Mantra. That strange and wonderful technique that Gerard had seen twice since he had come to Minion Island. The first was in the hands of the marine, Napoleon Leopold, allowing him to strike his intangible form. The second had been Alisa, his long legged associate, who had used it to pinpoint his location in a dense forest, despite cover. Gerard had once thought that perhaps this was a trait to the long leg tribe, but Alisa had told him there were reports of other races using such an ability as well.

And Gerard wanted to learn it. He knew that his devil fruit was formidable, but focusing on it was a dangerous thing to do. Now this Mantra stuff was something interesting. Unfortunately he hadn't gotten much information out of Alisa in how to use it. She didn't really know how to unlock the power herself. She just did one day. So now, Gerard was doing everything he could to find more information on Mantra. He had been scouring the island in search of any books on the subject, and it was starting to spread about what he was looking for.

At the moment, Gerard was sitting in his office, looking through one such books. He gave an annoyed grunt and tossed it aside. There was nothing of use in it. Just a myth about people with super senses, and people who were tougher than iron. Nothing about what exactly Mantra was, or how to unlock it. As far as he was concerned, it was completely useless!

He gave an annoyed huff and took a sip of the coffee he had beside him. Maybe he should start searching other places. The other blues perhaps? Or even head out in Paradise.

So this is Minion Island. Joey had only heard a few small things about this island since he spent most of his childhood in the North Blue, but has never once visited this island until now. He had come to learn that one of his new allies, Gerard owns this island, something that Joey was extremely impressed about! Ever since they first met back on Swallow Island, the country boy grew more curious about him as well as their other allies. After that fiasco on said island, Joey soon found himself at Minion Island to see just what kind of place it was, and what sort of ruler Gerard is as well as wanting to learn more about that fancy devil fruit power of his.

Joey was expecting all sorts of crazy things once landing on this island, but what he certainly wasn't expecting that should've been the most obvious of all is....

"WHY IS IT SO GOSH DARN COLD!?" he yelled out in the middle of the town in his country like accent, his arms up in the air before quickly wrapping them back around his upper body while he shivered. He was in a snowy climate after all...

Residents there looked at the teen confusingly before some of them went back to what they were doing. It was obvious that Joey wasn't from around here which caused some of the people to chuckle until one person finally pointed the boy in the direction of a shop that sold coats, and such. Joey rushed in, and bought himself some stuff. Joey came back out now wearing a coat with a dark blue, and white lined pattern, dark blue mittens, some dark blue pants, and boots with his straw hat still hanging behind the back of his head. Sighing of relief, Joey took a look around as he started to wonder.

"Now where is that there Gerard fella?"

Sorry guys i realized this has been ignored. Staff are currently stretched a little thin. If this helps in any way, for you two currently in the thread if you want you may npc your own haki master [in this thread only] and have the thread then approved. Half your sp will be refunded as well to accomodate you npcing your own thread.

Joey wouldn't be the only newcomer to Minion Island, though this one would be much better prepared then the young man. An older looking gentleman, about in his fifties, had arrived on the island a day or so ago. Joachim Almanak was a bit of a traveler of sorts, and had come to the island after hearing about someone taking over the place. He had come to Minion once before, and was pleased to see the place had improved since the last time. Was this because of their new leader? The older man had asked around and had gotten confirmation of that. Not only that, but this man didn't seem to have ties with the World Government, meaning he was doing this entirely on his own. Joachim respected people like that.

He had also heard of another interesting little fact. Recently Gerard had been looking into the power known as "Mantra". A bit of a coincidence, since he himself knew a fair bit about the subject. He was actually looking to speak with the man when his attention was drawn to the young man who had forgotten to get himself a coat. He couldn't help but chuckle at the little comedy show that was being put on by the boy. It was after he had gotten himself a coat that he heard the boy mention about trying to find Gerard. So he was looking for the leader as well?

With a smile, Joachim approached the boy. "Looking for the boss around here as well are you?" he asked. The man carried himself with an air almost like a father figure. "I'm looking for him as well. Come, I hear the office he's staying at isn't far from here." He had learned of Gerard's location from one of the people around here, and he would lead the young man to a large building. Stepping inside, they would fine a tall, thin blonde woman sitting behind a desk, looking at the two curiously.

"Good morning," Alisa spoke up politely, "How may I help you?"

Joey stuffed his hands into his coat pocket as he walked around, taking in the sight of this wonderful island. Every now and then, his breathe could be seen visibly escaping his mouth which indicated how cold this place was. Now that he was actually focused, and not running around like a fool, Joey came to notice how all of the people here didn't seem all that bothered about the cold. Mainly growing up at a warm farm where he'd use to do a lot of manual work, Joey has rarely dealt with such cold temperatures save for maybe pouring ice cold water all over himself, or something like that. Still, he was happy to be out here seeing new places.

"Looking for the boss around here as well are you?"

A man would come up to Joey asking him this. Joey turned around to look up at this man curiously before letting out a cheerful, "Yup" as he brought a finger up to rub under his now slightly red nose. Jojo didn't think much of this guy, and assumed he was just an islander here who was looking to help the young blond. He then claimed that he was looking for Gerard as well before offering to take the teen to him. "Oh well that's awfully nice of ya, Mister. I was as lost as a seaking in a desert out here...." the country boy spoke as he looked around before nodding to go with this guy.

As they made their way towards this office the man spoke of, Joey would continue to look up at this man with curiosity written on his face. After a few minutes, he would finally speak. "Are you....Gerard's pops by any chance?" Joey asked randomly. In Joey's eyes this guy looked like he could be someone's father, and was looking for Gerard.....It was a long stretch, but Jojo is the type to ask such random things at times.

The moment they finally entered the office, Joey wouldn't first notice the woman behind the desk, or anyone else. Instead, he noticed how warm it felt inside compared to out there which would lead to a "WARMTH!" followed by him throwing off his coat, and other things he bought from that store before stretching. Fortunately he still had on his usual attire underneath. "I don't understand how anyone can move in one of those big ol coats...."

Joachim blinked at Joey's question, whether he was Gerard's father or not. The older man gave a small laugh. "Oh, no. I've never even met the man personally. I'm just curious to meet the man who is working to improve this island. Also, I hear he's curious about a little something I could possibly help him with."

When they arrived at the office, the older man would chuckle at Joey's reaction to being inside, throwing off his coat while Alisa would watch with a little confusion. The older man would approach the desk, getting the woman's attention. "We're here to see Gerard, if he's not too busy of course." Alisa nodded, and rose to her feet, revealing herself to be a long legged. She was about to approach the door when it opened, revealing Gerard. "Ok, what's this shouting I'm hearing?" Gerard spoke up, a little annoyed before his eyes fell on Joey. Then a small smirk appeared on his face. "Well, didn't expect to see you here kiddo. What brings you here?"

Joachim glanced at the young man. So they knew eachother huh? He might be interested in what the older man had to say. He approached Gerard, holding out his hand. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Joachim Almanak. And I do believe you're looking for information regarding 'Mantra'." Gerard had reached out to take her hand, and paused the instance those words came out of his mouth. "You know of Mantra? Tell me, what do you know?"

So it appeared that this guy isn't Gerard's father. Not that it bothered Joey in anyway as he was just being the curious, and semi nosy person he is. So if this guy wasn't his dad, then what business did he have with Gerard? Perhaps he's his uncle, or something? Again another stretch, but this time Joey didn't go for anymore questions. Maybe he just came to praise the ruler of this island. Now Joey was wondering if Gerard had his people praise him everyday, or maybe every hour? Maybe this man was an assassin out to get Gerard! That would've been fun, Joey thought to himself. Going toe to toe against assassins.

The blond continued to bask in the glory that is the heat as if it were some sort of deity, not even realizing all of the weird looks coming his way. As the strange man talked to the woman at the desk, Joey finally settled down, and began to wander around the office, messing with all sorts of things. "This place here is real fanc-" he paused after noticing the woman standing up from the corner of his eye. He'd turn his full attention to her once he noticed how long her legs were! With a surprised expression, Joey ran over to the desk. "I've never seen legs so long before! How fast can ya run? How high can ya jump?! I betcha there's no shelf ya can't reach!" he continued to geek out, showing how ignorant he was to the long leg race.

Gerard finally came out, and acknowledged Joey, leading to the blond to turn his head towards him while now pointing at the woman's legs. "Your desk lady has some pretty long legs, Gerard." Joey grinned. As the other guy introduced himself as Joachim to Gerard, Joey backed up a bit from the desk, and looked over to them as they started to talk about something called "Mantra." "M-antraa?" Joey tilted his head a it before making his way over.

"Aren't they one of them fish things ya find in the ocean?" he asked, referring to a manta ray.

Alisa chuckled in amusement at Joey's excitement over her legs. "Well," she replied, "I would say pretty fast, pretty high, and I haven't seen any shelf yet too high or me."

At the young cook's question about Mantra, Gerard shook his head. "First off, that's Manta Rays. And no, that's not it. Mantra is this strange ability that allows people to hit logia types like myself, see where people are when they're hiding, all sorts of stuff." He gestured to Alisa. "Alisa here can do the latter, but she can't tell me anything about it. She said she just developed it on her own."

Joachim glanced at the tall woman. "Natural Observation haki huh? That's quite a talent." All eyes turned to the older man. "Observation haki?" Gerard asked. Joachim nodded. "The ability you call Mantra, is more commonly known on the Grand Line Haki. Haki is a sort of manifestation of one's spirit, projecting it out to aid you." He gestured to Alisa, "Observation Haki, as your friend possesses, heightens ones senses to an almost superhuman degree." He raised an arm , and everyone could see the and slowly turn black and shiny. "The ability to hit Logia users you mentioned is part or Armament Haki. The ability to coat your body in a sort of spiritual armour, capable of hitting a logia's true body."

Gerard watched the man with interest. "And how does one gain access to Haki?" Joachim gave a small smirk. "Well, you can develop it naturally like your friend has, or you can find someone to teach you. Someone like me."

Joey couldn't help but but to grin wide at Alisa's answers. To him, it felt like that his woman could do anything just because she has real long legs!

"Oh." The young cook tilted his head some as Gerard explained how the blond was wrong about the whole "Mantra" thing. "An ability to hit logias? Ya mean like you?" Joey asked, pointing at Gerard. "Also X-Ray vision!?" he'd continue with some excitement in his voice. This mantra stuff was beginning to look interesting to the country boy. His attention went back to Alisa after Gerard pointed out that she has the latter. Can reach any shelf, AND has x-ray vision!? Joey wondered in his mind how on earth Gerard found himself such an awesome "desk lady"

Joachim then chimed in, with all eyes back on him as he discussed the true name, and nature of these weird abilities. "Well, I'll be..." Joey said in amazement as Joachim turned one of his arms into a shining black. The moment Gerard asked how one can get such abilities, Joey began to nod repeatedly in agreement, showing how interested he is now with this whole thing. "So, yer gonna teach us!?" Joey exclaimed, despite this conversation Joachim was having mainly being aimed at Gerard from the looks of it. Joey was obviously hooked. Who wouldn't want to have cool new abilities? It could even help him with being a much more powerful asset for Outer Heaven. Can't be disappointing his "Captain" or allies.

This Haki stuff sounds amazing! Is there anything else it could do?"

Joachim chuckled at the young man's enthusiasm. It seemed he wished to learn about Haki as well. "There are a number of things Haki can accomplish, but let's not get too ahead of ourselves. First, let's find a better place to get started. Somewhere a bit more open."

Shortly, the four of them would find themselves outside, in a more open area behind the office building where Gerard had set up shop. Alisa was standing off to the side,curious to watch the lesson as Joachim stood before the pair of them.

"Ok then," Joachim spoke up, "Let's start off with possibly the most simply of Haki. Kenbunshoku, or Observation Haki. This is the sort of Haki our long legged friend here uses. Consider it an empowerment of your natural senses. Your sight, your hearing, your smell, this form of Haki heightens them all. It can even allow you to see a person's aura, even if they're behind cover, as well as sense incoming danger." The older gentleman closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I want the two of you to close your eyes, and focus your thoughts on everyone around you. Know where they are. Try to feel where they are. Feel the window around you, the snow on your feet. Try to picture everyone around you, without using your eyes."

Gerard nodded and closed his eyes. He knew where everyone was already, so he could easily mentally picture them there. But that wasn't the aim of this exercise was it? He began concentrating on everything around him, listening for any sign of movement, feeling the wind against him. He was determined to get a hang of this.

Jojo's eyes were filled with glee at Joachim's answer! Despite not outright explaining every single thing Haki could do, Joey was still excited to learn that it could apparently do so much. "Well this is going to be something else!" Joey exclaimed excitingly before going to follow the other three out back to get this haki thing on the roll, the country boy dancing a wee bit in excitement while he walked.

Being as full of energy as he is, Joey slightly jumped in place with his hands balled up while Joachim began his explanation. First, this guy went on about Observation Haki as Joey continued to bounce a bit. Everything he said about this type of haki was of course cool to the blond, but what really caught his attention, causing him to grin wide was the talk about seeing one's aura through solid objects, and stuff. "Soooo it is like that X-Ray vision stuff!" he said. Finally, Joey managed to stop himself from bouncing as Joachim asked for him, and Gerard to close their eyes, and focus. This is really about to happen. He's about to learn this Mantra, Haki, or whatever they called it! Jojo appears to be excited as if he were waiting years for this despite only learning about it today.

As Gerard closed his eyes, Joey looked over to him for a second before quickly going, "Oh! Right." followed by him closing his eyes. It was time for him to focus....only problem is that Joey has problems focusing at times especially when he's so excited. "Ermmmm..." After a few seconds He squinted his closed eyes, and began to jump in place slightly again. "Hey, is this workin? I dunno if it's workin. How am I suppose to know if this is workin if I already know where you guys are!?" he claimed while keeping his eyes closed. He was still determined to get this haki stuff down however!

Joachim looked over his two students, seeing them getting into it. Well, Gerard did anyway. Meanwhile Joey seemed a bit eager to get on with it, questioning the exercise. He had a suspicion that he would have trouble unlocking Observation Haki, but that was something he could deal with when it came to it. "Oh trust me. There's more to this exercise than just memorizing your surroundings." the older man said with a smile on his face.

And then he began running towards them.

Gerard frowned, but kept his eyes closed. He had a suspicion of what was going to happen. Joachim was going to strike out at one of them. But which one? Judging by the sounds of his footsteps, he was running dead center between the two. It was hard to tell who he was aiming for. In h mind, he pictured Joachim running towards them, closing in on them. Gerard braced himself, but kept his eyes shut.

Then he saw it. As soon as Joachim was between them, he twisted his body and thrust a palm out towards Gerard's head. The gas man reflexively dodged, bringing his arms up to catch the imagined strike. And was surprised to feel his hands come into contact with something. He dared to open his eyes to see Joachim's outstretched arm, gripped by his hands, just to the side of his head. He had seen it! He had seen the attack coming, without looking!

Joachim smirked. "Not bad. Seems you're getting the hang of it." Suddenly he lashed out behind him, bringing a leg up to strike a kick at Joey, curious to see if he would have the same reaction.

More to this than just memorizing your surroundings? That statement went through Joey's mind, but still he had no clue what the man was talking about at first. Currently, many things were rolling around in Jojo's mind, being too eager to learn this haki stuff being front, and center in his mind. It is ironic that his excitement for wanting to learn haki is also the playing a role in hindering his ability to actually do so. "Okay. Focus...focus...focus..." he'd mumble to himself while his jumping actually slowed down, finally stopping.

Just as he began to calm himself, and attempt to empty his mind, he started to hear footsteps as if somebody were running towards his direction although not completely sure if it was exactly at him. Last Joey remembered, Joachim was in front of him, and Gerard. Was this part of the test? The running would stop, and Joey would hear Joachim speak up once more. Sounds like he must have been complimenting Gerard. The country boy really wanted to open up his eyes, and see what was happening! Did Gerard pull of some cool haki stuff!? The curiosity was eating away at him. Eating away so much that it caused Joey to lose focus once more leading him to getting kicked square in the side, making him gasp a bit before opening his eyes, getting pushed a bit to the side due to the kick.

"Woah there, what was that fo-" he'd look to Joachim confusingly before pausing only to realize..."Oh that was part of the...test wasn't it?" The blond folded his arms behind the back of his head, tilting his head left and right a bit as he pondered. "This haki manta stuff is pretty hard..." he claimed before lowering his arms. "But that don't mean I'm givin up anytime soon." Jojo said with a confident grin before closing his eyes, this time wanting to make sure he won't get distracted.

Joachim was a little disappointed when his kick connected, though he should have expected something like that. Joey seemed to have been distracted by his  own excitement. He was still too inexperienced to be able to use Haki without having to concentrate."As I said, Observation Haki allows one to sense danger incoming and take action to avoid it. Once you've gotten the hang of that, then you're well on your way to unlocking the rest of Haki. Now, let's continue shall we?"

And so the exercise continued, both students with their eyes closed. Now and then Joachim would move around the area, launching attacks at his students. Gerard seemed to pick up on it somewhat, but it was clear that his use of it wasn't perfect. A number of the blows Joachim swung connected, Gerard's gaseous body allowing him to absorb the damage. Perhaps if Joachim used some Armament Haki,  Gerard's haki might kick in more reliably. But right now, the teacher was focused on getting some sense of the ability awakened in Joey.