Lara's POV;

The next morning I healed Luffy and got the transponder snail number of Hancock and Jimbei. They both wished us farewell and off we flew. We didn't see much reason for staying for much longer. There was still stuff we had to do. Like flying to Poultry, the island inhabited by intelligent birds. I wonder how that will work out.

Also, for the duration of the next two years, Nami would stay with us. She was determined to become stronger, especially after seeing the horrendous wounds Luffy has suffered during the war. Healing him took some time, even with the more effective Mage form.

Most of his bones had been broken, whole sets of muscles were ripped and his organs were close to failing. One of his kidneys was not working. Only the fact that his body is made out of rubber allowed him to survive the ordeal.

Law was quite a good surgeon. The repairs he did on Luffy were good, they would allow him to heal, over time. The concussions alone would have killed most, but the rubbery bone gave away enough for him to survive. Needless to say that Nami was pale when I described all the wounds I had to heal, on top of those that Law had already treated.

On a side note, both Rayleigh and Jimbei were quite impressed with the healing. I also healed an annoying crock in Rayleigh's neck. His request was more a joke than earnestly meant, but I healed him anyway.

Healing someone gives me knowledge about their bodies, which side of the body they prefer in combat, which muscle group are more developed, old wounds and so on. The millennia of fighting and training I have done then allow me to analyse this knowledge and give me a rough idea of how they fight. Which in return makes it easier for me to either fight alongside them or against those I have healed.

Sure, simply pushing healing light into them would work as well, but it is quite a lot more taxing than the analysed and professional approach. My years under Tsunade's tutelage, followed by years of medical progress, made it rather easy to identify and heal most wounds. I only have problems with sicknesses, new races, toxins and poisons, those are almost always original in their own and I rarely can use my old knowledge on them. That's why we have Jo for those.

A knock on the door brought me out of my musing. During lunch, I had asked Nami to come and have a talk about her stay on the Raptor.

The door opened after I called the person behind inside. Nami hesitantly peeked her head inside, she spotted me sitting on a comfy armchair. One of two in my shared room with Lia. They were facing each other, a small table stood in between. A small plate with cookies and a tea set rested on the table, I already had my cup filled, but the other was still empty.

Nami stepped slowly inside. “You wished to speak with me?” She looked unsure and a little bit afraid. The rather harsh dressing down I gave her after dropping off Kurei made her a little meek whenever she was around me. And being alone in the same room without the 'safety' of her sister's presence made this more obvious.

I gestured for her to sit down opposite from me and waited for her to do so before I answered her question. “Yes, I wanted to discuss your training schedule, now that you will stay with us. Tea?”

She nodded slowly. I filler her a cup, before leaning back into the chair. She took the now filled cup and drank some, before waiting for me to start. Her hands were resting in her lap, with her thumbs in a nervous twirl.

“I.. I am already trying to train alongside Noji,” she said back in confusion, even a little defensive. The main word here is trying. She isn't physically fit enough to keep up with Nojiko's full training. Nojiko has a training regime that focuses on flexibility and speed, with some strength training thrown in between.

Nami is simply too weak to keep up with her sister. Her body can't handle the stress needed for using the Marine Skills. It would be a wonder if she could. None of us was able to use the Marine Skills without preparing our bodies beforehand.

I'm still not good with Tekkai. Lia also can't use it against stronger attacks. The only one of our crew who can use all is Nojiko. She can use all five skills freely and is even in the process of mastering the sixth. Her King Pistol is already strong enough to force Yosaku's Tekkai enhanced body backwards. And his Tekkai is the strongest of all of us.

“All of us have a specialised training program. Nojiko's is designed for her speed, flexibility and use of her guns and rifles. It's the same for the rest of us. I asked for this conversation so that we can find out in what way you want to, or are already, specialise.

Each of us is skilled in something. If I'm not incorrect then that is the same with you Straw Hats,” I waited for her to give me a nod in agreement and then continued. “What I want to know is if you already specialise in something and if you do, if that really matches with what your body is made for. I wouldn't give Yosaku a dagger and neither would I give Jonny a battleaxe.”

Nami snorted a little at the picture of a dagger-wielding Yosaku. The small weapon would look like a toothpick in his hands. But she also nodded slowly and gathered her thoughts before she gave her answer. “Well, I am not physically as strong as I'd like to be. I have my Clima Tact, a weapon made for me by Ussop. He has designed a staff for me that can be used to create clouds and influence the weather. With it, I can let rain down lightning on my enemies.” She patted the folded blue staff weapon that was bound to her waist proudly.

“I see, what about your own body? I have seen you trying the Marine Skills, any luck?” I asked next. I did not think that she did, but asking couldn't hurt.

She frowned slightly, but it wasn't with any true negativity. “No, before Noji has shown me I haven't known them. Sure, when we fought the CP9 they did use them, but it wasn't until now that I could tell what their attacks were called. Noji has tried to teach me Kami-e. She says I am almost flexible enough to do it, but I haven't been able to use it yet.” If Nojiko says that she is almost able means that she really is close. That might be good.

“Is there anything you wish to learn? All of us have some speciality and I am at least proficient enough in most weapons to bring you on the path of learning your own style,” I followed up. I'm going to see if her current fighting style is any good. I'm sure that it will need heavy refinement, but a total waste of her current skills should not be needed, at least I hope so.

“Well, the flying in the air, Geppo, I think it was called, and this Kami-e, are really interesting and useful. Also that Sour, the body movement where you move extremely fast. Those are the three skills of the Marines I'd like to learn, now that I know what they are called. And, to be honest, I am pretty weak at close combat. Some way to defend myself would be nice,” the last thing was said with a hanging head and a deep sigh. True, from what I have seen in the manga she always was pretty weak. She always had a hard time if her opponent got close enough. She could hold her own against grunts, but not those who are a little better.

I nodded along, all those were possible and already planned for. “Very well, I'm sure that we can teach you those three and find some style for your close combat. But we also have to address your mentality.”

Again, she looked confused, so I explained. “In my opinion, getting strong, I mean truly strong, comes in combination with three things.

First, is the obvious training. Without training, there is no physical increase in one's ability.” She nodded along, that one was not hard to understand.

“Secondly, having a cause. You need to have a cause for your fight. Why are you fighting, training, bleeding? For most pirates, it is for quick money, women and power. We all have to find our own reason, but without any incentive, we won't thrive to become better.” I could already see that she knows for what she fights, her friends. I had two, fun and Lia. Without strength, I can't do what I want, which means less fun and I need strength to keep Lia with me.

“And thirdly, the mind to go through with your actions. If you battle someone you don't do it half-heartedly. Hesitation kills!” She jumped a little and looked at me wide-eyed. “If you hesitate to kill someone he might use that moment to attack back. This last retaliation might cost you, or worse, your friends their life.

A fight against people you don't know is almost always a battle to the end. You can stop once you know that he won't be able to fight back, but in this world that often means that your opponent is already dead.

And don't mistake this with me ordering you killing every single enemy. What I mean is that you can't do things half-heartedly. If you attack, you attack, no pulling back and no hesitation.” I could see that she wasn't agreeing with me on that one. But she was hesitating in telling me her opinion.

I gave her a reassuring and comforting smile. “You can speak your mind, I won't bite your head off for it. We are going to live together for the next two years.”

She smiled a bit weakly, probably for being found out. She also opened her mouth to speak, but before she could I had to give her a piece of warning. “But that does not mean that you can act as if you were on the Sunny.

I have seen how you behave around your friends. You often hit Luffy, Sanji, Franky and Ussop. You can try this here as well, but be warned that almost all of us will hit you back. Also, don't think that Nojiko will keep you save from the retaliation. It's not that she wouldn't try, she surely will beat everyone who harms you within an inch of their life, it's more that she couldn't.

She can't stop a reactionary bitch slap that might come at you if you were so stupid as to hit one of us without true reason. Just think about it, how would you like it if you get hit for something you have said?” I nodded when she winced. She must be remembering all the times where she hit one of her friends for a comment they have said without thinking it through.

“With that said, you are free to always voice your opinion. You might not see it as readily accepted as it is with your friends, but all of us will at least think about it.” I then leaned back into my chair and waited for her to tell me why she disagrees with my third necessity.

She gathered her thoughts and began, at first only hesitantly, but then, when she saw that I was listening, more confidently. “I.. I don't think I agree with you. The first two things are easy to understand, I get it. Without training, there is no progress and without a goal, there is no incentive to even train.

But why should I fight someone to the death? We never intentionally killed someone, wouldn't I be the same as all those murderers if I were to kill every one of my opponents? I know that all of my friends, I too, have killed someone, either by accidentally using too much force or through the after effects of our fight.

It wasn't needed before, so why should it be now?”

“Simply because your enemies aren't the same any longer. Paradise, the part of the Grand Line we have travelled on so far, is truly a paradise in comparison to the New World. The sea is more deadly, the islands stranger, the animals larger, more dangerous and the people who are living there have adapted to that.

They too are larger, stranger, more dangerous and deadly. Most combatants on that side of the Grand Line have fought numerous battles. They have seen death, caused death and escaped death. They are different from the normal goons you fight here. They won't stop their attack because you have cut off their unused hand, they will go through with their attack, possibly with even more vigour.

In general, you can expect common foot soldiers with the skill of a low Marine Captain. Those who are a bit higher are most likely on the same level as the CP9 and then there are those above them and those above those. The big boys, the captains, are all on the level of a Vice Admiral, at least.

And to be clear, I don't mean the crews of the Yonko's with big boys. They are on a level of their own. Each Yonko and their crew is strong enough to take it up with the Marines. They might not win, as was proven with Whitebeard, but they can give the World Government a bloody nose.

You can't allow yourself to hesitate against those foes. They will take that chance and kill you. Ask Yosaku, Jonny or your sister, they all had moments where they would have died because they hesitated. They didn't because Lia and I kept an eye on them, or they had each other to rely on.” I could see that she would take that last part to argue for her opinion, but I wouldn't let her.

“And yes, I know that fighting together keeps the danger lower, but how often have you had one of your friends with you when you fought one of the stronger enemies?” Her opened mouth closed with a clack. From the anime and manga, I knew that she has had to fight the higher ranked enemies often, if not always, on her own. That was if she did fight and not run away.

“Well, I can't force you to see my way, but maybe losing a finger or a hand might do. Having eaten the Angel Fruit was both good and a curse for our training. Good because I can heal the wounds we suffer while we train, and a curse because we are now able to fight more realistically.

Yosaku has lost more than one finger before he was proficient in using his blade as a shield.” I grinned a little bit evilly. She shuddered and the more she thought about it the paler she became.

It is never our goal to amputate each other limps, but mistakes happen during sparring. It's just good that I can regrow them and that Jo can heal broken bones. That too is one of the many reasons why we became this strong this quickly.

I clapped my hands and brought her focus back to me. “Anyway, we majorly lost sight of our initial topic. I wanted to ask if you see yourself competent in any fighting styles. Tell me what you can do, what you want to do and what you think you could do.”

“Ye..yes, I think I want to learn Soru, Geppo and Kami-e. I do know a little bit about fighting with a staff, but it is self-thought and I haven't used it much since East Blue. I'd like to improve my Clima Tact, but don't know how. I also need to know more about navigation, if it's true what I have heard about the New World. Other than that, an overall improvement in my endurance, stamina, strength and speed.” Well, at least she has thought about it already.

“The Marine Skills can all be best taught by Nojiko. She has the best grasp over them. As such her training would be the best for you, at least a watered down version at first. That should take care of your physical improvements and the Marine Skills. A more personalised training regime follows once I have seen where exactly your body stands.

As for the staff, well I do know a bit about fighting with a staff, I'm not a master, or even really good, but it should help a little. If that's not enough we can test other weapons.

Nojiko has a navigation book that you two can go over together. Now that I think about it, you two should go over what each of you knows, there will be stuff that either you or she knows that the other does not.

As for your Clima Tact, let's hand it over to Fiara, she can do wonders with it. It's mostly dial powered isn't it?” I asked to be sure, she nodded once and then handed the dial weapon over to me. I gave it a curious glance but didn't know how to operate it. I only knew the dials that were integrated.

“You must have seen Nojiko's rifles, those are the work of Fiara. She has found out how to produce dials and is incorporating them in quite a lot of our stuff. We might even add a blade at its top, a glaive or halberd is a little bit more dangerous than a normal staff.

However, seeing your expression I take it you don't want something that is primarily for disembowelling your opponents. Well, if you truly don't want to kill, then a staff might be one of the best options. Hand to hand combat would be even more effective in that regard, but I already know that it isn't something for you.”

“How so?” She asked. “Shouldn't it be easier for me to hit someone with my fist, rather than a long staff I have not complete control over?”

“Yes and no. It would be easier, sure, but you'd also have to get close enough to hit him or her. Staff give you excellent reach and allow you to keep your opponent away from you. But that's not what I meant. It's the hitting itself. Hitting someone strong enough to cause damage is, more often than not, not the problem. It's how it feels.” It's hard to explain that one.

“How it feels?” Yeah, I couldn't fault her for not understanding. That part of fighting is exclusively for those who fight with their bare body.

I started with a counter question. “Okay, tell me, what do you feel when you hit someone with your staff?”

“A slight shake through the whole staff and if whatever I hit is hard enough some pain in my palms from the vibrations.” I nodded along, agreeing fully.

“Yes, that's exactly what happens. A sword, axe or club are similar, every weapon is. The feedback you get with a weapon makes it easy to disconnect your mind with the actual act. Hitting a training dummy almost feels like hitting a human. Sure the human is softer, screams in pain and bleeds, but in the end, it's similar.

When you hit someone with your bare fists or legs it is different. Your own body will feel pain from hitting something else, you will feel how the bones of your opponents break, how flesh gets torn from the blunt impact. And often, as strange as it sounds, you feel your enemy.

His anger, his conviction, his pain and his will to live.

All of it gets transmitted through your fists and legs. Masters of their weapons feel the same, but you are very far away from being able to do that. I myself am only able to do it with my daggers and my sword.

But when you fight someone with your bare body, he and you, you two connect with each other. It is strange and hard to explain, but under these circumstances, you learn things about your enemy. Things you wouldn't learn if one of you uses a weapon and sometimes things you don't want to learn.”

For a moment the room fell silent. Nami was mulling over my words and I found myself in memories. I often felt those things when I fought as Dexter, still doing it in this world. I think it is something that comes with Chakra or Haki. Your body transmits its 'soul' with each attack.

I miss my time training with Daichi, Tsunade or those I have learned to know at a later time. Sometimes we became better friends by transmitting our feelings with our fists. Men have this more pronounced than women, but it's not a gender exclusive thing.

“I can't say that I understand, but I never liked fighting with my hands or legs. Maybe I already felt that it isn't for me and that is why I never tried to learn?” She mumbled after a long pause.

“Understandable and it is not necessary for you to know how to fight with your hands. It might help when you lose your staff, but there are other ways to keep on fighting. Pistols, tricks and other tools to name a few.” She smiled in thanks. I won't force her to learn something she does not want.

“Anyway, I now have a rough grasp over what you want to learn and what you think you already are able to do. What's now left is to test where you truly stand. Let's do a mock fight, you against me.” Nami began to pale halfway through my last sentences and was white as paper when I finished. She began to open her mouth to protest, but I had already stood up and pulled her out of her chair as well.

I dragged her through the ship and ignored her on our way out. All her pleading and arguing against the necessity of a sparing fight against me fell on deaf ears. Claiming that Nojiko, Jonny, Noa, Jo or Inari would be better-sparing partners were swiftly ignored. They were wrong anyway, none of them had the same control I do.

Her last attempt, a pleading look over to Nojiko, did not help her as well. Nojiko looked worriedly at me, but I gave her a small nod that told her everything would be okay. That was enough for her and she followed to watch the fight.