atorea, the city of aroma's. Nanohana's cash coin perfumes are massed produced here. Gideon and his newly unwanted side-kick in the Super Spotted Bill Duck decided to seek out one of Gideon's teacher's, who according to the bird-coo mail was located on the outskirts of the city. His sensei, Lloyd had sent him mail all the way from the South Blue, after reading reports of Gideon's exploits on the island. Fully dressed in Tuareg attire, Gideon's body was shrouded by long flowing silk robes, his head firmly wrapped in the same fabric which covered his ears and spiky hair. "I should probably give you a name shouldn't I?" Gideon said, peering at the duck as he advanced through the town. Katorea was different from the other towns in Alabasta, it had more houses which were all connected to each other, to explain it in words, they were in-house factories. Natives turned their homes into factory warehouses with the attention to mass produce perfumes with hopes of striking goal in a struggling economy. As Gideon advanced through the city, he'd continue to ponder a name for the duck, which he ended up resolving on the name, 'Jun-Jun' in hopes of naming the duck after the Kanji for obedient, that'd he'd start to obey Gideon. "Jun-Jun! That's what'll call you." Gideon said grinning. The duck tilted his beak away as if he disliked the name but he was happy that Gideon actually took time out to name him. Not like Jun-Jun new what the wording, 'Jun' meant anyway. Exiting the city, Gideon travelled for about thirty or so meters, following a make shift map his mentor had created. "Jeez... He's really bad at scribing, fam. What in the world is map suppose to be... Is that a giant crab, there's no way-" Gideon's words became like mush in his mouth as the sight before him of the giant crab caused him to drop to his knees. The crab was the size of a large palace and on it's back lied a wooden shed, with the words, 'Stay Away'. However from this distance, Gideon couldn't see the words and he'd been tired from all the walking. "I guess this is the crab on the map, Jun-Jun." Gideon said, pulling out his water pouch, only to find it's contents were empty. "Shit." Gideon exclaimed. "I hope his house isn't anything like masters. If he doesn't have supplies I might be in trouble." Gideon said clutching at his throat from dehydration. Hopping back to his feet, Gideon dashed towards the crab, inhaling deeply before his humungous heckle. "OI! Vayne! I'm here cuz my master said I should pay respect, punk!" Gideon shouted. The slumbering crab awoke, it's huge eye balls peered down at the ant of a man that lied five meters are so adjacent from it's claws. Scared from being startled, the crab lifted it's right claw, which caused a ten foot hole to be form from the share weight the claw imprinted on the desert terrain. For it's size, the crab's next movement was quite abrupt, slamming it's claw towards Gideon with the intent to obsolete his attacker. The giant crab, unbeknownst to Gideon, had a history of being poached by Rare Animal Hunters. As such, aside from the nomad that lived on it's back, it trusted no human. Lunging backwards, Gideon centred Chi into his fists. Sticking out his tongue, the man lunged backwards, dodging the giant's claw's impact. As the claw struck the sand, it's weight sunk into the terrain, created a sink hole which suction Gideon inward. Latching onto the crab's claw, the monster lifted it's claw, noticing that Gideon was now clutched onto his claw's cracks. Jumping from the claw onto the crab's back, Gideon landed rocky, tumbling on the crabs surface, rolling as he landed. As the dingy blond rolled, his body made a loud thud on the shed housing the old nomad. Gideon had already had a mental image of his teacher's master cemented in his head. Would he be an old miser, with a long flowing white-beard and wrinkled squinting eyes? Or maybe, he'd kept his body well toned and muscular status intact over the years? From the cavern, a large tumbling could be observed from the inside, as the crab began to panic moving at ridiculous speeds to shake the man off. Suddenly, a wave shook the area, it felt like an earthquake or a shockwave but whatever it was, it quelled the monsters resistance to Gideon's presence. The door of the wooden shed open, slamming clutched against the shed's fixture, unable to close again unless freed from the shed's hold. Walking out of the shed, was neither of the stereotypes, matter of fact, Gideon didn't even get the gender right. A woman carrying Crimson shot eyes and long flowing blue hair, which mirrored that of a night sea's tint, cracked her neck as she came to inspect what all the noise was. The woman looked as if she was in her late twenty's, which was nearly impossible as his master, Lloyd was an legitimate old man. Digging into his pocket, Gideon tried to retrieve the map on his mentor's location, "Umm... I think I might have the wrong place, fam. Is this the residence of Vayne Bloodheart!?" Gideon exclaimed, blushing as the half naked woman, barely clothed from her top to bottom. The cloth wrapping around her lower body, blurred any exposed skin that would provoke further perverse thought. "EHEH! You're a noisy little shit! Shut the fuck up! It's too early for this!" the woman shouted clutching her head.

In all the years of being with his master, he'd never even heard him spoken a single piece of profanity. With Lloyd's master, i'd seem that Gideon had greatly underestimated her personality. The woman stood around seven feet tall, with long flowing hair which swung in the slight desert breeze that was blowing. "I'm assuming your Master Vayne's wife... Could you tell him that a student of Lloyd's is here to meet him, punk." Gideon stated rudely. Sticking her pinky in her ear, attempting to clean out wax, the woman snorted, ruining any majestic type preconception any man would have of her. "I am Vayne you idiot. That little shit Llyod's finally decided to pick up a disciple. I'm not sure if believe you or not. He's too much of a hermit." Vayne said rudely in correspondence. "Look. I'm starting to loose my patience you wench... It's impossible for you to be Vayne. Lloyd is like sixty-eight meaning there's no way you'd be able to remain so beautiful and not be an old bat if he met you when he was ten." Gideon said in frustration as he recollected his master's story on his own master's timeline. The woman began to laugh, flicking the wax her finger managed to build up into the wind and walking over towards Gideon. "Thank you for the complement but your a little pretentious brat. I'm around eighty, thank you very much. This youth you see before you is a product of my advance Chi teachings. I've managed to freeze my body's ageing process in the twenties." Vayne stated. "Impossible. Master said, 'Chi can only be wired through on point.' to accomplish what you're speaking about would mean that Chi would be literally be exuded through every pore of your body." Gideon stated. "Mhm." the woman responded simply. "It's little more complex than that but give that kid a prize." Vayne exclaimed, twirling around like a ballerina of sorts of her hind toes. "What Lloyd taught you was the 'safe' version of Chi. As you know, Chi is energy in the atmosphere... it's the life energy of the universe. Both physical and spiritual. No matter where you go or what you do, Chi will always exist. Beginning Chi student's are often taught that Chi can only be received through one point or antenna on the body. This is only a half truth. With a normal Chi Core as in the one you've been given at birth, that's the only thing that is possible. However, with a 'Reformed' Chi core, you'd be able to manifest many antennae as receptor's of Chi." Vayne explained. "Masters like Lloyd and myself, have shattered our Chi Cores we've been given from birth to achieve an almost demigod type state. Though, we can still very much die. I guess Lloyd's chosen the route to age. Meaning he's focused his accumulated Chi into other things." Vayne explained.

"Eh. Which means that old bat's been half-assing our training the whole time... I literally nearly died throughout those early stages" Gideon stated. Clenching his fists, Gideon returned to his feet, staring the woman directly in her eyes, though, the gauge was on a slant due to the woman's superior height. "Alright. Then I want to learn how to use Chi throughout my body like you can." Gideon resolved. Vayne searched the man's eyes for even any form of fear or hesitation however she was met by the severity of Gideon's will. "Why? With basic Chi, you'll be more than powerful enough to fend off average offenders. Breaking one's core is like ending your life as a human. What dream do you need to accomplish-" Vayne's speech was shattered by Gideon's declaration, "I- Where I'm going I need power to collect the supplies I need to build the world's fastest ship. I have a feeling my journey will lead me to the New World... and until that time... I need to get as strong as I can be doing what I can." Gideon shouted. Vayne smiled, "Fine. Breaking your Core will make your natural stamina reach ridiculous levels but it doesn't mean your body will be able to handle it." Vayne said, focusing Chi in her hands. "Roaring Waves - Walk of the Demi God" Vayne exclaimed, slamming her fists into various points across Gideon's body. Solar plexus, shoulder, thighs, chest and temple, each precision hit open Chi receptor's across Gideon's body.  Gideon's body felt heavy, like he'd been hit by a truck of sorts and his stomach feeling queasy as if he'd drunk something stronger than beer. Slapping a quick Chi infused kick to his face, Gideon fell off the giant crab, tumbling several feet into the sand. As Gideon hit the floor, he turned over to his knees and threw up. Among the mucus and the churned food, was blood. "Now it's your hardest race for your life yet kid... You have to run from here to the Capital. If you can travel these one thousand kilometers and the cringing pain within your body right now doesn't kill you... or the heat. Trust me, you'll be one step closer towards becoming a Chi master. I'll see you in the New World Brat!" Vayne exclaimed. Tapping on the giant sand crabs back, Vayne re-entered her shed as the crab sped off into the abyss that was the Alabasta desert. Gideon's body rocked as if he'd taken speed, dashing forward, meter by meter, the man began to a mad sprint towards the Capital. The excess Chi in his body made his five basic senses over-sensitive. Gideon's body began to literally scorch from the beating sun, boils began to form all over his body, to the point where the boils swelled, almost closing his eyes. The dehydration experienced made Gideon's neck burn, making him clutch at his throat. All while maintaining his pace, the Chi broke apart every fibre in Gideon's body, as Gideon maintaining his pace, his thoughts reminisced to Lloyd's words. "Chi isn't a superpower. It's not magic, it's spiritual. The more Chi you accumulate in your body, the more it distorts your spirit. A distorted spirit breaks your body's basic physical capabilities. Always remember that as you use Chi to fight." Gideon recalled. Falling to his knees, the  lamenting sun scorched the dingy blonde's skin bright red, the excruciating sun bathe broke Gideon's motion, unable to move, he'd finally realised that Jun-Jun was trailing behind him. The duck quacked loudly, trying to encourage his owner to move or respond to him in his usual manner but Gideon's will temporarily wouldn't be enough to power him through this situation as he was. Now a couple hundred meters away, Vayne stared into the direction of Gideon, tracking his movements with his Kenbunshoku Haki. "Poor Child. My Chi is rushing through his body, literally stretching his Chi points wide open. It's like placing a steak in someone's earlobe. It can be painless to some but others can experience some pain. However, in this analogy, this 'earlobe' is almost as sensitive as the nerves in the neck or that of the heart. The pain's enough to drive a normal man crazy. All he'll be able to do is run. Exhausting the excess Chi until his body learns to adapt, if not... He'll die in this desert." Vayne concluded, pouring herself a drink of water from her makeshift sink.

Spitting up blood, Gideon continued to run through the desert, his body literally burning out from the heat of the Chi. Though the heat of the desert remained stable, the man's battered body in boils and burns began to be restored to it's originally state. Gideon's body began to slowly circulate the Chi, not only to his fist but into his feet which were swollen as huge as inflated ballon's with water. The man's feet gradually deflated for every meter he travelled in his advance through the desert. Running in sand placed Gideon's body under immense stress but strengthened his muscles, especially with the access Chi that ushered through his spiritual Chi network, which is similar to that of the circulatory system. However, the Chi began to inflict the degrading effects on Gideon's vision. The swelling in his face decreased and Gideon's pace gradually began to increase as his body became accustom to running atop sand. Stretching his hands down and up, creating strides across the desert top, Gideon's vision cleared up once again after travelling another ten or so meters. Behind him, resting on the ground, exhausted from the various changes in velocity, was Jun-Jun who stuck out his tongue from exhaustion. Plopping onto the ground, Gideon stared over to the duck, which now appeared to be roasted and cooked with goggles on. Salivating, the duck saw the weird look in Gideon's eyes and began dashing off once again. These were all signs of Gideon's Chi Core beginning to reform slowly, it'd be impossible to instantly focus Chi into his other body parts but his brain was now resetting through it's basic primal instincts. After now travelling at least several kilometers, Gideon was now maintaining a slow chip. The silk clothing stopped his body from overheating too quickly, but it was now drenched in sweat which made his body uncomfortable and bogged down. The Capital was within view, Gideon had been travelling for over four days within the desert. It was only through the Chi and his body's durability that he was able to survive the excruciating conditions. With the city in site, Gideon now had to travel up hill, a series of pillar's of sand that shrouded the city before a flat clearing.

Climbing the sand, Chi coated hands, scaled the pillar, inch by inch, trying to reach it's peak. After sliding downwards and restarting a total of three times, Gideon slid down the sand hill, onto a flat terrain, which only lasted about eight meters before the next set of sand hills commenced. Five hours past, Gideon had finally cleared the pillars and now only a clear sprint remained for the city. However, the stabilizing Chi core began to regress slightly, cringing Gideon's body now, to the point where his body felt as though it had gotten about hundred pounds heavier. In the final moments of Gideon's struggle, the man collapsed outside the cities gates, frozen on the gigantic staircase that led into the main entrance of Alabasta. Grabbing Gideon's shirt in his beak, the duck dragged the passed out shipwright halfway up the twenty meter long staircase, copping out at eight meters due to exhaustion and Zion's weight. Regaining conscience, Gideon patted his duck on his head, climbing the last few steps to the top. His Chi core had reformed, however, at this stage, even Gideon had no clue the strain his body was just placed through increased his body's overall prowess as the Chi regulated through his body at a moderate rate. The various boils and swelling around his body has dried up, however, his body still drenched in sweat made his body feel sticky and uncomfortable. Losing the silk clothing, Gideon now stood outside the cities gates, in his black leather jacket, which he now removed from his carrying on pouch, his white plain undershirt and black shorts. His sandals completely destroyed from the rigorous journey. Reaching at the temple gates, he'd now made it to the meet up point for carriage ride which took citizen's to the port. It was there he'd meet up Baz and leave Alabasta.Resting on a series of broken walls, Gideon was now resting under the shade of the several ruins that decorated the outside of the Alabasta's main capital city. The rough sound of the horses galloping against the capital cities path, created a soothing mood for him to rest in comfort. He'd already know that as it approached, the sand carriage would be assembled, drawn not by horses but by the camel's that escorted along the sides of the travelling sand escort. It was a service that garnered the protection of the guard's of the capital, so Gideon would have to sneak aboard as if he was a simple miser on the side of the road. Keeping his face covered under the turban, Gideon courted himself to the travelling pack who had finally approached his point. "I'm a simple merchant whose forgotten his shipment at the docks, is it possible, may I hustle a ride with me and my duck?" Gideon asked. Due to his appearance and the frequency of Super Spotted Ducks being used for transportation in the desert, Gideon's request was approved and the wanted criminal was granted transportation.