Chapter 3: Luffy, I'm Coming for Your Straw Hat!
The scent of oranges mixed with sweat swirled in his nostrils. Shane raised his right hand, staring at the calluses on his knuckles.
According to the manual, the essence of the Breathing Fist technique was to "nourish the blood with Qi."
Through a special frequency of breathing, the alveoli could exchange several times the amount of oxygen in a given period, allowing the super-oxygenated blood to carry nutrients and continuously flush every muscle fiber. This made his physical training twice as effective with half the effort, and the results, in turn, strengthened his flesh, tendons, and bones.
Day after day, for a long time.
His physical strength would gradually increase to a level far beyond that of an ordinary person. Upon reaching the Master level, he would break through the original limits of the human body, as if unlocking a genetic lock and evolving into a completely new species.
"A new species, huh..."
A glint flashed in Shane's eyes. He was full of anticipation.
This world was filled with too many monstrously talented individuals. Although his current body had some aptitude for martial arts, it was still fundamentally human. Out on the grand sea, that wasn't nearly enough.
It was like... no matter how diligently Usopp trained, he would always just be Usopp. Only by shedding the skin that limited his potential could he reveal a new, formidable form and have a chance to compete with monsters like Luffy and Zoro for a spot as a main combatant.
If the Breathing Fist could truly help him achieve that, then he had stumbled upon an incredible bargain. It would prove its value was far greater than the 700 points he paid. In three years of hard work, he had only managed to accumulate a little over 900 points in total.
Besides, the benefits of practicing the Breathing Fist didn't stop there.
Right now, he could clearly feel the rhythm of his heart pumping, like a ship's sail filled with a gale-force wind. The lactic acid build-up that would normally occur after intense exercise was instead converted into thermal energy by his breathing rhythm, trembling through his muscles. The bruises from hitting the orange tree were now rapidly fading with the unique metabolic rhythm of the breathing technique.
If not for this, with no medical support, he would never have been able to endure hours of hellish, self-torturous training every morning and night while still being able to handle the orange harvesting during the day.
"Deep Sea."
With a thought, Shane summoned the system panel again.
His stats hadn't changed yet.
He wasn't surprised by this. Cultivation was a cumulative process, not something achieved overnight. He stared at the lines of data, making a rough estimate in his mind.
As he was now, he could already defeat more than a dozen grown men with ease. If he mastered his fist technique and truly transformed his body to a new level, dealing with a few ordinary fish-men shouldn't be a problem.
However...
What he had to face was far more than just "a few fish-men."
Remembering the news he saw in the paper after dinner, and the publicly released photo of Jinbe, a shadow flickered in the depths of the black-haired boy's eyes.
The newspaper didn't go into detail, but he remembered it clearly. One of Jinbe's conditions for becoming a Warlord was the release of his former Sun Pirates crewmate, Arlong, and his followers from Impel Down.
Arlong. Arlong. Arlong!
Ever since the day he recovered his memories, that name had been like a sword of Damocles hanging over his head, a constant thorn in his side that kept him awake at night.
Originally, he didn't need to train so desperately, at least not this early. He could have continued his happy childhood, living every day of his rural East Blue life in warmth, ease, and brightness.
But he couldn't.
Arlong was coming! He was about to break ties with Jinbe and part ways with the Sun Pirates! He was bringing his gang of followers to the East Blue to live as a petty tyrant!
If he remembered correctly, in the original timeline, in the Sea Year 1512—eight years before Luffy set sail—the Arlong Pirates would set foot in Cocoyasi Village. They would psychopathically extort an exorbitant protection fee of 100,000 Belli per person, per month, from every villager.
The peaceful, rural paradise would be turned into a hell under their oppressive rule. It was on that day that Belle-mère would be shot and killed by Arlong for protecting her daughters.
And now...
It was already the end of autumn in the Sea Year 1511.
He had one year left... No, at most one year!
THUD!
A wave of urgency washed over him. Shane's face darkened, and he slammed his fist into the tree trunk.
After days of continuous beatings, the tree's structure finally gave way in a chain reaction.
CRACK! CRACKLE! Countless fine cracks spread across the trunk like a spiderweb. The next second, the entire seven-meter-tall tree exploded into innumerable fragments, scattering to the ground.
In the moonlight filtering through the fine, drifting sawdust, the boy's eyes grew as cold as iron.
He was furious.
Who the hell was Arlong? A piece of trash with a 20,000,000 Belli bounty. Forget the New World, he wasn't even considered a grunt in the Grand Line.
On what grounds did he dare to touch his home? Why should he be allowed to inflict so many years of pressure on him?!
When he first regained his memories, Shane would try to persuade Belle-mère to move. Now? Absolutely not!
Cocoyasi Village was his hometown now, too. It was the place that had given him countless moments of warmth and healing. The orange groves, the grassy fields, the streams, the coastline—everywhere held memories of him and his family. He'd even grown fond of the big white dog at the village entrance, the one he'd almost sacrificed years ago.
Why should they be the ones to leave?
To hell with that!
The one who should get lost is Arlong!
He unleashed several more sets of punches on the training stakes until his already depleted stamina was completely exhausted. Only then did Shane's frenzied, violent mood gradually calm down.
He climbed to a high spot and sat down, the distant pier faintly visible. The salty sea breeze swept past his shoulders. Shane tilted his face up, gazing at the winding Milky Way. Waves crashed against the dark reefs, shattering into silver flecks that made the starlight in his eyes flicker.
"I have to set sail," he whispered to himself.
Cocoyasi Village was, after all, too small. To the East Blue, it was like an insignificant little star on the edge of the brilliant galaxy. The world outside was vast. If he wanted to gain more points and become stronger, he absolutely could not remain confined to this one corner.
In fact, he'd had the idea of going out to find other "fat sheep" as soon as he discovered he couldn't farm the same one repeatedly. But back then, he was only ten, a little pipsqueak at 140-something centimeters who couldn't even beat the village goose. Going to sea would have been suicide.
Now he had some ability to protect himself. But it was still too dangerous to officially set out and roam the seas. That was something for when he was an adult.
However...
If he had a clear target, hitching a ride on a passing merchant ship along a safe route for a quick round trip was an excellent option. He could avoid worrying his family, and the probability of encountering an accident was low.
As for who to target...
—He barely even had to think about it. The answer was instantly locked in his mind.
Monkey D. Luffy!
The straw hat that once belonged to the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, should now be in Luffy's hands, a gift from Shanks. And it was this very hat that he was targeting.
It was an object treasured like life itself by the destined "Son of the Plane," and it carried the historical weight of everyone from Joy Boy to Roger. In the entire East Blue, there was practically nothing more "valuable" than this straw hat.
As for how Luffy would react to losing it, or how the future timeline might change...
He didn't care.
He didn't care one bit.
Compared to gaining the strength to protect his family, none of that mattered at all.
—————
His mind was made up.
Shane put back on the coarse-knit sweater Belle-mère had made for him, took a deep breath, and strode out of the orange grove. As he passed the last training stake, he casually picked up the wooden sword that had been resting there.
He had said he was going out to practice his swordsmanship, but he had spent the whole time practicing his punches. The sword hadn't been swung even once.
It couldn't be helped. He had actually started practicing swordsmanship even before his fist technique. At the age of ten, he had spent 100 points on a basic sword manual. Unfortunately, he had no talent for it. He spent more time on it than anything else and had still only barely reached the beginner level.
A person's energy is limited; one must play to their strengths. Therefore, once Shane realized he was more talented in martial arts, he poured all his energy into the Breathing Fist, essentially half-abandoning his sword training.
You win some, you lose some.
Carrying the wooden sword with him during training was now merely a habit.
Before entering the village, Shane looked back one last time at the distant pier.
As was the custom in previous years, the first batch of merchant ships to purchase oranges would be docking there within the next few days. There were usually three or four ships from different trading companies, each with different routes. But they all had to pass through some large, well-developed port towns. From there, he could transfer and find a ship heading towards the vicinity of Foosha Village.
It was better to act sooner rather than later. He didn't want to wait anymore.
Set sail!
The moment the first merchant ship arrives, he would set sail!
Luffy, here I come!