The heart of the strong?
What on earth could this be?
Ain had been troubled lately. Ever since that day when Zephyr-sensei mentioned the concept of the strong, she had been pondering what it truly was.
She wasn't surprised that Ian had fought Zephyr.
After all, this was the same guy who had dared to slap Zephyr twice in front of three of his students.
But what did the so-called heart of the strong have to do with fighting Zephyr?
You see, she believed her determination to become stronger was no less than anyone else's.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have come here to train alone while Binz was still drinking.
She didn't even believe Ian truly possessed the heart of the strong.
After all, she'd gotten up before dawn to train, while that guy?
He had always gotten up very late, only coming to train when the sun was high in the sky.
So why did Zephyr say she didn't have the heart of the strong, while that guy did?
Recalling Zephyr's words from that day, Ain paused her training again, staring bewilderedly at the tree she had cut down before her. "What exactly is this so-called heart of the strong?"
Diligent training?
Or the will to become stronger?
But she has all of these!
This is what she's been struggling to understand lately.
That guy had clearly refused Zephyr's invitation to join Marine Headquarters. Even after retiring, he still insisted on training, waking up later than her every morning for training. He acted like he just wanted to retire and be with his wife, not like he had any desire to become stronger.
What kind of heart of the strong is this?
"Ian..."
At that thought, Ain couldn't help lifting her head, looking toward the back mountain. "That guy should still be training there right now!"
She knew that every day when the sun rose, he would train there until the sun set.
Her training ground was quite a distance away, but honestly, she was a little curious about how he trained.
But it just felt a bit awkward to spy on others' training. Especially that guy... If she went to spy on him, it would feel like she was already admitting defeat in front of Zephyr.
"Forget it, keep training!"
After silently staring for a while, Ain finally came to her senses, shook her head, and clutched her sword with both hands while muttering calmly to herself: "I want to see how much stronger you will become if you choose not to go to Marine Headquarters, retire, and indulge in family life."
As Ain finished her words, she lowered her head to resume training.
In the distance, a blazing, massive light appeared before her eyes, like a giant golden axe falling from the sky, cleaving everything.
What was that?
Ain suddenly raised her head, her eyes widening as she stared into the distance in disbelief.
That direction was...
Before Ain could react, the earth shook in the distance, trees swaying, birds startled and taking flight, as if an entire mountain had been moved.
Even from this distance, she could feel it.
But it only lasted a moment before disappearing.
Ain continued to stare in disbelief, the shock still etched on her face, her eyes fixed tightly on the distance.
That direction was... Where that guy was training.
What had just happened?
An earthquake?
A tsunami?
And what was that enormous light?
Even though she was already so far away from that guy, she could still see and feel it clearly.
At this moment, Ain hesitated once again, her urge to sneak a peek growing stronger.
Curiosity and doubt filled her heart, causing her hands, gripping her two swords tightly, to tighten.
Gazing at the still, distant horizon, Ain fell silent again, her face hesitant, and she lowered her head.
Roughly a quarter of an hour later, as if making a decision, she looked up at the distance.
Her initial hesitation gave way to determination, and she muttered to herself: "I'm just suspicious that a strong enemy might have attacked; that's why I'm going to check it out!"
Yes, that terrifying light just now might have been some powerful individual sneaking into the back mountain.
At this point, as if convinced, she sheathed her two swords without further hesitation and ran forward.
Only when she was about to arrive did her speed gradually slow down, and the complex hesitation crept back onto her face. But soon after, her eyes became firm again, and she lowered her head and continued forward.
When she finally entered that guy's training grounds, she lifted her head, surprised not to hear any sound at all.
A bit of doubt rose in her heart.
Had he already left?
The sun hasn't even set yet, so why is it so fast today?
What exactly is the heart of the strong?
The question that had been troubling her resurfaced, but as soon as she raised her head, her inner anguish vanished. Her eyes widened again, and she gazed in amazement at the scene before her.
Before her, those mountains… were split apart.
Split apart from the bottom, as if a path had been carved through them.
Is this how that guy trained?
She hadn't expected him to be able to split mountains.
Last time, he had cut a ship clean in two with a single strike. Although at that time he relied on a power-accumulating technique to do it, now being able to cleave through mountains bit by bit wasn't too surprising.
Ain couldn't help but reach out and gently stroke the marks at the base of the mountain.
She could sense the person's perseverance and dedication, especially now... Especially since, before her, a total of six mountains had been split open.
That much said it all.
It seemed that guy wasn't as lazy as she had thought.
Ain's face was filled with complexities as she gazed at the mountains before her. However, just as her heart was filled with complex feelings and emotion…
"No!"
She seemed to notice something and sharply turned her head, staring at another mountain beyond the six split ones.
A mountain taller and larger than the previous six. Her pupils suddenly shrank.
The complex feelings and emotions she had felt instantly transformed into shock and disbelief, and her body ran uncontrollably towards the mountain.
Instantly, facing the mountain so closely, she felt a suffocating and scorching sensation.
It was split apart!
Yes, this mountain had also been split apart.
But unlike the previous six mountains, which had been split apart from below, this mountain had been cleanly split from top to bottom, cleaved in two, straight down from the summit.
How on earth was this even possible?
No, was this really something he had done?
Looking at the vast crack that stretched straight ahead without obstruction, Ain fell silent. Her right hand once again reached out uncontrollably and trembled as it touched the massive rift.
He could actually do something like this?
At that moment, Ain seemed to finally understand what Zephyr's heart of the strong meant.
...
Meanwhile, after successfully splitting a mountain, Ian, feeling incredibly energetic, walked down the mountain with his one-handed axe placed on his shoulder.
Today's unexpected haul had him decide to descend early and celebrate with a big meal.
Even though his Devil Fruit ability had left him feeling energetic after that move, and he didn't need food to recover, he still planned to celebrate with Robin.
For example, a bottle of green grape wine, two candles, some delicious food, and, if the mood struck, some exercise…
But unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the winery and was about to look for Robin, he was stopped by the overly excited Village Chief Martin.
Before he could ask, Village Chief Martin grabbed him and pulled him inside, saying as they walked: "Why did you come down so early today? Did you know the wine was ready? You seem to care about this winery, even though you keep saying it doesn't matter. Come on, come and try the wine this time."
Ian: "..."
I didn't know at all!
30 more chapters on my Patreon/SweetestDeath