BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Over the next few hours, Rayleigh hunted down ten more Sea Kings—each over a hundred meters long—and handed them all off to Genkei for storage.
Only then did he call it a day.
To catch that many, they'd had to sail to multiple different areas.
As a bonus, Rayleigh snagged one extra Sea King for everyone's meals over the coming days. The Kuja warriors promptly butchered it and stashed the meat in the ship's cold storage.
"All done! Let's head back!"
"Aye, sir!"
"Thanks, Uncle Rayleigh! That was incredible of you!"
"Haha! No big deal—I needed the exercise anyway. Just don't forget that fine liquor you promised me!"
"Don't worry. As soon as we're back, I'll get it for you!"
"Then it's a deal!"
…
On the return trip, Genkei took a quick break in one of the ship's cabins and teleported home to the Uchiha estate in the ninja world.
He returned carrying over a dozen bottles of premium liquor from his family's wine cellar.
Back at Shakuyaku's tavern, he handed them over with a grin.
"Here you go, Uncle Rayleigh—my family's finest stock. I guarantee you've never had anything like it. Want to give it a try?"
Rayleigh raised an eyebrow in interest.
"Hm? Packaging's kind of like what I've seen from Wano. Alright, let's see what you've got."
He popped a bottle open and took a deep whiff.
"Whew! Now that's aroma!"
Without hesitation, he tilted the bottle and took several hearty gulps.
"Aaaaah! Good stuff! Damn good stuff!"
He raised the bottle in salute. "Genkei, you're a real lifesaver!"
"Hehe, glad you like it! I picked the strong stuff just for you."
Back in the ninja world, most of the alcohol was delicate rice wine. But Genkei figured Rayleigh would prefer something with more punch—so he'd chosen accordingly.
"Oh, right—your Haki notes and techniques. I finished them."
Rayleigh snapped his fingers and disappeared into the back room. A moment later, he returned with a thick stack of handwritten documents and passed them to Genkei.
"Thanks!"
Genkei received them gratefully and flipped them open.
With his extraordinary memory and comprehension, he scanned through the material in minutes—committing it all to heart.
But when he finished, his brows furrowed. He passed the notes to Chiri with a sigh.
"These are great, no doubt. But my body's still too weak to use most of this."
"Even Observation Haki will have to wait until I'm a bit stronger."
As for Armament Haki and the Six Powers… forget it. His body just couldn't handle that kind of training yet.
And Conqueror's Haki?
Rayleigh's notes mostly covered post-awakening control and development. There were only vague hints about how to actually awaken it—mostly stuff like strengthening willpower, confidence, and spirit.
Rayleigh believed it was innate. If you had it, you had it. If not, tough luck.
But Genkei didn't agree.
To him, Conqueror's Haki felt like a manifestation of will and spirit—an energy of the soul.
Elusive? Sure. But not unreachable.
Especially not with his Path of Diligence talent.
He was confident he'd eventually figure out the key to awakening it—and maybe even create a complete training method for it.
"Haha! Fair enough."
Rayleigh chuckled.
The others around them smiled knowingly, too.
"You really memorized all that already? You're not just bluffing?"
Rayleigh gave him a half-suspicious, half-impressed look.
"Of course!"
Genkei smiled matter-of-factly. "My memory and learning speed are top-tier!"
"Oh?" Rayleigh raised an eyebrow. "Then I'm looking forward to seeing what you become once you're fully healed."
"You'll see soon enough, Uncle!"
Genkei grinned, full of confidence.
"Haha! I'm counting on it!"
…
The next five days passed in a flash.
Genkei stayed at Shakuyaku's tavern most of the time, continuing his training in the Life-Nurturing Art and Uchiha meditation techniques.
His health improved visibly with each passing day.
Meanwhile, Chiri returned to the ninja world every day to manage clan affairs.
Fortunately, it wasn't wartime—so there wasn't too much to handle.
Fifteen days flew by.
Ten days ago, they'd said their farewells to Rayleigh and the others and set sail for Drum Island.
Now, at last, they had arrived.
At that time, Genkei's physical condition had drastically improved.
With the constant nourishment of Sea King's meat, his body was finally catching up to that of a normal child.
The scrawny, sickly Genkei was gone.
He'd even grown 10 centimetres taller—now standing at a respectable 1.1 meters, the minimum for his age group.
[Uchiha Genkei]
Talents: Space-Time Gate, Path of Diligence
Lifespan: 27 years, 5 months, 12 days
(Condition: Congenital Weakness. Life Essence: 6.13 / 10)
Chakra Nature: Water, Wind, Fire, Earth, Yin
Skills:
• Uchiha Chakra Extraction (1/100 – Novice)
• Traditional Medicine (3314 / 10,000 – Proficient)
• Life-Nurturing Art (1145 / 5000 – Adept)
• Uchiha Meditation (134 / 500 – Skilled)
Twenty-seven years. That is a huge improvement.
At the harbour on Drum Island—
"Will you need us to wait here for you?" asked team leader Naki.
"No need," Chiri replied with a gentle smile. "Just getting us here is more than enough."
"We'll be staying here a while for treatment."
"No sense in keeping your crew waiting. Once Genkei is better, we'll visit Kuja Island and catch up properly."
"Thank you for everything."
Naki nodded respectfully.
"Don't mention it. Your kindness is something we could never repay."
"You're welcome at Kuja Island anytime. We'll be going now. Take care!"
"Bye, Little Genkei! Big Sis Chiri! You better come visit me later!" Hancock's voice echoed from the ship's stern, waving with all her might.
Genkei and Chiri waved back, smiling warmly.
"Farewell!"
As the ship disappeared from sight, Genkei murmured to himself:
"She's up to 67 points of Affection… still not enough to bind, though."
Chiri caught the comment and raised a brow.
"Oh? How far off is she? You really like Hancock, don't you?"
"She's definitely going to be a stunning beauty. You've got my full support!"
"Mom…" Genkei deadpanned.
"…Let's just say it's something for the future."
"She's at 67 now. I'll need at least 80 for a binding."
"Next time, maybe."
"Come on, let's go track down Dr. Kureha first."
"Right."
They left the harbour and walked toward the nearby village.
After asking around, they finally confirmed the eccentric doctor's location.