Days passed with sea wind, pursuit, and the occasional "replenishment mission."
Rhett kept his word and started training his "crew" — though only his Vice Captain was official. The other two were just tagalongs.
For A-Yang and A-Xing, Rhett's training was brutally simple. Just physical conditioning.
Every morning, the two kids could be seen running, frog-jumping, and doing push-ups on the rubber ship's deck. A small whip made of blood mist hovered nearby, mostly for show — it never actually hit them. When they collapsed from exhaustion, Joy Boy would scoop them up with his rubber arms and force-feed them a bitter but nutritious meat broth.
"Keep going! A-Yang! A-Xing! Get stronger so you can have better adventures!" Joy Boy always cheered them on, sometimes joining in with his own elastic exercises. Though his movements were so exaggerated they were completely useless as examples.
But they made the kids laugh, which eased the strain of training.
For the girl, the training was much more refined. Rhett began teaching her swordsmanship systematically — how to generate power, how to swing, how to block. She studied carefully. Her movements were still stiff, but her progress was visible. She also spent more time developing her ice abilities on her own.
Watching the "fierce" training sessions, Rhett sometimes found his mind drifting.
Back in his day on Roger's ship, he'd been chased by Garp. Now here he was in the Void Century, on Joy Boy's ship, being chased again. This time it wasn't even Garp.
Sometimes he'd have a darkly amusing thought: if the Navy officers chasing them knew that one ship carried the future "Mist Lord" who would rule half the New World, and the other carried Joy Boy, who would be carved into history as the "Liberator"... would they feel pretty damn impressive about themselves? Chasing legendary figures?
The thought made him chuckle.
One day, supplies were running low. Vegetables were almost gone. The berry pouch was empty. Rhett did inventory and shouted to Joy Boy, who was playing "rubber trampoline" with the kids.
"Hey, rubber-head. We're out of food. And money. Need to find a place to 'restock.'"
Joy Boy bounced back to the deck and scratched his head. "Already? Okay, we'll buy some next time we dock?"
Rhett crushed his hopes. "I said money's gone too. We need to take."
He could have just paid out of his own pocket. Money was meaningless to him now. But Joy Boy had an unexpected stubbornness about this. He insisted they earn and spend together.
Just then, his blood mist sense picked up a pirate ship ahead, looking fat and well-stocked. Meanwhile, the usual Navy pursuers appeared on the horizon.
A strange scene unfolded.
The pirates spotted Joy Boy's iconic rubber ship and the approaching Navy. They slowed to a stop, unsure whether to fight or flee.
The Navy also slowed, holding position at a distance.
There was an unspoken agreement between Joy Boy and the Navy by now. They didn't kill indiscriminately. The Navy wasn't even sure why they were chasing them. And both ships were absurdly strong.
There had been a Vice Admiral named Gale once, a man with real courage. He'd actually yelled at the World Government over a Den Den Mushi. That was something you didn't see every day.
This era's Navy hadn't yet been fully controlled by the World Government. The Void Century had been an era of chaos — that much was certain. Whatever had happened, it wasn't glorious. They'd wiped out a hundred years of history. If there was anything good there, they wouldn't have done that. History was written by the victors.
Which was the part Rhett never understood: if they won, why did they need to erase the history?
Anyway, back to the chase. Gale wasn't around today. Which meant the Navy was waiting for the pirates to be dealt with first. They had an understanding: you deal with the pirates, we wait, then we chase. No need to make each other's jobs harder.
How did Rhett know? He'd overheard Gale talking to the Fleet Admiral the day before. "Are we really wasting our time here? There are plenty of real pirates out there. This is a waste of my talent. The World Government has lost its mind."
And then: "I don't see any threat from them. Leave a ship to watch them. I'm going after real pirates."
Rhett looked at the fat pirate ship, then back at the waiting Navy. A knowing smirk crossed his face. He nudged Joy Boy with his elbow and nodded toward the pirates.
"See? We needed supplies. There they are. What are you waiting for?"
Joy Boy blinked, then his face lit up. "Oh! Right! Hahahaha! Got it!"
He spun around to face the confused siblings and the quiet girl, his voice booming:
"Alright, everyone! Get ready! Our 'vegetables' and 'spending money' just delivered themselves! Time to restock!"
His rubber legs launched the ship forward with a cheerful "Duang Duang," charging straight at the stunned pirate vessel.
The Navy watched the scene with practiced patience. They'd seen this before. Honestly, these two had taken down more pirates than the Navy had. Sometimes they wondered who the real Navy was.
Bounty posters didn't exist yet in this era, which meant Rhett and Joy Boy stripped the pirates clean, and the Navy scooped up the leftovers. A nice little arrangement.
Rhett stood at the bow, mist swirling lazily around him, watching Joy Boy's excited "restocking" charge. He shook his head with a smile.
Idiot. But he learned fast. Looks like it was another "bountiful" day.