Chapter 5: Step up the game
Yeji chuckled softly at Luffy's reaction, finding it pretty amusing. Luffy on the other hand glared at her, his breathing still labored as he had yet to recover from the shock that her sudden attack gave him.
Either way, it didn't stop him from noticing how Yeji's hand was covered by that sort of mist energy, making him wonder what in Nika's name that was.
One thing was certain, Yeji knew exactly what caught his attention, and judging by the challenging and teasing look she was giving him, he definitely wouldn't find out anytime soon.
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A few minutes later they were both outside, standing in the garden of Yeji's house, which was a pretty modest, traditional chinese-style house.
The garden itself was also oriental-styled, containing a few stone lanters, some gravel paths, a surprisingly large koi pond paired with a bunch of high smaller ponds behind it, 3 small waterfalls, one flowing into the largest pond while the other two flowed into the higher ones, and various huge trees and rocks mostly scattered towards the border, which was limited by a tall bamboo fence.
Compared to her house, Yeji's garden was way larger, so much in fact that it made a football field look tiny in comparison, mainly thanks to the house being located on a plateau on the inner side of Mt. Colubo, not too far from Goa, which was visible from above from various windows.
As soon as he stepped outside, Luffy kept staring around, quite awed at how beautiful Yeji's place truly was, so much so that he made a mental note to learn some botany too.
His awe was short-lived tho, soon deadpanning when he saw Rodan, who now had no injury on his body, trying to catch the kois in the main pond with his beak, looking at them with a hungry look, which was no surprise since he didn't eat anything for various days straight.
Seeing that scene Luffy rolled his eyes before shaking his head in disapproval, ready to walk towards the quetzal to get him to control himself. But in the end he didn't need to, as Yeji cleared her throat loudly on purpose to get Rodan's attention, who felt a chill run down his spine as he slowly turned towards the woman, sweating profusely as she glared at him, her eyes briefly shining red while she gave the reptile a "friendly" smile, making him stop.
After Rodan stopped, Yeji motioned for him with her index finger to come closer, to which the pterosaur quickly obliged, dashing at them so fast that he reapper in front of them in an instant, having gone so fast that his massive body briefly became a blur, making Luffy's jaw drop at the big guy's sheer speed, wonder just how fast would Rodan be the moment he returned at full health, or how fast he would become once he grew up.
"Wait a second, for how long was i knocked out? Because Rodan's wing already healed, yet my body doesn't feel any weak or stiff at all." Luffy asked, only now noticing that he felt oddly fine ever since he woke up, even if it's been just a few minutes.
Hearing Luffy's question Yeji smirked, positively impressed by how observant Luffy was despite his age.
"For about 3 and a half hours. I finished treating your wounds roughly 3 hours ago." She calmly explained, looking pretty amused as she saw Luffy's jaw drop again and his eyes becoming wide as saucers.
"It would have taken about half the time, but i wanted to make sure to leave the least amont of scars possible on your body, especially your eyes, which were more troublesome to tend to. If it makes you feel better, those over your eyes are the only scars you have." She casually continued, dropping another bomb over Luffy's head, further enhanced by how she said that as if it was the most normal thing ever. Said action further cemented Luffy's respect for her, with him now seeing her as some sort of goddess of healing.
But those words also made him realize just how absurd her medical skills and knowledge are, since she managed to make concoctions so strong and efficient that his body managed to heal up perfectly within a few hours despite how many injuries he had, leaving him shell shocked and more eager than ever to learn from her, since having medical skills even remotely close as hers would still be OP.
"I-i have a few questions, Yeji-san" Luffy spoke out a bit shyly, making her turn towards him curiously "What type of medicine do you excel at? And could you please train me and my friend?" He asked, mustering the courage to do so after a few moments, to then recieve a gentle headpat from Yeji, who knelt down in front of him, looking at him with an almost motherly look.
"You don't need to be shy around me, i'm not gonna eat you or anything like that." She reassured him, finding his shyness cute, but also wanting him to act natural around her.
"I'll more than gladly train you and your friend, so don't be afraid to come to me whenever you need guidance, alright?" She told him. After seeing him nod she continued.
"Regarding your other question, i am a Herbalist, and although i made sure that my skills are top-notch in every medical field, pharmacology is by far my strongest suit, which is also what i'll be focusing on when teaching you. Are you ok with that? Or are there other medical fields you'd like to focus on?" She explained before asking him what he'd prefer to learn, patiently waiting for his imput as she didn't want to force him to learn something against his will.
After thinking about it for a minute, Luffy made up his mind "I'm fine with it, Yeji-san. But if possible, i'd like to focus a bit more on surgery, because no offense, but i am more concerned on learning how to treat diseases and injuries than how to make medicines." He gave out his answer, making a valid argument while also trying to be the least disrespectful possible, causing Yeji to just give him a sweet smile.
"That's not an issue, Luffy. Instead, i think that you're doing the right call by choosing to focus more on surgery, as it will be vital in countless situations in the foreseeable future. Also you yet have to tell me about your friend, because i would be lying if i said that i'm not starting to get curious." She observed, to then give him a sly smile as she teased him a bit, making him look sideways while he was scratching the back of his head and laughing in an akward way, causing Rodan to caw as he chuckled, nudging Luffy's shoulder with his beak.
"R-right. her name is Makino, and we both live in Foosha Village, not too far from the other side of Mt. Colubo, i mean the outer one right beside this one" he briefly explained, stuttering a little from the embarassment of almost forgetting about her, said embarassment not helped by the teasing look Yeji gave him as soon as he mentioned that it's a girl.
"I see. In that case let's get you back to Foosha to pick her up. Then i'll take you both here and provide lunch for you two, after that you will start your training. Sounds like a plan?" She asked him after telling him her idea, to which he nodded in agreement.
"Good. Now could you tell me where she lives, or where she usually stays during the day?" She asked him calmly before picking him up and holding him in her arms, making Luffy blush a little as he ended up being softly pressed against her huge breasts.
"W-we both live on the first floor of Partys Bar, which is also her property and workplace. It's her free day today." Luffy quickly explained, trying to avoid looking at her chest, failing to do so due to how near it was to his face.
"Partys Bar it is" She commented, giving him a smirk before hers and luffy's body disappeared within an instant, startling Rodan, who started to frantically turn his head in every direction to try to find them.
At that exact same moment Makino was inside Partys Bar, cleaning up the inside of a mug with a white cloth, when suddenly Yeji appeared in front of her seemingly out of thin air, startling the girl, who almost dropped the mug when she saw the towering woman appear right in front of her out of nowhere, not even processing the fact that Luffy was in her arms, holding on for dear life while having a traumatized look on his face.
"Greetings. Are you by any chance Makino?" Yeji asked, waking up the green haired girl from her stupor as she finally realized that Luffy was in this woman's arms, almost as pale as a corpse, while from the look of his face he seemed like he just saw a ghost.
"Never do it again" Luffy reprimended as he looked at Yeji's face, yet from the tone of his voice it looked like he was pleading her instead. Yeji just chuckled softly, holding him a little closer.
"I'll be sure to warn you next time. But i can't guarantee that i'll always remember to~" She promised with a sweet tone of voice, yet Luffy not buying it in the slightest. From the mischievous look on her face Luffy could tell that she was definitely gonna use the excuse of forgetting to warn him as a way to either prank him or keep him on his toes, the latter being a lesson that he was sure he would need to learn quickly.
"W-who are you?" Makino asked Yeji, looking at her with wide eyes, pretty scared of the sheer aura that was oozing from the older woman's body, making Makino shiver as she still had to fully recover from the spook of Yeji's sudden appearance.
"Oh, right, i almost forgot. My name is Hao Yeji, and i've come here because Luffy asked me to teach him about medicine and to train him, also asking me if i could train someone named Makino alongside him. Do you happen to be said person?" Yeji briefly explained to the stunned Makino, calmly looking at her as she waited for the girl's answer.
"Y-yes, that's me" Makino confirmed, politely bowing before her despite still being a bit nervous, but unlike a moment before, she was now excited as well, since she could tell from one glance just how strong the woman before her was.
"Would you like me to train you too? Just to be clear from the start, i'm not forcing you to do this, and you're free to refuse if my training is not what you want." Yeji clarified with a reassuring tone, not wanting to force Makino's choice in any way or impose her decision on the girl, as she already intimidated her greatly despite not meaning to, feeling a little bad about it.
Makino's eyes widened, looking intensely at Yeji for a few seconds after she processed what the woman just said. When she did process those words, she quickly nodded at Yeji, looking really excited.
"Yes i would like that, Yeji-san" Makino answered, having calmed down a little.
"I am glad to hear that. Come with us, i'll take you to my abode, and i will personally train you both. I also believe that Luffy will have to explain to you what happened to him to make this encounter possible." Yeji held out her free hand to Makino as she said that.
"Wait a second. What do you mean with that, Yeji-san? What did Luffy do?" Makino asked her in a curious and slightly suspicious tone, giving Luffy a serious sideglance, making the boy sweat a little.
"I shall explain when we arrive at my residence." Yeji vaguely replied, grabbing Makino with her free hand and holding her close to her body. She then used her sheer speed to dash back to her garden, disappearing from Partys Bar and reappearing in the middle of her garden within the blink of an eye, repeating what she did to carry Luffy, this time carrying two people instead.
Just like last time, Rodan almost got a heart attack when he saw Yeji appear out of nowhere, but he then gave her a confused glance when he noticed that she had a girl alongside Luffy, causing the overgrown young quetzal to tilt his head as he stared at them.
This time around Luffy was in a way better state, having expected Yeji's move. Makino on the other hand was on the verge of fainting, looking pale and really dizzy from the sudden shift in speed, leaving her briefly stunned.
When she recovered, the first thing her eyes met was a really strange, massive and malnourished pterosaur, making her eyes widen in shock, both due to Rodan's looks and his still terrible conditions.
"W-what is this reptile, and why is it so scrawny?" Makino asked in pure shock, now curious about what Rodan was, but also feeling awful for his undernourished state.
"That is Rodan, Luffy's new little friend, and part of the reason on how he met me. Four hours ago i saw Luffy heavily injured while he was fighting against Julius Muskett, a bandit with the 4th highest bounty on Dawn island, and to my surprise he was just as injured as Luffy was.
The reason why your friend was fighting that man was to protect Rodan, who had a broken wing bandaged by Luffy, from getting killed. I had to intervene to land the finishing blow on Muskett, but i still have to admit that it was a really close fight. I then brought Luffy's uncionscious here and had Rodan follow me, as soon as i got back here i proceeded to attend to their injuries." Yeji summarized to the incredolous Makino, who was staring at her in pure shock and disbelief, to then shoot a glare at Luffy, who was whistling innocently while looking away, trying his best to avoid eye contact while sweat dripped down his forehead.
It was only then that Makino finally noticed the scars over Luffy's eyes, making her briefly cover her mouth with her hands in shock, to then get on her knees and cup his face, looking at the scars from up close. When she took a good look at those scars, two emotions filled her being, concern for Luffy's wellbeing, and sheer rage towards the bastard that gave Luffy's those scars, making her want to strange Julius to death.
"Where is Muskett right now?" Makino asked in a low and demanding tone, turning towards Yeji with a cold look on her face, utterly enraged.
"I turned him in to Goa's authorities and cashed in his bounty. He's behind bars right now." Yeji calmly answered, her tone slightly colder and more serious than normal, proving that she was also pretty pissed despite her neutral façade. Her body seemingly blurred for an instant, as she then whipped out a briefcase.
"These are the 12 million belly reward for that man's bounty. You deserve it way more than i do, Luffy, since you did the hard work. Here you go" She then handed Luffy the briefcase, who gave her a slightly surprised look.
Noticing his stare, she chuckled softly
"Do i look that selfish to you? I don't really need it to begin with, and as i said, i only delivered the final blow, while you did the rest of the work, which is why i wouldn't be able to bring myself to keep the money even if i wanted to. It simply doesn't sit right with me." She raised her eyebrow in a playful way as she said that, to then gently flick Luffy's forehead, causing him to pout after lightly rubbing the spot she hit, to which Yeji replied by sticking her tounge out in a teasy and surprisingly cute way, making both of them laugh.
"Alright then, time for you two to start your training. What method have you been using so far? And how much effort can your bodies handle? And are there any health conditions that i need to know about?" She asked the friends duo, who turned to look at one another before looking back at her. Luffy then stepped forward.
"Neither of us has any medical issue, the training methods we've been using so far are the usage of weighted wristbands, anklebands, and clothing, meditation, and periodical spars against each other. Both of us can do 400 push-ups, sit-ups, squats and a 20km run without any real problem, well, in Makino's case the numbers are 500 and 25." Luffy explained, getting a nod from Yeji, who now looked to be deep in thought.
"Mhhhhh. You two have a pretty solid start, and a good understanding of the basics of Haki too. In that case, you two will mainly go through a more advanced version of your usual training, but you'll have to train in a location of my choice, and take off your weights only when i say so, regardless if you're actively training or not.
You two will also train your senses and your awareness of your surroundings. Then you will spar against eachother at least once a day, and fight against the wild creatures of the area of my choice for at least 2 hours a day.
Lastly, you will train your reflexes and reaction time by facing against Rodan while only being allowed to block his attacks or dodge without moving away fron the spot that i'll assign you two. Did i make myself clear, or do i need to repeat it?" Yeji asked after giving them their future routine, leaving Luffy slightly surprised that she decided to rope in Rodan, but also understanding that she did that due to his speed and his long beak.
Makino on the other hand was confused, not understanding why Yeji decided to involve Rodan as well.
Seeing her confused expression, Luffy quickly explained "Yeji put Rodan in charge to train our reflexes because he is fast, really, really fast. Trust me, even now his speed is no joke" Luffy then nodded towards the pond as she said that, making Makino shift her focus on Rodan, who in that moment caught a fly in his beak by moving his neck so fast that it became a blur, causing her eyes to widen in surprise.
"I see what you mean" Makino commented after turning towards him.
They then heard Yeji clear her throat to get their attention. When they turned towards her, their eyes became wide as saucers, and their jaws dropped. In front of them was now a colossal and majestic crane with black talons and beak, white and aquamarine plumage, extremely long wings and tail, aqua eyes, and a mane of teal flames surrounding its neck. Said crane slowly lowered its neck towards them, and gently nudged their foreheads with its beak, making them blink a few times before they woke up from their stupor.
"Y-YOU'RE AN AWAKENED ZOAN USER?!" Luffy exlaimed in pure shock, to which Yeji, in her beast form, simply nodded, confirming what he just said.
"Precisely. Can you also tell which zoan i ate?" Yeji asked in a quiz-like manner, wanting to test Luffy's knowledge.
"Tori-Tori no mi, Model:Crane" he answered without hesitation, earning a nod of approval from Yeji, who gently picked up Rodan by grabbing him by the shoulders with her left talon, towering over him by almost 4 times his height. Rodan woke up from his shock, and looked up at Yeji's face, who was staring back with a calm and gentle look.
"Not to be rude, Yeji-san. But why did you transform in your full zoan form and pick up Rodan?" Makino asked, about as confused as Luffy.
"Yeah, i'm also curious. Where do we even need to go?" Luffy chimed in, wondering where their new teacher wanted to bring them to.
Yeji simply giggled softly at their curiosity, to then lie her head on the ground so that they could get on her. After they got on, she lifted her head up, and looked south west.
"We're gonna head to my home island Kinryu, in the Calm Belts." Yeji casually explained, making Luffy and Makino's eyes almost pop out of their sockets.
"IN THE WHAT?!"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Yuishiro
Yuishiro Fifth chapter's here! I hope it was worth the wait and that the first chapter of my second fanfic was able to fill the void.
Also, first new devil fruit baby! Alongside the introduction of a new island too. This chapter is the start of a very brief training arc, in which we're gonna also explore Yeji's homeland. So prepare your popcorn and your soda, becuase we'll be in for a ride soon enough!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone