Lara's POV;
I woke up with a groan and a body so sore it reminded me of the absorption of a Bijuu's Chakra. “Urgh, shouldn't have done that,” I mumbled and tried to lift my arm to touch my temples, but only got a weak response from them. An annoying headache was already forming.
“Don't move, Josef said you've strained almost all of your muscles to the breaking point and ripped more than a few tendons. You've slept for three days,” said Lia suddenly, while gently caressing my head.
“Fujitora escaped,” I said instead of commenting on the damage I have suffered from having eaten three Rumble Balls as well as having my Angel Fruit active for so long.
“I see, well, not really a problem,” she said after a pause. I can already imagine what she was thinking. The next time we see him she will go at him like a bloodhound. Lia hates it if I am wounded, as much as I do if she is in pain. And she will give him the fault for it.
“What happened in the meantime?” I asked. Three days of sleep is a long time.
“Your attack caused quite a commotion under the birds. Many citizens were temporarily blinded by it and some parts of the city have caught fire from the heat. But I think they are more relieved to have survived such an attack, than giving you the blame for the damage.
The King, I think it was Mrs Chicken Wing's brother, was feeling a lot more respectful of us and even a bit fearful. But Mrs Chicken Wing seems to have talked to him. He has agreed to us receiving training in the more precise forms of Haki and the rest is currently learning from Mrs Chicken Wing.
Their strength has its origin in two parts, first their body and secondly the food they eat. They, similar to what I have been doing, have created recipes that help the body to grow stronger and even learn Haki quicker.
With the right training, I think every one of us can learn a lot here. I even gained a few new recipes and am getting tips on my Observation. It's a bit slow, as we have to use a computer to translate their words.
Fiara and Josef came up with the idea, they cobbled something together and now we are able to communicate without Observation Haki, it's just slower, as each of us has to type in what we want to say,” She explained.
I thought about it for a moment and then slowly nodded. Some specialised Haki training might be good, but we can't stay here for too long. “That's cool. We'll stay at most a month, I want to hit the New World before Blackbeard or any of the other Yonko can take too much of Whitebeard's territory. Any more and the remnants of Whitebeard's crew will have been destroyed completely.”
“I agree, it's also not as if we couldn't have thought our crew without the birds. After all, we do have the Haki book. But learning from someone who knows what he does is still quicker,” agreed Lia, before laying down next to me. “Now go back to sleep. I know that you are still tired,” she added and cuddled into me. I obliged and drifted back to sleep.
The next time I woke up I stayed awake. I needed a bit of help from Lia to get dressed and walking was also a hassle without her to lean on, but I knew that I'd be fine in a day or two.
We walked into the kitchen of our ship and were greeted by Noa and Jonny, they were making a small pause from the training. “You're up, great. The show you've given us was scary,” laughed Jonny the moment he saw me and Lia.
“It was necessary. The meteoroid would have destroyed the whole island otherwise. It's just annoying that he could flee,” I replied while sitting down. Lia vanished for a moment and then came back with some food.
“No shit, the thing was massive,” agreed Noa with a shudder. Jonny nodded in agreement.
“Lia said you were getting tips on Haki? How's that going?” I asked while starting to eat, like always it tasted awesome.
“Fairly good, the new stuff Mrs Chicken Wing is now allowed to tell us is pretty awesome. I can already hold my Armament for a few more minutes,” boasted Noa, while equipping his fork with a coating of Armament.
“Good, we're probably staying for a month or so, I want to hit the New World before the big names can distribute the cake of Whitebeard's old territory amongst themselves,” I said and both looked a bit wide-eyed.
“Does that mean that you want for us to have a territory of our own?” Asked Jonny, beating Noa to the question by a few seconds.
“Maybe, haven't decided yet. But it would also be easier for us to sail through the New World now, rather than later when everything has settled down,” I said with a shrug, before finishing my meal.
Lia had eaten nothing and was just waiting for me to finish. “I'll be out and inform the others, as well as meet Mrs Chicken Wing,” I then said and smiled thankfully at Lia while she helped me to stand up and leave the room.
Outside I found Nojiko and Josef in the middle of a sparring match. Mrs Chicken Wing was overlooking the fight. Josef has armoured himself with bone plates, while Nojiko was dancing around his strikes with her Kami-e. She was occasionally attacking with a Shigan or a fast palm strike. Her hits were able to break his bones, but they were regenerating before she could get through his protection.
I could see that both were hesitating from time to time. Whenever it happened they would switch their approach and attack differently. “They're using Observation Haki,” I noted. Each of them was trying to counter anticipate the move of the other, which resulted in the hesitation or a slight twitch.
Lia nodded, before telling me what our two best close combat fighters were up to. “Yup and Yosaku is learning how to manifest his will. Jonny seems to have a good sense for Observation Haki. He is still not there, but Mrs Chicken Wing thinks that he might be able to learn the future sight.”
Mrs Chicken Wing has noticed us as well and came flying over to us. She landed in front of me and began to cluck rapidly. It could be translated to a heartfelt thank you, as well as an inquiry about my well being.
“I'm good, only a bit more rest. I should be fine in a day or two. But activating my Devil Fruit, straining activities or large amounts of Haki aren't a no go right now,” I answered with a smile.
She nodded, relieved that I was fine and then fluttered over to a computer. There she gave something in and a speaker translated what she wanted to say. “That is great, I have gotten permission by the King, my brother, to teach you all our Haki secrets. Once you are better I can show you how to learn a few more applications of Haki, as well as how to learn Conqueror Haki.”
“I thought Conqueror Haki was inborn,” I asked. Of course, I knew that it was possible to learn, but neither Lia nor I have managed so far. The book stated that you need a perfect balance between your Observation and your Armament to even have a chance at learning the third type of Haki. Most people always have one form stronger than the other and that is why so few can use the third type.
Those who have this balance naturally can use it once they activate it through emotional stress, those who can't need to be fairly advanced in both other variations before they can try and mix the effect of both.
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However, it was unknown to the world that this was possible. Most just assumed that they activated their hidden potential. Which was wrong, they just came to a point where both Haki variations were equally strong. They then are able to use Conqueror, if they manage to remember the feel of this equilibrium.
“No, you have to be advanced in both forms of Haki and find a perfect mix between both. It is hard and not many archives this through deliberate training, but it isn't impossible,” explained Mrs Chicken Wing through the computer. “But luckily for you, I can help with that. I know how to mix them and can guide you towards it,” she continued. The monotone voice of the computer was betraying the happy expression she was showing.
“That would be really cool, thanks Mrs Chicken Wing,” I said gratefully. “But first I have to rest, I overdid it and am too sore to even think about training,” I added before hobbling over to one of the benches, where I laid down and watched how Nojiko and Josef were fighting.
She nodded and then continued to watch the fight as well. At the end, she gave pointers and helped both refine their Observation. The use of the computer was a bit slower but allowed her to express clearly what she wanted to tell.
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A month later;
We were ready to set sail. Over the span of the month, we did nothing but train. Everyone has become stronger, be it physically or with their Haki. Even Nami is not as useless as she was before. She still isn't able to use Haki, but she can now use a rough version of Kami-e and is working on her Soru and Geppo.
There were a few uses for Haki each of us tried to learn;
First would be the Aura Manifestation. It is basically giving your Armament a form. Like Zoro's Asura. Everyone's version looks different and is matching some part of their personality.
Then there is Future Sight, basically the ability to see and predict the future with Observation Haki. The stronger your opponent the harder it is to see his future. Lia says it looks as if your opponent is at more than one places at the same time if he or she is too strong to predict the future accurately.
Followed by Intent Infusion, it is an infusion of Armament and Observation while producing something. For example, infusing Armament into my smithing hammer or the ore I am forging. It can make the blade more durable, give it a sharper cutting edge or increase its overall performance. This is also how Lia is making her food. By infusing it with Haki she is able to use every possible nutrient in her ingredients and even enhances the effect she wants them to have.
Then there is Conqueror Haki. A hard to accomplish mixture between both Observation and Armament, released at the perfect moment and then targeted at the desired point. Only Lia and I had success with that training.
Those are the new Haki forms we were taught. But also Advanced Armament, Armament on bullets and the use of Observation for intent and spying, as well as hiding your own aura were part of the training.
Here is a quick summary of what each of us has learned.
Yosaku:
He has managed to partially archive the manifestation of his Armament. It is a great demon of wrath. He's not yet able to keep that manifestation up for long, but it boosts his strength a lot. Enough to send me, while I am in my warrior angel form, flying.
The transformation lets his muscles become red with black tattoos and it looks as if he grows horns as well as tusks.
He can also use the Advanced Armament for a time and has gained a bit more muscles.
Jonny:
While he is able to coat his blade in Armament, it is not yet on the level of the Advanced version. On the other hand, he now can see half a second into the future. It may not sound like much, but with the speed, we are fighting at half a second can be quite long.
Jo;
Jo has trained both Armament and Observation in equal amounts and can now use both at their standard form. He then has decided to focus more on his Devil Fruit, as well as the Intent Based version of mixing medicine and Rumble Balls. The new version is less taxing on the body and gives a slightly higher boost in energy.
As for his Devil Fruit, he now can create a full body armour of bones that are durable enough to withstand three seconds of my vibration enhanced sword, which is quite strong. He also can elongate his tail bone and create something like a tail.
It looks freaky, but having another appendage to fight with is useful. Especially when his tail is able to attack from all sides. It looks a little bit like Kimimaru's second cursed seal transformation from Naruto. Eerily so when he has coated his body in Armament.
Nojiko;
She has learned how to enhance her eyes with Armament to see farther and with more detail. She also can use Observation to predict the moves of her opponent fairly well and on top of that has learned how to enhance her ammunition with Armament. Her assault rifle and sniper have become even stronger now.
Bodily she is now able to use distant Shigan and the King Pistol. She has also started to try and use Tekkai while moving. So far it is slow, but there is visible progress.
Noa;
Noa mainly focused on his Intent Infusion, he wanted to better maintain our ship and thanks to it we now need a lot less energy to fly and our weapons are more sturdy and effective.
Haki wise he has both versions good enough to manage. Against experienced users, he still will have problems, but he is able to use Armament on his hammers and his body while using Observation to feel strong intent of others.
Fiara;
She has mostly used her Haki training to learn Intent Infusion. She said she wanted to make bigger explosions and stronger fires. I think she has achived both with great success.
Bodily not much has changed, still four robotic claw arms on her back, two normal robot arms as her real ones and a robotic eye. But all of her body parts can now be infused with Armament and she can feel other presences.
Inari;
Our Mink has focused on her ability to obscure her aura with her Observation, while also training a bit in her Sulong form. Had I not been trained as a Ninja I would have a hard time spotting her when she wants to hide. Only Lia and I can find her. Lia because she can see her with her LV 10 skill and me because I know what to look out for. Still, I am only able to when I try to find her, not when I am not aware of her hiding somewhere.
The Sulong transformation changes her into a pretty white fox with a large tail. But she still has trouble keeping focus while in that form. It is easier for her when Lia or I are around, she says it is something with our aura that calms her down.
Lia;
She has found that mix between Armament and Observation and can now use Conqueror. But she isn't using it often, as her Armament is still relatively weak, which in turn makes the possible mix weaker. Her main focus was on Observation and the Future Sight. She can see a good few seconds in the future and has improved the coating of her ammunition with Armament.
She also improved her cooking and the Intent Infusion that is done while doing that. Let's just say that her chicken dishes have become even more delicious.
Me;
I have also learned Conqueror but I have the same problem as Lia, only that my Observation is limiting the strength of my Conqueror and not my Armament. This limit is a bit higher when I am in my Angel Form and overall higher than Lia's.
However, my main focus was on the Aura Manifestation. It almost looks like my humanoid Aeron from my second life, just without wings. I have scale-like Advanced Armament over my whole body, grow two wicked horns and my eyes are starting to glow red. While my hands turn claw-like and my fingernails become extremely sturdy and sharp.
And I can't forget the Intent Infusion into my forging. Any future weapon will now be quite a bit higher in quality. Maybe we can seek out Mihawk at some point in time, I promised him a sword.
Yeah, that pretty much sums up what we have learned in the month of constant training.
I also had a long conservation with the King of Poultry. He has come to the conclusion that they wouldn't stay isolated any longer. The attack of the Marines has shown them that they need to get off from their island and find allies in the world. Fiara has helped them build translators for interacting with none birds for that purpose.
He has also asked me for an alliance, I agreed. Poultry would still be a kingdom of its own, but they would help us if we are in need and we would help them. They will form a fleet of their own and start to become more present in the world. Mrs Chicken Wing and her husband will be leading this fleet. They'll start the Pirate Fleet of Poultry and will follow us into the New World once their ships are finished. Noa has given them some tips and helped in designing the ships.
But now we have run out of chicken and I don't want to risk the alliance by hunting a few of the intelligent local ones.
The King and his family, as well as Mrs Chicken Wing and her husband, have come to send us off. Mrs Chicken Wing was promising to follow us the moment the ships are finished and is wishing us good luck.
“We'll miss you, Mrs Chicken Wing,” I said while the engines began to power up.
“Bough!”
“Yeah, we will keep up with our Haki training. I promise that every one of us will be a lot better when we see us again,” I answered. She nodded and watched how our ship began to rise and then fly off.
Our next destination will be Sabaody Archipelago. We may have been able to fly over the Red Line, but all of us want to see Fishman Island. Maybe we can meet Jimbei and I also want to take a look at the Poneglyph.