Chapter 169: Training (6)

Ben walked down the stairs of the Bridge and entered the deck. He saw Alvida on the portside of the ship training on the ship. She was moving fast left and right. He then looked to his starboard side and Mikita was also training. She was doing the training regime. She was doing push-ups. Ben thought of not distributing them. 

He went to the stern of the ship however not all the way to the back of the ship. He thought that space was limited on the deck.

Ben looked at the sea. He transformed into his hybrid form. He first thought about his moves. He did not have much time today to train. It was better to focus on existing or working on a move. "Demon Abyssal Chains," Ben as he created black chains from his hand. The chain shot forward at the ocean. Ben could have some control on the movement. He smiled. 

Ben thought of working on another move. He thought that he needed something to clear multiple targets. He had his "Demon Abyssal Lance," which could do damage against a big target. 

He closed his eyes. He flew up. He felt the energy pulsing around his wings. He focused on making energy balls around his wings. He opened his eyes. "Demon Barrage," he said as small dark energy projectiles started to rain down onto the ocean. It covered a small area. 

Ben flew down. He smiled. He thought this was a good start, however it was not perfect. He flew up. He focused on making energy balls around his wings again. "Demon Barrage," he said as small dark energy projectiles rained down onto the ocean again. The area was bigger. Ben tried for the next hour firing his Demon Barrage again and again on the ocean. The area was getting bigger and bigger. He was getting slightly tired. However, he felt he made sufficient progress.

At the moment HQ flew up. "Master, I see you are training, however I want to let you know we will be approaching the next island," HQ reported. 

"Okay, thank you. It's getting dark so let's explore the island tomorrow morning. I will check on the girls and inform them about our plan. We will get dinner, rest, sleep and then explore," Ben said.

"That sounds perfect Master," HQ replied and added, "I will get dinner ready."

HQ flew down to the dining hall. Ben flew down and decided to see what the girls were doing. He transformed back into his human form. He saw Mikita who was punching and kicking the air. He approached her. "Hi Mikita," Ben said. 

Mikita stopped training and looked at Ben. She smiled. Her hair was in a ponytail which made her cute. "Hi Ben," Mikita replied. 

"How is your training going?" Ben asked.

"It's going well. I was working on being more nimble and training my body to take more damage," Mikita said.

"Ideally, we don't want you to get that much damage in the first place," Ben said.

"Our journey is filled with hazards and trouble. We need to prepare for everything and anything," Mikita said.

"Okay, but be careful. I care about you," Ben said. 

Mikita smiled. "I know you do, that's why I am training," Mikita said.

"Also, it's getting dark now, we are going to have dinner now and explore the island tomorrow," Ben said.

"Okay. I will join you," Mikita said.

"Sure, I will get the other girls," Ben said.

"Do you need help?" Mikita asked.

"No, I want to check myself on each girl," Ben said.

"Okay," Mikita giggled. She hugged Ben and kissed his cheek. She then let go and headed to the dining table. 

Ben smiled. He saw Alvida on the opposite side. He walked to her. 

"Slipstream Dash," Alvida said as she slid across the deck. Her speed was fast, she went quickly across. 

"Wow, that was fast," Ben said.

Alvida looked up and smiled. "Thank you my love," Alvida said.

"I was working on a move to close the distance," Alvida added.

"I know you are not at full power with your iron mace," Ben said. He paused and said, "We will work extra hard to complete the quest."

"I know you will my love. I am looking forward to our session," Alvida teased. She added, "The other girls are also."

Ben smiled. He was looking forward to it as well. "We will arrive on the next island soon. Let's explore it tomorrow, after we rest," Ben said.

"That sounds good my love," Alvida replied.

"I will go get the other girls, dinner will be ready any minute," Ben said.

"Okay my love," Alvida hugged Ben and left for the dining hall. 

Ben headed to the bow of the ship. He walked past the Bridge and Kaya, Nojiko and Vivi training on the front of the ship. Kaya was in her beast form. She was in the air. "Angel Barrage," Kaya said as fired a rapid volley of small energy projectiles resembling angelic feathers, onto the ocean. It covered a moderate area. 

"Good job Kaya," Vivi cheered.

"That was bigger than before," Nojiko said.

Ben clapped. They all looked at Ben. "That was good," Ben said.

Kaya flew down. She transformed back into her human form. "Thank you," Kaya said. She liked being complimented by Ben.

"I have been working on a similar move myself,"Ben said.

"Well, Kaya saw it and she wanted it as well," Nojiko said.

"Nojiko don't say that," Kaya said. She blushed. Vivi giggled. 

"So Vivi, any luck with your transformation?" Ben asked.

"No, Ben, still have not. However I was just able to do the training regime," Vivi said.

Ben was impressed. Vivi only didi it a handful of times however now she finished it without Honey`s help. Ben hugged her. "Well done," Ben said.

Vivi hugged back. "Thank you Ben," Vivi replied.

"Pervert," Kaya said.

Vivi looked at Kaya. "You just want a hug as well," Vivi said.

"No, I don't," Kaya said. 

Nojiko giggled. Ben smiled. "Don't be mean to Kaya girls or I will punish you," Ben joked.

Ben approached and hugged Kaya. "Yes, he will punish you," Kaya said. She stuck her tongue out. 

Nojiko and Vivi laughed. Kaya also joined in. Ben thought how close these girls have gotten in their short time together. In fact all the girls were close.

"Nojiko, how are you getting along?" Ben asked.

"Nojiko show him," Vivi said.

Nojiko nodded. "Cloud Surge," Nojiko said as she started to create dense storm clouds. They floated in the ocean, just away from the Miss Love Duck.

"Tornado Shroud," Nojiko added as she rapidly rotated the clouds into a tornado. It was powerful. The water started to be pulled into the tornado. It was getting stronger. 

Nojiko looked like she was struggling to control the tornado. She moved the tornado away from the ship as it went into the ocean.

"That was amazing but it looked draining," Ben said.

Nojiko was panting. "It is," Nojiko said.

"It was bigger at one point and she could control it better," Kaya said.

"She is a bit tired now," Vivi added.

"Well this will be a good time to get rest then," Ben said. He added, "We are approaching the next island however we will explore tomorrow. Today, we eat, rest and sleep," Ben said.

Nojiko, Vivi and Kaya nodded. "Okay, we will head to the dining hall then," Nojiko said. The three of them headed to the dining hall. Ben saw the tornado out in the distance; it was still there however it was getting smaller. He thought that an awakened version of Nojiko`s devil fruit could be devastating. It might be on the same scale as someone like Whitebeard's fruit. 

Ben walked to the stern of the ship. He walked past the dining hall door. There was a small window on the door. He could see half the girls there. Ben thought he should move quicker to get the rest. He got to the back of the ship and saw Honey. She had her hand out similar to how Ben had his hand out for his Demon Abyssal Lance. "Liquid Trident," Honey said as she made a stream of purple liquid into a sharp, trident-like projection. She launched it as it impacted the ocean. The waves rocked up. 

"The force is amazing that it rocks the waves," Marianne said. 

"Indeed," Ben said.

"Ben," Honey and Marianne said together. They both smiled. 

"I see you are training well," Ben said.

"It is, I was inspired by that attack," Honey said.

Ben nodded. "It is good we can use each other however try to come up with something unique just for you," Ben encouraged.

"It's to ensure you have your own identity in the world," Ben added. 

"I would like to be known by you Ben," Honey meekly said.

"You can but it's also good to have something special to throw off our opponents," Ben said.

"Okay, I will," Honey said.

"Marianne, how are you getting along?" Ben asked.

"I was able to do the training regime with only three of Honey`s gold liquid," Marianne said proudly. She looked cute. Ben walked up and hugged her.

"That is amazing, try to do it with two next time," Ben said.

Marianne nodded. "I will," Marianne stated.

"Okay, I think you did enough training today. We will be arriving on the next island soon. However, we will explore tomorrow. Today, we will rest and sleep and eat," Ben said.

Honey and Marianne nodded. "That sounds good," Honey said. They left for the dining hall.

Ben wondered where Zala and Robin were. He thought they were maybe resting in their room. He did not want to disturb them. He walked to the dining hall and entered. He saw all the girls there including Robin, Zala and BM. 

"Robin, Zala, I thought you both were resting in your rooms," Ben said.

"We were resting," Robin said.

"But not in the room, we were in the bathtub soaking up," Zala teased.

"You could have joined us," Robin said.

"Pervert," Kaya said.

"I don't think anyone minds you joining us my love," Alvida said.

"Even Kaya," Nojiko said. 

"Well, if everyone else agrees, I am okay but no perverted stuff," Kaya said. 

"I will give you girls some privacy," Ben said and added, "You all do deserve some alone time from me."

The girls smiled however they wanted Ben to be with them. 

Zala was serving the food again. Ben noticed she liked serving. He thought about getting her cute maid outfit. Ben also noticed her hair was down and less like her usual style. It looked down. 

Ben thought that Honey did an amazing job today. She made significant progress from when she joined. She was scared and today she led against what sounded like a tough enemy. Ben remembered the last time they were together with Alvida. He smiled. It's time to reward Honey with Alvida to complete a quest. This was serious business. 

"Honey, I know you did an amazing job being the leader today," Ben said.

"She was terrific," Vivi said.

"Very helpful and cool headed," Nojiko added.

"Her watermarking was a good idea," Robin said.

Honey smiled. She was happy that her crewmates trusted her.

"Well that sounds like someone who should get a reward," Ben said. He paused. "Alvida you can join as well." 

Alvida and Honey smiled widened. They thought back to the old times they were together. The two girls had a special connection. 

"There is a quest we have to complete my love," Alvida said.

"Yes," Honey added.

Alvida and Honey started to eat quicker. The other girls giggled. Kaya sighed but also joined in laughing.