Whatever Sai said to Chin Jao, it worked—Chin Jao eventually agreed. Badak was thrilled to finally have a non-Devil Fruit user on the crew.
From the moment he learned these two youths were Sai and Boo, Badak had intended to recruit them. After all, they would both master Armament Haki and Observation Haki in the future—their potential was immense, and their character was solid. Sai, in particular, had surpassed the elderly Chin Jao in strength and was a winner in life.
Initially, though, they had been adversaries, so Badak hadn't rushed things. Over the next week, he gradually grew closer to them, and the tension between them faded.Sai and Boo were initially defeated by Robin's surprise attack and felt quite resentful. They believed that if they had managed to escape, the outcome would have been different.
Later, Robin subdued them again right in front of their eyes. Unless one's strength far surpassed hers, it was very easy to fall victim to Robin's Flower-Flower Fruit abilities.
Daz Bones even demonstrated his invulnerability to blades and bullets, allowing Sai and Boo to attack him freely until the two gave up on their own.
This was also because neither of them had mastered Armament Haki, preventing them from unleashing the true power of the Eight Impact Fist. Otherwise, Daz Bones wouldn't have been able to ignore their attacks so effortlessly.
The two of them had already developed a strong curiosity about Badak and his group. How could such a young band of travelers possess such formidable strength?
When they heard Chin Jao say that neither of them was a match for Badak—and that even Chin Jao himself had lost to Badak—their curiosity reached its peak.
It was then that Badak extended an invitation to them. Sai quickly agreed, though he needed his grandfather's permission. Boo, however, was more level-headed. He felt that one of the brothers should stay behind to accompany their grandfather, and since his own talent paled in comparison to his brother's, he decided to remain and guard their home.
In a room, Badak and his crew gathered together.
Badak pointed at Sai and announced, "This is Sai. From today onward, he officially joins our Dandelion organization. Everyone, he's now our comrade."
Sai's expression was earnest, his voice solemn. "I am Sai. I will strive to be a worthy comrade."
"Welcome, Sai. We're all family now, so don't hold back," Robin said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you, Sai. Feel free to ask me anything in the future."
"If you ever get sick or injured, make sure to come to me."
"Great, now we have one more person to share the shifts on the ship."
"Welcome."
Once everyone had greeted Sai, Badak moved on to the second matter. "Moria has arrived. The shadow training plan can now proceed. However, he currently doesn't have many shadows to spare, so the options are limited. Go ask Absalom if there are any abilities that interest you. Physical techniques and swordsmanship can be quickly learned through shadow training, but Devil Fruit abilities are off the table. As for knowledge-based skills, the shadow can enhance your learning aptitude with the original owner's talent, allowing you to solve problems instinctively, but you won't gain the shadow's memories."
"That's still incredible. If you accumulate enough shadow enhancements, wouldn't that multiply your abilities several times—no, dozens or even hundreds of times?" Robin exclaimed in astonishment.
"It's not that simple," Badak replied. "The more shadows you absorb, the greater the mental strain, and the shorter the duration. Plus, Moria wouldn't be too happy about it. Once a shadow enters a living person, he must capture it before it leaves, or else it will return to its original owner. He can't possibly hold onto hundreds of shadows at once."
Badak wasn't entirely sure whether Moria could capture hundreds of shadows, but if Moria wasn't willing, there was nothing he could do about it.
From then on, every night, Chin Jao began teaching them the Eight Impact Fist. Starting from the most basic physical conditioning to fist techniques, forms, sparring and defensive maneuvers, followed by the application of Haki, and finally, the ultimate secrets of the Eight Impact Fist.It was only then that Badak realized the Eight Impact Fist was indeed a special technique involving the flow of Armament Haki. By mastering the Eight Impact Fist, one naturally grasped the flow of Armament Haki, which manifested in the form of shockwaves.
What was truly rare was the secret technique within the Eight Impact Fist that compressed Haki to a single point before releasing it. This technique required innate physical traits to complement it, such as Chin Jao's pointed head. Without his pointed head, Chin Jao couldn't unleash the Drill Dragon Nail. For someone like Sai to release the Drill Dragon Nail using his feet was extremely difficult, which showed just how talented Sai was.
Badak's daily training schedule was packed—physical conditioning, swordsmanship, Six Styles, and Eight Impact Fist, all practiced in rotation.
Once Badak had grasped the basics of the Eight Impact Fist, he immediately sought out Moria to experience Chin Jao's shadow. In that instant, he felt as though he had become a master of the Eight Impact Fist, even developing an urge to headbutt people.
With the shadow's enhancement, he tried out various Eight Impact Fist techniques—everything except the Drill Dragon Nail, which he couldn't perform without a pointed head. He even attempted the Martial Head Spin, planting his head against the ground and spinning, only to vomit the moment he stopped.
When the shadow left him, Badak lost the experience of being an Eight Impact Fist master, but the memory of using the techniques remained. By practicing based on that memory and experiencing the shadow a few more times, he quickly became proficient in the Eight Impact Fist.
His progress in the Eight Impact Fist was swift, and his swordsmanship advanced just as rapidly. In less than half a month, he could already slice through a glacier in a single rest interval. His next goal was to achieve the same feat with fewer strikes, eventually cutting through with just one slash.
Two months passed in a blur of relentless training. By then, Badak could cleave a glacier in two strikes and was confident he could achieve his one-strike goal within the remaining half-month.
Daz Bones had also managed to slice through a glacier in one rest interval, but his progress slowed afterward. Unlike Badak, he couldn't recover as quickly. Despite training for the same two and a half months, his training volume was several times less than Badak's—and that was with Badak splitting his focus on other disciplines.
One day, Moria, whom they hadn't seen in a while, paid them a visit. "Badak, Hogback has accepted my invitation. I'll be setting sail soon and won't be returning. I'll head straight for the Grand Line. If you want to continue the shadow training plan, come find me there. So, how about it? Want to have a real fight before I leave?"
During his time training at Jewel Ice Mountain, Moria had also improved rapidly. With Chin Jao's shadow, he had mastered both Observation Haki and Armament Haki, and he had even learned the Eight Impact Fist.
Over this period, he had sparred with Badak many times, but those were all practice matches where neither went all out. From being completely outmatched at the start to trading blows evenly half a month ago, Moria had put in immense effort.
For the past half-month, he had been preparing a major technique. Now that he was leaving, and the technique was complete, it would be a shame not to have one last battle.
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
Badak, too, had built up a restless energy that needed release. Two and a half months of slashing at glaciers, despite his steady progress, had grown unbearably monotonous.
Others, like Robin, would occasionally take breaks to visit the Flower Country, treating it like a day off. But Badak hadn't taken a single "holiday" the entire time.