Two years is enough time to gradually improve Haki, but more importantly, it's about forging one's will. Vic and Rayleigh understand this very well. If they can't win by attrition, then they'll fight a quick battle and decide the outcome in one move!
Two years of accumulation is enough. It's impossible for Luffy retreat to the mountains for twenty or thirty years and wait until he has Haki. By then, it would be too late. Therefore Luffy can only follow the path of One-Punch Man.
"Two years?! Does my partner know when we'll meet?"
Luffy realized his own weakness, so he naturally listened to the arrangements of the two strong men, Vic and Rayleigh. Luffy trusted Rayleigh of Vic. One was someone he had known since childhood, whose actions were deeply ingrained in his mind and had been built up over time. The other was someone from the depths of his heart, someone he had known for a short time but who had no particular reason for trust.
"You need to convey this meeting time to them; only when you tell them will they fully believe it!"
Write the assembly time in a way that you all understand but others won't, in a prominent place. We'll take a walk around Marine Headquarters, and Morgans will spread the news worldwide in newspapers. They'll understand when they see the newspapers."
Vic was too lazy to run around, so he figured it was faster to use the original method to send messages to Nami. Although several days had passed Paramount War, and there might not be any reporters left at Marine Headquarters, Vic had Morgans's Vivre Card and contact information. Getting Morgans to arrange a few reporters wouldn't be a problem.
"Hey! Morgans! It's me!"
"..."
"You can't even recognize my voice? It's me, Vic! Looks like we haven't been in touch enough!"
"..."
"That's not something you can decide. Do you even have reporters at Marine Headquarters?"
"..."
"That's good. There's going to be Big News Morgans there later, so don't let them leave."
"..."
This news must spread throughout the world.
"..."
Just like in the original story, Luffy tattooed the time on his arm, with the crossed-out 3D followed by 2Y, instead of writing it down as Vic had suggested. This shows that this time is of great significance to Luffy, and he will always remember these two moments!
Because Jinbe was attending Whitebeard's funeral, he didn't return to Sabaody Archipelago with Vic immediately. Therefore, Ivankov was in charge of steering the warship this time. Although it wasn't as smooth as Jinbe's, it was still manageable.
This time, Vic Ace was also brought along. Although Ace had already attended Whitebeard's funeral, the Marine Headquarters still had many of Whitebeard Pirates's brothers left behind, all because of him. So it was only natural for Ace to pay his respects. It wasn't strange for the two brothers to be together; it was all quite reasonable!
In the original story, Rayleigh Luffy, so with Vic here, there's even less chance of anything going wrong. Although the Navy also bombarded them, Rayleigh's steel balls and Vic's lightning detonated the incoming shells in advance.
As the warships approached, they saw that it was Thunder God Vic and Dark King Rayleigh. The lower-ranking naval officers were terrified and dared not make any further moves. Only the reporters who were taking pictures of the devastation at the Marine Headquarters were very excited and took photos non-stop, as if they were free.
Luffy and Ace reached the shore and rang the bell. Finally, they laid flowers and observed a moment of silence by the huge crack created by Whitebeard's attack. Vic and Rayleigh stood silently behind them.
No high-ranking officers in the Navy intervened throughout the entire process. They probably realized that Vic and Rayleigh weren't there to cause trouble, so they didn't pay much attention. The reconstruction of the Marine Headquarters was a major event, as was the selection of the new Fleet Admiral and the compensation for the fallen soldiers. That was enough to keep them busy.
The trip went smoothly. Even though Vic and his crew arrived and returned to the Sabaody Archipelago in a warship with great fanfare, no navy pursued them.
After returning, Vic and Rayleigh did not send Luffy immediately. Instead, they waited until the next day, after seeing the confirmed news in the newspaper, before setting off. The headline of the newspaper was about the four of them invading the Marine Headquarters to pay their respects.
There were several photos taken from different angles, all four of them in the pictures. One photo clearly showed Luffy's arm, with the letters on it clearly visible. Only then did they feel relieved and leave Sabaody Archipelago.
" Luffy! For the next two years, you will train here under Mr. Rayleigh. From now on, Mr. Rayleigh will be your master. Train hard and become strong as soon as possible!"
The island was chosen by Rayleigh; it's the island from the original story where the animals were too powerful, and natural selection eliminated the humans. This island is also in the Calm Belt and isn't too far from Amazon Lily.
After bringing Rayleigh and Luffy here, Vic didn't plan to stay long. He gave Luffy some instructions and then prepared to leave.
"Uncle Vic! Isn't Ace training here?"
Luffy has fully accepted the idea of leaving his crew for two years to train and become stronger. He has seriously considered what Vic said to him during the Paramount War several times, and his final conclusion is consistent with what Vic said. Therefore, he is still very proactive in becoming stronger. However, he is still somewhat puzzled as to why Ace did not train with him.
" Ace is already very strong. The ferocious beasts here can't help him. He needs more rigorous training to grow. So don't expect anyone to train with you and laugh it off!"
Mr. Rayleigh! I'm entrusting Luffy to you. Don't hold back, give him a good beating! He's the hottest candidate for the Pirate King!
Ace is indeed not suited to train here. With Ace's current strength, he can even fight Marine Admiral head-on. The ferocious beasts here wouldn't be enough for him to roast. So Vic decided to take him away, whether to keep him by his side to teach him personally or to send him to a more harsh environment to hone his skills. The point is, he can't stay here.
" Luffy! Prepare yourself, I won't hold back!"
Rayleigh also approves of Luffy. Although Ace is Roger's son, Rayleigh has no intention of training Ace to become the Pirate King. Everyone has their own choices, and Rayleigh will not interfere!
Just as Garp didn't interfere with Luffy and his crew becoming pirates in the end, now that Luffy still aims to become the Pirate King, Garp is naturally more willing to nurture Luffy, which can be seen as fulfilling Roger's last wish!
As for Ace, Rayleigh thought it was more suitable for him to be taught by Vic, since both of them were Logia Fruit users, and Rayleigh would definitely have many advantages over him, a non-Devil Fruit user, in teaching him.
" Luffy! Mr. Vic is right. We don't have the strength to sail freely on the sea right now. The sea is there; we'll conquer it when we're strong enough!"
Ace has been staying by Vic's side these past few days. Vic hasn't taught him anything. Whitebeard just died for him not long ago, and Ace needs time to adjust his mindset. So Ace has been very quiet these past few days, and Vic hasn't tried to persuade him either. Now it seems that things are getting better.
"This is so annoying! We have to break up again..."
Luffy's face was full of frustration, but he also knew what was more important, so he naturally wouldn't force Ace to stay here and train with him.
" Luffy! These are Seastone Handcuffs. You should have seen them before. Ace was bound by them and lost his fighting ability. They are a powerful weapon against Devil Fruit users!"
But I want to tell you that with proper training, even with Seastone Handcuffs on our wrists, aside from some discomfort, it won't affect our combat effectiveness.
Now it's yours. You have two years. If you can wear the Seastone Handcuffs without affecting your combat ability, then you've overcome this weakness and will never be easily controlled by others again!
In the original work, Luffy never actively trained to address the weaknesses of Devil Fruit users, not even Rayleigh Luffy do so. This is the limitation of non-Devil Fruit users. In the end, it was only after being knocked unconscious by Kaido and sent to Udon Prison in Wano Country that he was forced to adapt to Seastone in order to stutter!
However, as a Devil Fruit user, Vic naturally knows how important it is to overcome the weaknesses of Devil Fruit users. Even if Luffy has the strength of Four Emperors in the future, there will definitely be smart people who can use these weaknesses to their advantage. You can imagine that even Caesar of Punk Hazard was able to use Seastone to restrict Luffy's movements!
Luffy isn't incapable of overcoming this weakness, but rather unwilling to take the initiative. He dislikes that feeling of powerlessness, but if he doesn't overcome it, he'll continue to suffer. Therefore, Vic decides to Luffy overcome it ahead of time. With Rayleigh overseeing him, it shouldn't be too difficult.
"Ugh! This is so uncomfortable and disgusting to wear on my wrist! Can I not wear it?"
Luffy has come into contact with Seastone many times and really hates it. The more he hates it Seastone, the less he wants to get close to it. So Luffy has never thought about overcoming it. He probably doesn't even know that it can be overcome. Anyway, he just tries to stay as far away from it as possible.
"Of course not. Would you want to have another weakness? Not only will you wear this, but Ace will also wear it during his training. Didn't you see how badly he suffered before? If you let Ace do it again, he will definitely overcome this weakness sooner. What do you say, Ace?"
"Yes! If I could go back to before the great war, I would overcome this weakness even if it cost me my life! Luffy! Mr. Vic wouldn't harm us, listening to him is the right thing to do!"
Ace felt a little down again. He deeply understood these feelings and knew that Vic was genuinely trying to help them. Every word Vic said was being proven true. You could say that Vic was the kind of person who got straight to the heart of the matter. You might not have understood it at the time, but time would prove that everything Vic said was right!