East Blue, Somewhere at Sea
Alex and his crew sailed aboard the Going Merry, still making their way toward the Grand Line.
Two days had passed since Alex had snatched two giant birds right out of the sky.
On this day, Alex was training together with Zoro.
He stood about twenty meters away from Zoro, a thick rope tied around his waist — the other end fastened securely to Zoro.
It was Alex's idea to tie themselves together.
Yesterday, while practicing the "Spoon" technique he had learned from Kuro, Alex had moved too quickly and lost control. The result? He smashed right through the ship's railing and fell into the sea — startling Nami so badly that she almost fell in herself while leaning on the railing to enjoy the ocean breeze.
When Zoro jumped in to fish him out, Usopp — who loved the ship more than his own life — punched Alex for damaging the Merry.
To prevent another mishap, Alex decided to tether himself to Zoro during training. That way, even if he messed up again, he wouldn't end up in the ocean.
He had considered asking Usopp to help, but Usopp refused immediately, saying he was busy inventing something.
Soon, a foul smell drifted through the air. At first, Alex thought Luffy had eaten too much and was polluting the atmosphere with his farts, so he yelled at him to be more civilized. But he quickly learned he was wrong — the smell came from Usopp, who was preparing rotten eggs for his "Stink Star" weapon.
Alex was both impressed and baffled — impressed that Usopp could work so calmly in such a stench, baffled that anyone could tolerate it. No wonder no one stood near him.
Deciding it was best to keep his distance, Alex quickly moved far away from Usopp and his reeking "ammunition."
The "Spoon" was basically an upgraded version of the Silent Step — faster, but much harder to control.
Alex had already mastered Silent Step, but with the Spoon, like Kuro, he still couldn't lock on to a target or control his movement direction properly.
When Kuro was under hypnosis, he could execute the Spoon without leaning forward, arms dangling and swaying, and without the flaw of indiscriminate attacks.
Alex figured that if he grew stronger, he could fully master the Spoon. But until his body adapted to the technique, he decided to practice by reducing movement errors — aiming to cut them in half, which would greatly improve his hit rate in battle.
He arranged several chairs in a zigzag formation. The goal: reach the other side without touching any of them.
After two hours of running, Alex's legs were like jelly. Every attempt ended with him knocking over two chairs at the final turn.
It was better than before — when he'd crash into the very first chair — but still not perfect.
"Phew… Phew…" Alex collapsed on the deck, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, and untied the rope from his waist.
"You're done already?" Zoro asked, still swinging his sword over and over with unchanging strength and form.
Yeah right, Alex thought. You can swing your sword for hours without breaking rhythm, but my training is all-out sprinting with every ounce of power in my legs. Let's see you run full-speed for two hours and still breathe normally — then I'll salute you.
He lay there, staring at the clouds, too tired to respond.
"Alex! I want fish!"
Luffy, who had been napping at the bow all afternoon, had just woken up and was now yelling Alex's name.
Seriously? I just sat down, and my butt hasn't even warmed the deck yet. Can't you let me rest?
Still, Alex got up, stretched his sore legs, and shook out his arms. "Quiet down. You'll scare the fish away."
"What's that on your arms?" Luffy asked, noticing the sleeves strapped to both of Alex's arms.
"These are arm sleeves — I use them to hold my fishing rods," Alex explained, pulling out a short rod, less than twenty centimeters long, and extending it.
These sleeves were Nami's handiwork. Two days ago, Alex had asked her for a way to carry his rods conveniently. Since Nami used a three-piece staff, Alex thought his rods could sometimes serve as makeshift staves and figured she'd have ideas.
When she answered, Nami casually pulled her staff sections from… her chest. Alex had been stunned.
Glancing at his own flat, muscular chest, then at Nami's… assets, he finally understood just how different they were.
While wondering how she could hide those short staves in there, he got punched to the floor.
The next day, Nami handed him two custom arm sleeves, eyes bloodshot and with faint dark circles — clearly, she hadn't slept all night to make them.
Alex kindly told her to get some rest. For that, he got punched again.
Idiot! I stayed up all night making these for you, and all you say is "go away"? What a waste of my feelings!
With a huff, Nami walked off, leaving Alex with a throbbing bump on his head.
Time passed quickly. More than half a month after leaving Syrup Village, they had encountered nothing major aside from a few storms.
Storms were dangerous — a single mistake could sink the ship — but with Nami at the helm, they managed just fine.
Today, Alex gave the Spoon a break. No matter how hard he practiced, he always got the same result as three days ago — hitting the last two chairs. He figured it might be a strength limitation and decided not to force it.
Instead, he strapped fish line launchers to his wrists, trying to stick a line perfectly to the Merry's mast from twenty meters away. So far, zero success.
Within ten meters, his aim was fine. Beyond that? Not so much.
The lines were coated in a special adhesive that stuck to anything. However, the moment they touched even a tiny electrical current, the stickiness vanished.
The launcher contained something like the piezoelectric ceramic in a lighter. With a press of the button on his palm, the line would electrify, lose its grip, and reel back in — ready for reuse.
According to Usopp, his research suggested these lines weren't man-made at all but stripped from a certain species of fish.
That revelation startled Alex. Fish with detachable fishing lines? He had no idea such a thing existed.
"Alright… Aim… FIRE!"
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