"What's going on? Why did Ship Four break formation?"
"Wait—there's an iron chain in front of it… Is that the captain?!"
"Oh my God! It's Captain Kaito! He's pulling the ship forward!!"
The sudden change in Ship Four's movement was noticed almost immediately by the crews aboard the other three vessels. Shouts rose across the decks as men rushed to the railings, eyes wide in disbelief.
Shock rippled through the fleet.
Even the normally disciplined members of the War Pirates couldn't help staring open-mouthed at the scene before them.
Robin hurried to the railing of the flagship. When she saw it clearly, her lips parted slightly, and she fell momentarily speechless.
Is he a monster? He's actually dragging an entire ship through the sea…
Her mind seemed to fill with question marks.
Below, waves churned violently.
To avoid colliding with the other ships, Kaito Arisawa had deliberately pulled Ship Four out of formation. Maintaining a distance of several hundred meters, he began circling the fleet in a wide arc.
And it wasn't slow.
Not even close.
He swam at remarkable speed, towing the heavy vessel behind him as though it were a smaller boat. Water split apart on both sides in massive waves, resembling the wake of a high-speed motorboat.
Robin was no stranger to power.
When Ohara had been destroyed, she had witnessed firsthand the overwhelming might of Kuzan—a Marine admiral capable of freezing the sea itself.
But Kuzan's display had been the manifestation of a Devil Fruit's frozen authority.
This—
This was different.
This was raw physical strength.
Since the clash with the Eight Treasures Navy, Robin had clearly sensed something had changed in Kaito.
She was intelligent. She had her suspicions.
Perhaps he had eaten some powerful Devil Fruit without telling her.
It had been the most plausible explanation.
But now—
Watching him swim freely in the sea while dragging a ship—
That theory collapsed instantly.
What happened to him? How did he become this strong overnight?
Her shock gradually turned into quiet contemplation.
Out in the water, Kaito continued.
Lap after lap.
Circle after circle.
Though the initial astonishment among the War Pirates began to fade into acceptance, he did not stop.
The iron chain remained taut, cutting through the waves as he powered forward.
One ship still isn't enough… he thought calmly. Soon, I'll need to add another.
He wasn't dragging the ship for spectacle.
This was training.
Under Constitution talent concentration, his body's baseline had become so absurdly powerful that ordinary training methods were no longer effective.
Standard weightlifting.
Sparring.
Endurance drills.
All insufficient.
To push his body further, he needed overwhelming resistance.
Thus—
Ship-dragging.
That was also why he had insisted on capturing the Eight Treasures Navy's vessel, even though three ships were more than enough for the War Pirates' manpower.
In his mind, Ship Four was never merely spoils of war.
It was equipment.
A training apparatus.
…
The method proved effective.
After six full hours of dragging Ship Four through the sea, Kaito finally concluded the physical session outlined in his training plan.
He adjusted his course, guiding the ship back toward the fleet formation.
With a final powerful stroke, he climbed back onto the deck.
Boom!
As the thick iron chain was unwrapped and dropped, it struck the wood with a thunderous crash.
Constitution concentration really is absurd, he reflected inwardly.
After six continuous hours of extreme exertion—
He felt no exhaustion.
Not even moderate fatigue.
The stamina reserve granted by concentrated Constitution talent was monstrous.
He rotated his shoulders and flexed his muscles.
Satisfied, he restored his talent distribution to its normal state.
Boom!
He bent his knees and launched a punch forward.
The motion was explosive.
His fist cut through the air like a bullet, generating a visible gust of compressed wind.
The improvement is obvious, he observed calmly. Even without concentration, my base strength has increased significantly compared to before.
Ordinarily, physical improvement required long-term accumulation.
Months of discipline.
Years of effort.
Previously, even while specializing in swordsmanship, Kaito had never neglected physical conditioning. But tangible progress had often taken months to manifest.
Now?
Six hours.
That was all it took to feel measurable advancement.
What once required a year now required less than a day.
The speed of growth was intoxicating.
Naturally, he thought of Mangu—the benchmark he had long used to gauge brute strength.
At this rate, I'll surpass that kid's raw physical ability soon enough, Kaito mused.
Of course, he was referring to his normal, non-concentrated state.
Under full Constitution concentration, the comparison wasn't even worth mentioning.
Mangu would be overwhelmed instantly.
The sheer acceleration of his progress filled Kaito with quiet satisfaction.
He retrieved the jacket and twin sabers he had removed earlier.
Then—
Just as he had arrived—
He bent his knees and leapt.
With Constitution talent once again concentrated, he soared across the water, landing smoothly back on the flagship's deck.
The War Pirates sailed onward.
And their captain—
Was evolving at terrifying speed.
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