First day in Mt. Colubo. A place where ordinary people were doomed the moment they stepped in.
"Luffy once convinced a monkey to spar with him by offering food. I'll try that too, it's better than killing them outright."
Ling set out with the food basket Makino had prepared, planning to use it as a bait.
After walking for a few minutes, he spotted a monkey that looked exactly like the one Luffy sparred with. The big monkey sniffed the air and darted toward Ling, drawn by the smell of food.
Reacting instinctively, Ling used his ability to skip one second into the future, vanishing briefly and reappearing a step away. The monkey skidded to a halt, confused.
Before it could strike again, Ling raised a hand. "Hey! I'll give you free food if you help me train."
The monkey blinked, then grinned, slamming the ground in excitement.
'He really understands human speech.
"Come on," Ling said, motioning forward.
They ran toward each other. Both stopped at the same moment and threw a punch with their right fists colliding midair. The impact knocked them both back.
Recovering quickly, they launched into combat again.
The monkey swung. Ling dodged and caught its wrist with his left hand. He countered with a right hook aimed at the monkey's gut but it blocked with its free arm.
Still caught, the monkey leapt up, twisted in midair, and performed a front flip, wrenching its arm free with the momentum. While airborne, it curled its legs and launched a powerful double kick toward Ling's face.
Ling crossed both arms to block the blow but was knocked back a few steps.
The monkey shriek, mocking Ling.
'Damn… I just got outsmarted by a monkey.'
"Again," Ling said, grinning.
Their sparring lasted two hours. Now both sat side-by-side on a thick tree branch, eating from Makino's food basket.
"That was great," Ling said between bites.
The monkey let out a strange sound in response.
"Hahahaha…" Ling laughed, amused.
"Never thought I'd be sitting on a tree, eating lunch with a monkey, watching the sun rise… before I ever got to take a girl out."
His laughter faded.
"I'm so happy," he murmured.
Everything had turned out for the better. Although he went through a scary death, he felt more alive than before, everything he experienced so far made him feel so welcomed.
A tear rolled down his cheek before he even realized.
The monkey tilted its head at him.
Ling touched his face and blinked. "Am I… crying?"
He quickly wiped the tears away.
Shaking off the emotion, he stood up. "One more round. Let's go."
The monkey hooted in agreement.
They sparred for another four hours.
"It's still early in the afternoon. Time to start training my Observation Haki."
Ling turned to the monkey and called out, "Hey, Dexter! Come here, I need your help."
Yes, he'd named the monkey Dexter.
Earlier that day, Ling had asked the monkey if he had a name. The monkey had just tilted his head, clearly confused. So Ling gave a little explanation about what a name was and offered one.
"Blackie," he said.
The monkey screeched in protest.
"Okay, okay… How about Keymon? Or Mon? Maybe Kem?"
Each suggestion was met with a vigorous shake of the head or a dismissive grunt.
"Dexter?"
The monkey nodded, agreeing on Dexter.
Now, Dexter hopped over at Ling's call, curiosity in his eyes.
"Follow me. I'll bring you to my camp," Ling said, leading the way.
Once there, Ling handed Dexter a thick stick and explained what he wanted.
"You're gonna help me train. I'm going to sit here, blindfolded. Your job?All you have to do is swing at me with this stick. Try to hit me. I'll try to dodge using instincts and sensing your intent."
It was the same method Rayleigh used to teach Luffy the basics of Observation Haki.
Dexter grunted, nodding in understanding.
Ling sat down cross-legged on the forest floor and tied a cloth over his eyes. "Alright. Just do what I said and don't hold back."
Dexter moved behind him, gripping the stick with both hands, waiting for the signal.
"Go," Ling gave the signal.
With a swish, the stick cut through the air and cracked across Ling's back.
"Argh! Damn," Ling winced, gritting his teeth.
"Again."
Another swing. Ling flinched but dodged too late—hit again.
He could only endure it. This is the only way he knew to unlock observation haki.
"Again," Ling muttered, still sitting cross-legged, blindfold tight over his eyes.
"Again."
Whack.
"Again."
"Shit!" he hissed through his teeth. The branch hit his shoulder clean.
Dexter chirped a little too amused.
Ling exhaled, slow and controlled. "You're enjoying this way too much."
Dexter sent another blow.
Ling adjusted his posture.
He relaxed breathing.
He tried to quiet his thoughts, instead of worrying about the pain and the stick hitting.
'Feel it. Feel the intent. Feel the movement in the air.'
'Don't predict. Concentrate.'
"Go," he said again.
Dexter didn't hesitate.
Whack. This time, the hit landed on his cheek.
Ling flinched. "Damn it."
He gritted his teeth and inhaled deeply.
"No need to be hurry, Luffy took more than a year the master it."
He calmed himself.
He kept sitting there, getting hit again and again.
Shoulder.
Back.
Neck.
He still couldn't sense anything.
"Again," he said.
Again and again.
Until the branch felt heavier and the bruises were now visible.
Eventually, he just sat there still.
The stick didn't come.
"...Why'd you stop?" Ling asked.
Dexter tapped his head lightly.
Ling pulled off the blindfold.
The monkey pointed to the sun dipping through the trees. It was already late at the afternoon.
"...No need to worry about not progressing today," Ling whispered, a half-smile creeping up.
"Well, Luffy took a year and a half to master it."
Ling glanced at the food basket.
"There's still a lot left for dinner. Come on, Dexter, let's eat."
They sat and shared the meal quietly. After they finished, Dexter stretched, then stood up. Ling gave him a nod.
"We'll meet here again tomorrow, same time."
The monkey grunted in approval before vanishing into the trees.
Ling looked up at the sky, then back at his camp.
"I'll need to adjust my schedule now. Phase one's over."
Phase Two Training.
5:00 a.m. – Wake up
5:00 – 6:00 a.m. – Meditation
6:00 – 6:30 a.m. – Bath and breakfast
"The first hour and a half stays the same. I'll head to the river to bathe and fish for breakfast."
6:30 – 7:30 a.m. – Running
"I'll run through the forest. Exploring while I build stamina."
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. – Meditation
"Meditation is really helpful on improving my focus."
8:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Sparring
"I'll limit it to two hours instead of four. Gotta make time for Armament Haki training."
11:30 – 12:00 p.m. – Lunch
12:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Armament Haki Training
"Just like how Garp trained, though there's no warship to punch at, trees will do for now. It's more done enough for my current level."
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. – Meditation
3:00 – 6:00 p.m. – Observation Haki Training
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Evening run
7:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Dinner
7:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Devil Fruit Ability Practice
8:30 – 9:30 p.m. – Meditation
9:30 p.m. – Sleep
"Nothing changed much just added Haki into the routine."
Ling clenched his fists and looked out toward the darkening forest.
The next morning came fast. Cold air breeze through his skin. Ling's eyes opened the moment the mental clock in his head struck five.
Without hesitation, he sat up and crossed his legs under the tree branch. His mind was still hazy with sleep, but his breathing settled quickly.
In… out…
"Focus," he muttered.
He dropped into meditation. It came easier now.
He tried sensing his surroundings. The sound of the wind.
Branches creaking from winds.
The sound of the river.
He sat like that for an hour.
At six, he blinked his eyes open, stretched, and dropped down from the branch.
"Time for a bath and breakfast."
Ling grabbed the woven cord of the food basket and made his way toward the river.
The water was so cold.
He stripped and stepped in without flinching.
All his hair stood up instantaneously, goosebumps all over his body.
"But it felt good. It relaxes my sore body after all those traning."
He splashed water over his body and hair, then dunked fully.
"Whew... that'll wake anyone up."
He caught two fish near the rocks using a spear he made out of wood.
"I caught 12 fish." He grinned.
"Enough for me and Dexter."
After drying off with his shirt, he skewered the fish on sticks, built a quick fire, and roasted them with some dried herbs Gyoru gave. The smell filled the air.
"Simple, but taste so good"
He chewed slowly, watching the fishes on the river.
After eating, he packed up what little he had left in the basket, stomped out the fire, and cracked his neck.
"Now, the first real run of Phase Two."