Early the next morning, just as the sun rose above the horizon.
Raleigh was different today.
Instead of sleeping until mealtime, he went to his private office unusually early.
On the desk lay a blank sheet of paper.
Raleigh picked up a pen, intending to transcribe the training methods he remembered for Belo Betty.
Although he already had Miles as a disciple, Miles and Belo Betty's training directions differed.
Raleigh planned to mold Miles based on templates like Zephyr or Garp, focusing primarily on physical combat and defense.
Belo Betty's Devil Fruit ability, however, was a powerful support skill.
The key was how to best utilize her fruit ability.
Activating a Devil Fruit required stamina, so Raleigh's plan for Belo Betty would mainly focus on boosting her stamina and endurance, while also incorporating defense and speed.
In Raleigh's understanding, the Inspire-Inspire Fruit was like an aura master in games.
It could provide numerous beneficial buffs.
And an aura master must have ample mana (stamina), along with defense and evasion skills.
Otherwise, at the start of a battle, the enemy would surely target the aura master first.
After writing several hundred words in a flowing script, Raleigh stretched, the satisfying crack of his joints echoing.
"Today's workload is already over the limit. Time for a break."
Raleigh scratched his head.
After all, he didn't need to struggle and strive like others; he could grow stronger just by lying around.
"If I can get stronger by lying down, why bother working hard like everyone else?"
Raleigh left the office and handed the freshly written training plan to the determined-looking Miles.
"Miles, this is Belo Betty's training plan. Keep an eye on her this morning and make sure she completes it. Of course, don't neglect your own training, understand?"
Then he reclined sideways, his body slumping as if boneless, perfectly settling into the lounge chair Gion had just repaired yesterday.
"Oh, and Miles, fetch my eye mask and two fresh coconuts."
"Yes, Master." Miles quickly ran to the office and kitchen, gathered the items, and placed them beside Raleigh.
Raleigh waved his hand, signaling that Miles could go to the deck to train on his own.
Just then, Raleigh felt a fragrant breeze approach, and a beautiful face blocked the sunlight overhead.
"Raleigh, could... could you give me some guidance too?"
Gion said through gritted teeth.
"Huh?"
Raleigh was utterly confused.
"Don't you have plenty of senior officers guiding you? Why would you suddenly want me to instruct you?"
Gion said seriously.
"Although Garp-chan and Tsuru-nee have given me much guidance, my progress has been very slow. Perhaps their methods aren't particularly suitable for me."
"I just saw the training plan you made for Belo Betty, plus Miles' training plan before that. I think when it comes to training plans, you might be even better than Zephyr-sensei."
Raleigh waved his hand, indicating it wasn't possible.
"Gion, we were all taught by Zephyr-sensei, including my brother and Sakazuki-san. Everyone uses this training method, there's no need for you to seek me out."
"I won't report your slacking off in East Blue to headquarters. How about using that as an exchange?"
Gion showed a flicker of hesitation, then continued.
"No, headquarters already knows about me slacking off in East Blue, but they still transferred me to North Blue instead."
Raleigh got angry just talking about this, so he simply closed his eyes and refused to look at Gion.
Gion bit her lip.
"If you don't instruct me, then I'll come bother you every day and prevent you from sleeping properly."
WHAT!
Such a vicious scheme!
Raleigh rolled over and sat up from the sun lounger with a start, staring dumbfounded at Gion.
He never expected that Gion, who looked so beautiful and impressive, could come up with such a malicious plan.
If he couldn't slack off and sleep peacefully, how could he possibly get stronger!
"No, no, you can't disturb my sleep."
Raleigh shouted excitedly at Gion.
Seeing Raleigh's expression, a mysterious curve appeared at the corner of Gion's mouth:
"If you want me to stop disturbing your sleep, you'll have to agree to instruct my training."
Raleigh scratched his head.
It seemed there was no avoiding this.
"Then call Tokikake over too. Since I'm teaching one anyway, teaching two makes no difference. I'll make training plans for both of you, so neither of you will bother me."
Gion's eyes curved into arcs as she went to fetch Tokikake with a light heart.
"Really, one after another coming to trouble me. Can't even slack off properly, so annoying."
Raleigh felt like he was back to when he first arrived in East Blue.
Back then, the East Blue branch had lax military discipline, soldiers of varying quality, and Momonga wasn't yet mature.
He had spent tremendous effort on early training, sacrificing much of his slacking time to build up Branch 133.
It was only after Momonga and the soldiers matured that Raleigh's slacking plan could proceed smoothly.
Scratching his head and sighing, he came to the deck. Everything seemed to have returned to the beginning.
"Gion, I can't teach you sword techniques because my own understanding of swordsmanship isn't high."
"Let me start by teaching you the Marines Six Styles first."
Raleigh decided to teach Gion first because Gion would bother him.
If Tokikake bothered him, Raleigh would definitely beat him until he stayed in bed for three days.
"You've already learned Soru from the Marines Six Styles. Next, you should focus on Moon Walk and Kami-e. As for Rankyaku and Shigan, since you use a sword, you can put those aside for now."
"The technique for Moon Walk is similar to Soru - rapidly kicking multiple times in the air to achieve body levitation. Once mastered, your combat space can expand to include the sky."
After speaking, Raleigh quickly took several steps on the deck, then rose into the air before everyone's eyes.
The varying strength in his legs affected his body posture and direction of movement.
Having mastered Moon Walk, Raleigh could naturally engage enemies from any angle in the air.
After demonstrating once, Raleigh walked down from the air.
"Next is Kami-e. Gion, attack me."
Raleigh said to Gion with a relaxed expression.
Gion nodded, instantly drew Konpira, and slashed at Raleigh.
"The principle of Kami-e is to relax all strength in the body and respond to the subtle air currents created when the opponent attacks, just like paper being blown by the wind."
Under Gion's attacks, Raleigh's body seemed to predict them in advance, always dodging at the last critical moment.
While evading Gion's attacks, he continued explaining:
"The most important aspect of Kami-e is relying on the body's instinctive perception to respond to enemy attacks."
"Although it can be broken by moves too fast to react to, it trains perception and is beneficial for awakening Observation Haki later."
Raleigh jumped far away, and seeing this, Gion sheathed Konpira.
"Gion, your training will focus on Moon Walk and Kami-e."