Who Gets the Seastone

Two weeks have passed since the Ghost Sea incident.

Before dawn, Zephyr's roar echoed Training Grounds on Hachinosu.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! Kaido, are your fists made of cotton? Bullet, compress your Armament Haki to your fingertips, not your palm! Kuma, you must hit that coconut 500 meters away today! King, the flame temperature isn't high enough, compress it again! Moria, your shadow is thinner than paper! Inazuma, cut it without touching it, are you deaf? Ginny, steady hand! Breathe! Calm your mind!"

Eight people were sweating profusely on the Training Ground.

Kaido slammed his fist into the Seastone, leaving a fist-shaped mark and scraping his knuckles. "Ooh... this stone is harder than yesterday."

"It's not that the stone has hardened, it's that your fist has softened!" Zephyr's wooden sword lashed out at his back.

Bullet closed his eyes, compressing his Armament Haki from his arm to his fist, and from his fist to his fingertips, veins bulging on his forehead. His fingertips could already turn black, but only for a few seconds.

The Kuma stood on the beach, slapping the water with his paws. Splashes of water erupted on the surface, and ten coconuts were laid out on the distant rocks; he hit two of them.

A ball of blue flame gathered in Jin's palm, so hot that the air itself seemed to distort. His palm was charred black, but he did not retract it.

Moria's shadow enveloped his entire body. Kaido punched him, the shadow cracked, and Moria flew out, crashing to the ground. "Hehe... it cracked again."

Inazuma stood in front of the steel plate, his finger tracing a centimeter along its surface, but the plate remained motionless. His finger was trembling.

Ginny held her sniper rifle, aiming at the target 500 meters away, her hand trembling. Her bullets were already close enough to hit the second ring of the target from the edge, but still far from the bullseye.

Lin Yuan stood in the center of the Training Ground, his eyes closed. Zephyr's wooden sword swirled around him.

"Your Spatial Perception can tell me my location, right?" Zephyr asked.

"Yes. You're two meters in front of me, thirty degrees to the left. The wooden sword is in your right hand, fifty centimeters away from my body." Lin Yuan's words were very accurate.

"Do you know where I'm going to hit you?"

Lin Yuan was silent for a moment. "... I don't know."

"Snap—" The wooden sword struck his shoulder.

"Your Spatial Perception tells you 'where's what, but Observation Haki tells you 'what the other party wants to do.'" Zephyr sheathed his wooden sword. "Your Devil Fruit ability makes you too reliant on Spatial Perception. You think being able to sense location is enough. It's not. On the battlefield, your enemies won't stand still and let you hit them. They'll strike before you even sense their location, and they'll change their tactics before you can react. You need to know what they're going to do next, not what they're doing right now."

Lin Yuan closed his eyes and nodded.

"Again. I'll hit you. You dodge. Don't use Spatial Perception, use Observation Haki to sense my intentions."

Lin Yuan took a deep breath. Zephyr's wooden sword spun around him, and he closed his eyes, trying to sense it.

"Left--"

"Snap!" The wooden sword struck on the right.

"Wrong guess. Try again."

"Smack--"

"Right?"

"Left side. Again."

"Smack--"

Ginny, holding her sniper rifle, glanced at the red mark on Lin Yuan's back, gritted her teeth, and continued aiming.

At this moment, Lin Yuan opened his eyes. Not because he had been whipped, but because he had sensed something.

"Ginny, a ship is coming from the direction of the harbor. It's flying the Rocks flag. There's a lone person on board."

Ginny made a circle behind her back with her fingers, her eyes gleaming with a purple light. "It's Ochoku. Alone, unarmed."

Lin Yuan planted the wooden sword in the ground, took the towel Ginny handed him, and wiped his face. "Instructor, I'll be back in a bit."

Zephyr glanced at him. "Go on. Come back and keep practicing. Your Observation Haki is still far from adequate."

Lin Yuan walked towards the Castle. Ginny followed behind him, constantly making circles with her fingers.

The tea was already brewed in the Castle hall.

Lin Yuan sat in the main seat, with Ginny standing behind him. Ochoku sat opposite him, his broadsword on the table—the scabbard was closed, but it was very close to his hand.

"Have some tea," Lin Yuan said.

Ochoku picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down. "Return all 120 tons of Seastone."

Ginny's finger twitched slightly. Ochoku remained calm, not angry, but serious.

Lin Yuan leaned back in his chair. "I won't return it. Why should I return what I stole with my own skill?"

"Heh heh heh..." Ochoku chuckled, a low, forced laugh coming from his throat. "Rocks said you took three ships from right under his nose in the Ghost Sea. He's never been robbed like that in his life. He doesn't blame you. He would have done the same. But the Seastone must be returned."

"I said I won't pay it back."

The two looked at each other.

"Hey kid, I bet you don't want to start a war either. Give me a number," Ochoku said.

Sixty tons.

Ochoku narrowed his eyes. "Sixty tons? You moved one hundred and twenty tons from three ships, and you still say sixty tons?"

"I moved 120 tons, but not from you," Lin Yuan said. "The Transport Ship isn't yours, Seastone isn't yours either. You tried to steal it, but failed. I succeeded. So it's mine."

"Bullshit." Ochoku tapped his fingers on the table. "You stole the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon from God Valley, Rocks didn't bother you. You moved Seastone from the Ghost Sea, and Rocks didn't send anyone to attack you. Do you think Rocks is easy to talk to?"

"He's not one to talk to, but he's reasonable," Lin Yuan said. "Of the five Devil Fruits from God Valley, I took one. Whitebeard took one, Golden Lion took one, and Rocks took two. All things considered, he didn't lose out."

Ochoku paused for a moment. He was calculating.

After a while, he looked up. "One hundred tons. No less than that."

"Eighty tons. Plus one more— Hachinosu and the Rocks Pirates will not interfere with each other. Your ship won't go through my territory, and my ship won't go through yours. If we meet at sea, we'll each go our own way."

Ochoku stared at Lin Yuan for a long time.

"No interference?"

"Yes. Your enemy is the Navy, not Hachinosu. My enemy is also the Navy, not Rocks. There's no need to cause trouble for each other."

Ochoku remained silent for a moment, then stood up.

"Hey kid, I'm going back to ask Rocks."

He picked up the large knife and left.

After Ochoku, Ginny lowered her fingers.

"He was very composed. He didn't seem to be there to negotiate; he seemed more like he was there to deliver a message."

"Rocks sent him to test the waters," Lin Yuan said, turning to walk towards the Training Ground. "He knew I'd haggle, so he quoted a high price. Once I quoted eighty tons, he'd go back and report. Then Rocks would decide whether to accept it or not."

Will Rocks accept it?

"No. He'll press it again."

How much pressure should be applied?

"I don't know. We'll talk about it when Ochoku gets back."

Lin Yuan walked back to the center of the Training Ground and closed his eyes.

"Continue."

Zephyr drew his wooden sword.

"Where's your Observation Haki? They've all gone far away, and you're still thinking about negotiations."

"Smack--"

Three days later, Ochoku came again.

This time he didn't drink tea. He slammed his broadsword on the table.

"Hey, lol... Rocks said. Eighty tons, no interference, fine. But with one condition."

What are the conditions?

"You owe him a favor. If he needs your portal for something important in the future, you'll need to teleport him a long distance once. He'll decide the location and time; your job is simply to open the portal. Don't participate in the battle, don't fight, and don't die."

Ginny made a circle with her fingers behind her back, looking at the back of Ochoku's head. He wasn't lying.

Lin Yuan was silent for a moment. "What important matter?"

He didn't say. He only said, "You'll find out when the time comes."

"Open the door? Just open the door?"

"Open only the door."

Lin Yuan thought for a moment. "Sixty tons. No interference. Add one more door opening."

Ochoku frowned. "Rocks said eighty tons."

"Eighty tons is too much. Sixty tons. He takes sixty tons, I'll keep sixty tons."

"Fair?" Ochoku's voice rose half an octave.

"I moved 120 tons in the Ghost Sea, but only took one fruit in the God Valley," Lin Yuan said.

Ochoku opened his mouth, then closed it again. He was calculating.

After a while, he looked up. "You're fucking good at calculating."

"Businessman."

Ochoku stood up. "I'll talk to him when I get back."

Five more days passed.

Ochoku visited Hachinosu for the third time.

This time he was alone, with a large sword slung over his back, his face expressionless.

Lin Yuan waited for him in the Castle hall. The tea hadn't been brewed yet.

"Rocks has agreed," Ochoku said. "Sixty tons of Seastone, each operating independently, open all at once."

Lin Yuan nodded.

"Anything else?"

"And—he said you're even greedier than him." Ochoku laughed, "Heh heh heh..."

Lin Yuan didn't laugh. "The Seastone is in the warehouse. You'll have to move it yourself. Your people can't go to the island. You can wait at the port, and I'll have someone load it onto your ship."

Ochoku stood up, walked to the door, and stopped.

Lin Yuan.

"Um?"

"Rocks asked me to ask you a question."

"Ask."

"Will you get in his way in the future?"

The hall was silent for a few seconds.

Lin Yuan looked at Ochoku. "That depends on where his path leads."

"The Road to Mary Geoise".

"Then I won't block it."

Ochoku stared at him for a long time, then nodded.

"OK."

Port.

Sixty tons of Seastone were loaded onto Ochoku's ship, box by box. Kaido carried a box without saying a word. Bullet carried a box without saying a word. Kuma carried a box, King carried a box, Moria carried a box, Inazuma carried a box.

The last box has been moved.

Ochoku stood at the bow of the ship. "Lin Yuan, "Rocks said, "He's waiting for you at the door."

"Let him wait."

"Heh heh heh..." Ochoku laughed, "You'll end up like Rocks, becoming the biggest trouble on this sea sooner or later."

The ship sailed away from the port.

Ginny stood beside Lin Yuan, making a circle with her fingers, her eyes gleaming with purple light. She was surveying the surrounding sea to make sure there were no ambushes.

He's gone.

"Um."

"Lin Yuan, are you really going to open the door for Rocks?"

"Open."

"To Mary Geoise?"

"Um."

Aren't you afraid?

Lin Yuan looked at the sea. "I'm afraid. But we have to go. If he attacks Mary Geoise, the Celestial Dragons won't be able to help us."

Ginny was silent for a moment, then wrote a line in the ledger, "Owes Rocks one door open. Destination: Mary Geoise."

On the Training Ground, Zephyr stood in the center, holding a wooden sword.

"Are you done talking?"

"We've finished talking."

"Come back and practice. Your Observation Haki is still too weak."

Lin Yuan walked back to the center of the Training Ground and closed his upper limit.

"Now, perceive my intention. Don't use Spatial Perception. Use your heart."

Zephyr's wooden sword spun around him. Lin Yuan closed his eyes, trying hard to sense it. Zephyr's heartbeat was steady, his breathing even, like a still stone. But his right hand was moving slightly—not the wooden sword, but a premonition of an imminent swing.

"Left."

"Snap—" The wooden sword struck on the right.

"No. You saw my hand moving using Spatial Perception, but you didn't sense where I was going to hit. A hand moving to the left doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to hit the left side. Let's try again."

Lin Yuan gritted his teeth.

"Again."

"Smack--"

In the distance, Ginny held a sniper rifle, aiming at a target 500 meters away. Her arm wasn't shaking as badly as it had yesterday.

"Bang--"

The bullet hit the third ring of the target. Not the bullseye, but closer than yesterday.

"Again."

"Bang--"

Fourth ring.

"Again."

"Bang--"

The third ring.

Zephyr's voice came from the center of the Training Ground. "Are you calm now?"

Ginny took a deep breath. "Quiet."

"Continue."

The sun was setting. On the Training Ground, eight people were still practicing.

Kaido pounded the Seastone with each punch, the fist marks on the stone growing deeper and deeper. Bullet compressed his Armament Haki into his fingertips, his black fingertips able to maintain their color for ten seconds. Kuma slapped coconuts repeatedly, hitting five out of ten. King's palms were no longer charred, blue flames burning steadily. Moria's shadow enveloped his entire body; Kaido punched it, but the shadow didn't crack. Inazuma's finger grazed a centimeter from the steel plate, and a crack appeared. Ginny's bullet hit the bullseye—for the first time.

Lin Yuan kept his eyes closed. Zephyr's wooden sword came at him, but he dodged it by sidestepping.

You guessed right this time.

"It's not a guess. I sensed it," Lin Yuan said.

Zephyr nodded. "You've improved, but it's still too slow. Let's try again."

"Smack—" The next knife struck his shoulder.

"Liar," Lin Yuan said.

"The enemy won't tell you where they're going to attack on the battlefield." Zephyr sheathed his wooden sword. "Continue."

Lin Yuan closed the upper limit.

In the distance, the sun sank below the horizon. Torches on the Training Ground lit up, their flames dancing in the twilight.

Zephyr looked at them without saying a word.

He didn't say "that's enough," nor did he say "take a break."

He just kept shouting, "Again!"

(End of Chapter 63)