Pirate: I'm about to do something big!

Chapter 26 Catching the Bell

The Grand Line, a route even in calm weather.

After resupplying at the branch, Alyosha's warships are heading towards Reverse Mountain, the first half of the Grand Line.

According to their plan, they were to change the direction of the current there and head to other sea areas.

The battle between Alyosha and Shanks ended with Shanks losing an arm.

No longer under the World Government's surveillance, Shanks was finally able to open up to Ace and tell him how Roger, before surrendering and awaiting execution, managed to save Ace, his only child, through Garp.

These were naturally things that Garp told Shanks. Garp wouldn't tell Ace these things because he considered it a very normal thing. But Shanks, who later learned all this from Garp, understood even more what these events meant to Ace.

Alyosha didn't have the perverse interest to listen to what Shanks had said to Ace, but from Ace's crying, Alyosha could hear the grievances Ace had accumulated over the years.

Indeed, no matter how precocious he was, Ace was still just a thirteen-year-old child. Having never seen his parents since birth, he had no idea what price his mother had paid to give birth to him.

I don't understand why Roger would entrust Ace to Garp, Roger's archenemy who chased him all over the sea.

The farewell process afterwards was relatively simple.

Shanks ultimately entrusted Roger's straw hat to Luffy for safekeeping. He actually intended to return it to Ace, Roger's son, since it was his own father's keepsake.

Even with Shanks' explanation, Ace still didn't have much affection for his dead father Roger; he just didn't hate him that much.

After all, it was obvious how terrible the Age of Exploration, which was started by Roger's last words, was for the common people of that era.

Ace, though a demon, still possessed a basic sense of good and evil. He understood why so many people hated Roger so much when he mentioned him, even though they had never met Roger, and they also hated him, Roger's son whose existence was unknown.

With so many layers of debuffs stacked up, it's a testament to Ace's good temper that he didn't stomp the straw hat flat.

After all the twists and turns, the straw hat still ended up on Luffy's head.

Another unexpected bonus was that he learned Sabo's last name: Ottosak.

Sabo is the royal family name of the Goa Kingdom. He was originally a high-ranking nobleman in the Goa Kingdom, and his younger brother later became the king of the Goa Kingdom. He went to the Holy Land of Mary Geoise to attend the World Conference.

In this way, Sabo's enrollment quota was also resolved, and he became the representative of the Goa Kingdom.

As for Zoro, who is also in the East Blue, he wanted to recruit people, but he was focused on practicing his swordsmanship and didn't care about the Navy's recruitment at all. Since that was the case, Alyosha was too lazy to make the trip again and left it to Luffy to handle in the future.

Anyway, if he comes to the East Blue and recruits Luffy, Sabo, and Ace, he will have successfully completed his mission.

He also wanted to see how the three brothers he had raised would go to sea when they grew up.

But right now, he still has an exam to take.

Meanwhile, on the warship where Alyosha was located, a unique competition was underway.

The deck had been cleared by the ship's marines, creating an open space.

The marines spontaneously formed a circle, looking at Alyosha, who stood in the center of the open space, raising his hand to salute and smile at the marines around him.

He was the examiner for this competition, and those who were being tested by him were Smoker, Tina, and Dol, three comrades and subordinates who were in the same cohort as Alyosha, as well as two trainee marines who had just joined the team: Ain, a female marine with the Back-Back Fruit ability, and Binz, a male marine with the Lush Fruit ability.

Arlong, the fishman and Alyosha's designated servant, occupied a prime viewing spot, keeping Luffy, Sabo, and Ace in line to watch the show.

"That's enough, Ran. It's always the same polite talk. Let's get straight to the point!"

"Look at you, you're in such a hurry. This time it's a period of adjustment between you three old teammates and the new member. I'm just giving you more time to prepare. Don't be nervous, Ain, Binz. This is a routine that my unit does every time we go to sea. The routine is called 'Removing the Bells'."

Alyosha kindly explained the rules of the fight to Ain and Binz, who were participating in the fight for the first time.

Whether it's a one-on-one fight or a group brawl, as long as you can snatch the bell from Alyosha Ran, you win.

The victor can serve as the ship's commander for a day, during which he/she can do whatever he/she says, and everyone on board will do the same, including Alyosha, the highest-ranking officer.

However, since the show started, Alyosha has always been the winner.

He was also using this method of training instead of fighting to improve the teamwork and Devil Fruit usage abilities of his three subordinates, Smoker, Tina, and Doll.

"That concludes the introduction to the game rules. Ran, take this punch!"

Smoker, who has always been short-tempered, made the first move.

He transformed into white smoke, and countless fists formed from the smoke rained down on Alyosha's location.

Alyosha simply smiled and gently shook the bell in his hand.

As soon as the bell rang, Alyosha's figure disappeared amidst Smoker's so-called barrage of white punches.

Shave - Instant Step!

The bell rang again, and Alyosha appeared behind Smoker.

"How many times have I told you, if you're going to fight, then fight. There's no need to tell your opponent what moves you're going to make."

As he spoke, Alyosha raised his hand, imbued with Armament Haki, and was about to chop down on Smoker's nape.

Faced with Alyosha's lecturing tone, Smoker revealed a triumphant smile.

The next moment, Smoker turned into white smoke and dissipated before Alyosha's palm could fall.

Objects imbued with Armament Haki can indeed strike the elementalized bodies of Logia-type Devil Fruit users, but only if you first manage to grab their elementalized bodies.

Smoker first transformed his body into elemental form, turning into white smoke that scattered in all directions, causing Alyosha's attack to miss its mark.

"Oh?"

Alyosha became interested.

"What about Tina's move! Dye!"

Countless black barriers, using Smoker's elemental body as cover, surrounded Alyosha in an impenetrable manner.

Amidst the smoke, Smoker's figure had already gathered beside Tina, and the pair gave Alyosha a smug smile, indicating that they hadn't been completely without improvement during this time.

Alyosha also clapped with a smile.

"Not bad, not bad, this is the combination technique I wanted to see. As a Logia-type Smoke-Smoke Fruit user, Smoker, your fruit is more supportive compared to Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru. At least until your Haki has grown, the help your fruit provides is far less substantial than Haki. You and Tina understand this, which is good and deserves encouragement."

Despite being completely immobilized, Alyosha remained calm and composed, commenting on Smoker and Tina's combined attack.

Whoosh!

You can see that in the black cage that Tina built for Alyosha with the Crest Fruit, each black bar is covered with plant seeds, which fall onto the deck with a rustling sound.

Alyosha turned his head to look behind him and saw Binz, the user of the Lush Fruit, dancing on the deck. The plant seeds that had fallen around Alyosha were also taking root and sprouting under the impetus of Binz's fruit ability, growing rapidly at a speed that defied the laws of nature, and wrapping around Alyosha's limbs and body.

Meanwhile, another Devil Fruit user, Ain, knelt on one knee, placed her hand on the deck, and activated her Reverse Fruit ability.

An invisible power activated, and the deck beneath Alyosha's feet began to disappear. In the blink of an eye, Alyosha lost his footing, leaving himself entangled by smoke, black barriers, and plants.

"Sorry, Commander Alyosha, it's our turn to beat you this time!"

The four Devil Fruit users' first joint operation gave Alyosha a big surprise.

Familiarity with each other's Devil Fruit abilities and Alyosha's usual guidance allowed Smoker, Tina, Ain, and Binz to unleash a combination technique to trap and capture their enemy on their very first encounter.

Then, Dol, the adjutant who had not eaten a Devil Fruit but was as proficient in the Six Powers as Alyosha, took action.

She used her most proficient technique, the Six Styles - Shave, to snatch the bell from Alyosha's hand.

jingle!

The crisp sound of the bell rang out, and a victorious smile slowly appeared on the faces of Smoker, Tina, Binz, and Ein.

Before the smiles could fully appear on the faces of the four, Luffy, Sabo, and Ace, who were in the audience, made a sound that puzzled them.

"Uncle Fishman, what are they doing?"

Smoker withdrew the white smoke released by the Smoke-Smoke Fruit back into his body. As the smoke dissipated, the four of them could finally see the target they were attacking in their combination attack.

It wasn't Alyosha, whom they had been desperately trying to defeat, but rather the fifth person responsible for finally seizing the bell, Dol!

The lush plants spurred by Binz and Tina's black barrier tightly bound Dol, the adjutant. With her mouth entangled by the plants, she didn't even have a chance to warn Smoker and the others that they had attacked the wrong person. She could only watch as her teammates used all their skills on her.

Throughout the entire ordeal, it wasn't Alyosha who was trapped in their four-person combo attack, but rather Dol, the fifth member.

What about Alyosha?

jingle.

The clear sound of bells rang out, and the four people looked in the direction of the sound.

Alyosha never moved an inch from where he was standing, only occasionally shaking the bell in his hand, which made the four people, whose senses were confused, mistake the fifth person, Dol, for Alyosha, whom they were trying to control.

"So, no matter how good a Devil Fruit ability is, without Haki to support it, even the best Devil Fruit can't unleash its full potential. Your training still isn't up to par~"