"Don't be ridiculous! You only saw it twice! How could you possibly have learned it already?" Sentomaru protested. He remembered how much grueling effort it had taken him to learn the move. Even now, without having fully mastered Armament Haki, the Ashigara Dokkoi he used was merely a half-baked version. The idea that Bellamy could pick it up just by watching twice? He refused to believe it.
"That's why I said," Bellamy retorted smoothly, "it's my Ashigara Dokkoi."
Of course, Bellamy couldn't possibly have completely mastered the technique just from seeing it twice. His proficiency in pure taijutsu wasn't that advanced yet. The force-generation principles behind the move were incredibly complex; if he hadn't physically felt the impact twice, he wouldn't have even grasped the basics. But having grasped those basics, he could now attempt to replicate it. Besides, Bellamy was a Spring Human. His methods of generating force were fundamentally different from anyone else's.
Slowly, Bellamy extended his right hand, aiming gently in Sentomaru's direction. Deep within him, the immense potential energy of his springs coiled under his conscious will, condensing into a rapidly vibrating mass. Mimicking the unique energy flow he'd sensed from Ashigara Dokkoi, he channeled this vibrating spring-force into his right palm. The next instant, a field of wildly vibrating ripple patterns materialized just in front of his palm.
"That's not Ashigara Dokkoi!" Sentomaru yelled instinctively. But whatever it was, it looked terrifying.
Sentomaru gulped hard, hastily activating Iron Body and bracing himself. "I am the world's strongest defender!" he roared. "Don't think you can take me down easily!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Sentomaru felt the air itself shudder violently. An instant later, excruciating pain wracked his entire body, and he was sent flying backwards uncontrollably. Crash! Crack! Thump! He smashed backwards through countless trees before finally slamming hard against a large boulder, bringing his trajectory to an abrupt halt.
"Kegh! Cough!" Sentomaru wretchedly spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, struggling to push himself up from the ground. "Damn it... That wasn't Ashigara Dokkoi at all." But the raw force behind it was immense, the impact overwhelming. It just lacked that unique penetrating quality. It wasn't the genuine article.
"Hm. Seems I might have put a little too much force into that one," Bellamy mused aloud, observing the wreckage. Sentomaru was a potential treasure trove of information; couldn't go killing him just yet. Casually lighting a cigar, Bellamy glanced up at the sky. Still plenty of daylight left to waste. Well then. Time for a proper "interrogation" of the self-proclaimed 'World's Most Tight-Lipped Man'.
——————
Late that night.
A Marine rescue unit successfully located and retrieved Science Unit Captain Sentomaru. When found, Sentomaru was covered in bruises and injuries, evidence of a seemingly fierce struggle. According to the Captain's own debriefing, he had engaged the enemy in a furious battle, only to be narrowly defeated by a single, powerful blow and subsequently captured. The enemy had then subjected him to brutal, inhumane interrogation techniques, but he had bravely resisted, revealing nothing.
"I didn't tell him a single thing! He doesn't even know my name!" was Sentomaru's official report to his superior officer. Whether the superior officer actually believed him... well, that wasn't Sentomaru's problem. After all, his uncle was Admiral Kizaru.
Once back aboard the Sea Shark, Bellamy gave the order to set sail immediately, leaving the troublesome island behind. They had managed to replenish their fresh water supplies earlier in the day. They wouldn't need to make port for resupply for quite some time.
Bellamy considered this excursion a resounding success, a bountiful harvest of knowledge and insight. He was in no hurry to make landfall. Deconstructing the Ashigara Dokkoi technique alone would keep him occupied for a long while. Plus, there was the Marine Science Unit's detailed analysis of the Six Powers, and the partial data on Armament Haki principles—all of which required careful study and digestion.
However, as Bellamy acquired more and more disparate martial arts skills and knowledge, a new challenge began to emerge. Complete martial traditions, fragmented techniques, broadly applicable systems like the Six Powers, esoteric abilities like Observation Haki... Adding in his own developing techniques, his overall combat repertoire was becoming cluttered, lacking cohesion.
Bellamy was fundamentally a Spring Human. Any martial art or technique, to be utilized to its absolute fullest potential, had to be adapted to that core identity. As he assimilated all this new knowledge, he knew he couldn't just haphazardly use everything he learned. He needed to carefully select the elements truly useful to him, discarding those incompatible with his Devil Fruit or personal style. Only after careful curation, adaptation, and integration would he develop his Ashigara Dokkoi, his Six Powers, his Observation Haki. The resulting techniques, modified and personalized by him, might not be objectively the 'strongest' versions, but they would undoubtedly be the most suitable for him. Faced with the choice between 'stronger' and 'more suitable,' Bellamy unequivocally chose the latter.
Besides the martial arts insights, there was one other peculiar souvenir from this trip.
Bellamy picked up the ordinary-looking telescope he'd acquired from Sentomaru's abandoned gear and aimed it at Drake, who was currently undergoing rigorous physical training on deck.
Doriki: 2000.
A small string of numbers shimmered into view on the scope's lens. He panned across the deck. Ross: 650. Muret: 600. Mia: 600. The two children tagging along: 20 each. The Clones: 100 each.
"Definitely black technology," Bellamy murmured. To think something like this already existed... Truly impressive, courtesy of Dr. Vegapunk. Bellamy found himself increasingly wanting to meet the man. If he were to introduce Vegapunk to the concept of, say, 'nuclear physics,' could the man whip up a fusion reactor? Imagine Pacifistas equipped with miniature fusion cores, energy shields, phase-shifting armor, jet propulsion, and laser cannons... Build ten thousand of those, and you could probably steamroll the entire World Government.
If it were just idle fantasy, Bellamy wouldn't give it a second thought. The frightening part was, Vegapunk might actually be capable of achieving such feats. But what were the chances of Bellamy himself making contact with Vegapunk? Right now? Practically zero. And by the time he became powerful enough to potentially meet Vegapunk on his own terms... would he even need such technological marvels anymore?
"Technology," Bellamy concluded with a sigh, "ultimately, can only ever be auxiliary."