Dominance Not Yet Formed

"Axia, I ate too fast just now and threw away the bones without looking, haha, look, I ate it all. Mmm, it was really delicious."

His stomach churning, Rono forced down the urge to vomit and smiled at Axia.

"Really? Axia thought it was too unappetizing, so Mr. Rono threw it away."

Axia's watery eyes widened.

"Was it delicious? I specially prepared an extra piece for you. Axia knows Mr. Rono has a big appetite."

"..." Rono's mouth twitched. No wonder Mo Williams was so kind as to let Axia make food for him. It turned out he had ulterior motives, and Rono couldn't refuse. For a moment, Rono felt like he saw Mo, radiating a dark aura, smiling sinisterly at his back.

Give me back my minute of touching!

He shivered and forced a smile. "That's great, I really like the food Axia makes."

Joyfully, Axia took out a small food box. Inside was a piece of meat cube that looked nine-tenths like the dark steak Rono had eaten, with some vegetables underneath. It was clear Axia had put a lot of effort into it.

"Ah-woo, gulp." Rono took the food box and poured it all into his mouth, swallowing without chewing. His abnormal physique wouldn't kill him anyway; he wasn't afraid of anything that would take at least three years to kill him.

"Then I won't disturb Mr. Rono's training." Axia skipped away.

"Ugh--" Rono clutched his stomach and knelt on the ground, feeling like his stomach was no longer his own.

After about half an hour, Huo Shaoshan walked in, smoking a cigar.

"Yo, you're not training, that's rare."

"Training? Training!" Rono's eyes widened, and he quickly opened his system. The training volume was less than half complete.

I'm going to die, I'm going to die. If my little thing is useless, what's the point of having lolis?

"Vice Admiral Huo Shaoshan, for various reasons, I can't train with you this afternoon." Rono said with a serious expression. Huo Shaoshan felt his posture become imposing, with a golden light emanating from behind him. Squinting to alleviate the visual impact, Vice Admiral Huo Shaoshan sized up Rono. "It's okay not to train today, but you have to tell me why. Don't tell me it's..." Huo Shaoshan raised an eyebrow, took off his cigar, and brought it close to Rono. "Axia?"

"Of course not! I'm only fifteen, old man!" Rono looked at Huo Shaoshan's "I know, I know everything" expression and suddenly understood why Mo wanted to hit him. Suppressing his restless emotions, Rono continued, "Although Axia is partly the reason, no matter what, I haven't achieved my self-set training goal. How can I not complete my own goals, right?"

"..." Huo Shaoshan put his cigar back in his mouth and took a deep puff, exhaling a large cloud of white smoke. "I have nothing to say."

He turned and left without any hesitation.

Just as he had arrived quietly, he left without taking a cloud, and also blew smoke all over Rono's face.

"Next, I must complete the mission quickly." Rono unhesitatingly abandoned his domineering training for the day and began Hell Training.

Why train Haki? Isn't it all for the rewards? If my little thing is useless, what's the point of getting those rewards?

After a whole afternoon of frantic training, he finally completed all the tasks before sunset. After a comfortable hot shower and changing into a clean Marine uniform, Rono walked towards the restaurant, peeling an orange.

Sunglasses Man Mo and Axia were already sitting in a corner preparing to eat. Rono ignored Mo's murderous gaze and, carrying four standard meals, sat down next to Axia. "Hello, Axia. Oh, and 'Uncle' Mo next to you!" Rono emphasized the word "Uncle," reminding Mo that he was already an old bachelor and shouldn't have designs on the cute little loli.

"Hello, Mr. Rono, is your training going well today?" Axia greeted him kindly.

"Hmph." Mo's face was like ice.

Rono didn't mind, chatting with Axia while he ate.

Crack, his chopsticks broke... No matter, he'd get another pair and continue.

Ptooey, ptooey, why is the cook so careless today? So much sand mixed into the food.

He took a sip of water to rinse his mouth, cough, cough, he could even choke on water.

Mo's expression was blank, but he was laughing hysterically inside. Hahaha, trash, daring to approach Axia without Armament Haki? Hahaha, I can't, look at that idiot.

Mo quietly wiped his mouth. "Axia, I'm done eating. You continue, come to my room later."

"Okay, Uncle Mo. But Uncle Mo ate so little today." Axia nodded obediently.

"Ah, I don't have much of an appetite today." Mo bid his farewell elegantly.

"Wait, he just told you to go to his room?" Rono stopped eating and looked at Axia.

"Yes, is something wrong? Uncle Mo checks my homework every night." Axia finished the food on his plate. "Here, Mr. Rono, Axia is leaving now."

"Whew--so that's how it is. Oh, okay, take care, Axia."

The place Axia sat was very secluded. Firstly, Mo's powerful aura and murderous gaze could drive away 80% of the Marines who wanted to sit there. Secondly, the Marines on the ship had a general understanding of Axia's Devil Fruit Ability, and no one wanted to bring misfortune upon themselves for no reason, especially men who sailed the Great Sea year-round. Even Mo's adjutant sat two tables away from them.

Rono couldn't stand the bizarre food anymore and dumped it directly into the slop bucket. He wouldn't starve if he skipped one meal.

A month passed in the blink of an eye, and Rono finally completed Hell Training (2).

However, the two-month voyage was also nearing its end. Speaking of which, it was thanks to Rono. If he hadn't recklessly stepped on the accelerator of the motor vehicle for the mission, they wouldn't have been able to travel this fast.

Rono turned into a stone statue, watching motionlessly as everyone disembarked. Wuwuwu, System, you scammer, you must have known from the start that it was only a month's voyage when you posted that mission with such generous rewards. Nima, even Luffy, that cheater, couldn't complete it.

"Mr. Rono, thank you for taking care of me during this time." Axia bowed, gathered his luggage, and ran off with Mo.

"Hey! Brat, why aren't you getting off yet? You still have to go to Enies Lobby, you can't just stay here." Huo Shaoshan walked back, carrying his Tachi with a smile.

"Why have you grown taller again? Let's measure you later to see."

"Aye~" The salted fish Rono dragged his feet as he walked off the ship.

"Ahaha, my men, remember to gather tomorrow afternoon!" Vice Admiral Huo Shaoshan returned to Marineford somewhat happily. After his subordinates responded, he put his arm around Rono and took him to measure his height.

"Two meters thirty-six. Tsk, tsk, not bad." Rono had already recovered from his disappointment and was very satisfied with his height. He was only 15 years old, and he could grow to over three meters by the time he was 18.

In the world of the Pirate King, you wouldn't dare claim to be tall without being at least three meters. For example:

Whitebeard: Estimated 7-8 meters

Blackbeard: 3.4 meters

Kaido: Estimated 7-8 meters

Big Mom: Estimated 5-6 meters

Doflamingo: Over 3 meters

Moria: Over 5 meters

Jinbe: Over 4 meters

Kuma: Over 7 meters

23333, if you're not three or four meters tall, you'd have to jump just to fight.