There were still a little over thirty minutes left to sleep.
Luffy closed his eyes and quickly drifted off again.
This time, there was no dream space.
No training.
Just pure, uninterrupted sleep.
—
Early the next morning.
Luffy was awakened by the system notification.
[A new day has begun.]
[Host, begin today's training immediately.]
Luffy sat up and stretched.
He was still tired—but much more refreshed than before.
Outside the window, dawn was just breaking.
"Let's start."
He stepped out of the cabin and jogged toward the back mountain.
A new day.
New training.
New challenges.
What Luffy didn't know was that today, something would happen that would change his fate.
Something he could never have imagined.
—
The morning wind carried the salty scent of the sea as it swept across Foosha Village's back mountain.
Luffy stood in a clearing, took a deep breath, and began the first task of the day—
Seven thousand punches.
His movements were far more refined than they had been three days ago.
Each punch cut through the air with a sharp sound.
The force was consistent. The rhythm is steady.
His fists traced smooth arcs in the air as his muscles contracted and released in perfect balance.
Luffy closed his eyes, fully immersed in the training.
He could feel every muscle working.
Every subtle shift in power.
He could even faintly sense the airflow stirred by his punches brushing against his skin.
"Is this… the seed of Observation Haki sprouting?" he wondered.
But his movements never stopped.
One punch.
Two punches.
Three punches…
The number on the light screen kept climbing.
—
What Luffy didn't know was that someone was watching him from the nearby woods.
Shanks leaned against a tree, arms crossed, eyes complicated.
He had originally planned to set sail at dawn.
But before leaving, for some reason, he felt the urge to see Luffy one more time.
And then he saw this—
5:30 in the morning.
The sky barely lit.
And this seventeen-year-old boy was already drenched in sweat, training alone in the mountains.
The punches.
The speed.
The intensity.
"This is only the third day…" Shanks muttered.
He had seen many hardworking people.
His crew worked hard. He himself worked hard.
But this kind of training—like burning one's own life away—
This was my first.
No supervision.
No companions.
Just one boy, a stretch of forest, and endless repetition.
And Shanks could tell—
Luffy's growth rate was terrifying.
In just three days, he had gone from an ordinary teenager to someone capable of easily defeating ten wild wolves.
That wasn't just talent.
That was monstrous.
"Captain."
Beckman's voice came from behind.
Shanks didn't turn around.
"Everything ready?"
"Yeah. The ship's stocked. We can leave anytime."
Beckman stepped up beside him and also saw Luffy training.
He raised an eyebrow.
"He's still at it?"
"Since five-thirty. Over an hour now," Shanks replied.
Beckman was silent for a few seconds before lighting a cigarette.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"About what?"
"The kid."
Shanks finally turned to look at him.
"How far do you think he'll go?"
Beckman exhaled a thin stream of smoke.
"Hard to say."
"But at the very least…"
"He won't be beneath us."
Shanks laughed softly.
"You think that highly of him?"
"Not highly," Beckman said, flicking ash from his cigarette.
"Just stating a fact."