Rhett leaned back in his chair, watching the three little ones fight over food. The corner of his mouth curled up unconsciously.
Blood mist quietly rolled up some meat slices. Did you think he was going to eat them himself?
No, no, no, no.
Some went to Ann, some went to Rouge, and the rest he ate himself.
"Uncle, that's cheating!" Ace protested. "That's so sly!"
"As your uncle, this is called fair distribution," Rhett said, completely unabashed. "What? You can't outfight me anyway."
Ann suddenly held up her little bowl and looked at Rhett with pleading eyes.
"Fine, fine, one more piece for you." The blood mist rolled over a few more slices of meat.
Sabo looked at the meat that had suddenly appeared in his bowl, at a loss. "I-I can't eat this much..."
"Eat more so you can grow taller." Rouge added another fish ball to his bowl. "Look at Ace. He never says things like 'I can't eat this much.'"
Ace was already eating with his head down, way too busy to argue back.
Of course he was.
If he didn't eat fast, there wouldn't be anything left.
Dinner ended with laughter and chatter. After cleaning up the dishes, Rouge brought out a few soft blankets. "Sabo, sleep with Ace tonight. Tomorrow I'll go into town and buy you new ones."
"No need! This is already perfect!" Sabo waved his hands quickly. "I used to..." He stopped himself, not wanting to ruin the warm atmosphere.
Rhett ruffled his blonde hair. "From now on, say whatever you want to say. No one here will make fun of you."
Late at night, Ace and Sabo lay side by side on the hastily laid out bedding. Moonlight streamed through the window, drawing silver squares on the floor.
"Hey, Sabo," Ace said suddenly. "Tomorrow I'll take you to the secret base! Ann knows where it is too!"
Sabo turned over and looked at Ace's shining eyes. "Secret base?"
"Yeah!" Ace gestured excitedly. "There's a swing and a lookout tower! You can see the whole ocean!"
Outside the door, Rhett and Rouge exchanged a knowing smile and tiptoed away.
"That kid..." Rouge said softly, "He said he's saving up money to go out to sea."
Rhett nodded. "Heheh. Once they leave, they're going to find out that practically everyone they meet knows their uncle. Heheheh."
Rouge looked at Rhett, who seemed to be lost in his own world, shook her head, and walked away.
Rhett could stay here for a while now. There was no need to rush off sailing anymore.
Nowadays, the people who sailed either did it for a dream or to make a living.
Old Rhett didn't need to.
He had already made it big. He had no concept of money anymore. He had zero interest in berries! Heheh!
Rhett's crew no longer lived the way Roger did — sailing as a way of life. Their style was closer to Kaido and Linlin's now, because they had real estate holdings now.
Who else would be like Whitebeard, impossible to find because he was just drifting around on the sea? Although Whitebeard had plenty of territory too...
Hmm.
But most of those territories just flew his flag and were managed by crew members who had branched out.
Anyway, back to the point.
That meant Rhett would basically be in a state of wandering around doing nothing until the original story's timeline began. Right now, the only things left were that old Vinsmoke guy and that old bird Morgans. He hadn't dealt with them yet.
Being targeted by Rhett, old Vinsmoke, you've hit the jackpot. Rhett's organization had entered a period of full-on development. Now, anyone who heard the name Rhett wouldn't dare disrespect him.
Rhett had passed the age of needing lackeys to help him make a presence. Wherever Rhett went, his face worked better than a bounty poster.
Rhett planned to properly train these little ones. What's the point of coming back for just a few months, teaching a few moves, and calling it done?
To think that would be enough to live up to Roger's teachings — that would be pure nonsense.
Not that Rhett wanted to control how the three little ones grew up, but as third-generation powerhouses, shouldn't they have some advantages? Otherwise, what had Rhett been busy for? After a while, he planned to take the three little ones out to sea for a bit.
Get their faces out there, build some recognition.
---
The first rays of morning light had just fallen on Windmill Village when Rhett stood in the yard, holding three sets of custom-made weighted training gear. Blood mist drifted slowly around him, "gently" dragging the three little ones out of their futons.
It could be said that Rhett now really knew his way around training kids.
Did you know the value of the "King of Preschool Teachers"?
"Wake up, you sleepy little ones~" Rhett looked at the three groggy children with a smile. "Today's training is about to begin."
Ace rubbed his eyes and protested groggily, "The sun's not even up..."
"SPLAT!"
A water balloon landed perfectly on Ace's face, waking him up instantly. Ann was already putting on her training clothes, tying her shoelaces. Sabo looked at the weighted gear in front of him with a blank expression. "This is..."
"Custom training gear. One set each." Rhett snapped his fingers, and the blood mist helped them put it all on. "Starting today, you wear these at all times except when you're sleeping."
Ace was about to complain when he suddenly realized his limbs were incredibly heavy — even lifting them took effort. "It's so heavy!"
"You'll get used to it." Rhett clapped his hands. "Now, run ten laps around the village. No breakfast if you don't finish."
"Ten laps?!" Ace's eyes went wide. "One lap around the village is at least..."
"Eleven laps," Rhett said calmly.
Ace immediately shut up and obediently started running. Ann and Sabo followed.
After the morning run, the three little ones collapsed on the ground, wheezing like bellows. Rhett, however, had already prepared breakfast — fragrant grilled meat and fresh juice.
"Eat up. Next training session after this."
"There's more?!" Sabo groaned.
"Of course." Rhett smiled. "Physical training in the morning, weapon practice in the afternoon, and cultural lessons in the evening."
Whenever Rhett trained children, he smiled the most. The people who had seen Rhett smile the most were actually Shanks and Buggy. Even Enel had seen it less often.
You know that feeling? When other kids cry, you find it annoying. But when you're the one who made them cry? Wow. That's music to your ears.
Ace nearly spat out his juice. "Cultural lessons?!"
"What?" Rhett raised an eyebrow. "You want to be an illiterate pirate? Someone who can't even read a navigation chart? That's not even the main point here. What kind of good kid doesn't even understand the term 'physical fitness'?"
Ann silently raised her little hand in protest.
"Protest denied." Rhett ruffled her hair. "Your uncle here had to teach himself everything. Back when I was on your father's ship, there wasn't a single educated person around. I self-studied for years."
And so, Rhett's hellish training officially began.
Every morning, the villagers would see three small figures running through the village, with Rhett strolling leisurely behind them.
On the beach in the afternoons, the three little ones would practice sword swings, over and over again.
In the evenings, the three little ones would sit at the table, their faces scrunched up, doing arithmetic problems.
First problem: 1 + 1 equals what?
Second problem:
... (Those two dots, why are they moving? Why are they allowed to move like that?)
Rhett sipped his coffee calmly. "Mathematics. A subject that makes your face turn red. Feel free to experience what I went through."