Training

"Alright, Akatora! Do it again!"

Sengoku, now wearing his favorite white kimono, was sitting on a rock as he watched over Akatora's training. His hands were crossed against his chest, watching carefully as the boy tried to repeat his set of movements.

The boy was inside a 5 cubic meter hole on the ground. It was the same hole that Sengoku used to train in with his late father. Now it was Akatora's turn to suffer in the damn hole.

"1, 2, 3, 4, Ha!"

Akatora was punching the air in front of him, alternating each hand. What was unique about his training is that the boy was naked from the waist up. If he wasn't, then he'd burn another set of clothes again.

"Ow!"

Another pebble hit the boy's hand. It ached badly, but other than a cry of pain, there was no complaint. He continued his set, not minding at all that the old man just threw a pebble at him.

"1, 2, 3, Oh. Hahaha!"

Having felt a new pebble coming his way again, Akatora hurriedly used his fruit's ability to turn into a formless light to dodge the pebble. The pebble passed right through his left leg, embedding itself on the ground. The victory made the boy want to celebrate, as he raised his arms in jubilation at the success, only to be greeted by another pebble.

"Ha!"

Sengoku once again missed, as the pebble passed through the boy's right arm. It seems that the boy had quite the talent at elemental manifestation, even better than he imagined.

'With this kind of talent, he'd be able to get a high rank when he reaches twenty! But he might become too arrogant if I say that.'

Sengoku was able to observe the boy's strength, but he didn't want to give him a weakness. Throwing another pebble, Sengoku hid a smile as he thought about how the boy would react.

"I know this now! You can't hit m-"

The pebble was heading straight for his crotch this time. He hurriedly used his ability to dodge it again, even celebrating before it could pass. Only to be let down by his ability.

"Ahh!"

"Focus boy! I told you, only when you're good enough that I'll teach you the next step."

"But I dodged it!"

A look of indignation expressed itself on the boy's face. He really wasn't told of anything like that, but he was told of what Haki was. Sengoku said that he'd teach it to him when he gets to dodge three pebbles in a row.

"Well? You got hit, didn't you?"

Sengoku had a smug smile on his face as he looked down at Akatora from his seat. The boy looked visibly pissed, but just when he was about to voice another complaint, a slap was heard from above him.

"You petty little shit! I didn't raise you up to be so petty! Slap. Slap. Slap."

"Ow! Ow! Momma, stop!"

Donna's scolding could be heard from down where Akatora was. He was genuinely smiling as he watched his foster father and foster grandmother. He was able to learn a lot from them these past few weeks, even growing to love them.

'Father might seem petty, but he always has his reasons.'

If there was anything bad to say about his new family, it was that they were always trying to hide something from him. Never as explicit as he would like, but he could trust their intentions. In reality, he would have probably still be wandering on the streets if Garp and Sengoku didn't find him. Even more so if Sengoku didn't want to take care of him. He was very grateful for that.

"Well, boy. It seems like you're ready to increase your output!"

Donna was now wearing a similar kimono as Sengoku as she sat down on his rock from earlier. Sengoku was force to stand at her side, holding on to a bag that seemed filled to the brim with something.

"Your devil fruit is pretty good! The Sun-Sun fruit has long been regarded as a strong Logia fruit by the World Government. But it's only as good as the man who wields it!"

Speaking this far, Donna presented a palm facing the sky to Sengoku. Sengoku then took out a small bundle of cotton balls from the bag on his person. Akatora wasn't able to see that sweat had already built up on Sengoku's temples.

'Ay, son. I hope you don't hate momma for this.'

"Now! If you can't control your devil fruit properly, then you're gonna be more of a burden than if you didn't use your fruit. The first lesson you have for today is this! Dodge, if you can't dodge by elemental manifestation, then move out of the way."

Donna's old, wrinkled hands then turned a deep black. Sengoku was able to see this clearly because of his experience with Haki, but the boy doesn't even have an inkling of what Haki looks like. Little did he know that Akatora was actually able to see it as well.

'That's similar to father's Tiger hand!'

A semblance of the past, one that was held dear in Akatora's heart. His father had valiantly fought while having hands like those, and his body seemed to heat up. If he was to learn from them, would he be able to do that as well?

"Dodge boy!"

The black color from Donna's hand actually coated the cotton balls. Afterwards, she threw them one by one at Akatora's direction.