A month had passed since Koa opened all of the prizes, and the baby Shanks were found. He was immediately named by Roger, who also accepted him as an adopted son, just like in the original timeline, after Koa explained that he wasn't ready to raise a child, being a child himself. Roger, Rayleigh, and Gaban immediately took Shanks in, becoming his parental figures. Meanwhile, Koa kept wondering when Buggy would appear.
During the month they spent aboard the Oro Jackson, the four new additions to the crew were given tasks to fulfill, now officially considered Pirate Apprentices. They were responsible for cleaning the ship and washing clothes. All four performed these duties without any complaints. Koa, in particular, was also tasked with scouting, as Roger had discovered that he possessed incredible vision and an exceptional range with his Observation Haki.
The four were gradually getting along well with the rest of the Roger Pirates. Koa was even able to ask questions to Scopper Gaban, particularly about the use of axes. Gaban mistakenly thought Koa's interest was a challenge and began sparring with him daily during the first week. They only used axemanship—no Devil Fruits or Haki were involved at first. Koa, who was able to match Gaban with just axemanship alone, decided to increase the intensity of his training by adding Armament Haki. Gaban matched him in kind.
It became apparent to Koa that Gaban's Armament Haki was superior, resulting in Koa losing all their sparring matches. However, Koa's Haki continued to improve with every session. The losses served as valuable experience. Roger, observing their duels, simply nodded with a knowing look on his face, as if he knew something the others didn't.
Meanwhile, the other three—Kuma, Ginny, and Ivankov—had asked Rayleigh for combat training. Rayleigh was more than willing to instruct them and took it upon himself to spar with all three at once. Koa could see that the trio was improving rapidly, with Kuma showing the most progress, followed by Ivankov and then Ginny. Rayleigh knew how to push each of them, assigning weight training suited to their strengths.
----------------
Koa, continuing his training routine, also started organizing his mini floating island, which was silently following them on their journey. He had it descend and began rearranging everything, boxing every single berry and all the gold he had, including the wealth recovered from Captain John's ship. He gave one-fourth of Captain John's loot to Rayleigh and Gaban to cover their expenses, which they gratefully accepted.
Koa also began compiling a logbook for his future crew, listing all eight of the Devil Fruits he had collected so far, along with their capabilities.
The first Devil Fruit on his list was the very first one he had acquired: the Wapu-Wapu no Mi, which would eventually be used by Van Augur in the future.
The second was the Hebi-Hebi no Mi, Model: Titanoboa—an Ancient Zoan that allowed its user to transform into a Titanoboa, a massive snake species capable of breathing poisonous gas and delivering venom through its fangs.
The third was the Mushi-Mushi no Mi, Model: Hercules Beetle—a Zoan-type fruit that enabled its user to transform into a Hercules Beetle, amplifying their strength 850 times relative to their weight. These three Devil Fruits were the original ones he had gathered from exploring various islands.
As for the two Devil Fruits remaining from the original four, he had recovered from the king's vault in God Valley—fruits he later gave to Ivankov and Ginny—they were:
The Zushi-Zushi no Mi, the same Devil Fruit that would eventually belong to Fujitora.
And the Ko-Ko no Mi, a Paramecia-type fruit that allowed its user to become a living factory, converting any materials they touched into blueprints, effectively turning them into a Factory Human.
From the prize boxes he opened on God Valley, Koa had also acquired:
The Tanso-Tanso no Mi, the Carbon-Carbon Fruit.
The Hone-Hone no Mi, which granted skeletal manipulation and regeneration.
And a powerful Zoan Devil Fruit: the Buta-Buta no Mi, Model: Calydonian Boar. This fruit gave its user immense strength capable of toppling buildings and shaking the ground with ease.
-----------
"Come on! Push yourself further—temper yourselves!" Rayleigh shouted.
Kuma, Ivankov, and Ginny were lifting weights, pushing themselves through intense physical training. Rayleigh firmly believed in building a strong body before ever relying on Devil Fruits. Nearby, Koa sat with baby Shanks in his arms, gently rocking him to sleep. He had just finished his daily sparring session with Gaban, and his Observation Haki was fully active. Koa was training to hone it to a level similar to Enel's.
"That's enough. You can stop now," Rayleigh called out. The three immediately dropped their weights, exhaling in relief.
"Good job today. Rest for a bit before you start your horse runs," Rayleigh added, referring to the next part of their regimen. He then walked over to Koa, his eyes drawn to the peacefully sleeping Shanks.
Rayleigh had grown fond of the red-haired infant, unable to resist the charm of his innocent smile. When Koa handed Shanks over, a gentle smile appeared on Rayleigh's face as the baby smiled in his sleep.
"Rayleigh-san, can I ask you something?" Koa said suddenly.
"Sure, what's on your mind?" Rayleigh replied, still holding Shanks while shifting his gaze to Koa.
"I'm sure you remember the day we first met… that moment when I released an aura that affected the weather," Koa said, his tone thoughtful. Rayleigh listened in silence, nodding slightly.
"Well… I was wondering if you could teach me how to control it," Koa continued, finally revealing his intent—he wanted Rayleigh to train him in mastering Conqueror's Haki.
"Of course. I don't see a problem with that," Rayleigh replied easily, though his brows furrowed with curiosity. "But why not ask Gaban? Isn't he already your instructor?"
"He is—he's been training me in axemanship and Armament Haki," Koa explained. "I just didn't want to add this to his plate."
He didn't mention the deeper reason—that while Gaban was a strong and capable teacher, he couldn't explain things the way Rayleigh could. Rayleigh had a unique way of breaking down complex concepts, the kind of clarity that even someone like Luffy could understand.