(Today there will be 6 more chapters coming Give Powerstones please)
Back in the yard, Jin kept coaching like he had all the time in the world.
"Shirako," he said, eyes on her hands, "you keep overswinging."
Shirako froze mid-form, bamboo sword trembling.
"You've got strength," Jin continued, "but no brake. Your follow-through's eating your recovery. Control it."
"Yes, White-bro!" Shirako nodded hard, then swung again—fast, clean—
—and tried to stop on his cue.
The bamboo blade shuddered and dragged an extra inch.
Shirako's face pinched. "Ah—!"
Jin flicked her wrist with two fingers. Not hard. Just enough.
"Again. Stop it like it's a door you're closing quietly. Not a wall you're crashing into."
"Yes!"
Along the fence, Uta ran laps, breathing unevenly. Jin had her on the boring stuff—running, squats, push-ups, stretches.
Her body still hadn't recovered. Rampage. Wandering. Hunger. Sleep debt.
If he broke her now, he'd just be rebuilding a broken toy.
"Keep your pace," he called without looking. "If you can't talk while running, you're going too fast."
"Y-yes!" Uta puffed, forcing herself to slow down.
On the other side of the yard, Wanda and Pedro were having a very different morning.
They stood with swords drawn, chests heaving, ears pinned back.
"You're looking down on us," Wanda growled.
Pedro spat dust and glared. "You said you'd train us."
Jin didn't even blink. He only lifted his big sword.
"What I'm doing is training you."
Wanda and Pedro lunged together.
Sneak angle. Full force. A feint stacked on top of a feint.
Clang—clang—CLANG!
Jin blocked without Haki, moving like he was swatting mosquitoes.
Wanda's thrust hit the flat of his blade and skittered away.
"Not enough intent, Wanda."
Jin pivoted and snapped a kick out like a whip.
Pedro went airborne.
He landed in a skid that tore up the dirt and ended with his back against the fence, blinking like his brain had been shaken loose.
"Your body's too soft, Pedro," Jin said, lowering his sword. "You're relying on your fruit and your Sulong. Bad habit."
Pedro wheezed. Wanda hissed through her teeth.
Both of them dropped to the ground, gulping air, glaring up at him like he was the personal enemy of their ancestors.
Jin clicked his tongue.
"You two have barely brushed real life-or-death combat," he said. "You're missing the edge."
Wanda bristled. "We fought—"
"You fought and survived." Jin's eyes narrowed. "That's not the same as fighting and winning."
Silence.
Then Jin squatted, sword-tip tracing lazy lines in the dirt.
"Sure, Sulong gives you a boost," he said. "But why not drag your base up first?"
He drew a "1" in the dirt. Then another.
"Think of it like this. One plus one equals two."
Pedro frowned, still breathing hard. Wanda's tail flicked once.
"If your strength, speed, endurance are all at 'one,' then Sulong adds another 'one.' You get 'two.'"
Jin drew a bigger "2," then dragged the blade under it like an underline.
"But if your normal state climbs close to Sulong's threshold—then you add Sulong on top…"
He smirked.
"That's not one plus one anymore."
Wanda and Pedro exchanged a look. Something hot lit behind their eyes.
Jin's voice stayed casual, like he was talking about weather.
"And if—if—you keep using medicine to trigger Sulong early, your body starts learning the feeling. Muscle memory. Nerve memory. Blood memory."
He raised his brows.
"Maybe you won't need the moon at all."
"Impossible," Wanda and Pedro blurted together.
"No mink has ever—" Pedro started.
"—Triggered Sulong without the full moon," Wanda finished.
Jin's grin sharpened.
"Ears can lie," he said. "I've seen an exception."
He leaned in, like he was sharing gossip.
"A certain polar bear. With the right drugs, he could go Sulong in broad daylight."
Their jaws dropped.
"You're serious?" Pedro croaked.
Jin nodded once.
"Side effects were nasty," he admitted. "That's why I'm thinking bigger. If you push your base stats high enough, then use the medicine… maybe the side effects shrink."
He shrugged.
"And if you keep training that forced Sulong until it feels natural…"
His eyes gleamed.
"…you might end up with Sulong on demand."
For a beat, Wanda and Pedro forgot to breathe.
This human… sounded more obsessed with their tribe's potential than they were.
Pedro swallowed and lowered his head slightly.
"If that's real," he said, voice rough, "the Mink Tribe will agree to your terms. Whatever you want. As long as it works."
Jin chuckled.
"No rush," he said. "I still need the formula. Then I tweak it. I want the version with the lowest possible side effects."
The minks nodded. Slow, serious.
Something that rewrote their people couldn't be rushed.
"Anyway," Jin said, standing, "starting today—"
He reached into his bracelet.
Black metal blocks clinked into his palm.
He tossed them into the air once—caught them—then set them down like they were nothing.
"These are your new toys."
The three minks stared.
Palm-sized. Plain. Almost disappointing.
Jin pointed at Wanda and Pedro.
"From now on, you wear these. All the time. No taking them off. Even in battle."
Wanda blinked. "That's it?"
Pedro squinted. "Weights…?"
Jin didn't answer.
He flicked one block toward the ground like he was skipping a stone.
Boom.
The flagstones spiderwebbed.
A pit opened under the impact.
The yard went dead quiet.
Jin tilted his head at their faces.
"This is compressed gravity weight tech developed by Dr. Vegapunk," he said. "One block is eight hundred jin."
Pedro's ears went stiff. Wanda's mouth opened, then closed like she'd forgotten how speaking worked.
Jin smiled.
"Each of you wears as many as you can handle," he said. "Then add more. Slowly."
He lifted his hand.
Golden flame danced across his knuckles, warm light flickering over the minks' wide eyes.
"My golden flame's developed to the point where it can fix old injuries and accumulated damage," he said. "I call it Akagane Flame."
He flexed his fingers; the flame curled like a living thing.
"So don't worry about hidden damage. As long as I'm around… even if you train yourselves half to death, I can patch you back up."
Pedro and Wanda answered at the same time.
"Understood!"
Training until they dropped, with guaranteed healing and massive gains?
Where else would they ever find that deal?
They strapped the blocks on.
Wanda managed four—one on each wrist, one on each ankle.
She took one step.
Her expression changed instantly.
"So… heavy—!"
Her legs wobbled. She forced herself forward anyway, teeth bared.
Pedro went for six—two per foot, one on each wrist.
He tried a step and nearly kissed the dirt.
"Hah—!" He caught himself, panting, eyes blazing now. "I can do it!"
Jin turned.
"Okay, Shirako."
"Yes, White-bro!"
He handed her smaller cuffs.
"These are a hundred each for your ankles," he said, fastening one for her. "These are ten each for your wrists. Start there."
Shirako nodded, brave—
and the moment the cuffs clicked shut, her arms and legs turned to lead.
"Kh—!"
Just lifting the bamboo sword made her shoulders shake.
Jin watched the three of them struggle and nodded, satisfied.
"Good," he said. "Get used to it. Slow and steady. When this feels normal, add more."
He didn't bother hiding his smile.
Finally, someone else could taste the same hell he'd crawled through.
"Stick with it," he said. "You'll thank me later."
Uta jogged up, wiping sweat off her forehead.
"White-bro," she said, breathing hard, "shouldn't I be wearing some too?"
Jin shook his head immediately.
"Your body's still in debt," he said. "If you load it now, you'll hurt yourself. Focus on rebuilding first."
Uta hesitated, then nodded. "Okay…"
And trotted back to her laps.
Brook drew his cane-sword with a flourish.
"Yohohoho! It seems this old bag of bones should be working on his body as well," he said, striking a pose. "Even if I've no muscles to show for it!"
Jin eyed him.
"Lean into your fruit and your Haki," he said. "Make the most of your speed and weirdness. Power-type doesn't fit your frame."
He paused.
"But light conditioning won't hurt."
Brook's skull dipped in a solemn bow.
"Understood. From the day you freed me until now, I've yet to truly repay you," he said. "I'll work hard, White Ghost-san."
He moved into sword drills, each swing a little sharper than the last.
Then—
"Berererere… berererere…"
The Den Den Mushi rang.
Jin picked it up, already annoyed.
"This is White Ghost."
"White Ghost," Sengoku snapped, all business. "New World bases need reinforcements. Get to Marineford, now. You're flying my vice admirals to G-5."
"Move."
Click.
The line went dead.
Jin stared at the snail for a second.
Then he sighed.
"Right," he muttered, rolling his shoulders. "Time to go to work."
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