SP Rewards Processing...]
5 star students (x3): 4250 SP
3 star students (x4): 3600 SP
Previous Balance: 775 SP
New Total: 8625 SP
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[Teaching Options Expanded]
Each student can now learn 10 additional techniques
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Looking around the dojo, Lucius couldn't help but smile as he watched them all train. Nami was practically dancing between those giant fans now, her body becoming almost see-through when she used Paper Art. Sanji bounced through the air like he was walking on invisible stairs, fighting those metal training dummies that kept getting tougher and tougher.
Zoro's new cutting technique had gotten so good that he was slicing through reinforced steel like it was paper. Vivi moved so fast now that sometimes all you could see was a blur, and Karoo's leg kicks were making these awesome wind blades that could cut through almost anything.
But watching them get stronger just made Lucius's chest feel heavy. He knew they'd have to leave soon - people in Alabasta were counting on them. Every day they spent training here meant more people suffering there.
The weird thing was, Lucius didn't want them to go. Not just because they were good students (though they really were), but because he'd gotten used to having them around. Even their crazy dining room chaos had started to feel normal - Luffy trying to steal everyone's food, Nami keeping him in line, Zoro and Sanji arguing over nothing.
"I could teach them so much more," he whispered to himself, looking at his huge SP total. With that many points, he could show them incredible techniques. But time wasn't on their side.
The truth was, Lucius was also scared. Not of teaching - that was the easy part. But out there in the real world? He wasn't a fighter. Back in Iowa, the scariest thing he'd faced was an angry bull that got loose once. Here, his students were getting ready to face real dangers, and he...he was just a teacher who couldn't even use these techniques without the system's help.
Watching Luffy bounce around excitedly after his spar with Usopp, Lucius remembered his first day teaching agriculture. How nervous he'd been, how unsure. But his students back then had trusted him, just like these pirates trusted him now.
The thought of reaching 100% loyalty with any of them seemed impossible now. They'd have to leave before that could happen. Part of him wanted to be selfish, to keep training them until they were perfect. But he knew that wasn't what a good teacher would do.
A good teacher knew when their students needed to move on, even if it hurt to watch them go.
"Sensei!" Luffy's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Watch this!"
Luffy was trying to maintain Iron Body while doing a handstand, his rubber legs wobbling in the air. It wasn't working very well, but he kept trying anyway, laughing every time he fell.
That was another thing Lucius would miss - Luffy's endless enthusiasm, Usopp's creative solutions, Nami's quick thinking, Vivi's determination, Karoo's surprising cleverness, Zoro's intense focus, and even Sanji's perfectionist cooking.
The system pinged with new technique options, both internal and external techniques he could teach them. Ten new techniques each - that was huge. But looking at his students training their hearts out, Lucius knew it wasn't about how many techniques they learned. It was about making sure they mastered what they already knew.
Maybe he couldn't fight alongside them when they left. Maybe he couldn't reach that perfect 100% loyalty. But he could make sure that every technique he taught them was absolutely perfect. That way, even if their training had to be cut short, they'd have everything they needed to succeed.
Even if letting them go would feel like losing his best students all over again.
...
During dinner, Lucius picked at his food, not really eating. The dojo's kitchen was filled with the usual chaos - Luffy trying to steal from everyone's plates while somehow stuffing his own face, Nami keeping him in line, and Sanji yelling about proper table manners. But tonight, even the familiar scene couldn't lift his mood.
Vivi noticed the way Lucius's fork just pushed food around his plate. His eyes looked distant, like he was seeing something far away instead of the dinner in front of him.
"Sensei?" Vivi's voice was soft enough that only he could hear it over Luffy's loud chewing. "Is everything alright?"
Lucius quickly put on a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Of course! Just thinking about tomorrow's training schedule."
But Vivi had grown up in a royal court - she knew what fake smiles looked like. After dinner, while the others were arguing about whose turn it was to clean up, she caught Lucius's eye and nodded toward the door.
Outside, the evening air was cool and calm. Stars were starting to appear in the sky, and waves could be heard hitting the beach in the distance. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, this had been a lonely stretch of sand where Lucius collected coconuts to survive.
"We can't stay much longer," Vivi said quietly, looking out toward the ocean. "My people..."
"I know." Lucius's voice was heavy. "How long?"
"Two more nights." Vivi's hands clenched at her sides. "I wish we had more time. Everyone's learning so much, and you're such a wonderful teacher, but..."
"But people are dying while we train," Lucius finished for her. He'd been trying not to think about it, but the truth was always there, weighing on him.
The sound of Luffy's laughter drifted out from the dojo, followed by a crash and Nami yelling something about broken dishes. In just a few days, these sounds that had become so familiar would be gone. He'd be alone again, collecting coconuts on this peaceful island while his students faced real danger.
"You know," Lucius said, managing a real smile this time, "I couldn't have asked for better students. All of you - your dedication, your willingness to learn, the way you support each other... In all my years of teaching, I've never seen anything quite like it."
Vivi's eyes got a bit watery. "We couldn't have asked for a better teacher either. The techniques you've taught us, they'll help save my kingdom. I don't know how to thank you enough."
"Just promise me one thing," Lucius turned to face her properly. "When you get to Alabasta, when things get tough - remember that these techniques aren't just about fighting. They're about protecting what matters."
Vivi nodded, wiping her eyes quickly. "Like how Usopp adapted Finger Pistol to work with his support style? Or how Zoro merged your teaching with his own technique?"
"Exactly. Each of you has taken what I taught and made it your own. That's what makes me proud as a teacher." Lucius looked back at the dojo, where more crashes suggested another dinner disaster in progress. "For the next two days, I'll teach you everything I can. Every technique, every combination, every detail that might help."
"But sensei, isn't that too much? You always say we shouldn't rush our training..."
"Sometimes," Lucius said, remembering his agriculture students during drought seasons, "circumstances don't give us the luxury of perfect timing. What matters is making the most of the time we have."
Inside, Luffy was showing off how he could now maintain Iron Body while stretching in three different directions. Usopp was telling an obviously made-up story about training ten thousand warriors in the art of Finger Pistol, while Karoo practiced Tempest Kick in the background. Nami was scolding Luffy for breaking more dishes, while Sanji and Zoro's argument about proper sword cleaning techniques was getting louder by the second.
"They're quite a handful, aren't they?" Vivi laughed softly.
"They're perfect," Lucius said, and meant it. "I spent three weeks alone on this island before you all showed up. Just me and my coconuts, trying to figure out why I was here. Now I know."
"To teach us?"
"To help. Back home, I taught students how to help their communities grow stronger. Now I'm teaching you how to protect people. Different methods, same goal."
A particularly loud crash from inside made them both wince.
"Though I have to admit," Lucius added with a small laugh, "my students back home were usually a bit less destructive during dinner."
"MEAT!" Luffy's voice carried clearly through the walls. "Sanji! More meat!"
"YOU JUST HAD FOUR PORTIONS!" Sanji's reply was immediate.
"But I'm training hard!"
"We're ALL training hard!"
Vivi smiled at the familiar chaos. "Thank you, sensei. Not just for teaching us, but for understanding why we have to leave so soon. I know it can't be easy..."
"A teacher's job isn't to hold students back," Lucius said, though his chest felt tight. "It's to prepare them for whatever comes next. For the next two days, we'll make every moment count. No breaks, no holding back. I'll teach you everything I can."
"The others will be sad when I tell them," Vivi said softly.
"Then don't. Not tonight. Let them enjoy dinner and rest well. Tomorrow morning, I'll tell them myself, and then we'll begin the final phase of training."
Another crash from inside, followed by multiple voices yelling at once.
"Though maybe we should go make sure they don't destroy the dojo before training can even start," Lucius suggested.
Vivi nodded, and they headed back inside. The scene that greeted them was exactly what they expected - total chaos. But looking at his students now, Lucius saw more than just the mess. He saw Luffy's endless determination, Zoro's intense focus, Nami's quick thinking, Usopp's creative spirit, Sanji's precise control, and Karoo's surprising grace. Most of all, he saw how they worked together, even when they were arguing.
Two days wasn't much time. But for students like these? Maybe it would be enough.
At least, that's what he told himself as he helped clean up another set of broken dishes while Luffy begged for more food and Sanji threatened to kick him through a wall. Even this chaos had become precious to him, knowing how soon it would end.
For now though, he just enjoyed being part of it. Tomorrow would bring hard truths and intense training, but tonight? Tonight was for broken dishes, loud arguments, impossible stories, and the kind of laughter that made you forget about sad goodbyes.
Even if his heart felt heavy, Lucius couldn't help but smile. These pirates might be leaving soon, but they'd given him something he never expected to find on this lonely island - a reminder of why he loved teaching in the first place.
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