In a valley caked by cracked mountain tops that spiked skyward, as well as a light screen of gray cloud coverage creating a horizontal layer of stratus beneath the sun, the Cipher Pol warrior could be found. Stationary in the nook of an opened passage way cavern’d at the outskirts of Yotsuba, the Marine controlled island, Raja's daily training regime was more so odder than anything else. Standing at the pinnacle of a rock formation with legs rooted and knees significantly bent, the newly enlisted marine holstered a great weight on his shoulders. Palms outstretched and leveled near his head, this dreadlocked warrior balanced a rather large boulder that looked to be at least two to three times his own size. A serene swipe of wind breezed by this squatted devil fruit eater, who, despite this burden, remained as quiet and peaceful as a Buddhist statue amidst the strain of the hefty stone.

But as tranquil as he looked, his mind was ablaze in thought.

Between the rebuilding of the Cipher Pol after the former leader took off to who know's where, the coming of age thought process resurrected his jovial demeanor as he trained alone side the newest Ensigns and grunts of the Marine force, though he could relax more experience than half the fighters two ranks above him, Raja could never find the time to fully care about any of this. Though such was the life of a man who was brought into the folds of the Cipher Pol agency, an agency that few beyond the higher ups knew of, this time-fought martial artist found his thoughts wandering to the distant memories of his life. Such as his old fighting instructor as a mere soldier in the Alabastian Royal Army—

Reiha Crestor.

—A woman of unfathomable prestige who guided him through most of his early Rokushiki training. They habitually did training like this together. He hadn’t heard from her in years; maybe that’d have to change, soon. That’s what this training was for, a rather primitive method of strength and endurance exercise often utilized in the Alabastian rhetoric. These static postures punctuated the notion of one aligning distinct isometric pressure in order to maintain a proper stance when embracing incoming attacks. Such as the furinkazan tattoo on his back dictated, have a defense as undefeatable as a mountain.

The boulder? The boulder was akin to monks meditating under a waterfall. The focus wasn’t the tool of the trade, but moreso the focus of one’s mind during such methods. Though scattered thoughts fazed into a single streamline of conscious, there was something that’d been nagging Raga since he woke up in the morning. There was something he’d been assigned to do, someone he was assigned to meet today, but he couldn’t remember who and where for the life of him – or even if said meeting was today. So like a foot soldier shrugging off some responsibilities, Raja chalked it up to not being an emergency due to his incapability to commit it to memory.

And that’s why he decided to relax, boulder perched on head beneath the Yotsuba sky, with several other training marines awestruck at the man's strength.

Was I supposed to assigned to a ship today, I wonder?

He stressed his muscles and tendons to what seemed like their breaking point, purposed to send the boulder and all its weight into the air, but at the last second couldn't seem to manage the feat. Damn it all. He reached deep down inside him to place that he always knew was there and was intimately aware of how to traverse. Instantly, his body began to bulge and swell, tinting his skin a slimy green and beige spotted sight. His height rose and his mass expanded until suddenly the boulder hoisted over him seemed child's play compared to before.

With a push of his chest, triceps and biceps, the rock went hurtling into the air, and soon his whole body had lept after it. Eye level with the boulder, his body turned in a spin until a large tail was seconds from impacted the massive stone. The tail began to secrete an amber like substance until it was encased in a hardened brown glass like fixture. The tail crushed into the stone and it split into two, falling back to the earth.

Giga Crusher...

As he feet touched the ground again, the light smack followed the booming crashes of the two pieces he'd just separated from one, he finally remembered. He was to be assigned to a Navy ship today and set sail for the North Blue.


Shit! Shit! Shit!