"Luffy, be careful with this one. If you can't dodge it, you might die..."
Not far away, Zoro placed Wado Ichimonji between his teeth.
"I-It's here!"
Johnny cried out.
Big Bro Zoro's Three-Sword Style!
His left and right swords crossed in front of him.
The third blade sealed off his opponent's escape route.
Three-Sword Style: Oni Giri!
Whoosh!
Luffy reacted instinctively.
He stomped against the deck dozens of times in rapid succession, generating explosive recoil.
In an instant, he vanished from where he'd been standing.
Oh.
So this is [Rapid Movement]?
I can go even faster!
Luffy's mind started racing.
"He normally looks completely unreliable, but you can never treat him like an idiot."
That was Garp's evaluation of his own grandson.
Especially when it came to combat, Luffy possessed almost freakish talent.
[Warning. Distraction during combat is prohibited. Punishment countdown...]
Luffy slapped both cheeks.
Almost.
I'm almost there!
But ideas like this really could only be tested and perfected in actual combat.
Luffy grinned at Zoro.
"Again!"
Click.
Zoro sheathed his swords.
"Huh?"
Luffy looked confused.
"Why'd you put your swords away?"
"This is never going to end. I'm going to have some booze and get some proper rest."
Zoro pointed at Johnny and Usopp.
"Have those two train with you."
After saying that, he walked off to the side, pulled out his flask, and hurriedly gulped down a large mouthful.
He glanced at his trembling hand.
"How embarrassing."
When it came to willpower, it was hard to say whether Zoro or Luffy was stronger.
Who couldn't repeatedly push themselves back up and keep doing sit-ups?
In this world, most people had physiques practically comparable to superhumans.
The only things that truly determined whether someone could become strong were spirit and willpower!
But when it came to endurance, Zoro admitted there was a bit of a gap between himself and Luffy.
That ability to fall asleep instantly, wake up instantly, and immediately return to full energy was completely ridiculous.
And even more terrifying was Luffy's stomach.
He could stuff himself with absurd amounts of food and digest it almost instantly.
If the captain was working that hard, it'd be pretty pathetic if his crew didn't work hard too, right?!
Zoro was a proud man.
Ever since leaving the dojo in Shimotsuki Village, he'd continuously worked toward his dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman.
He'd even become a bounty hunter while searching for that man.
After taking a short break, he'd continue training too!
At first, Luffy had been laughing and messing around.
Now he wasn't laughing anymore.
He was grinding like a madman.
[Warning. Punishment countdown...]
Before the voice could even finish, Luffy was already looking at Usopp and Johnny.
Habits truly became second nature.
His body no longer even needed to be whipped into action.
By the time Luffy realized what he'd done, he could only feel frustrated with himself and helpless about it.
A classic case of his brain wanting one thing while his body did another.
At this point, Luffy was like a fish that had already been baited.
[Rapid Recovery] and [Rapid Movement] were pieces of bait being tossed in front of him one after another.
The temptation was impossible to resist.
Usopp had originally just been watching the fun.
Until his eyes met Luffy's.
C-Crap!
One look was enough to know.
This was not the person he wanted looking at him.
"Huh? Me?"
Every hair on Usopp's back stood on end.
What did this guy want?!
Anything but that!
"Fight, fight, fight!"
Luffy shouted fanatically.
Usopp suddenly missed the happy days when he'd first joined the crew and gone fishing with Luffy.
We agreed to slack off together!
Why did you suddenly become such a training maniac?!
Less than an hour later, Usopp collapsed from exhaustion.
He wasn't a training freak like Zoro, after all.
[Automatically adjusting the plan according to the executor's current physical condition. Daily training requirement fulfilled. Begin Devil Fruit Development immediately... Countdown: thirty seconds.]
[Warning. Punishment countdown...]
"Even if you say that, I can't think of any better ideas..."
Luffy was troubled.
When he'd used [Rapid Movement] earlier, an idea had suddenly flashed through his mind.
But when he actually tried to think it through, he couldn't find that spark again.
Devil Fruit development was closely related to imagination.
He had more than enough natural imagination.
But what about developing that imagination further?
Imagination was connected to what someone had seen, experienced, and read.
The more things you saw, the more things your mind could naturally imagine.
Just like the giants Usopp had mentioned.
Usopp knew giants existed because he'd grown up reading all kinds of books and stories.
And he'd admired giants ever since.
Back in Foosha Village, the only truly educated person around was Makino.
Teacher Makino had tried teaching Luffy and Ace.
At first, she'd been full of enthusiasm.
Eventually, she gently declared that they were idiots.
"When you two set out to sea someday, remember to find some smart companions."
Makino had even reminded them of that before they left.
Language.
Math.
History.
Geography...
Luffy was the kind of person who needed to count on his fingers just to do calculations.
Then halfway through counting, he'd grin and announce,
"Forget it! I give up."
[Adjusting according to the executor's current condition. Essential knowledge is necessary to become the Pirate King and will assist in further developing Devil Fruit abilities.]
[Random study subject... Basic Medical Knowledge selected. Begin immediately.]
What the hell?!
This time, Luffy genuinely couldn't take it anymore.
Even if it told him to learn swordsmanship from Zoro, at least there was someone around to teach him!
What the hell was he supposed to do with medicine?!
They didn't even have a doctor aboard the ship yet!