"Stop crying, little girl. The soup is going to get cold."
The soup, simmered from the bones of a Millennial Dragon, was exceptionally fragrant and rich. The little girl, even while crying, couldn't help but swallow her saliva. Comforted by Mia, the small girl named Apis eventually tearfully ate a large bowl.
Apis was a user of the Whisper-Whisper Fruit. If developed well, this fruit's abilities were incredibly heaven-defying, but if developed poorly, it was exceedingly mediocre. The Whisper-Whisper Fruit allowed one to hear the inner thoughts of all living creatures in the world and to transmit one's own voice into the ears of any creature. This was the Devil Fruit version of the Voice of All Things. The upper limit of this fruit was a low-grade version of the Sea King ability; it was definitely not weak. However, fully developing it was truly not something an ordinary person could achieve. At least, Bellamy didn't see this potential in this unremarkable little girl.
"Tired of crying yet?"
"If you're tired of crying, then hurry home, brat." Bellamy's features were the kind that were naturally fierce. Even with a blank expression, he looked very intimidating. However, this little brat's ability allowed her to vaguely hear Bellamy's inner thoughts.
"No way! Give me back my Dragon Gramps!" Not only was Apis not afraid of Bellamy in the slightest, but she even started shouting loudly at him. The "Dragon Gramps" the little girl spoke of was that Millennial Dragon that had lived for many years.
Upon arriving on the island, Bellamy had used his Observation Haki to locate the old dragon. At that time, Apis had been chatting with the Millennial Dragon when she suddenly heard a miserable shriek. Then she saw Dragon Gramps being killed with a single punch.
Bellamy couldn't be bothered to get angry with her, simply letting her make a fuss on the side. When she tired herself out, he had Mia take her back.
"Stinking brat, she was clearly enjoying the food so much earlier," Bellamy grumbled, digging a finger in his ear. He turned to Drake. "How much longer until the ship is repaired?" The Clone Soldiers had shipwright modules loaded into their memories; Ross was currently leading them in emergency repairs of their vessel on the beach.
"About five days," Drake estimated roughly; he had just returned from the beach.
"Then we'll rest here for five days." Gunkan Island was just a remote little island with only a small fishing village. Usually, even pirates couldn't be bothered to come to such a godforsaken place to plunder.
For this trip to the East Blue, Bellamy's original plan was to acquire Fish-Man Karate and then find a place to drop off the two apprentices. After that, he would head straight for the Grand Line. But after his clash with Onigumo, he had a new idea. Zoro's teacher, the swordsman from Shimotsuki Village, seemed to have excellent swordsmanship and even ran a dojo. The swordsmanship of this world was truly not to be underestimated; Bellamy wanted to go to that dojo for some advanced training. The monsters standing at the very peak – almost every one of them knew a few sword techniques. Even if he didn't use a sword himself, learning from others to improve his own weaknesses was a good thing.
"At this point in time, Zoro probably hasn't set sail yet, right?" The original story didn't record it, but it was also possible he had already gone to sea and was working as a pirate hunter. It didn't matter. If he met him, they'd chat a bit; if not, Bellamy wouldn't go out of his way to find him. What he cared about most had always been his own strength.
"While I have this free time, I can get started on Fish-Man Karate." Bellamy had read those two manuals over a dozen times through the night, memorizing every single word.
Fish-Man Karate was a fist style that manipulated water. Every move, every form, required mobilizing the power of water. When this fist style was trained to its highest realm, every gesture would possess the power of a tsunami. Fish-Men were inherently creatures of the sea; playing with water was a racial talent. Humans were far inferior in this aspect. For Bellamy to master Fish-Man Karate, the first hurdle was to learn how to "play with water." Such an innate skill was truly not easy to grasp on one's own without guidance.
After informing his companions, Bellamy went to the seaside alone. "What exactly does 'playing with water' entail?" Bellamy scooped up a handful of water from the sea; soon, all the water had slipped through his fingers. Water was a liquid, without a fixed form. Grabbing it was simple, but wanting to hold it completely was difficult.
Bellamy tried again. This time, he used his full strength, fiercely thrusting his hand into the sea. A large mass of seawater was forcibly gripped in his hand, the immense power hidden in his fingers compelling the water currents not to escape. He successfully held a ball of water, but this was "grabbing water," not "playing with water." Fish-Man Karate was, after all, the racial martial art of the Fish-Man tribe; it naturally wouldn't be so simple. To get started, Bellamy had to be able to "play" with this ball of water in his hand, to make it do tricks.
"Let's start with a water ball toss." The first introductory move of Fish-Man Karate: Water Shot. Its principle was to forcefully strike out with a water droplet. Bellamy tried to forcefully throw the water ball in his hand. But the moment the water ball left his hand, it immediately dispersed, all of it falling to the ground. Playing with water wasn't so simple.
Bellamy frowned and once again scooped up a mass of water into his hand. This time, he chose to infuse a large amount of his elasticity into it, forcibly compressing the water into a dense ball. The influx of immense external force caused the water ball to spin rapidly. It was like that technique Bellamy had used before; if he threw this water ball out forcefully, it could cause damage similar to a Rasengan. But this wasn't what he wanted either. If he merely wanted to get started with Fish-Man Karate, reaching this stage was already more than enough. But Bellamy intended to practice this fist style continuously. Such a brute-force method had no technical skill involved; he naturally wouldn't adopt it.
Dispelling the water ball in his hand, he once again scooped up another. This time, he carefully shaped the water into a sphere, then gently tossed it up, quickly catching it as it fell. Because his movements and force were sufficiently controlled, the water ball didn't disperse much; almost all of it was caught in his hand, with only a very few droplets falling.
"Very good." Bellamy nodded with satisfaction. Just like that, he was slowly getting the feel for it. Scooping up another ball of water with his left hand, he tried juggling the water balls back and forth, like a circus performer. Carefully controlling his strength, the two water balls danced nimbly in Bellamy's hands.
As time went on, two water balls soon couldn't satisfy his needs. Bellamy tried to free up a hand to grab a third water ball. This lapse in concentration immediately caused the force in his hands to slacken. The water ball in his right hand, having just been tossed into the sky, fell straight down from above, landing squarely on his head.
Splat! With a crisp sound, Bellamy was drenched from head to toe. Wiping his face haphazardly a few times, he nonchalantly scooped up two more water balls. Tonight, his goal was three water balls. When he could easily juggle ten water balls, his skill in playing with water would surely see a massive improvement.