Kisame did not disagree and put his focus back into the books before him. And with every page he read, he was more and more impressed. The man's take on the marines and pirates was objective and informative even though he had been on one side for so long.

The ones that covered Haki and the various islands in both Paradise and the New World were also useful. Many places had very little information that outsiders could gain if they were not World Government aligned or had pirate rulers over them.

The book on Devil Fruits was even more impressive. Not only did it list a large number of Devil Fruits with their abilities but it also had current users, past users, and most likely locations and times of when and where the fruits would be available.

Over the next 3 days, he studied those books religiously. He sucked in as much information he could about the vast and wide world that he lived on.

On the 4th day, Kisame woke up and was about to return to his reading when he was struck in his back and sent flying across the room. Kisame flipped while in the air to smooth out his landing. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Rayleigh was on him once again.

Kisame began fighting back and exchanging blows but within a few moves, he could already tell that the old man was just playing around with him. Rayleigh even began to lecture him as they spared.

"See? You just got caught by the two weaknesses of untrained Observation Haki. I hid my intentions well enough and move fast enough that you were unable to react. So we need to get your Observation Haki to a higher level. We could also compensate for your slow speed by having you activate Armament Haki if you are unable to predict or move fast enough.

And the best way to solve that is... beating everything into you!"

When he finished, Kisame received another kick that launched him across the room. The spar then turned into a one-sided beating where Kisame did his best to put up a defense. Of every 10 moves that Rayleigh sent out, Kisame was able to barely block or parry 1. Out of every 100 moves, Kisame would only be able to see a single opening that he was unable to take. And of every 1000, that is when Kisame would put as much strength and focus as he could into a single move just for it to be countered and to receive a terrible beating for even trying it.

And this was how Kisame would spend the next 2 weeks. Each day he was beaten for hours on end until Rayleigh gave the order to rest. Then Kisame would have to cook his own food and mend his wounds with his weary body.

But even after every single sparring session, Kisame would make sure to open at least one of his books and read it religiously. Always thinking that what he had was enough, Kisame had never craved knowledge so much before. But Rayleigh's books... they were true treasure troves. It did not just have information he never heard of before but things he never even dreamed of. So every night, he would read until he could no longer keep his eyes open and fall asleep.

After two weeks of this routine, Rayleigh would leave for the city on the main island while he left Kisame on the Island of Monsters. As for how Kisame used this month, it was up to him. He could rest in the cave for the entire month if he so chose to or he could venture out into the forest and face giant beasts every day and all day.

Kisame chose to spend 12 hours in the forest before returning to train on his own and rest for the other half of the day. Before three months were even over and by using this practice schedule, he had awakened his Armament Haki.

By the time Rayleigh for his third visit, Kisame could already activate Hardening up to his forearms at will. When Rayleigh arrived he was surprised to see that Kisame could already use Armament Haki.

'I thought it would take him at least half a year before he could use it. His potential is even more frightening than I had thought.'

Rayleigh did not praise the young fish-man though.

"It took you this long just to get it up to your forearms? Your potential might be worse than I thought. Every admiral I have ever met has been able to achieve this much with only a month of knowledge about Haki."

The anger and tantrum that Raleigh was expecting did not come. Instead, Kisame lifted the book on Haki that Rayleigh had given him with a smug, shit-eating grin on his face. Rayleigh visibly shook when he saw the book and had a bad premonition.

"But this book you gave me said it took you 6 months while you were focusing on nothing but Armament Haki while you were pirating. You were also 19 when you got to where my arms are. Are you saying that you, the Dark King, have less talent than every admiral you have ever met?"

Rayleigh could neither confirm nor deny it. If he admitted that they were more talented than him, it would make his legend and the Roger pirates look like jokes in the eyes of the boy. If he denied it, he would be admitting that he lied. So Rayleigh chose the third option parents and teachers do when they are forced into a similar corner.

"Stop talking about useless things!" he said with a kick to Kisame who was sent flying across the room as he had been during the previous 2 visits.

Kisame felt aggrieved but also proud of himself. He had never been able to beat Rayleigh in a fight or with words but this was his first victory over the teacher. He could not help but internally gloat while he pouted on the outside. He knew that if he kept pushing his teacher, he would win the battle but lose the war.

After awakening Armament Haki, Kisame's training got even more hectic. Knowing that the boy had even more potential than he first thought, Rayleigh decided to force it all out of him. Every day, he would train Kisame as far as his body could handle before bringing him back from the brink of breaking.

Kisame never complained about the intensity. Whenever Rayleigh thought he had gone too far and wanted to go easier on him, the boy would taunt Rayleigh and ask things like 'gone soft like your little friend is without medicine' or 'this all it takes to be a member of the Roger pirates? Nothing special' in order to provoke Rayleigh. Thus the pair spent the next 2 years torturing each other and being tortured by the other.

--- 2 Years Later ---

*Cling!*

A fish-man and human had just closed their swords and created sparks. Each of the swords was unique in that they were black in color, unlike the normal steel swords. This was the effect of Armament Haki: Imbuement. By coating a weapon in Armament Haki, not only increased its durability but also increased its offensive capabilities.

"Ahh!"

Kisame let out a shout as he tried to overpower Rayleigh but he was unable to. Even though his body had grown fast and he stood at 2.4 meters over the 1.88 meters Rayleigh, the boy could still not move him. In fact, after he put his all into the attack, Rayleigh took that as a chance to trip Kisame up and get behind his back.

With nothing left standing in Rayleigh's way, Kisame was sent flying by a kick to the other wall. Unlike when he had first arrived though, Kisame was able to stand up proudly due to his stronger body and activating his Armament Haki: Hardening in time.

"You are getting a bit weaker in your old age, teacher!"

"Damn, Brat! See if I don't break both your legs today!"

The pair stood opposite each other with their blades ready. Just as the pair were about to charge forward, a loud crying sound could be heard coming from the resting area.

"Wahhhhh! Wahhhh! Wahhhh!"

Hearing the sound, Rayleigh immediately shot over towards his luggage and pulled out a small snail that was making the noise. This Den Den Mushi was Rayleigh's personal one that only a few people could communicate with. The number of people that could send him the S.O.S. signal was even fewer and numbered 3.

The first was his former captain, Gol D. Rogers. But since he was dead, it meant that he would never talk to the legendary pirate again.

The second was Kisame. During Rayleigh's third trip, he brought one especially for Kisame so the boy could message him in case of emergencies as well as communicate with his family.

The last person who had access to it was Rayleigh's wife.