Aboard the merchant ship bound for Shimotsuki Village.
[Constitution: 5.1 (rapidly evolving due to certain influences)]
Don studied the changes on his data-like panel, a thoughtful expression on his face.
On the journey to Shimotsuki Village, he naturally wasn't about to waste time. He devoted himself to researching both the powers of the Mera Mera no Mi and the workings of his data panel.
The panel displayed his mastery of abilities with perfect clarity—even newly acquired skills showed up immediately.
For example:
[Mera Mera no Mi (Proficient)]
[Swordsmanship (Beginner): You have grasped the basics of sword techniques and training methods]
Swordsmanship had appeared thanks to his consistent sword practice over the voyage, and the evaluation of the Flame-Flame Fruit had also shifted.
But what caught Don's attention most was the change in his Constitution.
After all, in this pirate-infested era, monstrous physicality was the norm. People were built like beasts, and true powerhouses—well, there were no weaklings among them.
When he had first obtained this data ability, his Constitution was only 1.7, already noted as "rapidly evolving."
Barely a month later, it had soared to 5.1.
He had tested it himself.
His overall physical qualities had skyrocketed compared to before—speed, strength, endurance, even toughness against blows.
"All this… is it the Devil Fruit? Or something else? Or maybe… just being in this world makes the body naturally grow stronger?"
That was his suspicion.
Not that it was a bad thing.
Here, physical strength was the foundation of everything—the bedrock of becoming strong.
The only question was, how long would this growth continue?
By his own estimate, his current strength was roughly five times greater than it had been before he crossed over.
Of course, in a world like this, five times a normal man's strength was barely anything.
After all, even a brawny deckhand on this ship could hoist a cask weighing several hundred jin without effort.
Still, Don didn't dwell on it for long.
Because he had just uncovered another terrifying effect—one not directly shown on the panel.
It was essentially a side effect of his core trait: since vital points no longer existed, and injuries were converted into simple "HP deduction," the same applied to training damage.
When he trained, his stamina drained as normal. But the soreness, strain, and fatigue from overexertion were all treated as "damage."
The panel showed a deduction in HP after overtraining—but once he ate and recovered, the pain and exhaustion completely vanished.
In his old world, the human body had hard limits.
Here too, perhaps limits existed—but they were staggeringly higher.
And if he was right, then with this quirk, he could push his body far past ordinary limits, using relentless effort to grow rapidly stronger.
Realizing this, Don felt that the gap between himself and those terrifying monsters who could shatter the heavens and split the seas… might not be so impossible to bridge.
He wasn't afraid of hard work. What he feared was hard work yielding no results.
But if every drop of sweat brought feedback—feedback so immense it defied imagination—then he was ready.
He was all grind.
The king of effort.
With a sudden burst of determination, Don leapt to his feet, walked to the wall, and seized the barbell lying on the floor.
Boom, boom, boom!
The cabin shook with muffled thuds.
Sailors all across the ship turned their heads toward Don's quarters.
Again.
Everyone on board now knew who he was.
A pirate hunter who had singlehandedly captured dozens of pirates—an undeniably powerful man.
How strong exactly, no one knew. But clearly, far stronger than them.
After all, even a handful of pirates together could terrify merchant sailors. Dozens at once was a nightmare.
"No wonder he's that strong. Look how hard he trains…"
"Alright, I've decided. I'm gonna work hard too! One day, I'll become a pirate hunter!"
A skinny boy, barely in his teens, clenched his fists with fiery resolve. But the moment he finished speaking—smack!—a hand slapped the back of his head.
"Pirate hunter, huh? Did you even finish scrubbing the deck?"
The gruff voice made the group jump and immediately bow their heads back to work.
The boy spun around to see the captain, quickly plastered on a smile, and bent down to scrub furiously.
"Being a pirate hunter? That's a death sentence, brat. Without the resolve to die, don't even think about it."
The old captain snorted, watching them scatter.
He had lived through the chaos after the Pirate King's execution—seen waves of pirates flooding the seas.
The slaughter, the plundered islands, the endless chaos of the Grand Line… it was not a place for ordinary folk.
In times like these, living out one's life in peace was already a rare blessing.
Thinking that, the old man cast a glance toward Don's cabin.
"Hmph. Maybe only someone like him has the right to set foot in that world."
The days passed in relentless training. Don never wasted a moment, grinding himself mercilessly. Of course, that also meant his food intake multiplied, forcing the ship to stop at islands along the way to resupply.
But it didn't slow them much.
After about two months and twenty days, the merchant vessel arrived ahead of schedule, reaching its destination by midday.
"My lord, that's Shimotsuki Village."
From across the sea, an island appeared before Don's eyes.
"Mm."
He nodded slightly.
The sea was vast beyond imagining. On this voyage, they had barely encountered any ships, let alone pirates.
Perhaps that was simply the nature of the East Blue.
Don rested his hand on the railing, a flicker of anticipation gleaming in his eyes.
[Body Datafication: Vital points erased. Incoming damage is converted into HP deduction; panel attributes evolve according to personal growth; you will not die unless HP reaches zero.]
[Current Physical Age: 14 years]
[Constitution: 9.9 (rapidly evolving due to certain influences)]
[Current HP: 100% (Recovering; eating accelerates recovery)]
[Innate Talent – Indomitable: When HP reaches zero, you enter a brief state of empowerment; all stats multiply tenfold; HP no longer decreases; all negative conditions are cleansed. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 day.]
[Abilities]
[Mera Mera no Mi (Proficient): A powerful Logia-type ability granting transformation into and control over fire; continually strengthens the body; fruit's drawbacks eliminated (weaknesses and soul interference removed). Current development: 9%.]
[Swordsmanship (Proficient): You have mastered the basic forms and training methods of swordplay.]
This was his panel now—the result of nearly three months of ceaseless training.
His Constitution had already surpassed ten times that of an ordinary man from his past world. He now possessed strength to move mountains.