Miss Goldenweek's Mother?

Several instructors had actually thought of the same idea as him.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Chaton happened to return to Marineford.

Inside a restaurant.

Chaton once again dined with his two hardworking and adorable juniors.

"Actually, you didn't have to go to such great expense." Chaton looked at the table laden with delicious food. They treated him so generously every time.

The key was that these two were also very good conversationalists. Whenever Wude was alone with him, he often chatted with him about topics he was interested in.

For example, how to make girls interested in him.

These two single dogs—one dared to speak, and the other dared to believe him.

There was really no one else like them.

After finishing their meal, Chaton had just walked out of the restaurant when he received a message and hurried off again.

Wude and Hina exchanged a glance. It seemed they would have to leave the instruction to Sakazuki again.

As members of the slacking-off faction, having to trouble model worker Sakazuki was simply... wonderful.

The two of them headed toward the training grounds, only to come up empty-handed again.

Sakazuki was not there either.

Only some of the trainees were training on the grounds. What was going on today?

The two of them picked a corner and began their usual nightly training.

"Slurp, slurp~"

Smoker held a bowl and slurped noodles. Beside him, a sheet of paper had been placed atop a package, and on it sat a smoked chicken.

He reached out and tore off a drumstick, eating it with great relish.

"Oh, so the two of you are on a date." Smoker teased them as they approached, gnawing on chicken and slurping noodles.

He had finally caught the two of them.

Wude sneered, while Hina cracked her knuckles.

"That smells good. Hina, try some."

"Not bad, not bad. You try some too."

Wude and Hina each reached out and tore off a piece of chicken, eating with great enjoyment.

Teasing them? That wasn't happening.

Instead, the honest Smoker's smoked chicken was nearly devoured by these two shameless scoundrels.

"..." Smoker watched as Hina took the last piece of chicken and put it into Wude's mouth.

He apparently couldn't beat these two—one was utterly shameless, while the other was learning from him.

"How's the development of that Hypnosis technique going?" Smoker asked teasingly.

"No good. I still can't extend the ability to weapons." Wude sat down and chewed the chicken.

After chatting for a while longer, he realized that he had been thinking too simply.

The instructors' conclusion had another part to it:

Developing Tactile Illusion to the point where it could extend to weapons was only the beginning.

Armament Haki could still defend against it.

Only after Wude learned Armament Haki and broke through an opponent's Armament Haki defense in battle could the upgraded Tactile Illusion control them.

Although Tactile Illusion's effectiveness was greatly reduced when the target was prepared, as long as the opponent was not stronger than Wude in willpower and mental strength, they would still be controlled for at least one second.

Among strong fighters, clashes of Armament Haki often resulted in one side breaking through the other's defense while leaving only a minor injury.

In that situation, Wude could use his weapon to interfere repeatedly and frequently. Anyone whose willpower was inferior to his would suffer greatly during an Armament Haki clash.

If he developed it successfully, it would be an extremely powerful ability. If he failed, Wude could only switch to another Devil Fruit.

Over the following month, Wude and Hina continued their arduous training, occasionally receiving extra instruction from their seniors.

"We found a hypnotism master. I don't know whether she'll be able to help you."

At the training grounds, Colonel Yamakaji and the other colonels came over one after another.

They had found her just as they said they would. These instructors were truly amazing.

Wude followed Colonel Yamakaji and the others away from the training grounds and soon arrived at a lounge.

A pretty and adorable young woman sat on the sofa. She wore a wide-brimmed pink hat, with reddish-brown hair spilling from beneath its brim. On her back was a backpack filled with paint, brushes, and a drawing board.

Her large, dark, bright eyes kept surveying her surroundings. In her hand, she held a senbei and kept crunching away at it.

Wude saw her from outside the window. She looked a little like a larger version of Miss Goldenweek.

Could she be Goldenweek's mother?

"A friend of mine who serves as a base commander in the North Blue told me that there was a woman there who could hypnotize people with a paintbrush," Colonel Yamakaji began.

"So we invited her here. First, we hope a talent like hers can join the Marines. Second, we hope she can help you." Yamakaji smiled.

However, when the instructors brought Wude into the room, the young woman was so startled that she raised her paintbrush and eyed them warily.

"Senior Yamakaji, how exactly did your friend in the North Blue invite her here?" Wude directly hypnotized the girl with his gaze, and the hand holding up the paintbrush stopped moving.

"That's a long story."

"Then make it shorter."

"Let me go! I have to find my boyfriend!" Astrid stared nervously at the group.

Only Colonel Yamakaji, who always wore a smile, and Wude, a trainee who looked handsome and gentle, remained inside the room.

Astrid had a boyfriend, and the two of them had recently been researching more advanced Hypnosis together.

However, they had been targeted by the Donquixote Family because they had refused its invitation.

After being separated from her boyfriend, Astride later encountered the Marines.

After fleeing in constant fear, she was wound tight and trusted no one except her boyfriend. One Marine had spoken harshly and tried to take her directly to the Grand Line. She had immediately clashed with the Marines and hypnotized several of them into attacking their comrades.

Even after the Marines explained the situation, that rude Marine had sent her straight to Marine Headquarters, making her even less willing to believe anything they said.

Could she really be Miss Goldenweek's mother?

Wude guessed as he comforted her and explained the situation.

"You promised to help me find my boyfriend?" Astrid looked suspiciously at the two of them.

"Instructor?" Wude looked toward Colonel Yamakaji.

"Er..." Yamakaji looked at the two of them with a headache. His friend had indeed acted far too roughly.

"Our people in the North Blue have been searching for your boyfriend all this time. Once we find him, we'll let you reunite." Yamakaji explained. His friend had mainly failed to think things through. "I'm sorry. They were too reckless and went too far."

"Then you have to give us our freedom!" Astrid guessed that these people wanted something from them and made the same demand.

"Please rest assured." Yamakaji nodded.

"Then can you help us deal with Doflamingo?" After the girl finished speaking, Yamakaji pondered for a while.

"If you join the Marines, you won't have to worry about him anymore." Yamakaji said.

"I'll think about it." The girl said, though she thought to herself, Wouldn't it be fine to stay on the Grand Line without joining the Marines?

Wude spoke with Astrid for a while before she reluctantly agreed to teach her some Hypnosis.

"Actually, many things share common principles." Astrid picked up the drawing board and placed it on her knees, then took a paintbrush in her other hand and mixed the colors.

She began painting on the board. "Just like me. I mastered Hypnosis to an extremely high level while also loving painting. I trained both abilities until they were especially strong, then kept trying out small experiments..."

With that, Astrid took advantage of Wude's "inattention" and suddenly flicked her paintbrush.

Paint flew through the air.

Wude dodged it. Behind him, an ordinary Marine guard standing at the doorway had a yellow pattern painted on his back.

"..." Astrid sighed. What a pity.

"Hahaha, while I'm on duty... hahaha... Why can't I stop laughing? Ahahaha..." The Marine clutched his stomach and laughed uncontrollably until Wude wiped the pattern away.

After returning to normal, the Marine looked at Colonel Yamakaji with fear in his eyes.

"Impressive!" Wude praised.

"You're not bad either." Astrid eyed him warily.