Things were looking up for Gerard Sinnet. It hadn't been long since he had taken control of Minion Island, and already things were on the up. He had formed an alliance with the Shichibukai Nico Moretti, not only granting himself some more prestige, but also granting the island more protection in a time of crisis. A shichibukai as a protector. That was something Gerard knew he could rely on.

Not only that, but reconstruction of the island was going along smoothly. Gerard was slowly moving the houses from being wooden buildings to sturdy stone ones, with granting additional strength and warmth to the people. To top it all off, the ghost town in the center of the island was starting to get some life back into it. After almost being destroyed during the fighting, the buildings were being restored, and the Dandyman planned to have people live in this place this time. He had said he would make Minion the best island in the Blues, and he intended to honour that promise.

But for now, the Dandyman had other ideas in mind. That last fight against the Marine commodor had taught him that even with his logia intangibility, he could still be harmed. And not just by fire. If that was the case, Gerard had to step up his game if he was to keep up with the rest of the world, and hold his position as leader of this island. And so, the gas man had found a nice, secluded area in the snowy woods of the island in order to train himself.

The first part of Gerard's training was working on his speed. Though Gerard himself was pretty fast on his feet normally, that long legged man had managed to keep up with him with frightening ease. As such, Gerard was determined to work on his maneuverability. Able to keep himself moving and attacking at the same time. And so, the Dandyman was currently shooting through the trees, unleashing blast after blast of his gas to keep up his speed. He was making use of his intangibility as well, any movement he mistimed he was able to go intangible to avoid any real damage, allowing to keep himself moving. At the same time, he was firing off shots with his cane gun, picking out random targets on the fly and trying to snipe them at top speed, hoping to improve his accuracy. A fast moving target was one thing, but a fast moving target that could shoot you dead as it dodges you was even worse.

After a few moments of high speed target practice, Gerard slid to a halt, snow flying as he slid along the ground. He panted heavily to try and catch his breath. Going took a lot out of a man, even a guy like himself. He pulled off his hat and fanned himself with it, despite the fact that he was standing in a snowy forest. He took the time to take notice of the targets he had fired at. The shots had been off. He failed to land a single bullseye. Gerard let out a grumble of frustration. If he couldn't hit anything, he was just wasting bullets. With a small sigh, the dandyman walked over to a small bag he had set up, filled with some spare ammunition.

And then he heard it. A small sound in the air. A chuckle? "It seems you're having some trouble, Gerard Sinnet." Gerard spun around, trying to find the source of the sound. His eyes turned upward, to see a figure standing in a tree. An incredibly tall woman in a long black dress, with a tall black fur hat and long blonde hair. A silver case was held in her hand as she looked down at him. He eyed the woman above him with some caution. "And you are?" The woman gave a smile and lept down from her perch. It was then that Gerard could see that her incredible height was due to her long legs. A long leg, just like the marine he had battled for control of the island. Gerard wasn't a prejudiced man, but that fact caused him to keep on his guard.

As she landed, the woman gave him a polite curtsy. "My name is Alisa Schultz. I've been watching you for some time, since your challenge."[b] Gerard raised an eyebrow at the mystery woman. "You know, most people would call that stalking." He had only meant it as a joke, but the shocked look on her face told him she took it seriously. [b]"O-Oh! I meant nothing of the sort of course!" she blushed, somewhat embarrassed. Gerard almost wanted comfort the poor girl. "Just, when you said you would make things better, I wanted to see if you actually meant it. And, well, you did."

Gerard couldn't help but smirk. So, this girl was one of his fans? Gerard was getting some respect for his work around Minion Island, and it was always good to hear some praise about it. "Well, glad to hear your approval. But I have to ask. Why are you here?" Alisa seemed to get over her embarrassment, regaining her composure. "Well, I wish to offer my services to you. I want to help you make this island flourish, and in any other endevours you might have planned." Gerard tilted his head, looking at the woman curiously. "Interesting. So tell me, what sort of skills can you provide?" A small smile spread across Alisa's thin face. "Well, I am an expert navigator, so if you ever need to get around, I can be an excellent guide." She tapped the case she was holding, "I'm also a skilled sharpshooter."

Now this sounded promising. A navigator was something Gerard needed if he was to get out of the blues and spread his fame. Though the sharpshooting caught his interest. "A sharpshooter you say? Interesting. Why don't you show me what you've got?" Alisa smiled. "I have a better idea." Suddenly, she lept back up into the tree, holding her silver case and pointing it towards Gerard. "Why don't I help you with your training?" It was then that he saw something flick open on her case, revealing that it was more than just a piece of luggage.

With a burst of gas, Gerard was already moving as the first bolt drove itself into the ground. Gerard was shooting himself through the trees at high speed, trying to keep Alisa in sight, and dodge her shots. Unlike his attempts at sniping, Alisa seemed a lot more skilled at it, her shots narrowly missing the gas man as he moved from the trees. Dammit, just how was this girl able to keep track of him? Even with all the cover she never seemed to miss a beat. He tried to bring his weapon up to fire back, but she was leaping from tree to tree, making his shots veer wide (not to mention Gerard was trying to avoid hitting her.

I can't let her keep this up. I need to bring her down here!

Keeping up his high speed dodging, he tried to keep his eye on the long legged woman as she leaped from tree to tree to get a better vantage point. As she landed in one of the nearby trees, Gerard suddenly let loose a burst of gas, the poisonous cloud keeping around the base of the tree, unable to reach up to where she was. But that was Gerard's plan. "Time for some logging!" he muttered to himself as he brought up his cane, a burst of flame reaching out to the gas cloud.

The cloud erupted, the tree groaning as the wood splintered and was torn apart. The tree slowly began to fall, crashing into the others next to it in a flurry of smoke and snow. Gerard slid to a halt, watching the tree crash down. He doubted Alisa would have seen the maneuver coming, and probably would have fallen off when the tree fell. He remained behind one of the other trees, trying to watch out for any sign of Alisa.

And then a bolt shot straight down from above, shooting through his gaseous body.

Gerard let out a yelp of surprise as he jumped back in surprise, watching as Alisa lept down from above, landing gracefully on the snow in front of him. Gerard acted on reflex, bringing his cane up to aim at her, but the tall blonde didn't even flinch. "You forgot to reload," she said cooly, giving a small giggle as she jiggled her case, "As am I actually.". With that little revelation, Gerard slowly lowered his cane. Damn, that girl had a sharp eye. "You're pretty good with that weapon of yours. Able to keep track of me like that."

Alisa gave a small chuckle. "Well, it's rather easy for my actually. Though, if you want to know a secret," she leaned in with a mischievous smile. "Having Mantra helps." Gerard blinked in surprise. "Wait, Mantra?" he had heard of that before. It was what allowed that marine to be able to harm him during their battle. "You have mantra too? How? But wait, your attacks didn't hit me." Alisa shook her head, her smile never fading. "My Mantra's a little different. Instead of being able to hit you, I'm able to track your movements. Even when you were hidden, I could see where you were."

Well, this was an interesting development. Apparently Mantra was capable of more than one thing. And now this woman, who was offering to work for him, had it also. He was curious of this ability ever since his fight with Napoleon, and Alisa might be of help in him learning more about it. Plus her shooting was spot on. Gerard gave a playful shrug. "Navigator, sharpshooter, and mantra. Well, I don't need any more convincing, consider yourself hired!" Alisa gave a small chuckle, playing along with his little show. "Quite an honour Mr. Sinnet."