For the next month, Jin focused almost completely on his training.
Swordsmanship.
Conqueror's Haki.
And no matter how much sweat he shed, no matter how many rocks he cut or how many times he collapsed on the ground…
His progress on Conqueror's coating was exactly zero.
"Seriously…?"
"Isn't Conqueror's coating just heart, body, and will all working together?"
"Why is this so damn stubborn?"
He lay on his back in the training field, panting.
For the first time, he seriously considered something.
Should I eat a Devil Fruit?
It would be a shortcut.
A dangerous one—but a shortcut.
"Op–Op Fruit? The Ope Ope no Mi?"
No, that was impossible.
World Government would have that under ice.
"Rumble–Rumble? The Goro Goro no Mi?"
Forget it. Enel probably already ate it. No hope there.
Maybe an Ancient Zoan-type…?
Even worse.
Harder to find, and even harder to hide.
"Troublesome…"
He sat up and sighed.
At least Kuro and Jango were progressing.
Unlike him, they were improving visibly every week.
He, meanwhile, had hit a wall.
"…Tch."
Time for their training session.
He grabbed his sword and walked out onto the training ground.
Kuro and Jango were already waiting.
"Come on then," Jin said.
"Let me see how much you've grown."
"You'll be surprised, White Boss," Jango said, swinging twin metal rings on chains.
Kuro flexed his fingers inside his new cat-claw gloves, stance low.
He vanished with a silent step fused with soru, darting in.
"Rotating Attack!"
Jango's rings whistled toward Jin.
"Cat Claw… Thrust."
Kuro struck from the opposite side.
Jin stepped once and casually thrust his greatsword forward.
Ding, ding.
The rings flew off course, Kuro's thrust was brushed aside.
"Again."
"Damn it," Kuro hissed, sliding into his noiseless killing steps again.
His speed now was enough that some of the Marines could barely track him.
"Keep going," Jin said, weaving through the attacks.
"Your speed is good."
"But your power's still lacking."
"With this kind of scratching, how long do you plan on tickling someone to death?"
Kuro gritted his teeth.
"Damn you…"
"You still have an opening, Kuro," Jin said mildly.
Kuro barely had time to look before a boot filled his vision.
He crossed his arms on instinct.
He didn't dare bring the blades up—he'd already had them shattered once.
Jin had told him clearly: until he mastered Armament, metal claws were just decoration against true monsters.
Boom.
Kuro went tumbling across the dirt.
Jango's eyes went wide as he came in from behind.
Jin turned, fist lashing out.
Jango joined Kuro on the ground a heartbeat later.
Jin looked down at the pair of them and sighed.
"That all you've got?"
"I'm disappointed."
"Don't look down on us!" Kuro coughed, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Again."
He blurred forward, murder in his eyes.
On the sidelines, a crowd of Marines were watching, whistling and shouting.
"Oi, Jango!"
"Get in there!"
"Beat White Boss and we get extra rations!"
"Do it!"
Jango felt the pressure hit him like a truck.
"You bastards are cheering like it's a festival!"
"Can't you see the monster we're fighting!?"
Jin flowed around Kuro's attacks, stepping, tilting, bending just enough to let the claws pass by.
His foot snapped up, catching Kuro in the ribs and sending him flying again.
He glanced at the hypnotist frozen in the back.
"Oi, you daydreaming?"
"You're up too, Jango."
He looked around at the watching Marines.
"And you freeloaders in the back?"
"You can all come too."
"Whoever makes me bleed even a little…"
"Gets drinks on me after duty."
The training field went completely silent for half a second.
Then—
"White Boss is paying!"
"GET HIM!!"
"You said it yourself, no take-backs!"
Half the base surged forward with war cries.
Jin bared his teeth.
"Come on then!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
He waded into them barehanded, sword resting on his back, and fists began to fly.
One Marine after another went spinning through the air.
"Damn it!"
"Again!"
They staggered back to their feet and charged.
"Tekkai!"
Jango crossed his arms just in time to catch Jin's kick.
Boom.
He bounced off the ground like a stone.
Jin snorted.
"How many times have I told you?"
"Tekkai isn't a universal shield."
"Against someone with overwhelming power, it just turns you into a training dummy."
"You don't have the strength."
"You don't have the speed."
"You don't even hold your weapon properly."
"And you…"
"You call that a sneak attack?"
"You're so obvious it's insulting, you idiot."
"Cat Claw — Shred!"
Kuro's claws blurred in a flurry of stabbing slashes.
So many blades that they almost formed a wall.
Jin's lips curved.
He slid inside the arc of Kuro's arms and, at the perfect moment, drove a fist into his stomach.
Kuro folded around it and flew.
A couple of minutes later, the entire training ground was covered with groaning bodies.
Jin stood in the middle, not a single scratch on him, hands on his hips, laughing.
"You did well today."
"After shift, all of you—bar."
"Drinks are on me."
"My treat."
"OUUUUGH!!"
"WHITE BOSS!!"
They didn't have the strength to stand.
But they still used the last of their voices to roar.
Up in his office, Colonel Mao stood at the window, looking down at the chaos.
He covered his face with one hand.
"This… is hell on earth…"
"My base… why does it look like a bandit camp…"
That night, the Loguetown bar was packed with Marines in uniform.
"Cheers!!"
"Ahahahaha!"
"It's been too long since White Boss treated us!"
Jin knocked back a big mug of beer in one go and slammed it down.
"Been busy."
"Tonight we drink 'til we drop."
"Not going home standing."
"YEAAAH!!"
As he drank, he heard a conversation at the next table.
"You hear?"
"Some group settled in town recently."
"Led by some terrifying old lady. I think they called her Granny Tom."
"Tom-Baba? That Tom-Baba…?" Jin's eyes narrowed.
"And they set up some 'Bartolo Family' or something."
"Expanding like crazy."
"And there's some green-haired punk in there, real arrogant piece of work."
Jin blinked.
"Oh."
"So it's that guy."
"Future man-eating demon Bartolomeo."
He paused.
"…Did he actually eat people though?"
"In this world, no one gets a nickname like that for no reason…"
He squinted at his drink.
"And the Barrier–Barrier Fruit… the Bari Bari no Mi…"
"If it's still around…"
"Best defense fruit in the world."
"And you can make a giant mecha out of it…"
He scratched his head.
"…Totally not my style, though."
He was still mulling it over when the bar door slammed open.
A group of rough-looking thugs swaggered in, grinning.
Everyone turned their heads toward them.
The newcomers took one look at the room—wall-to-wall Marines, most of them big, scarred, and casually staring back—and their guts clenched.
Then they remembered who was behind them.
Their spines straightened again.
"What are you looking at?"
"Never seen handsome guys before?"
Jin lazily turned his head.
"Yeah."
"I've never seen such ugly failures before."
"Pff—"
The Marines around him burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha!"
"White Boss still has the sharpest tongue."
"Just a bunch of small fries. What's there to be scared of?"
The punks went red.
"You bastards got a death wish?!"
"We're with the Bartolo Family!"
"If we call big sis over, she'll chop you all up!"
Jin clicked his tongue.
"You're real loud for trash."
"Guess I have been too quiet lately if every random clown thinks they can jump out and bark."
He stood up and stretched.
"Grab them."
"Let's do some public service."
"Yessir, White Boss!"
The Marines surged.
"You—what are you—don't come any closer—AAAH—!!"
Less than a minute later, all the punks were Ryder out on the floor.
"Boss, bill."
The bar owner walked over with a huge smile, rubbing his plump hands together.
"Altogether, 13,270,000 beli."
"I'll just charge you 13 million, White Boss."
Jin's face darkened.
"…You merchants are the real pirates out here."
"An evening of drinks is worth a rookie pirate bounty now?"
The owner panicked.
"Hey, hey, hey! You can't say that!"
"Look how many people you brought!"
Jin glanced around.
Yeah.
Fifty-plus.
"Tsk."
"Fine, my bad."
"Thought you were fleecing me."
"Let's go, boys."
"We're paying a visit to this 'Bartolo Family.'"
"We'll do some justice, and sober up on the way."
"Yes, White Boss!"
"Hehehe…"
No one said the last part out loud:
And maybe loot a bit on the side.
But everyone understood.
They were all veterans.
Elsewhere, the Bartolo Family casino—also their current HQ—was buzzing.
"Ow, ow, ow…!"
"Granny Tom, your cane hurts!"
A green-haired kid clutched his head and hopped in place.
An old woman glared at him, cane still raised.
"Idiot!"
"I already told you this is Haki!"
"If you don't learn it, how are you supposed to protect anything?"
"And you, Dezaya, stop smirking over there!"
She sighed.
"At this rate, once this old lady's gone, you brats will get eaten alive."
The two kids, both around thirteen or fourteen, lowered their heads.
"…S-sorry, Granny."
"We'll try harder."
Dezaya, a small girl, clenched her fists.
"I will learn."
"I promise."
Granny Tom sighed again and patted Dezaya's head.
"Good girl."
Then she looked at Bartolomeo and her headache came back.
"For now, you're both still too young."
"We'll take it slow."
"This old bag of bones can still stand in front of you for a while."
"Granny Tom, you'll live forever," Dezaya said softly.
"I'll learn fast."
Granny Tom smiled.
"Let's hope so."
She waved them off.
"Wait here."
She shuffled into her back room and knelt by the bed, reaching under it.
Her hand found a hidden compartment and pulled out a box.
She held it for a long moment, the memories washing over her.
She thought about the years she'd spent running around the Grand Line.
"An old woman like me doesn't need to go chasing dreams anymore."
"It's enough to rule a little patch of sea."
"But once I'm gone, those two will be nothing but snacks."
"I hope this thing can help the brat survive."
She walked back outside, box in hand.
Bartolomeo was staring out the window, clearly bored and not listening at all.
Her heart clenched.
"Bartolo."
"Come here."
The green-haired kid turned.
"What is it, Granny Tom?"
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