The next few weeks flew by in a blur as Marcus trained his new recruits. It took over two weeks for Nami and Nojiko to properly adjust to the training harness. But now both of them could easily do the standard training with everyone else and not pass out. As for combat training, both girls were dead last and while they were allowed to spar. It was mostly with Marcus, Ace, Sabo or Zeff who could train them as they sparred.
Marcus was the best at it, since he'd spent over a year and a half training both Kuina and Zoro that way. When he wasn't taking extra care of his new students, Marcus focused on pushing his own body to the limit and haki training. Like Marcus thought, Zeff agreed to help the boys with their training and would do it every night after dinner. Marcus was also sure that Zeff mainly agreed because he got to hit the boys for a few hours each night.
Once Nami and Nojiko were used to the normal training, Marcus stopped watching over them and started to train more seriously himself. He was currently the only person on the fourth level of the training harness and Marcus was pretty sure it had to do with his fight with Arlong. During that fight Marcus had pushed his body to the limit and even beyond what he thought was possible. Ever since then, Marcus noticed that he's had some kind of temporary growth spike.
After thinking about it for weeks, the only conclusion he came to was that life and death battles were the fastest way to improve. It made sense after all, since that is what happened to Luffy in the original story. Almost every time he fought, it was do or die and no matter what he was pushed beyond his limits in each fight…
He would need to confirm his theory with Garp when he returned, but he was pretty sure it was correct. Since he already confirmed that fighting stronger opponents helped him improve his strength quicker. Shanks was the perfect example of that in practice. Back when Shanks was still around, he would spar with Marcus every few days and that increased his strength tremendously. Sure his physical strength lagged behind since he was still a kid, but Marcus's swordsmanship was now wasted in a place like East Blue.
That wasn't an exaggeration either, since Shanks even told him as much before he left. Marcus didn't regret his choice to stay in East Blue though. Even before Shanks made the offer, Marcus was already planning how to help out Usopp, Kuina and Nami… Sanji, Gin, Zeff, Zoe and the other women were still a surprise along with Tashigi, but Marcus was happy to lend them a hand in getting stronger.
Marcus was resting at his favorite spot as he stared out to sea thinking. His physical training was still steadily increasing, but even before Arlong arrived Marcus had hit a barrier in his swordsmanship. Sure could perfect his stances, swings and train his air slashes more. But that would only get him so far and he knew it… What he really needed to do was fight other skilled swordsmen.
Sure he fought Kuina, Zoro and Tashigi daily, but that was only making them better. One day he was sure they would match his current skill level, but what then? Would they all be stuck at the same bottle neck as Marcus with no real way to advance forward? Would one of them perhaps hit the same wall Marcus was at now and blast right through it? Or would they all need a catalyst to properly break through it?
As Marcus was lost in thought his den den mushi started to ring, Marcus didn't look at it as he pulled it out and said, "Moshi moshi, this is Marcus."
A lovely, sing-song voice of a girl replied, "Guess who!"
Marcus froze for a moment as he glanced at his den den mushi and saw a very familiar two tone hair style on the snail. He smirked slightly to himself as he asked, "Big sis Makino?"
"Nope, guess again." The girl replied before she giggled sweetly.
"Is it Kuina? Or maybe Nami, Vivi… Oh is it Boa?" Marcus asked in a teasing tone.
The snail with two-tone hair pouted as the girl asked in an upset tone, "Just how many girls do you know?!?"
"Enough to live a very happy life… I even know a cute girl with a very pretty voice who likes to sing."
The snail's eyes widened in response which made Marcus smile before he said, "It's good to hear from you Uta… But I'm kinda curious how you got my number. I didn't exactly have a den den mushi before you guys left and Shanks never gave me his."
"Big sis Makino gave it to me!" Uta said in a cheerful tone before she asked, "By the way, big sis said you left the island and haven't been back in almost two years."
"I took my brothers to travel around East Blue so we could fight pirates and get stronger."
"Really? Where are you now? Are you still sailing around looking for pirates?"
Marcus leaned back against the tree behind him before he said, "No, we're currently training in Cocoyasi Village, it's in the Conomi Island chain of East Blue… We just fought against some fishmen pirates from the Grandline."
"Fishmen from the Grandline, I wonder why they were in…" Uta asked in a slightly confused tone before panic tinged in her voice as she asked, "You weren't hurt were you? Is that why you're staying on that island?"
Marcus smiled at the concern in her voice before he said, "I was, but after a couple days of rest I was completely healed."
Uta let out a relieved sigh before she asked, "So you beat someone from the Grandline? You must have gotten stronger huh?"
"I haven't stopped training since you left, of course I'm stronger."
"Good! I've been training nonstop too and I've gotten way stronger, I could probably beat you up now." Uta said in a way that made Marcus smile.
"Are you sure? I remember you having trouble fighting against Luffy."
"That was before, now I'm super strong. Even dad says I am!" Uta said in a proud tone.
Marcus chuckled slightly because he knew just how Shanks was with Uta, but he didn't mention it and instead asked, "Have you been keeping up with your cooking skills?"
"Of course! I'm even better at cooking than I am at fighting. Just wait, next time I see you, I'll beat you up and then cook you food to make you feel better!"
"What if I don't want to be beaten up?" Marcus asked as he shook his head slightly.
"If I don't beat you up, how will I prove I've become stronger?"
"I'll let you beat up Luffy and if you win I'll give you a kiss." Marcus said in a teasing tone.
"You. You. You… Okay, it's a deal! I gotta go bye!" Uta said in a rush before she hung up the call.
Marcus stared at the den den mushi before he chuckled and said to himself, "She boldly kissed me before she left and now she can't take my teasing again?"
Marcus shook his head before he stored the den den mushi away as he thought, 'She was in such a rush she didn't even give me her number…'
Marcus relaxed against the tree for a while as he enjoyed the sea breeze and watched the water. Around noon he decided to head back to the ship and for the rest of the day he hung out playing cards with different people. After dinner, even though it was considered a rest day, Marcus, Ace and Sabo trained in observation haki with Zeff's help.
Another week passed by and the only thing that happened was Uta called again. She checked in with him and even gave him her contact number before she hung up from his teasing. Like that another week quickly passed and it was everyone's rest day again. On rest days Marcus tended to be the only person besides Zeff, Sanji and Gin who woke up early.
Zeff since he was in charge of the kitchen and needed to cook breakfast. Sanji and Gin woke up early because Zeff was teaching them both how to cook. It was a surprise to Marcus at first because he was pretty sure Gin wasn't a cook in the manga. Marcus didn't worry about it though, it was either a butterfly effect or Gin always liked to cook and it was never mentioned.
Marcus cleaned up and put on clothes before he left his room to go hang out in the crows nest before breakfast. After he exited the main cabin he kicked off the air and used geppo to reach his destination. He still wasn't proficient in the skill, but he could easily use it for about half a minute if he needed to. Once in the crows nest, Marcus adjusted the cushions and laid back as he waited for a news coo to show up.
The paper normally delivered once a week unless something crazy happened and then there would be a special edition. Since it was once a week, Marcus scheduled the rest day to be on the same day the paper came out. It gave him a chance to read it and not have to skim through it or wait till his rest day to properly read it.
As the sun started to paint the sky with its early morning light, Marcus spotted a news coo and waved it down. After paying the new coo and giving it a little treat, it took off and Marcus relaxed back into his seat. As he opened up the rolled up newspaper, he froze at the bold words written across the page, 'World's Greatest Swordsmen Spotted in the weakest sea?'
Marcus stared at the title for a few moments as he thought, 'Did this happen in the manga?'
Marcus looked at the front page article and the picture on the cover before his right eye started to twitch. He was about to pull out his den den mushi and make a call when his head snapped up towards the sea. While his observation haki awakened recently and wasn't great, he just felt it flair as it sensed danger. Someone strong was coming and when he glanced down at the paper he shook his head. On the paper was Mihawk, but in the background of the photo was Uta and she was talking to Makino…
Marcus narrowed his eyes and far out in the distance he could see a small dot approaching the island. Marcus watched it for a few moments before he shook his head and decided to read the newspaper for now. Marcus glanced up from time to time and after half an hour he could make out a small, fast ship. It wasn't Mihawk's little coffin boat from the manga, but he saw Mihawk, Uta and a couple people from Shanks crew on the deck as they sailed closer.
Mihawk and the others easily noticed Marcus's gaze but only glanced his way once as they focused on the ship. Uta on the other hand only noticed it as they got closer to the dock and his ship. Her eyes lit up in happiness and she waved excitedly as she yelled, "Surprise!"