"Come on!"
"Then I won't hold back."
"Hit me faster!"
"You're really acting tough, huh?"
Zoro rolled up his sleeves, a downright sadistic grin appearing on his face.
"If you can't take it anymore, remember to say something."
......
Bang!
A fist slammed into Luffy's stomach.
Luffy sucked in a deep breath, then put on a mocking expression.
"Zoro, did you skip breakfast or something? You're so weak."
Smack!
Then came smack, smack, smack, smack!
Zoro watched Luffy stagger several steps backward, an incredibly satisfied expression appearing on his face.
"Ahh... Compared to when I'm going all out, I guess there really is a little less strength behind them."
That felt great!
With Luffy's obnoxious personality, there had been plenty of times when Zoro had wanted to draw his swords and cut him down.
Then he'd remember that this guy was his captain.
He could only comfort himself.
I chose this.
"Then hurry up and stand still. Don't go flying when I punch you."
Luffy grinned.
His fist had already stretched dozens of meters away.
"Hey! That's cheating!"
Zoro immediately lost his temper.
"Just tell me whether it's one punch or not!"
This time, Luffy was completely justified.
Damn it.
It really was one punch!
That single punch nearly knocked Zoro's guts out.
The two began exchanging ridiculous attacks.
It was hard to say who was getting the worse end of the deal.
Luffy even discovered later that being rubber didn't completely protect him.
His abdomen was starting to feel numb.
Zoro didn't look much better either.
When it came to taking a beating, these two brothers were truly maxed out.
"Hey, are you two playing some kind of weird new game?"
It was early in the morning, yet the sound of fists slamming into flesh could already be heard.
After Usopp was awakened by the noise, he looked up and noticed that both Zoro and Luffy were missing from the bunks beside him.
Zoro being gone was normal.
It would've been stranger if that training maniac were still asleep.
But Luffy was supposed to be his good buddy who slept until the sun was shining on his butt!
Then Usopp walked outside.
And immediately lost it.
What the hell were these two doing?
"M-Maybe you should give up, Luffy."
Zoro's face was scrunched up as he gasped heavily for air.
Sweat had already soaked through his clothes.
The difference in quality couldn't make up for the difference in quantity.
No matter how you looked at it, Zoro was still throwing ten punches.
Even with Luffy's natural resistance to damage, he couldn't endure that forever.
Not to mention that Luffy had already been training and exhausting his stamina before Zoro even woke up.
"It's... still too early."
Luffy was once again experiencing what it had felt like to be trained by Garp.
He wanted to stop too.
More than ten years had passed since Luffy obtained the Gum-Gum Fruit and Garp began training him with the goal of turning him into an outstanding Marine soldier.
Luffy had something to say about that.
I've already trained my ass off for more than ten years!
Can't I enjoy myself now?!
That was the kind of adventure he wanted!
But Luffy raised his head and looked at the glaring warning floating before him.
It was practically holding a knife against his throat.
What else could he do?
Give in.
Agree.
It wasn't like Luffy hadn't tried resisting before.
The pendant's punishments were simply too twisted.
And they could even escalate.
At first, it had only used electricity.
Once it discovered electricity didn't work, it switched to making him run to the bathroom.
Afterward, it seemed to discover Luffy's fatal weakness and even made that punishment permanent.
Besides, fighting like this really was pretty fun.
Way better than mindlessly training by himself.
What an exhilarating battle!
Zoro grimaced.
He was starting to regret suggesting a fight with Luffy.
Even though he knew both of them were genuinely hurting right now, the moment he remembered his opponent was a rubber man, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was still getting the worse end of the deal.
"Do those two seriously not feel pain?"
Usopp's teeth ached just from watching the two exchange blow after blow.
It hurt just looking at them.
Did this kind of training really work?
He'd heard that actual combat was the fastest way to make progress in strength.
And technically, what Luffy and Zoro were doing counted as some kind of battle, right?
I'm proud to have companions like these!
Usopp had a very clear understanding of his own role.
Judging from the force Luffy was using to punch Zoro, one hit would make Usopp's eyes roll straight back.
Even Zoro, who looked like the definition of a tough guy, had started trembling slightly.
In the distance, the morning sun slowly rose over the horizon.
"I-Isn't it... time yet?"
After enduring another round of punches, Luffy genuinely couldn't take much more.
If someone gave him a ton of food right now, he'd inhale the entire thing like a hurricane.
"You... win."
Zoro collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily.
He was beginning to acknowledge this captain more and more.
At first, he'd joined because Luffy had saved his life.
Even though Luffy had seemed unreliable, Zoro had gritted his teeth and joined the crew anyway.
But now...
He genuinely believed Luffy could become the man who would be Pirate King!
The most important thing about becoming strong was being ruthless toward yourself.
If you weren't ruthless toward yourself, your enemies would be twice as ruthless to you.
It was just a month of chores.
He'd do it!