Chapter 101: Scar's Training
"Urgh, if this continues for any longer, I'm killing someone to relieve my boredom; whose offering themselves up first? Sebas, Freyja?" Remarked Diddy blandly while hanging upside from the mast with his tail and glanced at Sebas, sitting at the helm, before looking at Freyja seated on a barrel in the corner.
"Hoho, I may be old, but that doesn't mean my time has come." Replied Sebas with a hearty laughter as he looked up at Diddy before focusing back on sailing.
"How about you kill yourself first?" Asked Freyja as she glanced at Diddy before folding her arms and ignoring him, causing him to grunt in annoyance.
"Tch, useless subordinates can't even do something simple like reliving their Captain's boredom. Trenza, have you spotted anything interesting?" Muttered Diddy quietly before looking up toward the crow's nest, only for Trenza's head to peek over the railing.
"No, Captain." Replied Trenza calmly as she quickly looked around their surroundings, spotting nothing but the bright blue sea.
'Fuck me, isn't this supposed to be the Grand Line? The place where danger is said to be around every corner? We've been sailing for nearly four days, yet we haven't encountered a single instance of danger. This place is boring.' Mused Diddy with a growl of annoyance and anger as he dropped to the deck, landing right beside Grand, who was taking a short break from his training, while he headed towards his hammock to sleep.
I wasn't really tired, but I just wanted time to pass quicker, and sleeping would do that, though before I could, I sensed someone approaching me from behind, and I didn't need to turn around to figure out who it was.
"What Scar?" Asked Diddy as he hopped in his hammock and looked up at Scar, who looked to be perfectly healed.
"I've finally managed to heal fully, so I was hoping we could begin my training, Captain." Said Scar in slight nervousness as he looked at Diddy, who clicked his tongue in response before sitting on his hammock.
"Yeah, fine; whatever; I did say I would teach you some stuff, after all." Said Diddy while mumbling in slight annoyance as he pointed toward Naga-sa, leaning against the railing beside his hammock.
"Before I even bother teaching you anything, you'll need a more robust body and greater endurance. The current you right now, while stronger than a good deal of the martial arts Masters I've fought against, isn't strong enough to truly master anything. So before that, hold Naga-sa and carry it around with you." Added Diddy calmly as he observed Scar's physique, which was impeccable by normal standards but wasn't even considered subpar by Diddy.
"Umm, that's it, Captain? Just hold your bo-staff? Is it really heavy or something?" Questioned Scar in uncertainty as he warily approached Naga-sa and closely observed it.
"No, it's only about 100 or so pounds; pretty light. However, I want you to carry this around because have you ever seen anyone other than me hold Naga-sa?" Remarked Diddy calmly with a slight grin as he watched Scar inspect his bo-staff.
"Well, now that I think about it, no, I've only ever seen you wield it, Captain. But isn't that just because you don't like anyone else touching your weapon, so everyone is afraid you'll brutally beat them if you find out?" Asked Scar as he lightly touched Naga-sa, though nothing happened, at least nothing he could perceive.
When Scar touched Naga-sa, the dangerous aura erupted and surged forth toward him, yet as he quickly retracted his finger, it once again fell silent while its dangerous aura returned to itself, entering dormancy once more, though not for long.
"No, as long as Naga-sa isn't lost or stolen, I don't really care who messes with it; after all, unlike a few swordsmen I've encountered on Karate Island, I'm not helpless without my bo-staff. Wielding It does improve my combat capabilities, but I'm more than capable of fighting just fine without it." Stated Diddy with a shake of his head as he bared his fangs and claws, displaying his natural weapons that glistened in the sunlight.
"So then, why would you want me to carry it around, Captain?" Asked Scar while squinting his eyes as he observed Naga-sa, intuitively feeling something was amiss, but he couldn't accurately place his finger on it.
"Hehe, because it's cursed, that's why." Declared Diddy with a feral grin, his words slightly surprising Scar as he looked at Diddy before glancing up at the crow's nest.
"Cursed? That's the same thing Trenza said about her pistol, Sunaipu. She had told me when you fired the pistol, it tried to kill you. Does that mean, while I carry your bo-staff, it'll somehow attempt to kill me?" Asked Scar nervously as he warily eyed Naga-sa while slowly backing away, though he was forced to stop as Diddy grabbed his arm with his tail.
"No, well, technically, yes, but the way it does it is much differently compared to Sunaipu, so you don't need to worry about suddenly dropping dead." Remarked Diddy with a grin as he pulled Scar closer to Naga-sa while he glanced at Freyja.
"Freyja, come here and give your dear Scar an example of my bo-staff's ability; after all, you know it best." Added Diddy while looking at Freyja, who looked back at him with a frown before glancing at Scar.
"Hmph, fine; also, I only touched your stupid bo-staff once. I wasn't dumb enough to wield it again after what it did." Said Freyja as she stood up and approached the two, nearing Naga-sa, before grabbing it without any hesitation.
With Freyja holding Naga-sa, its dangerous aura once again exploded forth as it surged into Freyja's body, slowly eating away at her strength; although it wasn't noticeable at first, after a few minutes, Freyja's breathing became rougher despite doing nothing but standing there.
"See, it doesn't kill you right away; it slowly saps away at your strength, so once you've reached your limit, just drop it, simple as that. If you happen to die from it, that's your fault." Remarked Diddy lightly with a smirk while Freyja released Naga-sa, causing its aura to recede into itself.
"Tch, I-I'm not doing t-that again." Muttered Freyja lightly with uneven breathing as she turned around and headed downstairs, entering the captain's quarters to rest.
"I-I don't mean to question your choice of training, Captain, but if it only took a few minutes for Freyja to get like that despite her enormous strength, I won't last but a couple of seconds. I'm a good deal stronger than your average pirate, but it's minuscule compared to Freyja's absurd strength." Said Scar worriedly as he glanced at Naga-sa, which was now within Diddy's hands.
"Heh, you don't need to worry about that; it absorbs a person's strength at a relative speed. So, despite being significantly weaker than Freyja, you would still last just as long as her. Anyways, here you go." Replied Diddy with a grin as he looked at Scar and forcefully stuffed Naga-sa into his embrace while he just warily looked at it.
"Now, don't just stand there; start training like usual. You won't feel much at first, but once your strength starts to wane, you'll notice how effective this training is." Added Diddy as he kicked him in the butt, flinging Scar to the other side of the ship while he just grinned and watched him from a distance.
"Captain, I'm curious; how much thought did you give to training Scar?" Asked Sebas as he looked behind him, glancing at Diddy, who just wickedly grinned in response.
"Hehe, none. In fact, I had completely forgotten he'd even asked me that. I made that little training thing up with Naga-sa on the spot; after all, I may be very knowledgeable about martial arts and techniques, but I have no experience teaching someone. I'll continue to teach him so long as I'm enjoying myself, and I'm currently enjoying myself." Replied Diddy as he glanced at Sebas before looking at Scar swing around Naga-sa with minor difficulty, the effects from holding the bo-staff already becoming apparent.
"Hoho, better not let Scar know about this then; I'm sure he'll be upset." Remarked Sebas with a chuckle as he also observed Scar from the helm.
"Heh, even if he does find out, so what? It's not like I gave him some half-assed training regimen. So long as he puts in the required effort, he'll make progress; it really just boils down to how serious he is about this. Someone with a half-assed will can only accomplish a half-assed goal." Stated Diddy as he shook his head and laid back in his hammock, quickly drifting to sleep.
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Opening my eyes and seeing the dim sky, I yawned before standing up while spotting the sun setting to the west, indicating it was dusk. Approaching Freyja, who was now manning the helm, I was about to ask her something, but at the front of the ship, I happened to spot Scar, covered in sweat while wielding Naga-sa, as he swung it about aggressively.
"So, how long has he been going at it?" Asked Diddy curiously while leaning against the railing, overlooking his ship while the sun behind him softly illuminated his back.
"He hasn't stopped since you've given him your bo-staff; of course, he took breaks once he reached his limit, but other than that, he hasn't stopped." Replied Freyja calmly, and although it wasn't apparent, her voice contained slight pride in Scar.
"Really? I'm surprised; I expected him to last an hour, maybe two at most. I suppose he really wishes to keep a certain public toilet safe. Aren't you lucky, Freyja?" Remarked Diddy with a raised eyebrow as he looked at Scar before glancing at Freyja with a smirk, causing her to groan in annoyance.