The time spent on hard training flew by swiftly, and without noticing, five months had passed.
Cocoyashi Village endured several cold waves, experienced snowfall a few times, but eventually got through the harsh winter and welcomed the season of blooming flowers in spring.
The wind carried a hint of warmth, grass buds pushed through the frozen soil, and the expansion work on the Orange Garden was gradually completed.
New seedlings were being planted batch by batch, with soil loosening, watering, fertilizing, and branch trimming all on the agenda—a whole heap of activities kept Scar and the others busy every day while they relished it.
Over the past few months, they began to slowly integrate into the local atmosphere, and the villagers gradually accepted this group of newcomers.
Compared to the days of precarious survival in the Korbo Mountain Range, life was now practically like Heaven.
If only...
——A mischievous little rascal wasn't causing so much trouble, it would be even better.
"Hey!"
A small figure with orange hair suddenly dashed out from behind the coconut tree, startling Fatty Ox, who was just lifting a bundle of orange saplings from the ground, almost spraining his back.
"There you go again, Nami! Scaring people everywhere!" Fatty Ox grumbled, hands on his hips. "If this keeps up, I'm going to complain to Lord Shano and see how he deals with you!"
That ten-year-old brat, truly annoying!
"Nyeh nyeh nyeh~"
Nami made a face and dashed off, "My brother is too busy for that, why don't you try catching me yourself, you big dumb ox!"
Passing by the village entrance, the mailman uncle who was delivering letters brightened up upon seeing her and quickly stopped his bicycle, waving to her.
"Wait! Nami, a parcel has arrived for you, but it's very heavy. You probably can't carry it back by yourself; perhaps I should help you deliver it."
"A parcel?"
Nami looked delighted, squatted down promptly, and opened it on the spot, discovering a thick pile of books inside.
The mailman glanced over as well.
Titles such as "Four Seas Atlas," "Log Pose Making Craft Study," "Advanced Drawing of Complex Depth Lines," "Respect for Vegapunk: Seastone Applications and Navigation in Windless Zones"...
All of them were hefty volumes, and just reading the titles made his head spin.
"Are all these books for you?" The mailman was stunned. "Or for the adults at home?"
"They're mine, to be specific, my brother bought them all for me!"
Nami chuckled, happily patting the pile of books. "The books in the village bookstore are too few; I finished them ages ago. So, my brother often buys new books for me from nearby towns. These ones are of high quality and will keep me busy for quite some time!"
"Really amazing, Nami."
The mailman uncle gave a thumbs-up in admiration. "Being able to focus on such books at such a young age, my daughter only runs around playing all the time. If she could be as sensible as you, it'd be great!"
Sensible?
"Y-Yes…" Nami shifted guiltily, kicking a pebble, "Oh, right, the books are quite heavy, so please help me deliver them home, uncle."
"Sure, that's part of my job anyway."
The mailman smiled and nodded.
He's been to Cocoyashi Village many times, so he's quite familiar with the terrain here.
Pushing his bicycle ahead, taking turns left and right, soon, a cozy wooden house appeared before them.
"Home sweet home! Belle-Mere and Nojiko aren't around, I guess they went to the Orange Garden."
Nami pointed at the coffee table in the living room. "Uncle, you can put the books here."
"Alright!"
The mailman put down the books and suddenly noticed a pile of hand-drawn nautical charts scattered on the sofa nearby.
Picking one up to inspect, the first chart detailed the surrounding area of Cocoyashi Village, stunningly exquisite and far superior in quality to those available in the market.
"Nami, did you draw all these?"
The mailman was utterly surprised this time. "Amazing! Your talent is exceptionally strong. You might become an outstanding surveyor in the future!"
"That's a sure thing, uncle!"
Nami proudly smoothed her hair behind her ear, her motion graceful and carefree, but having slacked off from washing her hair for a few days, she spent quite a while trying to free her hand stuck in there…
"Cough... Anyway, my dreams aren't limited to just that. My goal is to use my sailing skill to traverse these seas and then create my very own world map based on what I've personally seen!"
"A world map, huh?" The mailman burst into laughter. "That's truly an incredible dream! But Nami, the outside world is quite dangerous, with many formidable pirates—you won't be able to handle them!"
"I'm no match, but following my brother is enough."
Nami snorted. "He's the most famous Great Sword Master in the East Sea! Any pirate gang that comes along, he can slice their ship in half with a single sword!"
The young man named Shano?
The mailman paused slightly.
He recalled that about half a year ago, this name was indeed very famous, but later on, no further news came out, and it gradually faded from people's view.
The mailman couldn't help but be a bit curious: "Where is your brother? Now that you mention it, I've come to Cocoyashi Village so many times, yet it seems I've never really seen him in the village."
"He's a training fanatic; people around here call him that. You'd be lucky to see him during the day. As for right now…"
Nami hung her head out the window, pointing to the tallest hill in the northern hillside, "Well, can you hear the sound from the mountain?"
The mailman listened closely.
Only then did he notice a rumbling sound akin to muffled thunder coming faintly from the mountain, and carefully observing, he could see dust and smoke curling up from the mountain peak.
He was taken aback, "You mean…"
"It's my brother, right there in that mountain."
Nami said with a cheeky smile, "All that noise is caused by him. Luckily, the village is further south, where it's hard to hear. Otherwise, there would have been complaints about disturbance long ago."
Your brother?
The mailman widened his eyes. Can a person really create such commotion?
...
BOOM!
A giant rock over five to six meters tall was suddenly blasted into powder with a single punch.
Amidst the swirling dust, the figure of a tall and strong black-haired youth emerged.
Shano trod over the still-rolling rubble, quartz particles crushed under his feet burst into blue flame, quickly surpassing where the giant rock once stood.
He lifted his head, gazing at the ruined mountainside before him.
This didn't even resemble a mountain anymore.
All he could see was a mountainside as if it had been bombarded by a meteor shower, riddled with holes, with countless rock cross-sections exposed.
A tunnel piercing through the mountainside slanted toward the peak, wide enough for several people to pass through simultaneously, had it not been for the remaining knuckle imprints on the section; it would have seemed like it was forcefully drilled by a giant auger.
"The hardness is still too low."
Shano looked expressionless at the tunnel's rocky walls on both sides. "The metal content is already the highest among all the mountains on the island, and the rocks deep within are the hardest, yet for me now..."
He shook his head slightly, finding it gradually insufficient.
Retracting his gaze, he stepped forward, leaving the shaded range of the mountainside.
The afternoon sunlight fell on his shoulders.
His height now soared to one meter eighty-seven, his muscular frame knotty and twisted like thick tree roots, with an extremely high density, glinting with an iron-like cold hue. His shoulders were frighteningly broad, appearing like a looming small mountain to the average person.
With each step forward, the stones beneath slightly trembled, and passing by a large tree nearby, he happened to tread on a few mushrooms.
Shano didn't notice, but when he lifted his foot again, those mushrooms had already merged with the ground, reduced to two dimensions.
The reason was simple.
Although his current body weight was only about two hundred fifty pounds, the black uniform he wore had added weight, now totaling one point six tons.
Considering the increased pressure from the small area of the sole, the oppressive force he exerted on the ground was more intense than a mature elephant.