The "Training" on Mt. Colubo was less of a focused martial arts retreat and more of a daily exercise in organized chaos. If the villagers of Foosha Wharf thought the "ASL" brothers were a handful as children, they were entirely unprepared for three legendary outlaws trying to "re-awaken" a girl who thought she was a civilian. "Okay! First lesson!" Luffy shouted, standing on a high rock with his hands on his hips. He was wearing a makeshift "Teacher" sash he'd found in Dadan's closet. "Maye! To be a pirate, you gotta be able to take a hit! So, I'm gonna throw this rock at you, and you use your blood-sword-thingy to slice it!" "Luffy, no! That's not how you teach someone!" Sabo yelled, reaching up to pull Luffy off the rock. "She doesn't even know how to trigger the fruit yet. You're just going to give her a concussion!" "But that's how Rayleigh taught me!" Luffy pouted, swinging his legs. "He hit me with a stick until I moved!" Maye stood in the center of the clearing, wearing a pair of sturdy boots and some old trousers Dadan had dug up. She looked between her three "tutors" with a mixture of affection and growing concern for her own safety. "I'm not sure the 'get-hit-with-a-rock' method is in the manual, Luffy," Maye said, a small smile playing on her lips. She closed her eyes, trying to find that "surge" she had felt during the tiger attack. "I just... I can't find the trigger. It feels like there's a door in my chest, but it's locked from the other side." Ace, who had been leaning against a tree sharpening a real dagger, stepped forward. He looked at her, his eyes softening. "It's not in your chest, Maye. It's in your pulse. Don't look for a door. Look for the rhythm." He walked over and took her hand. His skin was naturally warm, hot, even because of the Mera Mera no Mi. "When we were on the Moby Dick, you told me your fruit reacts to your emotions. It's called the Blood-Blood Fruit for a reason. It's tied to your heart." "My heart?" Maye whispered. "Yeah," Ace said, his voice dropping to a low, steady murmur. "Think of something that makes you angry. Or something you want to protect. Think of the tiger." Maye closed her eyes. She didn't think of the tiger. Instead, she thought of the way Ace had looked when he first saw her, the sheer, soul-crushing grief in his eyes. She thought of the "Fog" trying to steal the names of her brothers. A spark of white-hot defiance flared in her gut. Mine, her soul hissed. These boys are mine. Suddenly, the air around her grew heavy. The ruby pendant flared a deep, angry violet. A soft, rhythmic thud-thud sound began to emanate from her body, the sound of a heart beating with the power of a New World commander. "There it is," Sabo whispered, stepping back and pulling Luffy with him. Maye's skin didn't just pale; it shimmered. A thin, crystalline mist of crimson vapor began to leak from her pores, swirling around her arms like twin serpents. With a sudden, sharp intake of breath, she thrust her hand forward. Crimson Whip! A lash of liquid, pressurized blood snapped out from her fingertips, cracking against a nearby boulder with the force of a cannon shot. The stone split clean in half. Maye gasped, her eyes snapping open. She wasn't scared this time. She looked at the shattered rock, then at the fading red mist on her hands. "Whoa!" Luffy cheered, jumping up and down. "Do it again! Make a giant fist! Can you make a giant blood-fist like my Gear Third?!" "I... I think I just need to start with not hitting myself in the face," Maye laughed, her face flushed with the first real rush of adrenaline she'd felt in a year. The "training" continued for weeks. It was filled with moments of genuine progress and absolute absurdity. Each presenting a lesson of their own. The Sabo Lesson: Sabo tried to teach her Haki, explaining the "invisible armor." Maye ended up accidentally using her blood to create a "Blood Shield" that was so sticky Sabo got his pipe stuck in it for three hours. The Ace Lesson: Ace tried to teach her how to combine her power with his heat to create "Boiling Blood" attacks. They ended up accidentally steam-cooking a whole tree's worth of fruit, which Luffy promptly ate. The Dadan Intervention: Dadan eventually banned "Power Practice" near the hut after Maye accidentally sent a blood-lance through the roof while trying to swat a fly. But beneath the laughter and the botched techniques, something was changing. Maye's muscle memory was returning. Her mind was still a blank map, but her body remembered how to fight, how to move, and most importantly how to keep up with the three most troublesome men in the world.
One night, as they all sat around a massive bonfire eating roasted boar, Maye looked at the three of them. Luffy was asleep with a bone in his mouth, Sabo was sketching a map of the New World in the dirt, and Ace was staring at the stars. "I still don't remember the stories you tell me," Maye said quietly, leaning her head on Ace's shoulder. "But I think I'm starting to remember the feeling of you." Ace didn't look away from the stars, but he reached out and squeezed her hand. "That's enough for now, Maye. The rest... the rest we'll take back from the sea together." The stars were bright, but on the horizon, the clouds were beginning to gather. The world wouldn't stay quiet for much longer.