After morning training, many recruits were sent to the infirmary. They really did need help, and psychologists were indispensable too. That was what happened when the recruit camp had a freak in its ranks!
Some others had gone completely limp and couldn't continue with the rest of their lessons. The first day of training at recruit camp was like this almost every time.
Andre announced that they would have the afternoon off and resume morning training tomorrow. From now on, anyone who cooked in the dormitory would be punished with a run.
For Vic, this physical training was just basic endurance and strength training. He recovered quickly and felt full of energy now. He ate a lot at the cafeteria at noon, but he felt the food could only fill his stomach, not strengthen his body. He decided he still needed to hunt for himself. One Sea King a day would be pretty good.
That afternoon, Vic strolled over to the elite camp wearing his weights, hoping to see how Zephyr taught his students.
But when he arrived, there was no sign of Zephyr. The students were either sparring or practicing on their own, and all of them were practicing the Six Powers.
The elite camp did physical training every day too, but they had already finished today's quota that morning. Now they were learning techniques!
Vic had already mastered Soru and Geppo of the Six Powers. Without the methods, he couldn't even get started on the others. During his time on the warship, he hadn't shown that he knew the Six Powers either.
He could pretend he had come here to learn on the sly, and he could also attract Zephyr's attention. Of course, he could learn the other Six Powers techniques too. With his current physical condition, as long as he had the methods and practiced, he ought to learn them quickly.
Vic watched the students training and felt a little emotional. They lived in this age of great pirates.
They could be considered part of the new generation, and twenty years from now, they would be in their prime. He wondered how many could withstand the storm's onslaught!
Someone had tried to stop Vic when he entered the elite camp earlier, but let him in after Vic beat him up. It definitely wasn't because the man had been knocked unconscious and couldn't stop him.
The students were spread out across the vast training ground. Some were practicing Tekkai, standing like blocks of wood. Others were practicing Shigan, aiming their attacks at the Tekkai trainees without caring whether they had mastered the technique.
Those practicing Rankyaku also kicked straight at the Tekkai trainees, while the Shigan trainees attacked them too. Watching the Tekkai trainees, Vic felt some pain on their behalf. They were stationary targets, standing there and letting people hit them!
Vic paid them no attention. He had come to learn from Smoker on the sly, so he could use the Six Powers openly from then on.
A red light flashed in Vic's eyes as his Observation Haki spread outward. He began examining the Six Powers techniques and looking for Smoker at the same time.
Vic found that the people practicing Tekkai were physically stronger than ordinary people, but still couldn't compare to actual steel. His Observation Haki detected a thin layer of unknown black substance flickering in and out of view on their skin when they used Tekkai. The black was so faint that it couldn't be seen with the naked eye.
As for those practicing Shigan, the bones in their fingers were even stronger than their leg bones, but they still couldn't compare to steel plates. So why was Shigan said to be comparable to a bullet? Could it also be because of the unknown substance swirling around their fingertips?
Looks like Shigan and Tekkai aren't just about training the body to be as hard as steel. They rely on that unknown substance to achieve their defensive and offensive effects. That's a lot like how Armament Haki works. What connection could there be?
A smile played on Vic's lips as many thoughts came to mind. Perhaps he could solve the problem of Armament Haki today too!
He already knew Soru and Geppo himself, and used them far better than they did. Even Momonga might not be his match.
Ignoring the students practicing Soru and Geppo, Vic turned his attention to those practicing Kami-e.
According to the original story, Kami-e let a person evade attacks by sensing changes in the airflow around them.
A sweep of Vic's Observation Haki over those students told him what was going on. Kami-e was the most basic application of Observation Haki: sensing the air fluctuations, sound waves, and vibrations caused by an attack, then quickly dodging over a short distance.
Kami-e users could only barely release their own waves near their bodies to sense the fluctuations produced by an enemy's attack. They still had to rely on their own speed to dodge. If they weren't fast enough, they couldn't evade it.
Vic instantly lost interest in Kami-e. He still very much wanted to learn the secret technique beyond the Six Powers, Life Return.
After gaining a general understanding of the Six Powers, Vic walked over to Smoker. Smoker was developing his Devil Fruit ability, with great clouds of smoke rising around him. Vic watched Smoker's performance like that, but after a long while, nothing else had changed.
Vic thought Smoker was rather inflexible. He really might not be able to develop the Smoke-Smoke Fruit well, and would be better off following a purely physical combat path.
"Hey, Smoker, starting a fire over here?" Vic called with a laugh.
Hearing someone call him, Smoker retracted the smoke and returned to human form. He was surprised to see Vic. Why had he come here instead of attending class at this hour?
"Vic? What brings you here? People from the recruit camp aren't allowed in. How did you get in?" Smoker asked, puzzled. It hadn't occurred to him that Vic had knocked someone out to get in.
"Oh, I had a long talk with the guards, and they let me in. Everyone in our recruit camp is down, so we can't have class today. We have the afternoon off.
"So I came here to ask your teacher Zephyr to teach me how to use the Six Powers. I think my physical condition is good enough," Vic said with a smile.
Smoker was a little dumbfounded. Who do you think you are? You come here and expect Teacher Zephyr to teach you? If you're so amazing, why don't you fly? he complained inwardly.
"Ah, Teacher Zephyr went out today and hasn't come back yet. I'm afraid he can't teach you. How about I teach you instead? Heh heh," Smoker said with a smile, looking a little mischievous.
"You? How many of the Six Powers do you even know?" Vic asked disdainfully.
"I know a little of all of them except Tekkai and Kami-e, which I haven't practiced. So, what do you think? Can I teach you?" Smoker said proudly.
Good grief, Vic thought. You haven't touched a single thing related to Haki. No wonder you still hadn't learned Haki more than ten years after graduating. Serves you right, and you're even proud of it. I really want to slap you.
"Tell me, why aren't you learning Tekkai and Kami-e?" Vic asked, curling his lip.
"Here's how I see it: I'm a Logia Smoke-Smoke Fruit user. I don't need to defend myself. I can just turn into my element, so I don't need Tekkai."
"It's the same reasoning. I can turn into my element, so why would I need to dodge attacks? They don't do anything when they hit me anyway, so I don't need Kami-e either. Wouldn't it be better to spend the rest of my time developing my fruit ability? Don't you think?"
Smoker, you really are a clear-headed man, Vic thought, and could only give him a thumbs-up.
"Smoker, your teacher Zephyr doesn't like you very much, does he?" Vic teased.
"I wouldn't say that. It's just that his attitude toward me is very serious, his tone is very stern, he makes me train a little more than the others, and he punishes me a little more heavily when I make mistakes. But I think that's because Teacher Zephyr values me. He's strict with me, so his expectations of me must be very high," Smoker said with conviction after thinking it over.
Vic rolled his eyes. You're just like Kizaru. It would be strange if Zephyr liked you. No wonder he doesn't tell you that Tekkai and Kami-e are skills related to Haki. Let's see how you, a cloud of smoke, make waves in the future.
"I'd advise you to pay some attention to Tekkai and Kami-e. You'll thank me someday. Just tell me the methods for the Six Powers. I can learn them myself; you don't need to teach me!" Vic warned Smoker in the end, hoping to save him some detours.
Smoker didn't think much of it. He was a Logia user, so he didn't need Tekkai or Kami-e now. Once he awakened Observation Haki and Armament Haki, he would need them even less. Why practice them? Did he have nothing better to do?
Seeing the dismissive look in Smoker's eyes, Vic shook his head. Forget it. I won't try to persuade him, lest he end up killing the future Pirate King in the East Blue.
"Vic, you're strong, and you'll get into the elite camp sooner or later, so it's no big deal to teach you now. But it's hard to learn on your own. Are you sure?" Smoker asked uncertainly. He had been practicing those techniques for six months and hadn't mastered a single one.
"Smoker, quit wasting time. Just tell me exactly what Zephyr said. I can learn on my own. There are other people practicing here, so watching them for reference will be enough!"