Carina took the Mera Mera no Mi from Moge and took a huge bite.
The next second, her face scrunched up.
Her features twisted as she struggled to swallow the awful fruit.
She quickly grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it down.
“Gag…” She retched, even while keeping the water down.
“Pui, pui, pui!
What the hell is this thing?!
It tastes completely awful!
It’s worse than rotten mud mixed with sewage!”
Seeing her grimacing face, Moge and Toniel couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Once Carina caught her breath, Moge raised an eyebrow and laughed.
“Alright, you ate it, so stop complaining.
Try out your new powers.”
Carina nodded, her expression turning serious.
Flames instantly erupted from her body.
Her hair and clothes transformed into dancing fire.
Her eyes widened in a mix of surprise and wonder.
“Wow…
Is this fire?
But I don’t feel hot at all.
What a strange feeling!”
“Stupid, you are the fire now.
Of course you won’t burn yourself,” Moge teased with a laugh.
Carina gave an “Oh” and immediately clenched her fists in excitement.
Flames burned wildly in her palms.
“Watch this—Hiken!”
She aimed at the distant sea and threw a powerful punch, launching a fist made of condensed flames.
BOOM!!
A massive crater blasted into the surface of the sea.
Seawater evaporated instantly, and a thick white mist spread across the entire area.
Moge rubbed his chin, looking at the misty sea in the distance.
“The Logia class truly deserves its reputation as a top-tier ability.
You can use decent combat power right after eating it.
However, you still need to work on your physical training.
Otherwise, you won’t be able to keep it up for long.”
Hearing this, Carina said seriously, “I can feel it even without you saying so.
Using this ability drains my stamina really quickly.
I don’t think I can last long.”
Moge waved his hand dismissively, his tone relaxed.
“There’s no rush.
Just focus on training later.
I’ll give you some development ideas for the Mera Mera no Mi soon.
Following those should help you master its power quickly.”
Carina asked, “You’ve never eaten the Mera Mera no Mi, yet you can teach me how to develop its abilities?”
“Wahahaha!” Moge laughed loudly.
“I haven’t eaten it, but the essence of these abilities is imagination!
It’ll definitely work!”
“Alright then.” Carina felt she should trust Moge.
In these matters, Moge was quite reliable.
“Forget it, let’s rest and eat first,” Moge said with a smile.
“Toniel, go clean that giant bird.
We’ll eat its meat tonight.
Carina, you’re in charge of gathering the treasures on the ground.”
“Okay!” the two replied in unison and immediately set to work.
Training Under the Night Sky
As night fell, the three sat around a campfire, holding skewers of giant bird meat that sizzled with fat and smelled heavenly.
Moge took a bite of the roast meat and spoke slowly, “We’ll probably have to stay on this island for a few more days.
The currents outside haven’t calmed down yet, so we can’t set sail.
Carina, since you just got the Mera Mera no Mi, use these days to get familiar with its powers.
Toniel, you should also take this time to train your body and polish your combat techniques.”
“Got it!”
Once the two had nearly finished eating, Moge wiped his mouth and began to explain things to Carina.
“The core of the Mera Mera no Mi is controlling the burning flames.
You can start with basic flame condensation and elementalization, and later try wide-range attacks.”
He told Carina about the techniques Ace used in the anime he watched in his past life, such as Hiken, Hidaruma, and Entei, along with their development concepts.
With Ace’s template ready to go, Carina just had to follow it to become a powerhouse in the New World.
It was that simple.
As for the fact that Ace no longer had the Mera Mera no Mi, he didn’t care at all.
What did that have to do with him?
Ace was just a stranger; his own companions were what mattered most.
Besides, maybe Ace would become even stronger without the Mera Mera no Mi—a fruit so bad even a dog wouldn’t eat it!
After eating the fruit, Ace had become too reliant on its powers and barely trained his Haki.
He was Roger’s son.
In this world dominated by bloodlines, his potential was arguably the highest.
If he truly worked hard on developing his Haki, he would definitely be stronger than in the original story.
He might even have to thank Moge.
Thinking about it, Moge felt amused.
Without the Mera Mera no Mi, what would Ace’s title be when he went to sea?
Would ‘Fire Fist’ become ‘Iron Fist,’ ‘Steel Fist,’ or just ‘Pipe Boy’?
Hardcore Body Tempering
The next day, the three went to the place where they had discovered the giant ship.
The area was open and very suitable for their training.
Moge explained the direction of training to each of them and let them practice on their own, telling them to ask if they didn’t understand anything.
He, meanwhile, slowly walked to the side of the giant ship, his gaze fixed on the thick hull.
Garp’s method of teaching his disciples suddenly flashed through his mind: punching warships to temper the body.
Aokiji had built a solid foundation using this method back in the day, and even Koby had developed a powerful physique through this sheer ruthlessness.
“That old geezer Garp’s teaching method is still worth learning from,” Moge muttered to himself, his eyes resolute.
After all, everyone that old man trained ended up being quite formidable, and he trained that way himself.
In the years since he transmigrated into this world, his swordsmanship and Haki were already decent.
Only his physique was relatively weak, which was one of his future directions for improvement.
The old man who taught him didn’t have a very strong physique himself; he mainly taught him swordsmanship and the use of Haki.
While practicing swordsmanship could train the body, it always felt a bit lacking.
He knew that his current swordsmanship was enough for early battles, but physique was the foundation of everything.
For the top powerhouses on the sea, battles could last for days and nights.
Without a powerful physique to support it, one couldn’t go far.
Moreover, training the body was also training Haki.
Only with a strong physique could Haki be even stronger.
He muttered in his heart, “Talent activate, Deep Blue add points!”
He didn’t actually have a system; this was just a psychological suggestion he gave himself.
This mutated talent already existed.
Saying “activate” was just to give himself a bit more motivation—it was all about the sense of participation.
A small cheat doesn’t count as cheating; this is just his talent, right?!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!!
The next second, Moge’s hands were wrapped in Beginner Armament Haki.
Veins bulged on his arms as he repeatedly smashed them into the ship’s hull with force.
The deafening sounds of impact were continuous.
With every punch, a deep crater was smashed into the thick hull.
The giant ship vibrated incessantly under the sustained heavy blows.
Broken pieces of wood fell away, and dust filled the air, shrouding his figure.
As his punches became faster and heavier, the cracks in the hull grew larger, and wood chips flew everywhere.
After an unknown amount of time, when his Armament Haki was completely exhausted, Moge did not stop.
Instead, he began using various parts of his body to strike.
Elbows, knees, shoulders, and even his back became weapons to temper his physique.
This almost self-torturing method of cultivation brought intense pain with every collision, but Moge’s gaze only grew more determined.
He knew that if he wanted to become stronger, there were no shortcuts.
Only day after day of polishing could make up for his physical shortcomings and allow him to go further on this sea.