Early the next morning.
Ren emerged from his "tender sanctuary," only to spot Bonney sporting some faint dark circles under her eyes. He asked with a chuckle, "If it isn't our Nika Princess? What's the matter? Didn't sleep well last night?"
Bonney batted away the hand Ren had placed atop her pink hair and looked at him with an expression of dead-seriousness. "That Straw Hat kid... he's Nika, isn't he?"
Ren had long expected this question, so he remained unfazed. "Nika is dead. Right now, he is just Luffy."
Crack!
At that moment, something inside Bonney shattered.
Hina, just stepping out of her room, ignored her aching back and rushed over to Bonney's side. "What's wrong, little Bonney? Who bullied you!" As she spoke, her gaze landed squarely on Ren.
Ren immediately waved his hands and backed away. "Hey, hey! Don't look at me! I just answered her question!"
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Hina went back to comforting Bonney's youthful heart.
It wasn't until noon that Bonney finally snapped out of it, aided by a large helping of gourmet food. Watching Luffy devour his meal in the distance, she whispered to herself, "There's no mistake. That guy is Nika."
Having confirmed this, Bonney spent the following days training alongside Luffy. Whenever she saw Luffy beaten into an unrecognizable shape by Ren, her heart would ache, prompting her to transform into her "Nika-like Future" to duel Ren—only to be beaten into an unrecognizable shape herself.
"I, Ren, am a staunch believer in absolute gender equality. Even if you're a woman, don't expect any special treatment from me."
"You bastard! She's still a child!"
Unsurprisingly, Hina was also "disciplined" by Ren that evening.
The next day, after "filling up" Hina, Ren didn't rush into pummeling Luffy. Instead, he rare-form started a new lecture.
"Six months have passed since we began training. There are seven months left until your promised meeting with your crew. Therefore, I will now teach you the advanced applications of Haki!" Ren announced.
It had been a month after he met Luffy that Kuma delivered the Den Den Mushis, so Luffy had actually been training with him for a bit longer than the others. Luffy and Bonney sat obediently on the ground to listen, while Blu and Law also crowded in.
"First is Observation Haki. 'Observation' means seeing with the eyes and 'Hearing' means listening with the ears. Thus, Observation has two advanced paths: Future Sight and The Voice of All Things."
"Future Sight!"
"The Voice of All... Wings?"
Luffy and Bonney were both excited, their pure eyes filled with a longing for the unknown.
Ren nodded in satisfaction and continued, "The key to Armament Haki, however, is Flow! To advance your Armament Haki, you just need to make it flow. It's quite simple."
This was based on Ren's personal experience. Mastering Ryou had taken him less than two hours; it was just controlling the flow of internal energy, much like controlling Chakra. It was almost too easy.
But for Luffy and Bonney, it sounded far too esoteric. They didn't understand it at all. Law and Blu, however, had already researched this and didn't look surprised.
"By the way, Captain, what are the requirements to awaken Conqueror's Haki?" Bonney asked with a playful smile.
"You awaken it when you truly desire to be a King," Ren replied.
"Desire to be a King?" Bonney tapped her chin with her small hand. A few seconds later, the little girl burst out laughing. "I get it!"
Under their bewildered gazes, Bonney's aura shifted drastically. Her body transformed from a petite girl into a mature, regal woman! The next second, a domineering pressure erupted from her.
"From today on, you shall call me Queen-sama!"
Everyone was stunned. Ren and the other three only had one word for Bonney's fruit: Broken.
Ren suddenly recalled a memory from before he transmigrated, where a teacher asked students to write down what they wanted to be in the future. Some wrote scientist, some doctor, police, lawyer, or astronaut. If those were applied to Bonney, she could become any of those "futures" in an instant.
Sigh, those are my lost youth!
While reminiscing, Ren suddenly froze, thinking of Yhwach's ability from Bleach. Picking a favorable future from countless possibilities... wasn't that somewhat similar to Bonney's Toshi Toshi no Mi?
Just as Ren was about to go deeper into that rabbit hole, Bonney suddenly leaned into his personal space, her faint fragrance snapping him back to reality. Looking at the beauty right in front of him, Ren barked, "Who told you to come over? Sit back down!"
Rebuked, Bonney reverted to her little girl form and sat on the ground, looking piteously aggrieved.
Ren continued, "As for advanced Conqueror's Haki, this is where it gets magical. It can only be mastered when your conviction is strong enough to control the Ten-Tails."
"What even is a Ten-Tails..." Law muttered helplessly.
"That's not the point! The point is firm conviction!" Blu said, his eyes burning with intensity. "Captain! Please help me awaken Conqueror's Haki!"
Duang~
Ren retracted his fist and said exasperatedly, "You didn't listen to a word I said! I said only those who want to be Kings can awaken it. Let me ask you, what kind of King do you want to be?"
Before Blu could speak, Luffy chirped, "I'm going to be the Pirate King!"
"I'm talking to Blu! Don't butt in!"
Blu sat on the ground and thought for a while, then chuckled. "I honestly can't think of any King I want to be..."
Ren didn't mind and laughed. "Don't force Conqueror's. One day, if it clicks, it'll awaken naturally. Now, back to Observation and Armament! Actually, Armament isn't hard; you'll get it after your bodies experience it a few times. Let's focus on Observation."
Then, under their terrified gazes, Ren transformed into his Asura form and began a "hunting" session.
Elsewhere, Hina and Uncle Grus were picking fruit. Watching a joyfully laughing Ren chase the others, Hina asked, "Why did Law and Blu join in? Didn't they say Ren's training was too cruel and they'd rather train with Krillin?"
"Who knows? Maybe they finally saw the light."
"Still, don't you want to go train them, Uncle? I remember you were quite happy when you were teaching Ren."
"A bunch of blockheads," Grus sighed. "Six months and they still haven't mastered advanced Armament. Teaching them is an insult to my life experience!" He then looked at Hina. "You haven't trained in a while either. Don't you want to get stronger alongside them?"
"Not interested. My man will protect me."
Meanwhile, on the ship, Krillin sat cross-legged in the crow's nest, meditating on his swordsmanship. A true chaotic era is coming. I cannot hold the Captain back!
In the blink of an eye, the day of Luffy's promised meeting arrived. On the shore, Luffy shouldered a bundle larger than himself and bowed to the group with a grin. "Thanks for everything! After I regroup with my crew, I'll head to the New World as fast as I can. The seat of the Pirate King is mine!"
"Yeah, yeah, you'll definitely be the Pirate King," Ren nodded. "Just don't forget to help me look for Pure Gold."
"Don't worry, Nami's got it written down!"
Watching Luffy depart, Hina couldn't help but worry. "Can that guy really reach Sabaody safely?"
"Who cares. He won't die."
"True. Especially after that 'form' he showed two days ago... it was practically cheating."
The training arc is over and Luffy is heading back! Would you like to see Ren's crew make their move on the "Pure Gold" treasure, or follow the Straw Hats' grand reunion at Sabaody?