My stomach.
My poor stomach.
Luffy staggered out of the bathroom looking completely drained, like he'd spent the entire night wearing himself out.
He'd barely made it.
Back when Garp had trained him as a kid, he'd handled most of this stuff outdoors.
But he was older now.
And there were companions aboard the ship who shared the same dreams and ambitions as him!
Doing something like that right on the spot was too much even for Luffy.
There was good news.
The electricity around his body had disappeared, meaning he could board the ship again.
The bad news...
Was that bizarre punishment.
Was he supposed to spend the rest of his life in the bathroom?!
Luffy gritted his teeth.
No!
I'm still not doing it!
【Warning. Complete ten sets of punching exercises within one hour... Then immediately conduct physical and swordsmanship training with your companion Zoro.】
【Remaining execution time: thirty seconds. Entering Stage Two punishment... Randomizing.】
His stomach?
No.
His stomach felt fine this time.
Luffy suddenly looked down.
He could vaguely feel something strange.
Don't tell me it's that?!
Ever since Luffy was little, Garp had told him that women were tigers.
Especially beautiful women.
"Until you become an outstanding Marine soldier, you absolutely cannot touch women. Even the most terrifying men in the world have fallen because of women..."
Luffy remembered hearing Garp ramble about that before.
Although he knew very little about that sort of thing, even he understood what this particular feeling meant.
【Attention. Execute the assigned training immediately. Punishment countdown: ten, nine...】
"Fine! I'll do it, okay?!"
Luffy's stubbornness finally broke.
If he kept resisting, he was the one who'd suffer.
He instantly charged onto the deck and started throwing punches.
"Gum-Gum Gatling!"
By the time he finished exercising, Luffy looked half-dead.
A three-hour training session had been compressed into a single hour.
Only someone who had personally experienced it could understand that kind of suffering.
But gradually, he realized who the real culprit was.
That pendant!
"Where did it go? I was wearing it before I went to sleep last night."
"Wait, why did the pendant turn into a tattoo?!"
Luffy looked down.
At some point, a tattoo identical to the pendant had appeared on his chest.
It was as though the pendant had fused directly into his body.
Now even his only idea for escaping this bizarre punishment was gone.
Was he going to be controlled like this from now on?
Impossible!
【Warning. Proceed to the next training task immediately. Punishment countdown...】
Luffy's entire body shuddered.
Wasn't the punishment supposed to be random?!
Why the hell did you make that one permanent?!
He hurried off to find Zoro.
"Zoro, save me!"
Luffy ran onto the deck.
The green-haired man with earrings was lifting a barbell.
"What nonsense are you causing this time?"
Zoro looked warily at Luffy.
"Don't interrupt my training. Go play with Usopp."
But without saying another word, Luffy snatched Zoro's barbell and started training.
There wasn't enough time to explain.
Zoro froze for quite a while before finally reacting.
Was there something wrong with his captain?
Luffy was always pulling some ridiculous stunt that left Zoro battered and bruised.
But this?
This was a first.
Was Luffy the hardworking training type?
Don't make me laugh.
Zoro looked completely baffled, his brows tightly furrowed.
Most of the time, Luffy's eyes carried a kind of pure, innocent stupidity.
Zoro had already labeled him unreliable the first time they'd met.
But most of the time, there was nothing actually wrong with his brain.
Especially when it came to fighting.
So what was this...?
Had something finally clicked in his head?
Luffy's body had training instincts practically carved into his bones.
The moment he picked up the barbell, he began lifting it with practiced ease.
All thanks to a certain demonic grandpa and his special training.
As for his current situation...
Luffy could only comfort himself.
"This is something I have to endure if I want to become the Pirate King."
"It's boring anyway. I used to live like this before. I'll just treat it like Zoro's helping me kill some time."
Luffy reconsidered things.
This was only the first day.
Maybe the plan was just a little strict at the beginning.
Perhaps it would loosen up later?
He grinned.
His mentality recovered almost immediately.
He turned toward Zoro and started chatting.
"Ahahaha! Why are you looking at me like that? Come on, let's train together..."
【Warning. Unrelated topics are prohibited during training! Punishment countdown: ten, nine...】
I can't even talk?!
Actually...
That wasn't quite right.
Luffy experimented a little afterward.
As long as he discussed training with Zoro, the punishment wouldn't activate.
As a training maniac, Zoro had plenty of his own experience to share.
What exercises to do at what time.
Sword training.
Arm training.
Strength training.
When it came to eating, though, he and Luffy had plenty in common.
Basically, just eat a lot.
But the moment food came up, Luffy couldn't stop himself.
He immediately started enthusiastically discussing delicious foods with Zoro.
Apparently, the pendant didn't consider that part of training.
It nearly made the punishment activate right there on the spot.
That would've been social death.
He had no choice but to take this seriously!
"Is this guy okay?"
Zoro had almost never seen Luffy look this serious.
He'd only vaguely seen an expression like that during battle.
Still, Zoro didn't pay much attention to it.
Whether captain or crew, there usually wasn't much to do while sailing.
That was simply how pirates lived.
Most of the time, the navigator guided the ship.
Only when they encountered pirates or Marines did combatants like Zoro have something to do.
So Zoro simply assumed Luffy was bored.
......
Luffy was almost completely limp.
If every day was going to be like this from now on, how was he supposed to live?!
What happened to the adventure he wanted?!
"I'm so hungry."
"When can I eat?"
At long last, noon arrived.
Luffy lay sprawled across the deck, wailing miserably.
"We already ate."
"You already ate?! Why didn't you call me?!"
Luffy's eyes widened, and Zoro's words scared him upright.
Was he not even going to be guaranteed three meals a day anymore?!
"I wasn't hungry."
Zoro continued swinging a heavy barbell and glanced back at him.
"Didn't Nami come over to call you earlier? You completely ignored her."
Luffy instantly sprang off the deck and charged toward the dining room.
He was suffering under both psychological and physical pressure.
Because now...
It was lunchtime!
The countdown beside him ticked away like it was counting down to his death.
For the first time in his life, Luffy realized that being forced to eat could actually be painful.