Chapter 149 - 7

Chapter 7Zoro bared his teeth and grimaced, regretting his decision to suggest a sparring match with Luffy.Although he knew everyone was feeling real pain now, the thought of his opponent being a Rubber Human made him feel like he was getting the short end of the stick."Don't they feel any pain?"Watching the two of them trade solid blows, Usopp's face was twisted in vicarious agony; it looked painful just to watch.Does this kind of training really work?He had heard that combat was the fastest way to improve one's strength, and he supposed what Luffy and Zoro were doing qualified as combat to some extent.I feel so proud of such companions!Usopp was quite clear about his own position; seeing the force with which Luffy hit Zoro, a single punch would probably make his eyes roll back in his head.Even a tough guy like Zoro seemed to have trembling hands now.In the distance, the morning sun slowly rose above the horizon."Is... is the time up?"After taking another set of punches, Luffy really couldn't hold on any longer. If someone gave him a ton of food right now, he could definitely inhale it like a storm."You... you win."Zoro slumped against the wall, breathing heavily.He was beginning to respect this Captain more and more.Initially, it was because Luffy had saved his life; even if Luffy seemed a bit unreliable, Zoro had braced himself and joined the crew.Now, he truly believed that Luffy would be the man to become the Pirate King!The most important thing to becoming strong is to be ruthless to yourself. If you aren't ruthless to yourself, your enemies will be twice as ruthless to you.So what if it's a month of chores?I'll do it!...Meanwhile.On the sea nearby, the paths of a Marine warshipand the going merry happened to cross.Pirates and Marines were sworn enemies.However, the quality of Marines in the East Bluewasn't very high, unless you happened to run into Garp back from Marine Headquarters on vacation.In that case, you might as well just surrender and be arrested."Commander Lodi! A pirate ship has been spotted.""Oh? Give me the telescope."The Marine Commander named Lodi had been dispatched from Marine Headquarters.He had heard that Captain Morgan of the East Blue's 153rd Marine Branch had been defeated by some pirates, which was quite rare.Had some powerful pirate appeared in this godforsaken East Blue?Although the possibility was slim, out of caution, the Headquarters had still sent a MarineCommander.Many people thought the East Blue was the weakest of the seas.But some veteran Marines knew very well that the most famous figures on this sea were born in the East Blue.The Pirate King, the Navy Hero... even the leader of the Revolutionary Army!These were all existences whose names alone could scare someone to death.Scanning the pirate ship ahead, Lodi glanced at the bounty posters in his hand; none of them matched the pirate flag.Freshly minted pirates?Running into me, Lord Lodi, is just your bad luck."Prepare to fire!"Never mind the East Blue; even in the Grand Line, no pirate crew wanted to go head-to-head with the Marines' sturdy ships and powerful cannons.Unless it was the ship of one of those great pirates."Hey, can you guys still move? Luffy! Zoro!"Usopp started shouting at the top of his lungs.The Marine cannons were already aiming this way!"Usopp, I'm counting on you."Zoro waved a hand; he couldn't move his body at all right now.[Automatically adjusting based on physical condition, please engage in battle with the Marines...]F-Fight?!Luffy's eyes turned green with exhaustion.Every cell in his body was groaning in protest; this should be rest time![Warning, punishment countdown...]You're the boss!Luffy gritted his teeth and forced himself to push up with his arms.[Physical energy has been compressed and trained, your physical strength has increased, Armament Haki proficiency +1][Body tempered, you have activated the passive talent: Rapid Recovery.]"Eh? There are benefits like this too?"Something ridiculous happened; Zoro saw Luffy, who had been just as exhausted as him, suddenly spring up with a kip-up.Then, Luffy gave him a look."Ah, at the critical moment, it's still me, the Captain, who has to step up."Luffy grinned."Just get some good rest, Zoro."Chapter 7: Is Tekkai Invincible!?Luffy felt a continuous stream of power emerging from all over his body.This "unkillable cockroach" resilience had been trained into him since childhood.He vaguely remembered being thrown into a bottomless abyss by his grandfather, left in dangerous forests, and tied to balloons to fly into the sky.This talent was just waiting to be activated!As the saying goes, a famous teacher produces a high-level student; Luffy's foundation had been laid by his grandfather, the Navy Hero Garp.Whether as a Marine or a pirate, the most important thing at sea is vitality.If your vitality isn't tough enough, then when you clash with someone at a higher level than you, it's very easy to fail or even die.If your vitality is tough, you can stand up again and again, breaking through your limits every time.Luffy's vitality had achieved another small breakthrough. Facing the cannonball flying through the sky, he grinned, "Rubber... Balloon!"He took a deep breath, causing his abdomen to swell up.The incoming cannonball hit him and was immediately bounced back.The Marines on the deck saw the cannonball they had just fired flying back at them, and their eyes widened in shock."W-What's going on?""It's a Devil Fruit User!"Lodi, seeing this, recognized it immediately—he was a Commander from Marine Headquarters, after all—and his expression turned solemn.A Devil Fruit User had actually appeared in the tiny East Blue?Probably just some lucky fellow from somewhere.The cannonballs were being turned into the enemy's weapons instead; in that case, they would resort to boarding combat!"Bring the ship alongside!" Lodi shouted.On the other side.The loud commotion had already woken Nami up.With all the crashing and banging so early in the morning, how was anyone supposed to sleep?But to be honest, she had been sleeping fitfully last night.The name Arlong was practically her nightmare. The moment she saw Belle-Mere's photo, she was reminded of the scene where Belle-Mere was killed by Arlong's own hand to protect her and Nojiko, which was why she had been so emotional.Afterward, Luffy's serious face kept popping into her mind.Companions.To some extent, Nami found those words very distasteful.Having lived on the sea since she was a child, Namihad seen too many pirates who spoke of being companions one second and then stabbed the other person in the back the next.A girl's thoughts are always more delicate; if Namiwere the naive and sweet type, she would have long ago been caught by slave traders and sold to nobles.How else could she have managed to scrape together nearly a hundred million Berries by herself until now?But she truly felt that Luffy treated her as a companion.That was exactly why Nami was conflicted.After years of intrigue and deception, someone had suddenly appeared who was completely sincere with her, and Nami found her heart softening.Normally, she would have already found an opportunity to sneak away with the treasure.Luffy said companions should help each other.But Arlong's strength was deeply etched into her mind. Over the years, so many Marines had come to arrest Arlong's Crew, only to be sent to the bottom of the sea along with their ships before they even saw his face.Could Luffy and Zoro really help her defeat Arlong, rescue the villagers of Cocoyasi Village, and save her from that nightmare?If it were any other pirates, Nami might have tried to divert the trouble, letting them fight it out with Arlong's Crew.In her eyes, no matter who won or lost, it would just be dog eat dog.But... when Luffy's smile appeared in her mind, she just couldn't bring herself to be that heartless."Calm down, do you really consider yourself his navigator?"Nami patted her cheeks, then opened the door and walked out.She looked up just in time to see Luffy leap into the air.Immediately after, a fist that blotted out the sun appeared in her field of vision."So... so big."Nami's mouth hung open....Can a Rubber Human turn into a giant?This was the question Luffy had been pondering yesterday.Before, he felt his techniques were already sufficient and there was no need to spend more time thinking about such things.But yesterday, whenever he wasn't fully focused on experimenting with his ability development, the countdown would start ringing in his ears if his mind wandered even slightly.The reaction was instantaneous.It gave him absolutely no time to slack off.So, in just one day, Luffy had figured out this new move.It was called,"Gum-Gum Giant Pistol!"On the ship, a group of soldiers from Marine Headquarters were about to show off their skills when they suddenly looked up and saw a fist blotting out the sun.