After a brief farewell to the residents of Cape Town, the small vessel carrying the four of them slowly drifted away from the coast. The grateful shouts of the townspeople followed them from behind.
Nami pulled her gaze from the horizon and turned to Ronan, her voice tinged with confusion and the regret of a penny-pincher. "Hey, Ronan. The Split-Sail Captain was a big-time pirate with a 3-million Berry bounty. You just gave all that reward money to the villagers?"
Ronan watched the town recede in the distance, his eyes calm. "Their town was devastated by those pirates. Let them use that money to rebuild their homes."
Nami pursed her lips, muttering with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Well, aren't you the generous one..." She sighed deeply, her eyes betraying her lust for treasure. "I thought we'd strike it rich after seeing a pirate ship, but we got nothing! Even their ship was trashed! How am I ever supposed to save enough money at this rate?"
Zoro, whose ears were quite sharp, turned his head. Half-lounging on the boat, he asked, "What's the matter? You that desperate for cash?"
Nami snorted, crossing her arms. "None of your business!"
Ronan didn't join their bickering. He turned to the energetic Luffy sitting at the bow. "Hey, Luffy, where are we headed now?"
Luffy's face lit up instantly. He clenched his right fist and announced loudly, "To the Grand Line, of course!"
The moment he said it, Nami put her hands on her hips and shouted, "Heading into the Grand Line just like this is way too reckless!"
Nami was dead serious, but Luffy only seemed to hear the word "Grand." He swallowed an apple core in one gulp and looked puzzled. "True... we do need to eat more meat! We can't just survive on apples!"
"And I want some sake," Zoro added, resting his head on his arms. Though he was in a lazy "slumped" posture, his eyes were clear.
Ronan sighed as well, weighing the broken stick in his hand—less than a third of its original length remained. "I also need a proper iron spear. These wooden sticks are just too flimsy."
Intrigued by Ronan's comment, Zoro looked over again, his curiosity piqued. "Speaking of which, the way you used a wooden stick to unleash such powerful moves... that was spear technique, right? It's pretty rare; I've never seen anyone use a spear like that before."
Ronan nodded. "Yes. It's my family's heirloom—the Xingyi Thirteen Spears."
"What are you guys even talking about?!" Nami was losing her mind as these three men talked amongst themselves, completely ignoring her input. She grabbed an apple and threw it hard at Zoro's neck.
Thwack!
The apple bounced off, but Luffy's arm stretched out instantly, catching it and stuffing it into his mouth.
"We don't just lack people," Nami pointed angrily at the sea chart. "We lack a ship!" She took a breath and pointed to a location on the map. "Further south, there's an inhabited island. If we can get a decent ship there, that would be ideal!"
"Great! Let's go eat meat!" Luffy caught the key point immediately and cheered.
"And my sake!" Zoro sat up straight, invigorated.
Ronan's eyes were firm as he added, "And I'll get an iron spear!"
"I swear, you guys...!" Nami was left utterly speechless and helpless, watching her goal-oriented crew and sighing with her hand to her forehead.
...
Somewhere in the East Blue.
The sea was calm, the water shimmering like scattered gold under the sunlight as the small boat sailed slowly. On board, Ronan had already entered training mode. Despite the cramped space, he held a perfect "Horse Stance" (Mabu)—spine straight, knees aligned, hips sunk, and breath gathered in his dantian, following a rhythmic breathing pattern.
Although the [Unwavering Perseverance] system didn't provide a multiplier outside of combat, Ronan could clearly feel his body growing stronger in a slow, steady, and solid way.
Nearby, Zoro and Luffy were beside him, mimicking his Horse Stance with surprising form. Despite only learning for a day, under Ronan's careful guidance, their postures were quite standard. Combined with the internal breathing techniques Ronan had taught them, both were steaming with heat. They had already held the stance for a full thirty minutes, yet they remained, teeth grit, refusing to quit.
Nami, lounging by the side of the boat and enjoying the sun with her hands behind her head, didn't miss the chance to mock them. "Look at these three idiots. Such great weather, and instead of enjoying the sun, they're on a boat dripping with sweat!"
Ronan and the other two were completely unfazed by her mockery. When he felt his training session reach its conclusion, he slowly retracted his power and exhaled a long, steady breath of turbid air. Zoro and Luffy exhaled almost simultaneously, clouds of hot vapor escaping their lips as they stood up.
Zoro wiped the sweat from his brow, his eyes burning with intensity as he looked at Ronan. "Ronan, this Horse Stance is no joke! I can clearly feel my physical strength increasing, especially my lower body—it's much more stable than before!"
Luffy grinned and chimed in, "Yeah, yeah! Even though you have to stay still, I feel like my strength actually grew a bit!"
Ronan gave a confident smile. "Of course. This is the fundamental exercise for strengthening the body; it is the very foundation of martial arts." He looked at Zoro with the seriousness of a teacher passing down a legacy. "In a few days, I'll teach you some fist forms to further temper your bodies."
Hearing this, Zoro's eyes erupted with excitement. "Deal!" He knew full well how precious these systematic methods of physical cultivation were—they were treasures that money couldn't buy. Naturally, he was both happy and grateful.
Luffy, however, puckered his lips and started clamoring immediately. "Ronan, I want to learn right now!"
Ronan looked helplessly at the cramped deck. "On a boat this small, you can barely stretch an arm without hitting something. There's no room to move." Hearing this, Luffy had no choice but to give up for the moment.
Before long, Nami suddenly sprang up from her lounging position. She pointed at the horizon and let out an excited shout. "Hey! I see an island!"
Ronan, Zoro, and Luffy followed her gaze. Sure enough, on the distant horizon, the lush green silhouette of a small island was slowly emerging.
"Finally," Ronan thought, his heart stirring. With land beneath his feet, he could not only practice his martial arts properly but, more importantly, he could find himself a suitable iron spear!