Second Wind

37

The next morning, the Strawhats awoke to the revelation that Sanji had awakened his haki. Usopp got excited and immediately suggested that they help him refine it by having him dodge some attacks. Nami pointed out that he was still new at it and asked if he should take it slow, but Sanji politely assured her that he'd be fine. Luffy, Zoro, and Robin knew that Sanji was even more excited than Usopp even if he didn't show it. He had stayed up all night after his first breakthrough, content in simply getting a feel for all of the Strawhats' auras. He found that suddenly having a way to reassure himself of their presence was gratifying. He was, after all, one of the stronger members of the crew, and took it upon himself to protect the others, even if he didn't admit it when it came to the male members. So being able to reach out with his senses and find them, something which he was able to do more and more successfully as the night had progressed, was something he appreciated. Luffy and Zoro had understood perfectly and had left him so he could practice.

Now Usopp suggested that he try to dodge some of Chopper's punches with his eyes closed. Sanji consented. At first he was having trouble dodging multiple blows, and a few punches would connect every now and then, much to Chopper's concern, but Sanji insisted they continue, neglecting to mention that the reindeer hybrid's punches didn't hurt much anyway. A few minutes passed, and gradually less blows began getting through as Sanji's dodges became smoother and more purposeful. He was starting to know what to look for in Chopper's aura in order to anticipate his movements. From the intent that drove his body to move, to the rise of his arm, to the area that he was targeting with his punch, Sanji knew what Chopper was going to do a split second after he decided to do it. While he was a novice in training to the eyes of Luffy and Zoro, the rest of the crew watched with fascination and awe as Sanji danced around all of Chopper's blows without ever opening his eyes. Once Sanji lasted a solid minute without taking any hits, they stopped.

"That was awesome Sanji!" Usopp yelled. "What should we try next?"

"Why don't you try hitting him with your slingshot?" Luffy suggested. "Just use normal pellets." Usopp nodded and put some distance between himself and the chef before pulling out his slingshot. Sanji closed his eyes again and focused, but as Usopp got ready to shoot, Sanji's brow furrowed. The chef moved prematurely to dodge, but the sniper adjusted his aim in a flash, and the pellet hit Sanji in the forehead dead center. Luckily it wasn't any special type of ammo, and only resulted in a small twinge of pain. Sanji hummed in thought.

"I get it," he mumbled. Luffy grinned.

"Learn anything?" the captain asked. Sanji opened his eyes.

"Dodging projectiles is different than dodging punches or kicks," the chef said. "With Chopper I was able to follow the path of his arm as he swung at me, but I can't sense Usopp's pellets, so I have to predict where he's going to aim and dodge before he shoots. Usopp is too good of a sniper though, so he was able to adjust his aim."

"So how can you get around that?" Zoro asked, although he knew the answer already.

"The easy way is to open my eyes, but that would defeat the purpose," Sanji said. "Sometimes I'll have shooters in my blindspot and that would put me in the same situation. Another way is to simply move faster so he can't keep up, but if I ever fought someone with my speed and reactions who was wielding a gun, I would face the same problem." He thought for a moment. "Let me try something," he finally said.

Usopp readied his slingshot again, and this time, Sanji moved at the exact moment that Usopp fired, successfully dodging the pellet. He told the sniper to keep going, and like before, it took a while before he got used to it, with a few pellets hitting him every now and then. Soon he again reached the point where none of Usopp's pellets were hitting him. It wasn't that he lacked the speed to dodge the various attacks; he had simply needed to get a feel for his new ability before he could utilize it effectively. When it was clear that none of his attacks would connect, Usopp stopped shooting.