A week passed by after Marcus helped clean up the mess he made at the orchard. During that time he mostly focused on training, but he also helped a bit more at the orchard. He mostly leveled out the soil because it was ruined from him removing all the tree stumps and their root system. There were still the two large piles he made that were slowly being processed by the townspeople. But otherwise Bellemere could now start the main replanting process.
Marcus only saw the woman once during that time and when he did he said, "You should diversify the trees to grow apples, lemons and other fruits. It will give you more income that way."
"You think you can run my orchard better than me?" Bellemere asked as one of her eyes started to twitch.
"Considering how poor you are… Yes." Marcus said with a cocky grin.
"You little shit, I really will beat you this time!"
"No thanks, I'm not into that kinda thing and I told you before you're too old for me!" Marcus said as he quickly disappeared and left the orchard.
After that little conversation, Marcus found out from Genzo that Bellemere did take his advice and ordered saplings for a few different species of fruit trees. Marcus wasn't sure if he would help replant the trees themselves. But he did hand Genzo a stack of money to pay for them all and wouldn't accept it back.
It was about a week after all the new trees were planted that Marcus ran into Nami on his day off from training. He was back at the spot he found that had a great view of the sea. As he sat there reading Garps journal, Nami approached with a small backpack on. She didn't say anything to Marcus as she pulled out a blanket and a couple books before she settled in not far away from Marcus.
Marcus raised a slight eyebrow at her actions, but decided to ignore her as he kept reading. While he'd already finished reading the journal a couple of times, Marcus liked to reread it because he found new insights each time he did. It wasn't that Garp was cryptic or something… He was actually the exact opposite with his blunt almost bare explanations. Sure it could give you an idea of what needed to be done, but it also made it harder to understand at some points. But the more Marcus read it, the more he started to understand how Garp thought, which helped him figure out what Garp described in the journal.
The other reason Marcus liked to reread the journal was for the extra information packed inside. Fights with Roger and other big name pirates were scattered throughout the thing. He also had random passages about different islands he visited, best tasting animals, what island made the best rice crackers… Needless to say the journal was filled with a ton of information if you were willing to read through the chaotic mess.
As Marcus was reading, Nami pulled out a drawing pad and some pencils before she started to draw something while she referenced the books in front of her. After a while Marcus glanced up to see what she was doing and found she was practicing her map making skills. Marcus watched her draw for a few minutes before he placed the journal down and asked, "What are you doing little thief?"
Nami frowned at the name as she looked at Marcus and said in an annoyed tone, "I'm not a thief… My name is Nami."
"Didn't you steal from my ship? Wouldn't that make you a thief?" Marcus asked with a teasing tone as a smirk played across his face.
"You got the item back, so technically I didn't steal anything… Besides, you looked like pirates and stealing from pirates isn't considered stealing." Nami said matter of factly before she stuck her tongue out.
"Whatever you say, little thief… So you gonna answer my question or not?"
Nami huffed as she puffed out her cheeks for a few moments before she showed Marcus a map of the island she was working on. Marcus studied it for a few moments before he said, "Not bad… If you ever decide to stop being a thief, you could make a living as a cartographer."
Nami frowned slightly at his comment as she glanced at the map herself before she said, "I plan to draw a map of the whole world one day."
"Oh yeah? Is that your dream then?"
Nami nodded seriously as she said, "When I get older, I'm gonna travel the world and visit every island to make a map of it."
"Good luck with that." Marcus said in a dismissive tone.
Nami instantly turned towards Marcus and glared at him as she asked, "What is that supposed to mean? You don't think I can do it?"
Marcus chuckled before he said, "I don't think, I know you can't."
Nami frowned as she asked, "Why not? What could stop me from doing it?"
"You're too weak."
"Of course I'm weak, I'm still just a kid! Once I'm grown up I won't be weak and I'll easily be able to make a map of the world." Nami said with complete confidence.
"You think you will just get magically stronger when you're older?" Marcus scoffed before he said, "If you don't train properly, you'll always be weak."
"Fine, then all just make friends with strong people who can protect me!"
Marcus shook his head slightly as he said, "And then what happens if they have to protect you all the time because you can't even protect yourself? Sure you might find people who would be fine with that, I know my brother is an idiot who would gladly do something like that…"
Marcus narrowed his eyes slightly as he asked, "But are you gonna be okay with people you care about getting hurt or possibly killed just to protect you?"
Nami's eyes widened at that before Marcus reached over to a rock and picked it up as he asked, "Or would you rather gain strength to help protect yourself and those you care about?"
Marcus showed Nami the rock before he crushed it in his hand and turned it into powder. Nami's eyes were wide as they stared at what was left of the rock while Marcus collected his stuff. Marcus stood up before he said, "Since we almost share the same dream, I don't mind helping you get stronger…"
"You also wanna draw a map of the world?!?" Nami asked in a surprised tone before she added, "Is that why you had all those navigation books?"
Marcus shook his head slightly as he stared out to sea before he said, "One of my dreams is to travel the world and visit every place there is. Whether it's an island on the sea, the sky or under the water, I wanna see them all."
"An island in the sky or under the sea? How is that even possible?" Nami asked in a confused tone.
Marcus shrugged as he said, "I have no clue, but I know they exist and I want to visit all of them."
Marcus turned his gaze to Nami as he said, "Come to my ship before dawn tomorrow if you wanna get stronger. I'll gladly help you do it, but remember… Anything worth doing is never easy."
As Marcus walked away, Nami stared at his back before he disappeared from view. Afterwards she turned to look out towards the sea and slowly a small spark formed in her eyes. With new determination she packed up her stuff and quickly headed home to talk with her mom. Marcus, unaware that his talk might have worked, hummed to himself as he headed back to the ship to hang out for a bit before dinner.
Early the next morning as everyone gathered on the deck to start their pre breakfast workout, Marcus found Bellemere waiting on the dock with Nami and Nojiko in tow. Marcus headed down the gangplank as he asked, "I didn't think you would accept my offer."
Bellemere studied Marcus for a few moments before she said, "Nami said you wanted to help her get stronger, but she didn't say why or what it would cost."
"Why? Because I don't want her to be a burden to anyone she goes out to sea with when she finally chases her dream…" Marcus said as his gaze focused on Nami and he added, "As for the cost… It will be paid with her time, her sweat, her blood and her own effort."
Nami's eyes blazed with an inner fire as she locked eyes with Marcus and nodded her head slightly. Bellemere noticed the exchange and after a moment he asked Nami, "Are you sure sweetie? You know you don't have to do this, right?"
Nami nodded her head again as she said, "I know, but if I want to explore the world, I'll need strength to be able to do it."
Bellemere pulled Nami into a hug as she said, "If that's what you want, then I'll support you all the way."
After Bellemere released Nami, Nojiko stepped forward as she hesitantly asked, "Can I join too?"
"You wanna train with them too?" Bellemere asked as everyone turned towards Nojiko who shrugged slightly as she replied, "Me and Nami normally play together, if she isn't around it will be boring…"
"Alright, one or two people it doesn't matter to me, I'll train you both." Marcus said before he turned to Bellemere and added, "Don't worry about feeding them from now on. Since they are training with us, they will join us for meals… You can join us too if you want, we always have extra food."
Bellemere glanced at her daughters for a few moments before she asked, "What time do you eat at?"
"About an hour after sunrise for breakfast, lunch is around one o'clock in the afternoon and dinner is typically just after sunset."
Bellemere nodded before Marcus waved Nami and Nojiko up the gangplank as he said, "Follow me and I'll get you some training gear."
Bellemere watched the girls disappear onto the boat before she headed off to start work for the day. About ten minutes later Nami and Nojiko were on the deck with everyone else. Marcus gave both of them a training harness, but they weren't activated just yet. Once everyone was on the deck and ready Marcus said, "Alright, activate the harness and let's get started with the warm up."
Nami and Nojiko watched as everyone pressed a button on the harness and quickly followed along. A moment later the harness expanded to cover their bodies and both of them struggled under their increased weight. Nami and Nojiko both looked on with wide eyes as the others started to leave the ship and prepared to start running. Marcus, who was watching them, smiled slightly before he walked over and asked, "Ready to start training?"
Nami, who could barely lift her legs, asked, "What the hell is this thing?"
"It's some kinda training harness my grandpa gave us a long time ago, it helps make you stronger."
"I can't even move properly in this." Nami said with a frown as Nojiko nodded in agreement.
"That's fine, you'll get used to it. Now stop wasting time, let's see how far you can go before you collapse."
"Collapse?!?" Nami and Nojiko asked at the same time with a hint of trepidation.
Marcus nodded as he said, "That's how you'll be training till you can keep up with everyone else… It should only take a week or two."
Before either sister could talk or complain more, Marcus pushed them forward as he said, "Enough chit chat, one, two. One, two, get those feet moving ladies!"
Nojiko shared a reluctant look with her sister before the girls started to walk slowly towards the gangplank of the ship. As everyone else took off for a daily run, Marcus stayed behind with Nami and Nojiko and pushed them to keep moving. As for his personal training, Marcus activated the fourth stage of the harness today. Technically he was still working on the third stage with his brothers, but he was so close to the fourth he decided to push through the limit. It turned out to be a good idea since just walking around was making him work up a sweat.
Over the next hour, Marcus pushed the girls to the point that they both passed out. Once that happened, he deactivated their harnesses and his before he carried them back to the ship. He placed them in the galley and when breakfast was being served a while later, they both woke up sore and hungry. As everyone ate, Bellemere showed up to check on her daughters and eat breakfast with them. Marcus, who was seated at the other end of the table, didn't overhear their conversation. But it wasn't hard to tell she was angry with the few glares Bellemere sent his way.
Marcus for his part didn't care and even waved back when they locked eyes across the table one time. After breakfast finished, everyone took off to train more as Marcus waited for his new recruits and their mom. Bellemere approached him before she placed her hands on her hips as she said in an accusatory tone, "You made them train till they passed out."
"That's how I was trained… At least I let them rest and didn't hit them, to wake them back up before I forced them to keep going." Marcus said with a careless shrug.
Bellemere asked with narrowed eyes, "What kinda monster would treat kids like that?"
Marcus couldn't help himself as he let out a deep belly laugh that almost made him fall over. When he finally recovered, he wiped a tear from the corner of his eye as he said, "The monster you're asking about is none other than my grandpa who you met. Marine Hero, Vice Admiral Garp."
Bellemere along with Nami and Nojiko stared at Marcus with open mouths and widened eyes as he smiled before he said, "It may seem "monstrous" to you, but it's the same type of training that made my grandpa who he is today."
Marcus stared at all three of them with fire in his eyes before he focused on Nami and said, "I told you yesterday, anything worth doing is never easy…"