The Roger Pirates continued their journey toward the Reverse Mountain, and both Shanks and Shamrock kept training every single day.
The difference between their training routines became more noticeable as time passed.
Shanks received a more ordinary set of exercises that matched his age and current ability, while Shamrock's training looked almost unreasonable.
Anyone seeing it would think Rayleigh was preparing Shamrock to join a battlefield the moment he turned the corner.
But that was never the intention. Rayleigh only wanted to understand how far Shamrock could grow at such an early age.
The more he increased the difficulty, the more he realized that Shamrock's greatest talent was not his physical strength, but the speed with which he adapted to anything that Rayleigh threw at him.
Rayleigh eventually found himself thinking that Shamrock's natural ceiling might not exist at all.
Those thoughts continued as Rayleigh raised his wooden sword to block the next strike that Shamrock delivered.
Rayleigh had always relied on his observation haki to read movements during battle, but with Shamrock he slowly started using only his eyes.
He did this out of necessity rather than preference, as Shamrock reacted so quickly that Rayleigh felt that the usual method would be less effective for understanding exactly how the boy fought.
Teaching a child in this manner was not normal training, yet Rayleigh could not help trying to keep up.
The one thing that Rayleigh kept noticing was that Shamrock always moved before Rayleigh began a motion.
It looked as if the boy already knew what Rayleigh would do moments before Rayleigh actually did it.
Rayleigh tried to reason through it, questioning if Shamrock was somehow predicting him or reading his intention through observation haki.
After thinking about it for a while and finding no answer that made sense, he decided to ask directly. He knew Shamrock well enough to expect an honest explanation.
Shamrock answered in a calm and almost casual voice, as if the ability he described was something completely normal.
He said that the reason he knew how Rayleigh would move was because Rayleigh's muscles always twitched slightly before making any motion, and the signals from the brain to the muscles created tiny changes that were impossible to hide.
According to Shamrock, a person could not override those biological reactions, no matter how experienced they were.
He explained that he could see every detail of the muscles inside a human body with his eyes, and that this was also why he was able to detect Roger's illness even though it was still early and not causing obvious symptoms.
Hearing this made Rayleigh completely silent. He looked at Shamrock with a sense of disbelief that he tried to hide, but he could not deny what he felt.
In all his years sailing the seas and meeting countless strange and powerful people, he had never heard of an ability like this.
The closest thing he knew was the ability of Redfield Patrick, who possessed a form of observation haki strong enough to sense thoughts.
Even then, Redfield's power could still be resisted by someone with stronger haki. But Shamrock's ability, if Rayleigh's suspicion was correct, came from the natural properties of Shamrock's eyes.
A natural ability like that did not seem to have any clear counter or weakness related to haki at all.
Rayleigh took a slow breath and continued the training, still processing everything he had learned, and still trying to understand just how far Shamrock could grow if this was only the beginning.
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After an entire month of sailing, the Roger Pirates finally approached the area near the Reverse Mountain.
The journey took much longer than they first expected, partly because they had started from the opposite side of the sea and partly because of the constant detours they made to restock supplies.
There were also more battles than usual during that period, since many pirates tried to challenge Roger and his crew in hopes of earning a reputation by confronting them.
These skirmishes became the first real opportunity for Shanks and Shamrock to join actual fights.
Rayleigh considered Shanks ready enough to participate against weaker groups, while Shamrock's ability to briefly keep up with Rayleigh during training made it clear that he could handle himself without needing to be overly protected.
When they finally reached the base of the Reverse Mountain, the crew began searching for the private island that they knew should be nearby.
After a long search, they found the place, but the sight in front of them seemed odd.
Instead of a lighthouse keeper or any sign of human activity, there was only a very large whale resting beside the island.
No person could be seen outside, yet Shamrock sensed a faint human presence from inside the whale, something barely noticeable but still alive.
The whale seemed uncomfortable as well, shifting slightly as if something inside was bothering it.
After a moment of quiet observation, the whale opened its mouth. From the darkness inside, the faint presence they sensed earlier stepped out, carrying an enormous boulder on his back. The man casually tossed the boulder into the sea as if it weighed nothing.
The man scolded the whale, telling it not to eat rocks since it would never feel good. The whale made a complaining sound in response, one that Roger somehow understood easily.
Shamrock already knew that Roger had the strange ability to understand certain animals, something Roger shared with Luffy in the future, as well as with Oden and Momonosuke.
The man finally noticed the Roger Pirates' ship. Without hesitation, he leapt from the whale's mouth to the island and walked toward a chair placed in the center.
The entire time he walked, he did not break eye contact with the crew, almost as if silently challenging them while still maintaining an uninterested expression.
Once he reached the chair, he sat down calmly, ignored all of them, and began reading a newspaper from a small table beside him. This act of pretending they did not exist struck a nerve in Roger.
Roger eventually snapped and shouted at the man to say something. The man slowly lowered the newspaper, widened his eyes several times in a strange exaggerated manner, and finally responded by telling Roger to stop or there would be blood.
Rayleigh and Gyaban immediately prepared themselves, thinking the man was warning them about a fight. Roger, however, smiled in that familiar way he always did before a brawl.
Roger asked whose blood the man meant, believing he was being challenged. The man replied that it would be his own blood, which made Roger grow even angrier.
Gyaban and Rayleigh had to hold him back while he tried to argue with the stranger, though it clearly did nothing to calm him down.
Shamrock simply watched the exchange with a small amused smile, interested in the dynamic between Crocus and the crew.
Seeing that Roger would not calm down by himself, Rayleigh stepped in and tried to open a proper conversation by asking for the man's name.
The man responded by saying that Rayleigh was the one being rude, since he asked for a name before introducing himself.
Rayleigh realized his mistake and started introducing himself, but the man interrupted before he could finish.
He introduced himself as Crocus, stated that his blood type was XF, and said that he was the lighthouse keeper of the island.
His interruption irritated Rayleigh, who almost drew his sword before Gyaban stopped him.
Crocus continued his odd behavior, repeating the same style of conversation that made Roger, Rayleigh and even Gyaban more irritated the longer it went on.
The rest of the crew had to keep pulling them away to prevent the three from grabbing their weapons in frustration.
Eventually, Crocus ended the act and spoke normally, showing that he was actually easy to talk to when he felt like it.
He allowed the crew to dock at his tiny island, although the island was so small that only Roger, Rayleigh, Gyaban and Crocus could stand on it comfortably.
The rest of the crew stayed on the ship while the four of them discussed their agendas.
Shamrock quietly observed from the edge of the conversation. He remembered that Crocus joined Roger later in the original timeline, so seeing things happen earlier made him wonder if Crocus might choose not to join them this time.
However, he noticed Roger smiling confidently, and he saw Crocus glancing back and forth between Roger and the whale beside the island.
That look from Crocus made Shamrock realize that their discussion had already been decided.
Before long, Roger and Crocus left together to speak with the whale, while Rayleigh and Gyaban returned to the ship.
As soon as they stepped back onboard, Rayleigh called out to Shamrock with a serious expression.
Both he and Gyaban motioned for Shamrock to follow them to the private room they only used when something important needed to be discussed.
Inside the room, Gyaban immediately began explaining the situation. Crocus had agreed to join them for two years while he searched for someone important to him.
During that time, he was willing to pass all of his medical knowledge to Shamrock so that he could leave without feeling that he failed to provide enough support.
Gyaban insisted that Shamrock learn everything Crocus had to offer, and Rayleigh asked if he could handle that responsibility. Shamrock thought for a moment and then nodded without any hesitation. He had no objection to this arrangement.
Once the three of them stepped back outside, they saw Crocus and Roger already on the deck. Roger was introducing Crocus to the rest of the crew, with everyone gathering around to greet their new companion.
Roger declared that their adventure would begin again from here. Crocus immediately suggested that they head toward the Drum Kingdom, explaining that he wanted to meet an old acquaintance who lived there.
Roger agreed, since he was familiar with the reputation of Drum Island even though he had never visited it before.
With that decided, the Roger Pirates prepared to sail once again. Crocus said his farewell to the whale, who they now knew was named Laboon.
Shamrock recognized the name instantly, and as the ship departed from the island, he watched Laboon with a soft expression, already aware of Laboon's future story, even though the rest of the crew did not know it yet.
Their next journey began with a new crew member, a new direction and a sense of curiosity about what waited for them in the Drum Kingdom.