Chapter 27: Training Peacock and Forming the Team
"Peacock, you're here early today," Chiba remarked, surprised. Typically, she only showed up in the afternoon, if at all. Today, however, she seemed particularly enthusiastic.
"Don't change the subject. Tell me the truthโdid you eat a Devil Fruit?" Peacock demanded, grabbing Chiba's hand and leaning in close, pressing her body against his. Her lips parted, releasing a faint scent that filled the space between them. Chiba couldn't help but notice the captivating scene before him.
With a mental shake, he reminded himself to stay focused. This little minx, he thought, trying to clear his head.
"No, Peacock," he replied, amused. "I've just been working on simplifying the Marine Six Styles. What you saw earlier was indeed Moonwalk, but I've enhanced it. I call it the Lightning Dragon Swimming Art. It's easier to learn and even more effective than the traditional Moonwalk."
"I want to learn!" Peacock declared, clinging to his arm and giving him an imploring look.
With a sigh, Chiba pinched her nose. "Peacock, you do realize I'm your superior, right? Show some respect, or I might have to discipline you."
Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she lifted her whip in a playful salute. "And how would you discipline me, sir? Would you like me in a secretary's outfit or a Marine uniform? Whatever you desire, sir, I can accommodate."
Chiba gently tapped her forehead. "Do you still want to learn the Lightning Dragon Swimming Art, or not?"
"Yes, yes! Teach me!" she replied, eyes bright with excitement.
"Good," he said, taking a step back. "Then go fetch Hina, Koby, and Helmeppo. I think it's time for all of you to receive some real training. Can't let you keep misbehaving like this."
With a pout, Peacock stuck her tongue out. "Fine, fine. I'm going, you grumpy man!" She stalked off, muttering as she left. Not long after, Hina, Koby, and Helmeppo joined them, with Peacock still sulking beside them.
Hina glanced at Peacock, picking up on her irritation. She suspected that Peacock had overstepped and received a scolding from Chiba. Serves her right, she thought, a small smile tugging at her lips.
Koby and Helmeppo, on the other hand, looked apprehensive, likely feeling the weight of Chiba's challenge to reach Rear Admiral level within a year.
Chiba surveyed them. "You four are my closest and most trusted team members," he began. "Which is why I'm going to teach you something much more advanced than simple Qi and body exercises."
At this, the expressions of Peacock, Koby, and Helmeppo shifted. Peacock, in particular, looked stunned. She knew how powerful the Qi training technique was, increasing physical energy up to five times. And now Chiba was calling that "simple"?
Her curiosity piqued, she focused intently on every word.
"I'm going to teach you a brand-new body training technique," he announced. "I call it the Divine Power Awakening Method. This technique will increase your physical energy by ten to fifteen times."
"However," he continued, his tone hardening, "you must promise me that you will never share this technique with anyone else without my permission. If you do, there will be consequences for both you and whoever learns it."
A wave of intense pressure emanated from Chiba, washing over the four of them. Koby and Helmeppo turned pale, while even Peacock felt the weight of his presence. She had always assumed Chiba was just an exceptional researcher, but this raw display of power shattered her preconceptions.
Once he had made his point, Chiba withdrew his mental pressure. He knew the Divine Power Awakening Method wasn't as powerful as the Giant Elephant's Prison-Suppressing Strength, nor did it match the Idol's Suppressing Prison Strength. However, by instilling a sense of reverence and exclusivity around it, he ensured they would treat the technique with the respect it deserved.
Afterward, he handed each of them an Ultimate Breaking Barrier Pill and taught them the Divine Power Awakening Method. With the help of the pill's potent effects, they quickly grasped the technique, and their physical energy began to increase significantly as Qi started circulating within them.
With that foundation set, Chiba taught them the Storm Walk and the Lightning Dragon Swimming Art. He had no doubt that in time, the four would master these advanced techniques. Soon, Hina and Peacock would likely have the strength to rival Vice Admirals, while Koby and Helmeppo would experience significant growth in their abilities.
Everything was progressing smoothly.
While the Marine Six Styles were complex, each style had unique characteristics. Chiba planned to continue refining the remaining techniquesโFinger Pistol, Paper Arts, Tempest Kick, and Iron Bodyโto create minimalist versions that retained power but simplified training requirements.
And so, he returned to his research. Time flew by, and another three days passed in the blink of an eye.
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๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ ๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฎ. ๐๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ข๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐!
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ๐ ๐๐ผ:
โข ๐ฝ๐ค๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐จ๐๐ช
โข ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ
โข ๐ผ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐๐๐๐
โข ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ฒ
๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐น๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ:
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐: ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ด๐ฑ+ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐จ๐.
โข ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐-๐ข๐๐: ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐จ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐จ ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐จ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ!
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐บ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐. ๐๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ท๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐!
๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฃ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ: ๐๐๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ค๐ฃ.๐๐ค๐ข/๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง