Chapter 5
At this point, Heracles was still a relatively normal botanist — not yet the extremely talkative and eccentric survivor he would become after years of isolation on the island.
Living alone on an island for a long time inevitably changes a person. Victor himself was living proof: after more than two years without speaking to another normal human being, the moment he met Heracles, he started asking questions nonstop.
When Victor learned that this was still the era of the legendary Rocks Pirates, he was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected to arrive in such a violent and turbulent period of history.
Then came excitement. A time filled with so many powerhouses meant he would have many more strong opponents to face — and therefore much faster opportunities to become stronger.
Next, he immediately began asking Heracles for guidance on physical techniques and Haki cultivation methods.
As for weapons, Heracles specialized in the spear, but Victor didn't particularly like it. He preferred swords. Still, he had no choice for now — he would learn what was available.
Heracles explained patiently:
"The foundation of physical techniques is physique. As long as your body is strong enough, everything else is just a matter of application and technique."
"Haki cultivation is also closely related to physique, but it requires a strong and unyielding will above all."
"There are three types of Haki: Observation Haki, Armament Haki, and Conqueror's Haki."
"Observation Haki allows you to sense the presence and emotions of living beings around you, predict opponents' movements. At a very high level, it can even allow you to briefly foresee the future. There are rumors that some people can hear the 'Voice of All Things', but I don't know if that's true."
"Armament Haki coats the body to increase defense, coats fists or weapons to increase attack power, and allows you to strike the real body of Devil Fruit users. At deeper levels, you can even use Haki to destroy things from the inside — whether enemies or objects."
"Conqueror's Haki… I only know that it requires innate kingly qualities to awaken. It's said to be able to intimidate and overwhelm opponents with sheer presence."
"Since you were able to survive on the Stomach Baron, your will must be exceptionally strong. Awakening Haki was probably only a matter of time for you."
Heracles gave a general overview of physical techniques and Haki. The last sentence was mostly polite encouragement.
"Of course, having a proper teacher makes awakening and mastering Haki much faster. Figuring it out completely on your own is much more difficult."
Heracles glanced at Victor and continued.
Victor replied very calmly: "I've already awakened both Observation Haki and Armament Haki. As for Conqueror's Haki… I don't know whether I have kingly qualifications or not."
"What?! You awakened both Observation and Armament Haki completely by yourself? How is that possible?!"
Heracles was so shocked he immediately stood up, staring intently at Victor.
Knowing Heracles wouldn't believe him without proof, Victor raised his arm and directly demonstrated Armament Haki — black coating appearing on his skin. Then he picked up a rock and threw it backward with perfect accuracy, smashing a carnivorous plant that was in the middle of feeding.
"I would like to ask you, Heracles, to systematically teach me Haki and physical training. Of course, I don't want to take up too much of your time."
Heracles was still in disbelief. "Victor… I never imagined you had this kind of talent. Truly astonishing."
"No need to call it teaching — we can just train and exchange pointers together."
After coming back to his senses, he asked curiously: "By the way… how old are you?"
"I should be twelve."
Victor answered straightforwardly.
But this once again left Heracles stunned. He knew Victor was young, but he never imagined this young — still basically a young boy.
It was simply too outrageous.
Heracles opened his mouth, wanted to say something, and finally just swallowed hard.
"With your talent, Victor, I dare guarantee that one day you will make the entire sea — and perhaps the whole world — tremble in shock."
Heracles looked at Victor as if he were looking at a priceless treasure.
Victor smiled. "Then I'll borrow your good words."
Heracles quickly waved it off. "Hey, stop calling me 'sir'. Just call me Heracles. I'm just a bit stronger than average — nothing compared to your potential."
He spoke very modestly.
At this moment, looking at Victor, his eyes almost sparkled with scholarly greed — he really wanted to research this boy thoroughly. Fortunately he was a botanist; if he were a biologist, he might have actually tried to start experimenting.
Victor felt a little creeped out by that gaze and quickly redirected: "Then let's start the training."
Heracles snapped out of it, restrained his enthusiasm, and began teaching Victor.
In the following days, Victor's routine was simple: eat, train, and occasionally rescue crew members.
These people were true scholars — once they got immersed in plant research, they completely lost awareness of their surroundings.
Even with Victor watching over them, several members still unfortunately died.
Heracles added plant research to his daily activities, but otherwise his routine was similar to Victor's. For the deceased crew members, he could only express sorrow and regret — there was nothing more he could do.
He could only throw himself even more into researching the carnivorous plants on the island.
Two years passed.
Heracles had basically completed his research on all the plants on the Stomach Baron.
This group truly consisted of hardcore research scholars — once they entered research mode, nothing else mattered.
Their dedication impressed Victor, but it also gave him constant headaches and helplessness.
Because of this research obsession, the botanical expedition team lost about one-third of its members.
And that was with Victor paying close attention. Without him, only Heracles would have been left in the end.
During these two years, Victor's gains were tremendous.
He completely mastered the physical techniques Heracles taught him. Both Observation Haki and Armament Haki reached the late stage of mid-level proficiency.
During this period, he was thoroughly beaten up by Heracles — the man showed no mercy. Victor had been stabbed by that spear more times than he could count.
Fortunately, thanks to his Devouring Talent and extreme recovery ability, he could endure this kind of hellish training. An ordinary person would have died long ago.
Of course, he also learned Heracles' spear techniques.
Most importantly, according to Heracles, Victor's current physique was already comparable to that of an elite Vice Admiral in the Navy.
And he was still so young. His growth would accelerate even more, and once he reached adulthood, there would surely be an explosive increase in strength.
In recent years, besides daily sparring with Heracles, Victor constantly beat down Sea Kings that came to feed. Sometimes he even dove into the sea on his own, found relatively weaker Sea Kings, crippled them, and then threw them back to the Stomach Baron as extra food.
Heracles was shocked at the speed of Victor's strength growth. He himself was born with superhuman strength, and at first he could still somewhat compete with Victor. Now? He could only admit defeat.
One day, Victor felt the time had finally come. He was ready to set sail.
So he went to find Heracles and the remaining crew, hoping to depart together.
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