On the deck,
Bullet looked puzzled as he watched Roy, Tesoro, and Stella stare at Savi and laugh.
Knowing this was Bullet's first time seeing someone eat a Devil Fruit, Tesoro hurriedly explained.
"Devil Fruits taste awful. Boss and Stella made the same face when they ate theirs, hahaha~"
Then Tesoro spoke to Savi, who was wondering whether the fruit had gone bad. "Boss said you have to eat the whole Devil Fruit to use its full power."
"Hurry up, Little Savi, eat the whole thing!"
Bullet gave Savi a sympathetic look, leaving him to experience it for himself.
Savi took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and swallowed the rest of the fruit in one gulp. It got stuck in his throat, and only after Roy came over and patted him on the back did he manage to eat the whole thing.
As Savi ate the fruit, Stella hurried into the cabin and brought out a glass of water.
Under Bullet's astonished gaze, Little Savi slowly transformed into a five-meter-tall giant ape covered in black-gray fur. His enormous fists were as big as basketballs, and his fur gleamed with a metallic chill.
When Savi came to his senses, he looked at everyone around him, who seemed shorter than before, and scratched his head in confusion. Then he felt the immense power in his body and happily began bouncing around the deck.
Seeing this, Roy hurriedly controlled Savi and lifted him into the air. Only after Savi had grown accustomed to his strength and returned to human form did Roy put him down.
Roy gave him an annoyed knock on the head.
"Little Savi, you nearly wrecked the deck. Be more careful next time you transform on the ship. If the ship sinks, your fruit power won't let you fly. If you fall into the sea, you're dead!" Roy warned, trying to scare him.
"Yes, I understand, Boss Roy," Savi replied with a serious nod.
"Good. From now on, you'll train with Bullet. Focus on learning the Six Powers, then combine them with your fruit ability and find an attack style that suits you."
"Bullet, I'll leave Savi to you. Teach him Geppo first, so he won't fall into the sea when he's out on the water."
After giving Bullet his instructions, Roy saw the envious look on Tesoro's face and walked over to pat him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, Tesoro. I've already picked out a fruit for you. When the time comes, we'll go get it together."
"Boss..."
Seeing Tesoro so moved he was nearly in tears, everyone burst out laughing at his expression.
Little Savi, who had always been "bullied," even pulled a face at Tesoro.
"Haha~ Tesoro, you can't beat me anymore."
"You little bastard."
Tesoro blushed and grew so angry at the sight that he wanted to go over and "teach" the brat a lesson. How dare he mock him?
Stella hurriedly stopped him and comforted him.
Seeing the harmonious scene, Roy clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention.
"All right, let's decide where we're going next."
Roy took a Log Pose out of his pocket and handed it to Stella. (He had asked the owner of a merchant ship for it when they arrived at Sabaody.)
"This Log Pose points to the area near Baron of the Stomach, Stomach Baron, in the Boin Archipelago. Another one of our companions is there. We'll pick him up first, then head to the next island, where another formidable guy is waiting for us."
"Yes, Boss/Captain!" they answered in unison.
For the rest of the voyage, the White Dove was filled with hard work and sweat. Tesoro trained as usual, and whenever he had time, he would join Stella to learn some sailing skills.
Under Bullet's guidance, Savi underwent even harsher physical and Six Powers training. Everyone on the ship could hear his howls and pleas for mercy from time to time.
At times, Roy feared Bullet would cripple Savi through training.
Stella became the ship's chief caretaker. Not only did she have to keep an eye on their course, but she was also everyone's cook, preparing food for them every day while keeping up with her own training. She was constantly run off her feet.
Roy and the others had tried cooking too, but none of them had any talent for it, so they had to keep asking Stella to take on the job. When they had free time, they would also help her at the helm.
Roy said he would find a cook to join them as soon as possible.
Bullet was the most disciplined of the lot. Every day, he was either working out or training with Savi. He even had Roy raise the gravity on him to six times normal, yet he never tired of it. Roy couldn't help admiring him; he himself had only raised it to five times, while the other three could withstand three times normal gravity.
Roy didn't sit idle either. While adjusting the gravity for their training, he used his mental power to help navigate, speeding up the ship while avoiding bad weather and Marine patrol ships.
As he honed his mental power, he didn't forget his swordsmanship training. After seeing Rayleigh's cool attack when he swung his sword, Roy had decided to become a great swordsman. After all, looking cool came first.
Several days of sailing passed in intense yet fulfilling training.
Guided by Roy's psychic power, the White Dove moved like a ghost across the sea, skillfully avoiding unnecessary trouble.
On deck, everyone had grown used to Bullet's daily roars and Savi's wails.
"Lift your legs higher! Move faster! Do you want to fall into the sea and feed the Sea Kings?"
"Bro...ther Leite... let me rest..."
In human form, Savi was drenched in sweat. His legs kicked desperately at the air, but he could only stay half a meter above the deck for a moment before crashing heavily onto it.
Roy sat cross-legged at the bow. Sensing the scene, he smiled.
Then he turned his attention back, recalling the sword strike Rayleigh had made. Every so often, he drew Frost Snow from across his legs and swung it at the air ahead.
Suddenly, Roy's expression shifted. He sensed a pirate ship sailing toward them.
"Hey, everyone, some pirates are heading our way."
Hearing that, the others stopped what they were doing and gathered at the bow.
Before long, a sailing ship considerably larger than the White Dove came straight toward them. A skull flag hung from its sail, and several cannons protruded from either side.
"Tch~"
"Trash like that only dares to prowl around the first half of the Grand Line!"
Bullet stood with his arms crossed, his eyes full of disdain, without the slightest desire to fight.
"Don't say that! They're here for Tesoro and the others to practice on."
Roy waved a hand at Bullet. He had sensed their strength long ago; otherwise, the ship wouldn't even have been allowed to get close.
Hearing this, Tesoro and the others looked excited.
Tesoro, who had always been protected by Roy, had long wanted to find someone to test his current strength against. Unfortunately, every opponent they encountered was either too strong or the sort Roy dealt with casually.
Savi was even rubbing his hands in anticipation. He had trained with Roy and the others for a year and had just gained tremendous power, and he had been wondering where he could put it to use!
Stella was much calmer. She quickly observed the other ship's movements and the positions of its cannons.
"Their cannons could get in our way..."
"Don't worry, Stella. I'll deal with the obstacles for you. You just charge ahead."