"Two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine!"
"Three thousand!"
Huff!
Kai let out a heavy breath and collapsed onto the deck, utterly spent. His limbs loosened, his body drained. Three hundred kilograms of weighted gear had been strapped to him the entire time — a crushing burden.
Without that weight, three thousand push-ups would be nothing for him. With it, he had truly touched his limit. His stamina was almost entirely exhausted; weakness pressed down on him like a tidal wave.
Still,his monstrous physique began to recover itself at an astonishing rate. The system's restorations worked fast; within moments his strength started knitting back together. The fatigue remained, but that raw, gratifying sense of having pushed himself to the edge—of having improved—filled him with a quiet intoxication.
Every brutal session meant growth. The speed of improvement was visible. That's why he could sustain this harsh routine day and night.
As he lay on the deck catching his breath, the system dinged again out of nowhere.
[This training granted: Strength +0.004, Speed +0.002, Stamina +0.003!]
[After 100x training amplification…]
[Host receives: Strength +0.4, Speed +0.2, Stamina +0.3!]
A warm current appeared and swept through his body, remodeling bone, blood and sinew. Just when he had been driven to the absolute limit, the system's alteration restored him — immediately and completely. Strength and speed rose noticeably alongside his stamina.
A short while later, the modification was completed. Kai felt it plainly: he had grown stronger.
He clenched his fists and let the surge of power flow through him. The previous exhaustion thinned; muscle soreness vanished. Every time he pushed himself into hellish training, the system erased all adverse aftereffects. That's why he could afford to grind without fear of long-term injury — the system ensured no hidden wounds remained.
"System, display attribute panel."
Slowly recovering mobility, Kai called the panel to mind.
[Host: Kai]
[Strength: 24.7 (+2.1)]
[Speed: 21.5 (+1.6)]
[Stamina: 26.2 (+2.0)]
[Spirit: 14.1 (+0.4)]
[Ghost Back Completion: 10.38%]
[Cultivation Efficiency Multiplier: 100x]
This was what four days of relentless, hellish training had earned him. In just four days, his power had leapt forward: strength, speed and stamina all rose, and his Conqueror's Haki had grown stronger with his spirit.
They'd spent four full days sailing from Foosha Village, and the warship was now fast approaching the boundary with the Grand Line. The voyage had been smooth; no major obstacles had turned up. No pirate crew dared attack such a huge Navy vessel head-on.
When occasional big-name pirate crews — those worth millions — did appear, Garp let Kai handle them alone. Over the course of those days, Kai had taken down three pirate crews with bounties twelve million Berries each, sinking them one after another and emerging completely unscathed. Clearly, those "big" pirates posed almost no threat to him.
In four days the ship had passed four or five islands; they were about to leave the East Blue and enter the Grand Line. Unlike pirate ships that had to fight current and pass through Reverse Mountain, Navy vessels had a special advantage: they could travel through the Calm Belt.
That capability came from the Navy's ace scientist — Dr. Vegapunk. Through his research the Marines built ships that could cross Calm Belts without attracting Sea Kings; the hull material repelled those gigantic beasts and left the ship unmolested. That technology made Navy travel between East Blue and the Grand Line far easier and far less risky than a pirate's path.
Kai pushed himself up from the deck, sunlight highlighting the devastating definition of his upper body — muscle after muscle coiled and tense, the ghostly pattern of his Ghost Back adding an eerie edge. He looked like a living fortress, every fiber poised like a sealed volcano.
He glanced over at Garp, still sleeping in his sun chair, and shook his head with a wry little smile.
"We've got time before Marineford," he thought. "Might as well learn something practical from the old man. Rokushiki, for example."
He wanted to use the voyage productively. Rokushiki had always intrigued him.
So, without hesitation, he walked over and roused Garp from sleep.
Garp blinked, rubbed his eyes and yawned. "What is it, brat?"
"I want to learn Rokushiki," Kai said plainly.
"Huh?" Garp opened his eyes fully, surprised by the boy's resolve. He hesitated, brows knitting. "Are you sure about that? Before you begin, I'll tell you straight: Rokushiki is hard. Extremely hard. Are you mentally prepared?"
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