"Come on!"
"Then I won't hold back."
"Hit faster or I can't hold it in."
"Saying it like hitting slower would make you hold it in."
Zoro rolled up his sleeves, a perverse grin on his face. "If you can't take it, say so."
Bang.
A fist slammed into a belly. Luffy drew a deep breath, a mocking look on his face. "Zoro, is it because you skipped breakfast?"
Smack—then smack-smack-smack.
Zoro watched Luffy stagger back a few steps and let out a satisfied breath. "Compared to my all-out state, yeah, I'm holding a bit back."
So good.
With Luffy's infuriating personality, Zoro had wanted to draw and cut him many times. Then he'd remember this was his captain and console himself—this was his choice.
"Stand still, or I'll send you flying with one punch."
Luffy grinned. His fist had already stretched dozens of meters.
"Hey, that's cheating!"
"Just answer—one punch or not?" Luffy finally had the moral high ground.
It really was.
One punch in and Zoro nearly coughed up his gall.
They started trading "magic blasts."
Hard to say who had the worse of it.
Soon Luffy found that rubber didn't block everything. His abdomen tingled and throbbed. Zoro didn't look great either. In the art of taking hits, the two of them were maxed out.
"Hey, what kind of novel game are you playing?"
Early morning and you could hear flesh-on-flesh thuds.
Woken by the noise, Usopp looked up. Zoro and Luffy were gone from the bunks.
Zoro being up was normal. That training freak sleeping in would've been weird.
But Luffy was his buddy who should sleep till the sun cooked his back.
Then he stepped out and saw—
Usopp froze.
What were those two doing?
"M-maybe give up, Luffy."
Zoro's face twisted up. He gulped air. Sweat had soaked his shirt.
Quality couldn't beat quantity. Ten punches were ten punches. Even if Luffy reduced damage, he couldn't tank it forever, especially after burning stamina training before Zoro even woke up.
"Not yet." Luffy felt that old sensation of being drilled by Garp.
He wanted to stop.
From the Gum-Gum Fruit to Garp's goal of forging him into an excellent Marine, more than ten years had passed.
He had his own complaint.
After all that hard training, couldn't he enjoy himself?
That was the adventure he wanted.
But he looked up at that glaring warning. It was like a blade at his throat.
What else could he do?
He'd agreed, hadn't he.
It wasn't like he hadn't resisted. The pendant's punishments were too twisted—and they escalated. First it was electricity. When that did nothing, it became bathroom time. Then it found Luffy's weak point and even fixed the punishment.
Sparring was honestly fun. Way better than grinding alone.
A truly exhilarating bout.
Zoro bared his teeth. He regretted proposing it. Even knowing they were both feeling real pain, the fact that the other guy was rubber made him feel vaguely cheated.
"Doesn't that hurt them?"
Watching those meaty thuds, Usopp's own teeth ached. It hurt just to look.
Was this training really effective?
He'd heard that fighting was the fastest way to grow stronger. This counted as a kind of fight.
I'm proud of crewmates like these.
Usopp knew his role. Seeing Luffy's punch strength, one hit and he'd be out cold.
Even the tough-looking Zoro's hands were shaking.
At the horizon, dawn's sun slowly rose.
"Is… is time up?"
After another set of punches, Luffy couldn't take it. Give him a ton of food now and he'd inhale it like a storm.
"You win."
Zoro slumped against the wall, gulping air.
He accepted this captain more and more.
At first it was a debt of life. Even if he looked unreliable, Zoro had forced himself to join.
Now he truly believed Luffy would be the man to become Pirate King.
The key to becoming strong was being ruthless to yourself. If you weren't, your enemies would be twice as ruthless.
It was only a month of chores.
Meanwhile, not far off on the sea, a Marine warship crossed paths with the Going Merry.
Pirates and Marines were mortal enemies.
But East Blue Marines weren't the highest quality—unless you ran into Garp on leave from Headquarters.
Then you got arrested like a good boy.
"Lieutenant Colonel Lodi! Pirate ship sighted."
"Oh? Hand me the glass."
Navy Lieutenant Colonel Lodi had been dispatched from Marine Headquarters. He'd heard that Captain Morgan of East Blue's 153rd Branch had been defeated by some pirate.
What strong pirate had appeared in this backwater?
Unlikely, but out of caution, Headquarters sent a lieutenant colonel.
Many thought the East Blue was the weakest sea.
But veteran Marines knew that many big names on this ocean were born here.
Pirate King, Marine Hero—even the Revolutionary Army's leader.
Names that scared people to death.
Lodi glanced at the wanted posters in his hand. None matched that Jolly Roger.
Freshly minted pirates? Tough luck—you met Lord Lodi.
"Prepare to fire."
Even on the Grand Line, few pirate crews wanted to trade broadsides with Marine steel and cannon.
Unless they were among the great pirate ships.
"Hey, can you still move? Luffy, Zoro!"
Usopp yelled.
Marine guns were already aiming their way.
"Usopp, I'm counting on you," Zoro waved weakly. His body wouldn't move an inch.
[ Auto-adjusting to body condition. Engage the Marines. ]
A fight?
Luffy's eyes went green.
Every cell in his body groaned in protest. This was supposed to be rest time.
[ Warning: Punishment countdown. ]
You win.
Grinding his teeth, Luffy forced himself up on his arms.
[ Physical energy compressed and trained. Body toughness increased. Armament Haki proficiency +1. ]
[ Body tempered. Passive talent activated: Rapid Recovery. ]
"Huh? There's a perk like that?"
Absurdity followed. Zoro had just watched Luffy about to collapse like himself, and now—kip-up.
Then Luffy shot him a look.
"At the critical moment, your captain still steps forward."
Luffy grinned.
"Just rest, Zoro."