This day…
was destined to leave countless people staring at the ceiling all night long.
The next morning.
Kuri, Wano.
Kaido bared his teeth in a grin. "Wororororo so? You brats ready to train under me?!"
Kuma: "I'm ready!"
King: "I want to be strong like Ares-brother!"
Ivankov: "I want to learn how to fight so I can protect myself!"
Ginny: "I don't want to be dead weight! I want to learn too!"
"..."
Not just them.
There were plenty of kids as well former slaves from God Valley.
More than a hundred of them.
"Good!" Kaido laughed, satisfied. Then he immediately had someone haul over a cart full of wooden clubs.
"Alright, alright one per person. Don't get greedy!"
As the clubs were handed out, Alber King felt a bad omen crawl up his spine. Back on Hachinosu, he'd heard the stories about Ares…
And very quickly
Kaido proved those stories weren't exaggerations.
"Next," Kaido said, "you're gonna use that club to beat your own body."
"Nani?!" Ivankov jolted. "B-beat our bodies? Are you serious? We'll get hurt!"
Ginny's face twisted with panic. "E-even me? I'm supposed to do that too?!"
She was still just a little girl.
Wasn't this training method… a bit insane?!
Kaido's grin widened. "Wororororo listen up. Train hard in peacetime. Sweat more, bleed more now, and you'll keep your life on the battlefield. You'll survive!!"
"Compared to living compared to standing tall like a real person what's a little pain?!"
His huge, bell-like eyes fixed on them, stern and heavy. "Ares-brother trained like this since he was little. The wooden club is just the beginning. Later, we switch to iron."
Kuma froze. "No wonder Ares-brother is so strong… he's always trained like this…"
King's mouth twitched. "Kaido's right. I'm sick of being hunted by the World Government. I'm going to get stronger."
"Strong like Ares-brother!"
He raised the club and swung it into his chest.
Bang!
Pain exploded through him. His brows knotted, teeth clenched and he forced himself to swing again.
A second hit.
Around them, some of the kids turned pale. Some burst into loud sobs. Some flat-out ran.
Kaido didn't stop a single one. He sneered. "Run away if you want. No guts. You'll be weak for your whole life…"
Then he looked at King, a hint of approval in his eyes.
And right after that
Kaido lifted his own kanabo and started smashing himself with it.
Boom boom boom!
Each impact sounded like an explosion, leaving everyone staring, mouths hanging open.
That dull, heavy thud…
felt like it punched straight into their souls.
No one could speak.
Kaido just laughed to himself. "Wororororo if you don't train like a madman, how are you supposed to catch up to Ares-brother?!"
"One day…"
"The War God Pirates will be the strongest crew on the seas!"
"Only a body like steel and a will like steel can become a true powerhouse!"
"Only by enduring endless suffering can you grow fast!"
"..."
Hearing that, Kuma began to strike his own body too.
Pain like this…
He'd suffered worse when he was a Celestial Dragon's slave.
He could take it.
Of course, not everyone was as honest as Kuma.
Plenty barely used any force at all slacking, trying to muddle through.
Even so, the field filled with cries and wails. But since it was only wood, nothing catastrophic happened.
Besides
people in the pirate world were built tough.
Kaido, who had already discussed the training plan with Ares, called a halt at the right time.
Then came the basics: sit-ups, push-ups, and endurance drills.
When it ended…
the kids looked utterly drained. Bruises bloomed purple and blue across their bodies. They panted so hard it sounded like their lungs might tear.
Kaido pulled out a Den Den Mushi Snail and contacted Ares. "Ares-brother. Their training's done for today."
Not long after
Ares appeared at the training ground, his body charred black and still smoking.
He looked at Kuma. "Kuma. Do me a favor push all the pain out of their bodies."
"Ares… brother?!" Kuma's eyes widened. He understood exactly what Ares meant.
And he hesitated.
He couldn't bring himself to do it.
Ares bared his teeth in a grin. "Hey, Kuma. Listen to me this level of pain is nothing to me."
Kaido smacked Kuma on the head. "What're you spacing out for? If Ares-brother told you to do it, then do it. Now!"
"..." Kuma's face tightened with reluctance, but under Ares's command, he pushed the pain out of everyone.
One by one
red bubbles of all sizes floated into the air.
King stared in disbelief. "T-this is Kuma's Devil Fruit…? That's insane. I can't feel a single bit of pain anymore!"
Ivankov, who'd been collapsed on the ground, sprang up like a rubber ball. "Kuma's ability is amazing. It's just…"
"Now Ares-brother has to deal with it."
King didn't understand until the next second.
Ares reached out and touched the red bubbles.
Absorbing every ounce of the negative effects stored inside.
Kaido did the same, taking a portion.
Pain swept through his whole body in an instant. He clenched his teeth and grinned wider.
"Feels great!!"
"Ares-brother, this training method you came up with this is genius!"
"At this rate, give me a few years and I won't lose to that bastard Zephyr again!"
The defeat still burned in him like a thorn he couldn't pull out.
But Zephyr was already in his thirties.
And Kaido was only twenty-one.
The next stretch of his life would be his golden era of growth.
Watching Ares and Kaido swallow all that pain like it was nothing, King's face turned pale with shock.
"T-this… this is Ares-brother's training…"
"He absorbed that much pain and doesn't even flinch."
"And me…"
"I'm struggling over a little bit."
King turned to Kuma, eyes hardening. "Kuma. Next time, don't push my pain out."
"I want to remind myself every second…"
"This pain compared to Ares-brother is nothing!"
Kaido laughed, delighted. "That's the spirit, brat. Wororororo one day, you'll be an officer of the War God Pirates!"
"I'm counting on you!"
King's voice dropped, heavy and resolute. "I…"
"Will restore the glory of the Lunarian race!"
"Good!" Kaido liked him more and more.
With that level of resolve and talent on top of it how could the kid not become strong?
Ares quietly finished absorbing the bubbles, then said to Kaido, "Take them to eat. Remember only the best food. And don't you dare skimp on meat."
"Leave it to me!" Kaido slung his kanabo over his shoulder. "Alright, brats training's over. Time to eat!"
Not long after Kaido led them away
Ares's snail rang again.
He answered, and Chinjao's voice came through.
"Ares-brother, a little kid showed up he's insisting on seeing you by name. Says he has something extremely important to report."
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