Meanwhile, on a certain island in the New World, Buggy and Shanks were still teaching Crocodile and Mihawk how to use Haki.
"I feel like I still can't quite get the hang of it." Crocodile bit down on his cigar, wearing the face of a man who thought everyone owed him five million berries.
Come to think of it, his face shape was actually a bit like Enel's. But Enel's expressions were far more lively than his.
Then again, you couldn't blame him for looking unhappy. His training progress lately hadn't been great.
His Armament Haki and Observation Haki still flickered inconsistently between working and not. And to top it off, he had to get beaten up by Buggy every single day for the sake of training.
It would be strange if he were in a good mood.
Crocodile's training direction was different from Mihawk's.
He already possessed a Logia-type Devil Fruit power. The Sand-Sand Fruit was already strong enough in offense, so in this short period, he needed to focus more on Observation Haki. Only then could he make full use of his elementalization advantage.
Mihawk, on the other hand, was practicing applying Armament Haki to his blade as part of his swordsmanship training.
This meant Crocodile's training essentially consisted of getting beaten up, while Mihawk's training was mostly about crossing blades with Shanks.
Speaking of which, it had to be said—Mihawk's Haki talent was far stronger than Crocodile's. And the weapon in his hands seemed to have grown sharper because of the Haki.
Interestingly, the future renowned Black Blade—Yoru—was not yet a black blade at this point.
"Buggy, Enel says they've already secured the invitations." Nekomamushi had just received a call from Enel and the others, and he passed the news along.
Soon, Shanks and the others heard the news as well and hurried over.
"They really pulled it off. That was fast. How did they sneak into the tea party?" Shanks asked, his face full of curiosity.
"They apparently talked that Doflamingo into helping." Nekomamushi didn't know the details either. He shrugged.
"Can't believe that pink flamingo was willing to help. We had a pretty ugly falling-out with him back in Paradise, meow."
"With that side settled, we need to step up our training too," Beckman said.
These past days, he had been training under Nekomamushi, Kawamatsu, and the others. Fortunately, Shanks had already laid the groundwork for his whole crew during their voyage across Paradise, so they could now use Haki reliably.
"Our training progress has already been fast. You know, it took me a full year and a half to truly grasp the basics of Haki." Shanks thought back to his own training under that "master teacher" and couldn't help but sigh.
Uncle Rayleigh had even said a year and a half was already quick. A normal person would need at least two and a half years to even begin using Haki. But now Shanks was finding that didn't seem to be the case.
He had only been sailing for a few months, and every one of his crew members had learned Haki from scratch under his guidance. Mihawk's training time had been even shorter, and he was already basically capable of using Armament Haki.
It was nothing like what Rayleigh had claimed!
Shanks suspected he might have been misled by a hack instructor.
'But there's no reason for it. The vice-captain's strength is so overwhelming, how could he be a hack?'
'Is it that my talent is just that poor? But Captain Roger said my talent was excellent...'
Shanks felt thoroughly confused.
If only that "Teacher Kai" were still around. Otherwise, had Ren known of Shanks's confusion, he would have been more than happy to sign him up for a Haki crash course.
Let alone Armament and Observation Haki—even mastering Conqueror's Haki infusion in seven days would be a breeze.
The results would be even more overpowered than one of those seven-day cram courses to save your CET-4/CET-6 grades!
Shanks shook his head, pushing aside his doubts about Vice-Captain Rayleigh.
That was the Dark King Rayleigh! How could he possibly be a hack? It must be that I, Shanks, just have terrible talent!
...
Inazuma, Seirai Island.
Ren had only just learned of Doflamingo and Buggy's plan.
Buggy and Enel had originally intended to achieve something first, then come before him to claim credit and earn praise. But Doflamingo was far more mature than them. Once he had made his decision, he immediately reported the matter to him.
He had also placed an order for a batch of Ruin Dragons and Ruin Hunters, planning to unleash carnage at the tea party.
In fact, according to outside intelligence, Doflamingo and Inazuma had always been on good terms as business partners. Most of Doflamingo's trade in Paradise was arms smuggling, and the two sides had always been in close contact anyway.
So this time, when Doflamingo placed a large weapons order with Inazuma at a relatively low price, it didn't cause any sensation on the seas.
When Big Mom learned that Doflamingo planned to "gift" her this batch of weapons, she was actually quite pleased. Sure, knowing a gift in advance took away a lot of the fun, but she genuinely loved Inazuma's weapons. And Inazuma's weapons were insanely expensive.
Now that Doflamingo was going to give her a batch of new weapons, she suddenly felt he was a pretty decent guy.
She praised him loudly in front of her sons, saying things like, "That Doflamingo kid has got it going on! He knows how to handle himself, he's good with people. No wonder he's thriving in Paradise!"
Perospero really wanted to say: "Just a few days ago you were calling that same Doflamingo a sea thug who could only scrape by in a dump like Paradise." But after weighing the likelihood of getting punched by Big Mom if he said it, he chose to keep his mouth shut.
Anyway, Big Mom was riding high at the moment, and she wasn't stingy with her praise for Doflamingo.
"Mamamama... oh right, that Doflamingo. I remember he's a descendant of the Celestial Dragons, isn't he?"
"I don't have a child with Celestial Dragon blood yet. Since he's planning to give me such a big gift, I think I'll just have a few children with him."
Big Mom mused aloud.
Perospero panicked the moment he heard that.
You want to have children with him?
Isn't that biting the hand that feeds you?
Look at your age! That sea thug is seven years younger than Katakuri!
"Ahem, Mama, if you want Celestial Dragon blood in the family, why not pick a sister to marry off to him?"
"Just have Doflamingo marry into the Charlotte Family. Why not have Amande marry him?" Perospero said hastily.
"A few years ago, you were planning to marry Amande to the Raiden Shogun anyway, but he turned her down."
Big Mom thought about it and decided that made sense.
Things were different now. The family had a lot more marriageable daughters than before. Not only were there the three Amande sisters, there was also Custard, Pudding, and others.
Custard, for one, was a genuine beauty.
But the moment she thought about Doflamingo's Celestial Dragon blood, Big Mom felt an itch in her heart.
She had given birth to so many children, and she still didn't have a single descendant of the Celestial Dragons!
If she let Doflamingo slip through her fingers, she'd never find another chance like this!
How could she just hand such a golden opportunity over to her daughters!
"No. I've made up my mind. Doflamingo will be my next husband!"
Big Mom declared resolutely!
[
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