After giving the orders, she walked from the internal passage to the captain's room on the second floor.
In this space, which could be considered enormous in scale, Renedia sat on the sofa, focused on drawing blueprints. Lily glanced over and it seemed like a motorcycle-like mode of transportation...
And at the office desk, Sage seemed to have just woken up, pulling out a bottle of wine from the wine cabinet, pouring it into his gemstone-embedded goblet with his strong upper body bare.
"Awake, Sage?"
When she woke up and started commanding, the bedroom door on the second floor was still closed.
"Ah... what time is it now?"
Sage drank all the liquid in the wine glass in one go and asked.
"Eight in the morning. You've slept a whole afternoon and night, is this intensity really worth such a long sleep?"
"A longer sleep is good for energy, where's Marika?"
"Ah, calling for me?"
As soon as Sage finished speaking, Marika appeared downstairs, holding a large platter, and smiled: "Although I guessed you'd probably wake up around this time, I'm not sure if this breakfast will be enough..."
She walked to the table and placed a portion from the large platter of breakfast.
Eggs, bacon, bread, milk, dried fruit, sandwiches, oats... a variety of foods accompanied by side dishes filled half the office desk.
This breakfast, enough to satisfy ten people, Sage glanced at it and shook his head:
"It's enough, but I have other plans. From now on, meals will be on the first floor, Marika. Until the next supply starts, I need food for a hundred people each meal. The food should be good and plentiful. For now, let's eat like this. We'll have a banquet at noon and distribute the treasures we've captured..."
"Understood." Marika smiled gently.
Sage eating so much was a very joyful thing for her.
Cooking brings happiness, and Marika didn't feel troubled or tired.
"But why eat so much?" she asked curiously.
With Life Return, you can eat as much as you want, but it's fundamentally exhausting, Sage's normal meals wouldn't require much even if he deliberately maintained Life Return and improved his physique before.
"Yeah, Sage, are you planning to become a sumo wrestler? I think your physique is just right."
Renedia waited for Marika to come over, took the food from the platter, and asked.
"It's for training, of course."
Sage looked towards the Poneglyph placed against the wall in this wide hall and said: "With this thing, some training can be done. Life Return is fine, but without turning it into specific training, progress is still a bit slow."
Eating can make you stronger, training can also make you stronger, so a combination of eating and training can certainly make you even stronger.
"This thing..."
Lily took the breakfast from Marika, thanked her, and sat on the sofa, looking at the large stone block as tall as three people and asked: "Is there any secret method that can enhance it?"
"What are you thinking? There's no such strange thing, this is a Poneglyph, and it records the location of 'Pluton,' the destructive weapon that Crocodile has been after, capable of destroying islands with a single shot," Sage said.
"Oh? Is it this?"
Renedia's eyes lit up, "Sage, is it in Alabasta? With such strong technology, why not take it?"
"Of course, it's not here. The information only reveals its location, specifically it should be in the Wano Country in the New World, but no one knows exactly where, otherwise Kaido would have unveiled it long ago."
"I see..."
Renedia nodded and then froze.
It wasn't just her that froze; Lily also looked over in surprise.
"Sage..."
Lily blinked and said: "Aren't you illiterate? Why do you recognize these ancient characters?"
She came from an academic background and had read many books, but she couldn't recognize the inscriptions on the stone block at all.
"Yeah! I'm illiterate! No need to say, I just know this thing, not important!" Sage rolled his eyes.
He was illiterate, but he had memories!
It just came back to him...
But there's no way to explain this.
"Just knowing the information is enough, don't spread it around."
The World Government is likely keeping a close eye on this thing. Although Sage isn't afraid of trouble, who would want to invite trouble for no reason? Isn't that asking for discomfort?
"I want this thing purely for its hardness!"
Sage quickly finished the ten-person breakfast along with another cup of wine, wiped his mouth, walked to the Poneglyph, stood firm, clenched his fists, and punched it hard.
Bang!
The dull sound of the impact echoed in the hall, the force even shaking the space a bit.
Sage's punch was powerful.
With just his flesh, he could already smash rocks, but such a punch left no marks on the Poneglyph.
Lily squinted her eyes, and she could see Sage didn't use Haki.
Since she had already grasped Armament Haki, she could see 'color.'
Sage's punch relied solely on his physical strength.
"Without using Haki or abilities, when a mark can be made or even break it, then the growth in physical quality will be terrifically formidable..."
Saying this, he kicked it again, striking the stone block.
Bang!
The same sound and reverberation spread out.
"Utilizing every part of the body, maximize the exercise to the fullest extent."
His weakness isn't combat skill, Sage wouldn't dare say it's the best, but he's definitely top-notch.
However, his physique and amount of Haki aren't strong enough yet.
Haki, as an extension of willpower, becomes stronger as willpower grows, which naturally enhances Haki through the cultivation of perseverance and determination, but deadly battles accelerate it.
But that doesn't significantly relate to the growth of the body.
"Truly top-tier warriors possess first-class mind, physique, and technique, none of which can be neglected."
"If you want to train, then train like me, without using Haki or abilities, it will be effective."
He remembers Garp's training method of punching mountains and hammering down large steel-clad battleships using only flesh...
The top-tier warriors on the great sea have incredibly strong physiques, even those with Logia-type powers!
Among the three Navy admirals, he knew Aokiji was Garp's apprentice, with similar training methods and a strong physique.
As for Akainu, who defeated Aokiji...
You can only imagine!
This is the most direct way of training for Body Techniques masters, Sage never had the chance before. Although the treasure vault was encased in a steel chamber, the steel's hardness wasn't sufficient.
If Sage truly hit it, he could make impressions, but now he's got this Poneglyph, harder than steel, perfect for refining the body.
He wouldn't hit any Secret Holes; in his view, such hard stone still has traces to follow.
It's solely relying on physical strength.
Continually doing this kind of striking also strengthens will.
After all...
Bang bang bang bang!
Sage nearly used all parts of his body to strike the Poneglyph, head bumping, fist punching, elbow attacking, leg kicking, knee striking, using all the available spots.
Each hit carried the greatest force, causing continuous tremors in the massive hall.
Visible to the naked eye, parts of his body began to turn red, some even covered with blood stains. If he continued, his body would certainly suffer injuries. Such pain and training also forge conviction.
Bang!
Sage punched the Poneglyph again, blood spurting from his hand, clearly injured.
But he didn't care at all; the wounds on his fist healed instantly as he lifted it.
This training method also promotes the use of Life Return, thus maximizing body refinement. As his physique advances, Life Return also progresses.
"The day I hammer this thing into pieces, break it..."
Bang!
Sage threw another punch, a glimmer of ambition in his eyes, "No one will be able to stop me!"
Pain?
Suffering?
He fears not being a landlord more!
These woes now are all for future enjoyment!
Previously, considering his foster father's view, he aimed to tread paths not catching the World Government's attention to become a landlord, and then continue growing stronger.
But now he's a pirate, it's obviously different.
The great sea's formidable warriors are absurdly and exaggeratedly strong, Sage fears failure but does not want to fail.
Being insufficiently strong won't fulfill his dreams and ambitions!