The first attempt lasted less than a second.
Luffy stood at one end of the deck, barefoot, knees bent slightly, arms loose at his sides. His eyes were focused, sharper than usual. His posture mirroring one of the diagrams from Garp's notes.
"Alright," he muttered. "Step one… explosive movement."
Zoro watched from where he was sitting, mildly interested.
Nami, at the helm, didn't even turn around.
"Don't break anything," she said flatly.
"I won't!"
Luffy inhaled.
Deep.
His muscles coiled.
"Alright… Soru!"
The deck cracked.
There was a thunderclap as he launched forward.
And then…
WHAM!
The mast shook violently as Luffy's body slammed into it at full speed, wrapping halfway around the wood before snapping back like a rubber band.
The entire boat rocked.
A rope snapped loose.
A crate tipped over.
Zoro blinked.
"…That was fast."
There was a long pause.
Then Luffy slid slowly down the mast, face-first, leaving a faint scorch mark behind him.
"…Ow."
Silence.
And then…
WHAM!
"LUFFYYYYY!!!"
Nami towered over him, brandishing her smoking fist, eyes blazing.
"What did I JUST say?!" she shouted like a storm given human form.
Luffy peeled himself off the floor, clutching the lump Nami left on his head.
"I said I wouldn't break anything!"
"The MAST IS NOT SUPPOSED TO VIBRATE LIKE THAT!"
"It's still standing!"
"That's NOT THE POINT!"
Zoro smirked from his napping spot in the corner.
"That was kind of the point," he muttered.
Nami rounded on him.
"YOU'RE NOT HELPING!"
He raised his hands in faux surrender. "I'm just observing."
Luffy poked the mast lightly.
It creaked.
"…It's fine."
Nami's eye twitched.
"You almost snapped the only thing keeping us moving!"
Luffy tilted his head.
"I thought Soru was supposed to be fast."
"It IS," Nami snapped. "But not on a floating piece of lumber barely big enough for the three of us!"
Luffy paused.
Then looked down at the deck.
Then at the mast.
Then back at the notes in his hand.
"…Huh."
Luffy scratched his cheek.
"I guess this ship is pretty small."
He looked at the diagram again, then at the very limited space around him.
"…I need more room."
Nami stared at him.
"That's your conclusion?"
"Well yeah," Luffy said. "If I go full speed here, I'm either hitting the mast…"
He pointed behind him.
"…or flying off the boat."
Zoro chuckled. "I'd like to see that."
"No you wouldn't," Nami snapped. "Because then I'd have to turn this boat around and fish him out of the ocean."
Luffy grinned.
"I'd probably be fine."
Nami rounded on him again, fist once again poised to knock some sense into him.
He quickly retreated, a rare instance of Monkey D. Luffy admitting defeat.
Then he brightened again.
"Okay! So we just don't do that here!"
Nami crossed her arms.
"Correct."
Luffy looked down at the Rokushiki notes again, flipping through the pages.
"…Yeah, most of this needs more space anyway."
He privately admitted that he may have gotten a bit too excited to think about the logistics of this training.
He tapped the page labeled Soru.
"High-speed directional movement."
Then Geppo.
"Air stepping."
Then he glanced at the mast again.
"…Definitely not trying that here."
Zoro stood and stretched.
"So we wait."
Luffy nodded.
"Yeah."
He folded the papers carefully.
"We'll train the basics for now."
Nami raised a brow.
"…Define 'basics.'"
Luffy grinned.
"Anything that doesn't destroy the boat!"
"…Good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few days of sailing later, and the sea still stretched endlessly into the horizon.
Day blended into night, then back into day again as the small boat carried them steadily forward through the East Blue.
They didn't attempt Rokushiki again.
Instead, they adapted.
Luffy trained his control with short bursts of movement, stopping before he could fully accelerate.
He couldn't train the full movement, so he settled on learning where his balance failed.
He spent his days learning where his footing slipped, or his power threatened to overshoot his intent.
Zoro trained beside him.
Not copying the techniques directly, but adjusting his own footwork. He took the examples he had noticed from Bogard to heart.
Instead of his usual powerful strikes, he focused on shorter steps, tighter turns, faster recovery between swings.
Every now and then, he'd test something.
A sharper pivot, or a sudden explosive dash. It wasn't ready to be integrated into his style just yet, but it was the beginning of something new.
Nami trained too.
Not because she wanted to.
But because Luffy insisted.
"…Again," Luffy said, holding his staff loosely.
Nami groaned.
"I regret agreeing to this."
"You didn't agree," Luffy pointed out.
"You emotionally manipulated me."
"That's not true."
"That is EXACTLY what happened!"
She swung.
Faster than before.
Cleaner.
Luffy deflected it easily.
But he smiled.
"Better."
Nami huffed.
"…I hate that you're right."
Luffy just continued grinning at her frustration. The world of quirks had instilled lessons when it came to fighting, lessons that he was starting to teach Nami.
"Your strongest points are your keen eyes and your agility. You need to focus on those."
He took a starting stance with his staff, "Throw an overhead strike, as hard as you can, right at my face."
The already annoyed girl needed little convincing, and with all the might she could muster she brought her staff down screaming towards Luffy's head.
In a flash, Luffy's own staff tapped hers. It wasn't a powerful impact. In fact, it was almost gentle.
But that gentle push sent her strike passing just by his shoulder, not even grazing his sleeve.
Nami naturally lost her balance from the overextension and stumbled forward. Even in her agitated state, she wasn't foolish. She knew her strength wasn't a match, but she had expected a block, or a more forceful deflection.
"You aren't focused on physical strength," Luffy began to explain, "So don't try and match an opponent with power."
She had steadied herself by now, and looked thoughtful. It was true, she was no match for monsters like Arlong, let alone the heavy hitters on the grand line.
Zoro grinned as he watched from the side, arms crossed.
"She's improving."
Nami shot him a glare.
"Don't encourage him."
"I'm glad you approve," the captain cut in. "Because you are going to be training with her for now."
"WHAT?"
Two voices rang out with shared confusion.
Luffy raised an eyebrow, "Don't look too confused. It only makes sense."
"HOW DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE?"
Nami was incensed. Training with Luffy was one thing, but she had seen how Zoro trained. The man was a demon. No normal person should be able to beat up their body so badly, and recover after a nap.
"Simple!" He started explaining, channeling Deku's surprising level of insight. "You two are both training into opposing pathways, but in doing so you will need to get used to fighting against opponents who naturally oppose your path."
Both crewmates were still baffled, so he continued.
"Well, Zoro focuses on powerful strikes channeled into the cutting edge of his blades. Nami, you will focus on precision, and counterattacking vital points after agile dodges or deflections. By training together, Zoro sharpens his strikes and learns to adjust mid-swing when attacks get redirected…"
He gestured lightly with his hand, mimicking the motion."…and Nami gets experience targeting weak points, like joints, wrists, or points of balance, to interrupt attack patterns. Then she follows up before the opponent can recover."He paused.Then added, almost casually,"Basically, you two make each other better at what you're bad at."Silence.The sea rolled quietly beneath them.Zoro stared at him with an intense focus."…You're saying," Zoro began slowly, "that if she can mess with my balance mid-swing…"His grip tightened slightly on Wado Ichimonji."…I'd be forced to correct my stance instantly."Luffy grinned. "Yep! Unless you wanna take a bostaff to the ribs."Zoro's eyes sharpened."…Which means I'd stop overcommitting.""Yep."Zoro's smirk came back, sharper now."…Hah."Nami, meanwhile, was still processing."…Wait," she said, pointing at herself. "You want me to hit him in the middle of his attacks?""Yes.""He's trying to cut me in half!""Kinda. You won't be taking a Wado to the face, he can use training blades so you don't get cut."Nami stared at him."…Are you insane?""Maybe," Luffy admitted easily. "But think about it."He pointed at her staff."You're not trying to overpower him. You're trying to interrupt him."Then he pointed at Zoro."And he's not trying to avoid you. He's trying to cut through anything in his way."He clapped his hands once."So when those two things meet…"Zoro finished it."…We're forced to adapt."Luffy pointed at him again. "Exactly."Nami blinked.Then blinked again.Her eyes slowly shifted between the two of them."…You figured all that out… from watching us?"Luffy tilted his head."…Was that hard?"Zoro barked out a short laugh."Not for you, apparently."Nami placed a hand on her forehead."…No, that's not normal."Luffy scratched his cheek, a little sheepish now."I mean… I've seen a lot of fights."That was an understatement.Memories flickered behind his eyes.
Izuku's life growing up, always watching and theorizing. Trying to strategize his way out of power imbalances.
Broken bones.Explosive impacts.Carefully calculated movements under pressure.Midoriya's voice.Analyze. Adapt. Improve.He shook his head slightly and smiled."So I just… connect the dots."Zoro studied him for another second.Then huffed."…Tch."But there was no dismissal in it.Only acknowledgment."…Fine."He stepped forward, resting a hand on one of his borrowed swords."Let's try it."Nami recoiled."WAIT! Hold on, I didn't agree to-"Zoro moved, not a full-speed strike, but fast enough.Nami yelped and stumbled back, barely managing to raise her staff in time."THIS ISN'T A DISCUSSION, IS IT?!" she shouted.Luffy beamed."Nope!"Zoro's grin widened."Better get used to it."Nami glared at both of them.Then tightened her grip on her staff."…I hate both of you."Zoro swung again.This time…Nami didn't try to block. She shifted. Just slightly, mimicking Luffy's deflection from just a minute before.Her staff snapped out, making solid contact with Zoro's wrist.Tap.Zoro's strike veered half an inch off-line.Not much.But just enough to cause his blade to pass harmlessly beside her.Zoro's eyes widened.Luffy's grin sharpened."There it is."Nami froze."…I did that?"Zoro slowly pulled his blade back, staring at his own hand."…You did."There was a pause before Zoro broke out in a grin that promised little rest for the navigator "…Again."Nami groaned.But this time she didn't hesitate before stepping forward.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day, the ever-sensitive Nami began to notice something.
The wind had changed.
She adjusted the sail slightly, eyes narrowing as she scanned the horizon.
Luffy noticed after a moment and looked up from where he was sitting cross-legged, reviewing Garp's notes again.
"What?"
Nami didn't answer immediately.
She stepped forward, leaning slightly over the side of the boat, watching the current.
"…The air," she said. "Feels different."
Zoro opened one eye.
"…Storm?"
Nami shook her head.
"No."
Her gaze shifted forward.
"…Land."
Luffy's head snapped up.
"Really?!"
Nami pointed.
"Over there."
At first, it was nothing more than a faint shape on the horizon.
Then slowly, signs of civilization began to take shape.
Buildings.
Walls.
Color.
Luffy stood instantly, grinning.
"YES!"
Zoro pushed himself up, resting a hand on Wado.
"…About time."
Nami adjusted the sail again, guiding them closer.
But as they approached…
Something felt off.
There were buildings and all the usual structures of a town.
But…
"…It's quiet," Nami murmured.
Luffy tilted his head. "…Yeah."
The usual bustle of a port town was absent. No merchants pushing wares, no sailors docking to restock or sell goods.
Zoro's grip tightened slightly on his sword.
"…I don't like it."
As the boat drifted closer to the dock, the silence only deepened.
At last, the slow tap of approaching footsteps rang out, uneven and unsteady.
A figure stumbled into view from behind one of the buildings.
A man.
Dirty and exhausted, wearing ill-fitted leather armor and a battered spear.
Eyes wide with something between fear and disbelief.
He saw them.
And froze.
"…You're not with them, right?"
Luffy blinked.
"With who?"
The man swallowed.
"…The pirates."
The air shifted.
Nami's expression darkened.
Zoro's stance sharpened.
And Luffy…
Luffy only smiled a small, comforting grin; Something he had picked up from Izuku's time on rescue missions.
"…Nope."
He stepped forward.
"We're here to help."