The Will of D. reamers

After the boys finished breakfast they headed back to their room and put on their training harnesses. When they came back out to the main training area Kuina noticed them in their harnesses first and asked, "What are you wearing?"

"A special training harness that makes everything harder to do." Marcus said as he started to stretch his body as part of his pre-workout routine.

Kuina looked at the harnesses with a bit of skepticism as she asked, "How would those things make anything harder to do?"

Marcus shrugged as he said, "No idea and I never bothered to ask. Then again, my grandpa is a big dumb gorilla and wouldn't have any idea how they work if I asked him in the first place."

Zoro, who was in the middle of practicing his sword swings, stopped before he asked, "Do those things really make everything harder to do?"

"We have some extra if you want to give them a try." Marcus said.

"If it will help me get stronger, then of course I wanna try it." Zoro said with an excited glint in his eyes.

Kuina's eyes lit up too as she said, "I'd like to try it out too."

"Sure, follow me." Marcus said before he led them towards the boys room with a hint of a smile that played across his lips.

It didn't take long to get them both in a training harness before he activated each one. Both Kuina and Zoro immediately felt the pressure and feedback from the harness as they started to move around in wonder at the sensation. Marcus watched them both try different things for about a minute before he said, "Not bad, it almost looks like you both can use the second level of the harness already."

"Second level?" Zoro asked as Kuina asked at the same time, "It gets harder?"

Marcus almost blurted out, 'That's what she said.' But held himself back as he smirked to himself before he said, "Yeah. there are seven levels the harness can be set too."

"Set it to the highest level for me!" Zoro said in a serious tone as he focused on Marcus.

"I'd like to try the second training level." Kuina said as she gave Zoro a worried look.

"Alright, hit that button first to deactivate them and I will grab the level stones for you both." Marcus said as he headed back inside.

Marcus came back out and installed the stones into each harness before he said, "Alright, hit that button again."

Kuina turned on her harness just fine and while it was tough, she was at least able to move around. Zoro on the other hand was basically frozen in place as he attempted to move even his finger. Marcus watched him struggle for about a minute before he said, "Just so you know that is only level three. If I installed the level seven stone, you would probably die."

Zoro frowned as he asked, "Why is level three so hard, when level one was so easy?"

"Because you already trained your body past the point that level one can really affect you. The harnesses are designed to make you stronger in stages. Once you no longer feel restricted by the level of the harness is when you can increase it to the next level."

Marcus deactivated Zoro's harness and switched out his level stone to stage two before he reactivated it. Zoro tested it out for a few moments before he asked, "How long can I use this for?"

Marcus shrugged as he said, "At least until we leave the island."

Zoro nodded with a savage grin before he asked, "What level is Luffy on?"

"We're all currently on stage three, with Ace and Sabo being a little ahead of me and Luffy."

As Zoro and Kuina got used to moving around in their harness, Marcus stored the extra stone back in his room. When he came back outside Zoro asked, "You guys are going out to train, right?"

"Yup."

"Good, I'll join you."

"Zoro. You can't just invite yourself. You have to ask." Kuina said with a slight frown before she turned to Marcus and asked with a smile, "Do you mind if I join you for your training? I wanna see what you do for your workout routine."

Marcus shrugged as he said, "You're free to join us… But I doubt if either of you will be able to keep up with us."

Kuina frowned as Zoro took that statement as a challenge and said, "Oh yeah? I doubt your training routine is that hard."

Marcus smiled to himself while he led them back to his brothers as he said, "You're problem right, since our grandpa was the one who first taught it to us."

When they reached the others, Ace said, "We're ready whenever you are."

Marcus glanced back at Zoro and Kuina as he said, "Try to keep up."

Ace led the group out of the dojo and towards the forest a few miles away at a brisk run to warm everyone up before the real workout started. While both Kuina and Zoro trained each day, they didn't train like Marcus and the others. The first four hours were so intense that it almost equaled Kuina's normal workout and after five hours it matched Zoro's daily workout. When Kuina and Zoro collapsed to the ground completely exhausted around lunch time, Marcus approached them with a smile as he asked, "How do you feel?"

Zoro tried to rise up from the ground as he said, "I can keep going." But before he could fully get on his feet he fell down again.

Kuina didn't try to get up but turned her head towards Marcus as she asked, "How much is left of your workout?"

"We are gonna hunt real quick which is also part of training and then eat lunch. After lunch there will be sparring practice until dinner. Once we finish dinner, you can relax or self train until bedtime." Marcus said as he glanced between both of them on the ground and tried to gauge if they would last the rest of the day.

Kuina nodded slightly before she said, "Wake me up once lunch is ready."

Zoro tried to stand up again as he said, "I wanna hunt too."

Marcus waved him off as he said, "Maybe in a few days once you're used to this type of training. Just rest for today, it will help you recover some for later."

Marcus wasn't sure if Zoro decided to follow his advice or just gave up after they fell down again. But Zoro stopped trying to get up as Marcus walked into the forest to hunt for lunch. Within an hour Marcus and the others had a bonfire going with large hunks of meat being cooked around it. Marcus waited till the meat was finished before he woke up Zoro and Kuina for lunch.

With the nap and a belly full of food, both of them seemed to recover enough that they were eager to spar with everyone. Zoro challenged Luffy first because he wanted to make up for the loss he suffered yesterday. But the fight ended up much the same as the day before, except Luffy actually dodged as many attacks as he could.

Kuina watched the fight with interest at first but quickly turned her attention to Ace and Sabo as they dueled each other with their respective weapons. The fight was a lot more interesting and as she watched them it made her want to fight too. Kuina turned towards Marcus who was seated close by as he watched everyone fight and asked him, "Do you wanna spar with me?"

Marcus didn't look towards her as he said, "If we spar, you better be prepare yourself to lose."

Kuina frowned slightly as she said, "Don't underestimate me just because I'm a girl. The only person who can beat me in a spar on the island is my father."

Marcus's eyes glanced towards Kuina as he said, "It has nothing to do with you being a girl."

Kuina stood with a hand on her training sword as she asked in a challenging tone, "So you think you're more skilled than me?"

Marcus stood up as he shook his head and said, "I don't think anything, I know I am."

Kuina pulled out her training sword as she said, "Then prove it."

Marcus rested a hand on his own bokken as he said, "Take off your training harness first."

Kuina barely thought about it for a second before she hit the button to deactivate her harness and took it off. When she looked back at Marcus with a frown as she asked, "Aren't you going to take off your harness?"

Marcus pulled out his bokken as he said, "It wouldn't be fair if I didn't have a handicap."

Kuina frowned more and was going to say something before Marcus asked, "Ready?"

At that moment Kuina made a decision to teach Marcus a lesson with this duel and nodded her head as she adjusted her stance slightly. Marcus nodded in return before he said, "You better not blink."

Kuina wanted to ask what Marcus ment but as soon as he finished talking he was in front of her performing an overhead slash. Kuina's eyes went wide as her body reacted on instinct and her sword raised up to block the attack. When their swords collided, a shock shot through both of her arms down to the bones as she strained to hold back Marcus's attack.

Marcus quickly disengaged from the attack and by sliding in front foot behind himself was able to attack again. Kuina was barely able to catch Marcus's blade in time but couldn't block it completely this time and ended up having to retreat. Marcus gave her no chance as he pushed forward to chase and attacked her again.

The next few minutes were a blur for Kuina as she did her absolute best to defend against Marcus's relentless assault. For the most part she did okay and was able to dodge, block or parry most attacks. But the handful that slipped through were painful reminders that motivated her to not let another attack land.

More time passed while Marcus and Kuina sparred until another hit caused Kuina to drop her bokken as she collapsed to one knee. Marcus stopped his next blow instantly as he said, "I'll admit, you have a lot more skill than I thought you did."

Kuina held an arm over her rib cage that currently felt like it was on fire before she hissed out, "So do you."

Marcus smirked as he said, "I was actually holding back."

Kuina frowned as she asked, "You held back?"

Marcus pointed towards his training harness that was still active as he said, "Besides having this on, I only used basic sword attacks."

Kuina frowned as she thought back over the spar and after a few moments realized he was right. While the harness was a big handicap already, the fact he only used a handful of basic slashes was another. Kunai didn't really want to admit it, but Marcus was extremely skilled compared to her and it made her wonder what he would be like if he didn't hold back. Would he be able to beat her father in a spar, she wondered.

Marcus placed his bokken back in his belt before he took off his training harness and set it aside. He glanced down at Kuina afterwards as he said, "Since you didn't pass out, I'll show you one of the moves I am still trying to perfect."

Kuina focused on Marcus as he said, "Ace, Sabo!"

They both paused their spar and glanced towards Marcus before he said, "Try and block this attack."

Ace and Sabo shared a glance before they both settled into a defensive stance and nodded towards Marcus when they were ready. Marcus placed a hand on his bokken and relaxed his lower body before he changed his breathing slightly. With his left hand already on his bokken where the sheath would normally be, Marcus gripped the handle with his right hand.

Kuina, who was paying close attention to Marcus, heard him whisper, "Thunderclap…"

Marcus disappeared from her view before she heard Ace and Sabo yelp in pain. Kuina's mouth dropped open in shock as she found Marcus, who now stood behind both of them with his sword still in his belt, while Ace and Sabo were now on the ground as they cradled their heads. Marcus for his part turned around with a smirk on his face before he asked, "What do you think?"

When Kuina finally recovered from the shock of Marcus basically teleporting fifty feet in a second she asked, "How do you consider whatever that just was, not perfect?"

"It should be faster if I'm being honest." Marcus said with a shrug.