After breakfast, the morning sun shone on Blake's estate training ground, warming the sand slightly.
Blake leaned against the railing at the edge of the training ground, idly twirling a whip in his hand, his gaze sweeping over the assembled group.
"Today's training is simple."
"Mandy, continue practicing your swordsmanship until you've completely corrected your rigid, by-the-book style."
"Koala, continue practicing strength control until you're completely accustomed to it, making control a natural state."
"Robin, you'll be undertaking systematic development of your Flower-Flower Fruit abilities."
At this, Blake paused and looked at Perona.
At only three years old, without having eaten a Ghost-Ghost Fruit (Devil Fruit) or undergone ability card enhancement, Perona was essentially just there to join in the fun.
But seeing her desire to be part of the group, Blake couldn't bring himself to just have her watch with him.
"Alright, Perona will be in charge of anti-interference training."
"What's anti-interference training?"
Hearing Perona's question, Blake's face broke into a mischievous grin as he looked at Robin and the others, saying:
"It means you'll all be disturbed, and you have to complete your training while Perona interferes."
"Wow!"
Perona exclaimed, jumping up happily.
Robin, however, slapped her forehead:
"I knew it..."
...As soon as training began, Koala shattered the wooden floor beneath her feet.
Koala was about to kneel and apologize but stopped herself, scratching her head a little awkwardly.
Seeing this, Blake was quite pleased and said with a smile:
"You need to train hard, Koala. Even the Celestial Dragons' training grounds couldn't withstand you tearing them up every day."
"Your strength is enough to lift a whale, but right now, you can't even control your own body weight."
"S-Sorry."
Koala reflexively gave a fake smile, but Blake pressed down on her head.
"No need to apologize, you haven't done anything wrong. Continue training."
"Mhm!"
Koala nodded vigorously and began her strength training for the day.
Just as Koala was fully focused on the water bladder in front of her, Perona had quietly snuck up behind her.
Perona held a wooden bucket, found who-knows-where, containing half a bucket of flour.
She giggled and splashed the flour over Koala's head.
Just as the flour was about to land on her head, Koala seemed to sense something and instinctively turned her head, waving a hand.
This seemingly unintentional movement created a gust of wind, blowing the flour right back where it came from.
Half of it landed on Perona's own head, and the other half landed on Robin, who was not far away.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to."
Koala, who hadn't quite understood what happened, had already started apologizing out of habit.
Robin, however, waved her hand:
"That's not your fault, it's just that a certain brat needs a good spanking again."
Saying this, she looked at Perona, whose pink hair was now dyed white, and sneered.
"Flower Funeral: Inverted Lift!"
Robin's hand emerged from the ground, instantly grasping Perona's ankle and lifting her up.
Perona shrieked, flailing her arms and legs.
Robin pressed Perona onto the training mat, seven or eight hands binding her wrists:
"Next time you play a prank, think about the consequences first."
Perona squirmed, crying out in pain:
"Wah! Bookworm, let me go! Stella sis, help! Waaah..."
Robin tightened her arms with a cold smile:
"Fake crying won't work either."
On the other side, Blake was personally helping Mandy with her swordsmanship training.
With a crisp crack, the whip in Blake's hand struck the sword blade, knocking Mandy's rapier flying.
"Relax your wrist. The power should come from your shoulder, not your fingers."
"Even the specimens in a museum are more agile than your swordsmanship."
Mandy lowered her head, feeling a bit ashamed.
Robin, who was nearby, couldn't stand it and chimed in:
"Oh my? You've actually been to a museum?"
"Shouldn't a Celestial Dragon's brain capacity be entirely focused on Slaves?"
Blake turned and glared at Robin.
She was sitting on a flower-vine swing created by her ability, her feet swinging constantly.
"Are you referring to Slaves like you?"
"This skill is utterly useless, redevelop it!"
Saying this, Blake raised his whip and struck Robin's flower vine directly.
The swing instantly dissolved into scattered petals, and Robin tumbled into the sandpit.
She gritted her teeth in annoyance, inwardly cursing Blake for holding a grudge, and ran off to continue developing new abilities.
The recovered Perona decided to temporarily avoid the super-strong Koala and the bookworm Robin. She turned her attention to Mandy.
Seeing Mandy looking thoughtful, she quietly approached the rapier lying on the ground.
She pulled out a small bottle from her pocket, spread the jam inside onto the sword hilt, and then casually walked away.
When Mandy came back to her senses and instinctively picked up the sword...
Mandy looked down at her hands, then at the jam-covered hilt, and then looked expressionlessly at Perona.
Noticing Mandy's gaze, Perona let out an awkward laugh and took off running.
But how could Perona's short legs outrun Mandy? In a few strides, she was caught by the back of her collar, lifted up, and held at eye level.
Perona's eyes darted around as she awkwardly changed the subject:
"Ahaha, Mandy sis's face is like a stone, so cold..."
Mandy's eye twitched.
This was the first time she had shown any emotion today.
The two stared at each other for a long time. As Perona's expression grew increasingly flustered, Mandy sighed lightly and set her down.
At this, Perona became somewhat embarrassed and asked cautiously:
"Mandy sis, you're not angry, are you?"
Mandy shook her head and, with a hand not stained with jam, patted Perona's head.
Perona then broke into a happy smile:
"I knew it! Perona-sama's pranks never make anyone angry!"
Saying this, she hurried off, planning to find new prank tools.
Watching Perona's retreating figure, Mandy couldn't help but let her lips curl into a smile.
"Days like this seem pretty good..."
...Time quickly passed to noon.
Perona finally found an opportunity to sprinkle soapy water on the ground near Robin, successfully making Robin's flower clone slip and shatter into a pile of petals.
Just as Robin was chasing Perona all over the training ground, Blake called everyone together.
"Alright, that's enough for today. We'll continue tomorrow."
"If anyone hasn't made progress tomorrow..."
At this, Blake paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone.
Robin, still fuming, looked at Perona and interjected:
"We'll stuff Perona into a cannon and launch her?"
Blake curved his lips, revealing a Piglet-like smile:
"No, I'll make you teach her to read Ancient Script."
At these words, Robin's eyes widened in disbelief.
Just as Robin's expression was gradually stiffening, Stella walked into the training ground carrying a tray.
"Everyone, it's time for a break."