The New World and the first half of the Grand Line were worlds apart.
In the New World, Haki users were as common as carp crossing a river, too numerous to count.
There, Armament Haki was a standard skill.
By comparison, in the first half of the Grand Line, the people who knew Haki could be counted on one hand.
That was the stark difference between the two.
Therefore, before everyone successfully mastered Haki, Maud would not rashly head for the New World.
At Maud's request, Jim and the others, who had yet to learn Haki, would be taught by Lafitte until they mastered it.
Lafitte did not reveal what Maud was busy with to the others. He merely supervised their training strictly.
The days passed one after another.
Three months had already passed since Maud began secluding himself.
"Creak—"
On this day, Maud, whose hair had grown long, pushed open the dissection room door and walked out.
Cavendish followed behind Maud and also emerged from the dissection room.
After three months, Cavendish's appearance and bearing had changed somewhat.
The most noticeable change was his eyes. They had changed from blue to gold.
Aside from that, the structure of his pupils and irises remained the same as before.
"How long were we in there?"
Maud walked down the corridor and suddenly asked.
During this period, he had focused on developing the potential of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit ability and had paid little attention to the passage of time.
Perhaps because he had been completely immersed in it, from the moment he pushed open the dissection room door, Maud did not feel as though much time had passed. Instead, he felt as if he had only been inside for a single day.
"Ninety-two days."
By comparison, Cavendish remembered clearly.
"Is that so?