Teach's Approval

The rain poured, the wind howled, and lightning snakes danced across the sky. "Quick, hold on tight! Don't get thrown off!" Teach steered the ship and shouted. Three-meter waves kept crashing down across the sea. The thirteen-meter single-masted sailboat rose and fell with the swells, rocking violently.

Mobius clung tightly to the mast in the middle of the boat. Wos had tied himself to the iron post Mobius used for training and was huddled in the corner of the only room that offered shelter from the rain. None of this seemed to affect Pito. The rocking boat did nothing to disturb her balance; she had an astonishing ability to adapt. Now she was leaping around the deck, curiously watching the churning sea and the lightning in the sky. They were all new to her—a whole new world.

"This damn weather!" Mobius shouted angrily. The weather had been fine just a few days ago. How had the sky suddenly grown dark, with one storm after another bearing down on them? The storm had already lasted well over ten hours. His arms were starting to ache, but he had used Snake Hand to brace himself against the mast, crossing and wrapping his arms around it. Still, compared with Wos, who sat there completely unbothered, Mobius was tossed up and down by the boat, unable to keep himself under control.

As if it had heard him, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. "Boom!" A tremendous rumble exploded beside them.

Teach felt a little helpless. Mobius looked like he was having a miserable time. Pointing to a rope on the deck, he said to Pito, "Pito, tie him up." Pito knew who he meant. "Okay." She nodded, nimbly jumped aside, and picked up the rope, already soaked through by the rain.

She quickly ran over to Mobius and tightly wrapped the rope around him and the mast, tying him to it just as Wos was tied to his post. At the end, she even took the time to tie a neat bow.

"Hey, Pito, loosen it a little! I can't move at all." Mobius's cheek was pressed against the mast. He tried to look behind him, but couldn't. By then, Pito had already walked away.

The waves ahead seemed to be calming down, but Teach wasn't at ease. This was only the prelude to the storm's arrival. Far out on the sea, a wave thirty meters high was rushing straight toward them. "Everyone, be careful! There's a huge wave ahead. Looks like we're going to veer off course." Teach took the Eternal Pose from his pocket and checked it. They had already strayed somewhat from their route.

Facing the huge wave, Teach wasn't afraid in the least. "Zehahahaha! Here we go!" he roared, gripping the helm with both hands. The approaching wave grew closer and closer, blotting out the sky. Pito clung tightly to Teach. Seizing the moment, he turned the helm to the right as Mobius screamed. The boat quickly swung around.

The little boat turned sideways toward the wave and began climbing it. The hull tilted further and further, nearing a ninety-degree angle with the sea, then passing it. "We're doomed! The boat's going to capsize!" Mobius screamed. The world spun around him; he had never experienced anything like this.

"Zehahahaha! No, it won't! Have a little faith in me!" Teach laughed. His body shot up into the air, Geppo carrying him toward the Dragon Bone on the boat's right side. He braced both arms against it and fought against the giant wave, against the force of nature. Teach stopped the boat from tilting any further, holding it between himself and the wave. The immense force made the hull groan and creak, but fortunately, Teach had reinforced the boat with steel plates in advance, so it held.

The boat continued climbing until it reached the top of the wave. Once over, its tilt quickly righted itself, then it leaned to the right. Teach and the others had successfully made it past the giant wave. The clouds gradually parted, the rain slowly stopped, and in the blink of an eye, the sea was calm again.

"Look, there's an island up ahead!" Mobius said excitedly, holding a telescope and spotting the outline of an island in the distance. "We haven't seen land for nine days. I'm so sick of eating fish every day."

"Hmm, I think fish is pretty tasty," Pito said beside him, still nibbling on a strip of dried fish. Pito liked fish, just like a cat. What reassured Teach was that she didn't like mice and had never eaten one. After all, no one would feed mice to a pet cat; it was too disgusting. When Teach had asked her about it, Pito had been curious and wanted to try one, but he stopped her before she could follow through on that frightening idea.

Pito had learned to speak quickly, and so had Wos. In just over ten days, they had already picked up a few simple phrases.

The four of them had left Pet Island more than ten days ago. With all the treasure they had, they had secretly exchanged some of it for money at the island's port, bought a twelve-meter sailboat, and stocked up on food, daily necessities, and training equipment before setting out to sea.

Teach wasn't a navigator, but he could handle ordinary sailing. All he had to do was steer in the direction indicated by the Eternal Pose.

They had passed two islands along the way, but hadn't stayed long at either one. They had replenished their supplies and then continued sailing. This voyage had turned out to be more difficult than Teach expected. The route to their next destination was long, and they had encountered a heavy rainstorm along the way. All their food had been soaked by the rain and was inedible.

So for the past five days, Teach and the others had lived on fish. Though the meat was delicious, even the quiet Wos was starting to look like he'd lost the will to live after eating fish nonstop. He could taste fishiness in his mouth no matter what. Only Pito was happily eating away.

After checking the sea chart, Teach saw that they had strayed from their route and still needed two days to reach their destination. He hadn't expected to find an uncharted island along the way, giving them a chance to rest, so he steered the boat toward it.

The island drew closer and closer. Teach kept one hand on the helm and turned to look at Mobius. "Mobius, are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Mobius nodded, gazing at the island. He seemed a little nervous, a little excited, and also confident.

Pito and Wos listened, seemingly unsure what they were talking about. Seeing their puzzled expressions, Mobius smiled and explained, "This is the agreement I made with Teach. When I decided to follow him, he agreed to teach me Snake Hand. He gave me one month to learn the move and become strong enough to break a tree with a single full-power strike. Only then would Teach consider me worthy and let me keep following him."

"But if I couldn't do it, I'd have to go back where I came from. Still, I'm confident I can do it." Mobius clenched both fists as he spoke, his voice full of confidence.

As the one-month deadline drew closer, Mobius had intensified his training, making it more and more grueling. He rested for only three hours a day and spent all the rest of his time training. He pushed himself relentlessly, driving himself to his limits and then surpassing them. His progress was astonishingly fast. The weights on his arms had reached fifty kilograms apiece, and he had already gone through two iron posts used for training. The latest one was dented and uneven all over from Mobius's strikes.

Now the month was up, and it was time to see the results of all his training. He would give it everything he had, for his own sake.

The boat gradually reached shore. Mobius had spent the past few days at sea and had had no chance to test his strength. He didn't know what level he had reached. In the aristocratic district of Pet Island, he had undergone a transformation amid the constant killing. Since then, his strength had improved every day, and he had grown more and more adept at Snake Hand.

He climbed down from the boat and walked onto the shore, onto the sandy beach. Beyond it lay a dense forest. Teach casually pointed to a tree and said to Mobius, "That one. Let's see what you've accomplished with all that training."

"Okay!" Mobius nodded and walked over to an ordinary-looking tree, staring intently at it. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders slightly. He had three main joints in each arm, and he easily popped them out of place. He no longer needed to use his hands to dislocate his joints; they were so loose and flexible that he could twist his arms in any direction.

Mobius spread his legs and bent his knees. The stance looked like a horse stance, showing that he was ready. He was going to give it everything he had and use his strongest move. He stretched both arms behind him. "Snake Hand: Twin-Headed Venom Dragon Bite!"

Mobius took two steps forward. At that moment, he remembered what Teach had told him when he taught him Snake Hand: "Your hands aren't sharp. They're flesh. Snake Hand needs absolute speed and strength."

Speed, speed! Mobius repeated to himself, his eyes shining.

His arms, drawn back behind him, suddenly whipped forward toward the tree, erupting with tremendous speed and force. A sharp crack split the air, making Teach's eyes light up.

His arms shot toward the tree like snakes and slammed into either side of the trunk. "Boom!" The spots Mobius struck split open at once. "Crack, crack!" The sound rang out, but it wasn't over yet. Snake Hand coiled around the tree, and Mobius summoned all his strength, winding his arms around it like a snake crushing its prey, like a bone being ground to pieces.

"Crack!" The tree broke. Mobius panted, his face flushed red. His move had snapped the tree in two. With its support gone, the ground trembled, and the tree crashed to the ground.

"I-I did it!" Mobius's face broke into a delighted smile.

Teach smiled. "Not bad, Mobius. With your physique now, you can continue learning other martial arts." He hadn't expected Mobius to succeed. At the time, he had only said it offhand. But he had watched Mobius's progress all along: in just one short month, he had gone from an ordinary person to what he was now.

"Really?" Mobius had earned Teach's approval, which meant he could continue learning other martial arts and stay by Teach's side.

In truth, Mobius had already earned Teach's approval. This was only a formality. Mobius had already shown enough potential to be worth following Teach, and Teach would never let someone like him go.

"Then let's explore the island," Teach said. His Observation Haki already covered the island. It was a small island with a mountain at its center and a mild climate. Dense forests covered it, and Teach sensed some living creatures. He seemed to have noticed something interesting and couldn't help smiling.

They entered the forest. The trees grew thick and lush, and the four of them headed straight toward the center of the island. There weren't any dangerous beasts here; along the way, they had seen only small animals. But the farther in they went, the more they noticed that aside from the ordinary trees at the edges, all the trees deeper in were fruit trees. There were apples, peaches, grapes, bananas, and all kinds of others—whole groves of fruit trees.

The island received plenty of sunlight. Teach picked a peach and took a small bite. "Crunch!" It was crisp, sweet, delicious, and full of juice. Seeing him eat one, the others couldn't resist either. They picked whichever fruits caught their eye. Pito was the fastest; with a light leap, she landed in a tree, picked an apple, and began eating. It was something she had never tried before.

"Mmm, it's so sweet! I didn't expect the fruit on this island to be so delicious. They look even bigger than the ones I used to eat," Mobius said, in high spirits. After earning Teach's approval, he felt much more relaxed and far less pressured. He picked a bunch of grapes, popped some into his mouth, and praised them.

Teach agreed. The island's unique environment had produced all kinds of delicious fruit. They hadn't eaten anything while sailing, so now they all dug in. Teach could feel that the fruit on the island was packed with energy and was highly nutritious.

Suddenly, Teach's eyes lit up. He spotted clusters of dark red cherries, and they immediately caught his attention. He hurried to the cherry tree, curled one hand like a claw, and slashed at it. A flash of sword light passed, and the cherries dropped from the branches. Teach caught them all and cradled them in his left arm, then picked them up one by one with his right hand and popped them into his mouth. They were wonderfully sweet and sour.