"Is the Captain having another one of his 'episodes'?"
Ever since Bellamy had grasped the essentials of Paper Drawing, he'd started spacing out frequently again. Every so often, he'd just freeze, seemingly lost in thought about something incredibly important. This behavior was eerily similar to his last "episode." It made Muret's heart clench with worry.
Six Powers Ultimate Skill: Life Return: The ability to freely control the growth of one's body, hair, and internal organs.
This ultimate technique could only be mastered after becoming proficient in all Six Powers. Once Bellamy learned this, he could regrow the teeth he'd lost. In a way, this skill could even be considered god-like.
Some of those old, frail guys (like Whitebeard), if they'd seriously studied this skill, maybe their bodies wouldn't have deteriorated so badly.
Freely control the life force within the body. Just reading this simple description, one could grasp the power of this skill. Searching the entire world of One Piece, the number of methods that isolated and utilized the concept of "life force" probably wouldn't exceed five.
Life Return was, to Bellamy's knowledge, the easiest way to achieve this. His desperate desire to learn all Six Powers was primarily related to Life Return.
The Six Powers could be used individually; it wasn't actually necessary to learn them all. Drake, for example, had always specialized in Iron Body and Finger Pistol. Only after being spurred on by Bellamy did he devote energy to learning Shave and Moon Walk. He'd simply ignored the remaining Paper Drawing and Tempest Kick.
The reason was simple: incompatibility.
He was an Allosaurus Zoan. After transforming, his claws were curved. This body structure made it easy to exert force backward, but kicking forward was troublesome. Tempest Kick was never even on his training agenda.
It was the same with Paper Drawing. The Ancient Zoan fruit granted him a powerful physique; direct confrontation was his fighting style. Even if he learned Paper Drawing, he'd rarely have a chance to use it.
Bellamy, on the other hand, didn't have such concerns. He was a Spring-Spring Man; any of the Six Powers suited him well. This included Tempest Kick, which he'd been neglecting. The power of a spring leg wasn't any weaker than a spring fist.
The principle of Life Return was incredibly simple, but the simpler the principle, the more difficult it often was to learn. Just like now, Bellamy clearly understood that the key to this technique was life force. But no matter how he manipulated his blood flow, his heartbeat, or even the shape of his internal organs, he couldn't find that spark of inspiration.
The broad concept of "life force" was just too vague. You either grasped it, or you were stuck at the gate. At this point, it was a test of one's comprehension and aptitude.
"Look, the Captain's spacing out again."
At this moment, Bellamy's thoughts had drifted off to who-knew-where. Mia waved a hand in front of his face. No reaction.
"Sigh, this is a sickness that needs treatment." The cook sighed, deeply concerned about his condition.
"I want to treat it, but I don't even know what it is." Muret's voice was full of exasperation. Having a captain like this was exhausting.
It was dinner time, and everyone was gathered around the campfire. Their complaints naturally reached Bellamy's ears. "What bad things are you saying about me?"
"Nothing, just keep spacing out. That way, we can rest a bit longer."
"???"
"Didn't you just say you wanted to treat me?" Bellamy was bewildered.
"Captain, can you please stop doing this? We're all really scared." After thinking it over seriously, Muret finally voiced her concerns.
"Sorry, I just have a habit of getting lost in my own world." He was, in truth, quite solitary. This wasn't a good habit, since a pirate crew was a team.
"Could you at least give us a heads-up next time?" Muret asked weakly.
"No."
Since he'd already apologized, he might as well be blunt in his refusal.
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