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Chapter 53 is out!!!! +40 advanced chapters monthly
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Her old house—a simple, run-down thatched cottage—had long since been destroyed by that brute during Yuris's attack.
To say the townsfolk weren't jealous that Aqi had snagged a Prince Charming like Baishui would be a lie. But jealousy was all it could ever be. What's done is done; letting envy fester would only be the spark to their own destruction. So, they all offered the couple their blessings.
Still, Aqi and Baishui getting together was a tough pill to swallow for the other young women on the island. They were utterly crushed, secretly wishing they had been the ones chased by pirates that day. If they had, maybe they'd be the ones in Baishui's arms right now.
Honestly, were there prettier girls on the island than Aqi? Yes! Girls with more elegant auras? Yes! Girls with better figures? Absolutely! But even if it had been someone else that day, Baishui wouldn't necessarily have fallen for them.
What Baishui loved about Aqi was her sunny, warm disposition—the vibrant spirit of a true daughter of the sea. It was an infectious, lively energy. Being with her was as comfortable and soothing as being around Makino from the original story. Plus, Aqi had an extra dash of playful cuteness compared to Makino. After all, she was only sixteen and hadn't quite outgrown her childish charm.
Of course، the other girls on the island would never understand that. Only Aqi and Baishui knew the truth of their bond.
Baishui unrolled the scroll. At the very top، ten lines of eye-catching red text immediately drew his attention.
It read: "Soru—one of the Marine Rokushiki. A martial arts technique that surpasses the physical limits of humanity. It can only be mastered by pushing past the boundaries of the human body!"
"The user must kick off the ground at least ten times within 0.36 seconds، utilizing the explosive repulsive force to propel themselves forward."
"Because this speed exceeds human perception، the user becomes effectively invisible to the naked eye. Hence، it is also known as 'shadowless movement'."
"Practicing this technique places an extreme burden on the user. Those whose physical conditioning is not up to par must absolutely refrain from attempting it. Doing so will only result in massive muscle tearing and a ruined future!"
Below the stark red warnings lay the concrete training methods for Soru. It detailed exactly how to exert force، which muscles to isolate، and the appropriate intensity for a beginner. It covered training durations، cool-down routines، benchmarks for progressing to the next stage، and techniques for accurately halting at a specific destination.
Only now did Baishui realize just how excruciatingly complex learning Soru actually was.
He had chosen to learn Soru first because، at his current level، speed and destructive power were his most glaring priorities. Soru was the perfect solution. If he ever joined the Marines in the future، he figured he'd also pick up Tekkai and Kami-e to bolster his defenses and bodily coordination.
As for Rankyaku، Geppo، and Shigan? He had no need for them.
With his Light-Particle Wings، aerial combat was already covered. With his Light-Particle Cannon، his offensive output was more than sufficient—though، admittedly، firing it without channeling the energy through his dual pistols would reduce its power by about forty percent. Those twin pistols weren't forged by a blacksmith; they were physical constructs manifested when he awakened his Devil Fruit powers. They were tougher than steel and possessed auto-repair capabilities.
So، learning just three of the six Rokushiki techniques was plenty. Baishui didn't see the point in wasting time on the other three when they offered him zero tactical advantage.
Kicking the ground ten times in 0.36 seconds? With my current physical specs، I should be able to pull that off، Baishui thought confidently، standing in the middle of a clearing after reviewing the scroll.
Bang!
When Baishui actually tried to execute the instructions from the scroll، he failed miserably. The ground exploded beneath him، leaving him covered head-to-toe in a layer of grime and dirt.
"Why didn't it work?" Baishui muttered، scratching his head in confusion. He had followed the scroll's instructions to the letter. So why the failure? It made absolutely no sense.
"Again!"
Dusting himself off، Baishui centered his focus، gathered his strength، and pumped his legs wildly، stomping the earth ten times within that brief 0.36-second window.
Bang!
The exact same bizarre result occurred. Another failure. Another massive crater blasted into the earth.
"What the hell is going on?!"
He whipped out the scroll and scrutinized it again. He hadn't missed a single word. He was executing the movements perfectly. So why wasn't it clicking? He was completely stumped.
"Whatever. Again!"
Exhaling sharply، Baishui reset his stance and tried once more.
Bang!
Another failure.
"What the fuck is going wrong?! Why does it keep failing?!" His patience finally snapped، and he cursed aloud. "Dammit all to hell! I refuse to believe I can't master a simple Soru!"
His stubborn pride flared up. It was just one of the Rokushiki arts، for crying out loud. There was no way he was fundamentally incapable of learning it.
What he didn't realize was that anyone learning Soru needed to practice the motion at least a hundred times before they even started to catch the 'feel' of it. It didn't matter if you were a combat genius؛ without those hundred reps، grasping the true essence of Soru was impossible.
It was like learning to ride a bicycle. Someone could tell you to just balance your body and keep pedaling so you don't fall، but how many people actually succeed on their very first try? Unless you take a few spills، you're never going to learn.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Deafening، rhythmic thuds echoed relentlessly across the back of the island. The surrounding earth trembled and shuddered beneath his feet، groaning as if in agony.
Finally، after his one-hundredth failure—
Swish!
Baishui dissolved into a blur، vanishing from his spot as the air shrieked with a piercing whistle.
Crash!
He reappeared، instantly losing control and slamming violently into the trunk of a massive tree. Despite the painful impact، a massive، irrepressible grin plastered itself across his face.
Once he truly mastered Soru and layered his Devil Fruit's amplification on top of it، he was confident his speed would rival—if not surpass—the absolute maximum speeds recorded in the scroll. And with infinite speed comes infinitely amplified power. If a tiny pebble accelerated to a high enough velocity could cause terrifying destruction، imagine what a full-grown human could do.
Baishui was already no slouch in the strength department. His constant brawls with the local beasts had forged a body brimming with raw، explosive muscle. In the world of pirates، regardless of how flashy your Devil Fruit was، foundational physical strength was absolutely indispensable. In many ways، speed came second. There were simply too many obstacles in this world that could only be overcome through sheer force. When facing down a gargantuan apex predator، blinding speed wasn't nearly as straightforward or effective as devastating، skull-crushing power.
"Haa... Haa... Hahaha، finally did it!" Baishui panted، lying flat on his back and staring up at the sky. "So that's the trick. It wasn't my method that was flawed. I just didn't have the reps in!"
Achieving even a basic mastery of Soru was a massive boon to his combat abilities. At the very least، unlocking the technique forced him to command every single ounce of muscle fiber in his body with absolute precision.
It was infinitely better than his previous combat style، which relied entirely on instinct and wasted massive amounts of stamina. For someone with ambitions as high as Baishui's، such inefficiency was absolutely intolerable.
A month flew by، lost to the relentless grind of his training.
Swish!
With a sharp، sonic boom tearing through the air، Baishui vanished. He reappeared a hundred meters away، his footing perfectly solid and balanced. The clumsy، unrefined movements from a month ago were completely gone.
"Finally getting somewhere. Now، let's see how fast I can go when I stack my Devil Fruit on top of it!"
Baishui stood up straight، closed his eyes، and took a deep breath. His muscles suddenly coiled tight as a brilliant white light flared to life across his body. With a sharp، piercing shriek of displaced air، he vanished once more.
In the blink of an eye، he materialized a hundred and fifty meters away.
I cleared an extra fifty meters in the exact same timeframe as a normal Soru. Which means my Devil Fruit buffs my speed by nearly a third!
Interesting. This kind of velocity should be roughly equivalent to half the speed of a fully mastered، peak-level Soru! Baishui calculated internally.
"Alright، that's enough for today!" Exhaling deeply، he wiped the sweat from his brow and turned back toward home.
When he arrived، Aqi had already prepared a lavish feast، the table groaning under the weight of the food.
Like most powerhouses in the Grand Line، Baishui had a monstrous appetite—one that the island's normal food supply couldn't hope to satisfy. Because of this، the local Sea Kings had been having a very bad time. Every two or three days، Baishui would dive into the surrounding waters، haul a Sea King out، and butcher it for dinner.
Of course، eating nothing but fish every day would get boring fast. Baishui had effectively raided every neighboring island for their edible fruits and vegetables، hauling the produce back using the pirate warships he had commandeered from Yuris.
As a side effect of his gluttony، the living standards of the townsfolk on Kuro Island had skyrocketed. Prior to his arrival، none of them had ever tasted Sea King meat. They'd never even imagined what those terrifying، natural-disaster-level sea monsters tasted like.
"Thanks for the hard work!" Baishui said، sneaking up behind Aqi as she cooked and wrapping his arms around her waist، pulling her into a warm embrace.
"You really are something else! Instigating trouble the second you walk through the door!" Startled by the sudden ambush، Aqi jumped، but upon realizing it was just Baishui، she rolled her eyes in fond exasperation.
"What's the big deal? You're my wife. If I can't harass you، who am I supposed to harass?" Baishui replied shamelessly، wearing a cheeky 'what are you gonna do about it' grin.
"Let go! You're completely drenched in sweat، you absolute mess. Hurry up and take a bath so we can eat!" Aqi huffed، swatting away the hands that were conveniently trying to wander up toward her chest.
"Yes، ma'am!" Baishui saluted sharply. Before Aqi could even process the movement، he planted a loud، exaggerated kiss on her cheek and dashed out of the room.
"That guy، honestly!" Aqi stamped her foot، her cheeks flushing، utterly powerless against his antics.
"Ah، soaking in a hot bath is the best... even if this sapped، powerless feeling kind of sucks."
Baishui's bathroom was situated in the part of the house closest to the ocean. Utilizing his knowledge as a top-tier engineering student from his past life، he had constructed a desalination system to convert seawater for their daily needs.
But even transformed into fresh water، it couldn't fully negate the inherent curse of a Devil Fruit user. Submerging himself still brought that creeping sensation of the sea draining his stamina. Yet، none of that could stop him from luxuriating in the sheer، undeniable comfort of a good soak.
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