Chapter 252: Teach's Gaze
Having just escaped the pursuit of two admirals, Porche collapsed onto the deck, gasping for air. The simultaneous attacks from both admirals had nearly caused his heart to leap out of his throat. After the tension, he felt completely drained, falling to the ground.
Wendy jogged over to Esdeath's side. "Uh, during the battle earlier, I wasn't able to help at all..."
"No, your support was very effective." Esdeath interrupted Wendy, "Thanks to your support magic, I was able to fight Kizaru for that long."
"Of course, Wendy is known as the Sky Witch!" Carla , who was the lowest in altitude, stated Wendy's title, but unfortunately, Esdeath didn't respond to her words. Carla puffed out her cheeks in frustration and quietly sharpened her claws.
"Hi, hi!" Wendy, praised by Esdeath, beamed a pure and innocent smile...
"..." Esdeath suppressed the strong urge to hug Wendy, and instead, she wrapped her arms around Eric , pressing his head between her chest.
"Again?" A muffled voice came from the valley. Eric 's heated breath and the vibration of his voice caused a blush to appear on Esdeath's face.
"..." Wendy's smile froze, awkwardly watching the couple embrace in front of her.
The others around also looked on in silence, until the third vein bulged on Kurumi's forehead.
"Ah, if it's possible, could you let go? Eric - might suffocate."
"Hmph." Completely uninterested in the others' gazes, Esdeath finally released Eric , who slid off like a steamed fish, his head emitting white steam.
"Pain..." Kurumi, who was still furious, twisted Eric 's ear, pulling him up.
"Although your support magic is really useful, it seems like you're really afraid of combat." Esdeath said to Wendy after finishing with Eric , "This won't do. Let me personally train you."
"The gap in strength is too big, isn't it? Maybe... let..." Eric disagreed, worrying if Esdeath were fully in charge of Wendy's training, it would turn into something more than education.
"No, I can do it, Eric -nii." Unexpectedly, Wendy agreed, her tiny fists clenched, and her face radiated strength beyond what a child her age should have.
"I won't go easy on you." At that moment, Esdeath finally acknowledged Wendy.
Everyone sighed in unison: "No, you should go easy on her."
"Wait, I also want to join the combat training with Wendy." Kuina, who had initially looked down on Wendy's timidity, realized after seeing Wendy's two Dragon Roars that Wendy's power was on par with hers, maybe even stronger. Besides, Wendy was one year younger than her, and Kuina felt a deep sense of crisis.
Even though Wendy wasn't a swordswoman, competitive Kuina didn't want to lose to Wendy.
Upon hearing Kuina's words, Wendy smiled and nodded in agreement. Even Kuina couldn't resist Wendy's pure smile and silently put aside her competitive feelings.
Seeing how eager the two girls were to improve their strength, Esdeath happily agreed, leading them both to the training room.
"Master, please keep an eye on them for me. I'm afraid Esdeath's training might be too intense."
"Mm."
After all, when Esdeath was a general in the empire, her training methods had killed quite a few people, so Eric couldn't let his guard down.
"Eric -sensei, please continue teaching me Armament Haki." After leaving Da Vinci's lab, Genos had already replaced his mechanical body, and the damage to it was gone.
"Sigh... I got it."
...
On the massive Moby Dick, Marshall D. Teach, his round body trembling, held a newspaper in his hands, unable to believe his eyes:
"'Golden Lion' Shiki's Float-Float Fruit ended up in the hands of the Dawn Pirates? Do any of them have the ability of the Dark-Dark Fruit?"
"No, maybe they just got lucky. After Golden Lion's death, the ability of the Float-Float Fruit somehow reincarnated in their fruits..."
"Damn it, I'm stuck with the Whitebeard Pirates, unable to freely head to the Grand Line's first half. I need to find a way to leave here and go to Paradise to see if the Dawn Pirates have truly acquired the Dark-Dark Fruit..."
"Maybe I'll wait for them to come to the New World, stir up conflict between the two pirate crews, and prod old dad to fight them. If they've really gotten the Dark-Dark Fruit..."
Always hiding his ambitions in the Whitebeard Pirates, Teach's eyes burned with malice. His mouth, which had been agape in shock, curled into a sinister smile.
"What's up, Teach, you're here?" A voice suddenly came from behind.
"Ah, ah..."
'Damn it...!' Teach's acting skills could win him an Oscar, as his cold, malicious grin disappeared, replaced with an innocent expression.
"Ah, well... recently, the Dawn Pirates' news has been coming in frequently, and now they've even obtained Golden Lion's ability. I was just surprised."
"Ah..." Sachi, dressed in a chef's uniform, approached, "Speaking of which, although their ship is small, most of the crew seems to be Devil Fruit users."
"...!" Teach almost couldn't control his facial expression and hurriedly changed the topic. "By the way, Captain Sachi, did you need something from me?"
"Right, it's..."
...
After several days of training...
"Dragon's Fang!" Wendy's hands were wrapped in a fierce wind, her claws outstretched as she swung toward Kuina.
Holding her sword, Shusui, Kuina blocked the attack, the wind continuously cutting against the blade, causing violent vibrations to travel up to her hands.
"Ha!"
Sweat trickled down Kuina's forehead, and with a sharp cry, she pushed Wendy back, the wind swirling around the sword dissipating.
Seizing the opportunity, Kuina lowered her body and charged, Shusui at her waist like a deadly snake ready to strike.
Wendy's shoes gathered wind into a ball, which suddenly exploded, propelling Wendy high into the air, dodging Kuina's horizontal slash.
"Oh~" Esdeath, watching from the sidelines, praised, "She's already using the wind to move so skillfully in battle. Wendy truly has high combat talent."
"Hmph!" Carla , standing nearby, snorted, worryingly watching Wendy.
After spinning several times in the air and adjusting her position, Wendy launched an inverted hook kick at Kuina, who had jumped after her:
"Dragon's...!"
"That's enough!" Eric 's voice declared the match over.
(END CHAPTER)
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