"Ahem."
"Alright, that's enough. Watch what you say—keep things respectable."
Hearing the increasingly out-of-hand flattery from his officers, Lind quickly cut them off.
"Yes, Boss!"
The five immediately responded in unison.
"Alright, go ahead and try a few to see how effective they are."
Using his telekinesis, Lind took several Dragon Bananas from the crate and placed them on the table in front of the five.
Seeing the bananas, the five didn't hesitate—they each grabbed one, peeled it, and started eating.
Only Liana looked a bit conflicted—it was clear she still had lingering trauma from her experience eating a Devil Fruit.
Faced with another banana-shaped item said to have special effects, she worried about the taste.
Fortunately, it didn't taste like she feared—in fact, it was quite good. Liana visibly brightened after the first bite.
Before long, all five had finished eating one Dragon Banana.
"So, how do you feel? Can you sense its effects?"
Seeing they had finished, Lind eagerly asked.
"Boss, it's excellent! If I can keep eating these for the next month and train properly, I think I'll reach a whole new level!"
"Yeah, Boss! It's effective. Can we eat them for a whole month?"
"Hahaha, good to hear they work!"
"Don't worry—there's plenty to last the five of you for a full month!"
"And in the future, you'll be able to eat more. Once we head out to sea, capturing that deserted island will become a priority."
"Eventually, everyone in the squad will have the chance to eat these. But for now, you five are getting a head start—make the most of it!"
"From then on, they'll be distributed based on merit—so don't let the other guys surpass you!"
Lind was very satisfied with their reactions and took the opportunity to dangle a "future reward" in front of them—to encourage competition and motivation.
After all, for this one-month window, it was essentially unlimited supply—whoever trained harder and digested more effectively would gain the most.
"This whole crate of Dragon Bananas will be left here at the base. You five can help yourselves. When it runs out, I'll restock it!"
"Now finish what you've started, and then get back to training!"
"I'm going to check in on the others."
"Yes, Boss!"
"Boss is mighty!"
Amid more flattery, Lind left the conference room.
He planned to head to the training grounds to get a clear sense of everyone's progress and tailor the next training phase accordingly.
When he arrived, he effortlessly activated his telekinesis, covering the entire training field.
Over the past month, Lind had acquired many cultivation manuals on Hive Island and had also sparred and exchanged techniques with Whitebeard and others.
His strength in all areas had skyrocketed.
Beyond the basics—the three types of Haki, hand-to-hand combat, and swordsmanship—he'd made breakthroughs in developing his telekinetic power.
Though not a Devil Fruit ability, telekinesis could essentially be considered a "pseudo-Devil Fruit power."
Among the strongest on Hive Island, aside from Rocks himself—Whitebeard, Shiki, and Charlotte Linlin—were all top-tier Devil Fruit users.
Their experience in developing their powers had provided Lind with enormous inspiration.
Now, Lind had fully integrated his telekinesis with Observation Haki, producing a synergistic effect.
With his telekinesis field, he could not only detect the slightest movements within its range, but also infuse both telekinesis and Observation Haki into a target, allowing him to perceive their internal state—their strength, condition, and more.
It was essentially "X-ray + enemy scan."
Using this technique, Lind quickly assessed the strength and training progress of the 7th Squad members.
He could even sense muscle and blood flow to determine areas of weakness or improper training.
And how did he know how to interpret it all?
Through constant observation of everyone's training on Hive Island—analyzing, comparing, and cross-referencing data.
With his immense mental power, Lind's brain now functioned like a supercomputer. While he still struggled with mystical, abstract things like "enlightenment" or "spiritual realms," he was a master of any topic grounded in material science and logic.
As a trainer, Lind might not compare to a legendary teacher like Kaido.
But compared to a by-the-book "standardized education" type like Zephyr, Lind was absolutely on another level.
Even complex techniques like Rokushiki (Six Powers)—Lind was confident that any of his subordinates could master them in three months under his teaching.
Whether or not they'd master them at a high level was another matter—but their form and execution would be flawless.
Right now, that was Lind's mission.
He didn't interrupt his subordinates' training; instead, he entered the grounds and moved among them—correcting their flaws in form, technique, or skills like hand-to-hand combat, swordplay, or marksmanship.
With his powerful mind, Lind's guidance was always precise and to the point.
Each subordinate was overjoyed, loudly cheering their boss's might.
In just one hour, Lind had gone through everyone once—every individual improved noticeably in both movement and skill.
Seeing this, Lind was very pleased and nodded in satisfaction.
"Now this is what I call professional. This is individualized instruction!"
"Keep this up, and my 7th Squad will soon be the strongest in the fleet!"
Seeing his men so motivated and trainable, Lind felt great and eagerly continued helping them.
Even the five officers—who had originally planned to train on their own—were drawn in by Lind's demonstration and rejoined the others on the training grounds.
This continued until sunset when Lind finally wrapped up his guidance for the day.
After an afternoon of instruction, everyone's training efficiency had improved significantly.
Lind planned to leave them to train and reflect on their own for the rest of the evening.
As for Lind—he planned to hunt a Sea King to give his men a hearty dinner.
Using his telekinesis, he flew aimlessly over the sea, searching for a suitable target.
From time to time, he scattered bait into the ocean to attract sea creatures.
Before long, Lind spotted a Sea King about 300 meters long. Even with his squad's massive appetites, this should be more than enough.
Without hesitation, he used his powerful telekinesis to immobilize the Sea King.
Then, using his Kunpeng sword style combined with sword aura, he easily killed the beast.
Over the past month, Lind hadn't yet fully mastered Flying Sword Slashes, but he had become proficient with sword aura—an impressive leap forward.
Now, when dueling other swordsmen, he was on equal footing—there was a real difference between a sword imbued with aura and one without.
After killing the Sea King, Lind didn't linger for more to show up.
Using his telekinesis, he held the corpse and flew straight back to the squad base on Hive Island.