In the afternoon, a passenger ship set sail from the dock.
At the bow, Shano leaned against the railing, gazing at the gradually fading sight of the Royal Capital of the Goa Kingdom.
From this angle, the cityscape indeed looked magnificent and splendid, like a heaven favored by the gods, living up to its name as the most beautiful country in the East Sea.
However...
Shano shook his head.
He turned around and walked to his room in the cabin, his right hand swiftly twirling a delicately crafted knife.
This was the knife Ace attempted to attack him with but was kicked away by him.
Picked up from the grass while those two hot-blooded fools weren't paying attention.
Didn't expect much in terms of points, but every bit counts, just like the night before leaving Shimotsuki Village, he didn't forget to sneak away with Koushirou's glasses.
Not because he accidentally left auto-pickup on, but mainly for Kuina's sake.
This way, Koushirou can truly understand his daughter's pain of not seeing things clearly, making getting new glasses the highest priority with no further delay.
Shua—
The knife spun around and suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Shano glanced at the system information that just loaded.
A pair of glasses, combined with this knife, provided a total of 700 points, which brought his remaining points total to 12,825.
But now the balance displayed on the panel was far greater than this figure.
The reason, of course, is—
[Sacrifice: Luffy's Straw Hat]
[Quality: Legendary]
[Value: 30,000 points]
[Appraisal Comment: The straw hat of Pirate King Gol D. Roger, gifted personally to Red-haired Shanks, and then passed on to Luffy by the latter, witnessing countless legendary adventures over three generations. It's the origin of Luffy's nickname Straw Hat Kid. In the Holy Land Mary Geoise, Imu still keeps Joyboy's giant straw hat, and the spirit of D that persists may always cause fear in some.]
[Remaining points: 43,025]
A full thirty thousand points!
That's twice as high as Red-haired Shanks' lost arm!
The remaining points total exceeding the forty thousand mark made Shano feel entirely relaxed, with an unprecedented sense of peace swelling in his chest.
With so many points, even if he splurged lavishly moving forward, it'd last him a long time.
Not needing supplements even until he comes of age and officially sets sail.
Of course, no one would complain about having too many points.
Shano planned that once the cooldown period ended next year and Ah Long's threat was resolved, he'd temporarily set sail to find Luffy.
To see how much the fake straw hat worn throughout the year might hold in value.
He glanced at the trading section.
This being his 20th day at sea, the trading market had yet to refresh.
He previously asked the captain of this passenger ship, and the journey from Goa Kingdom to Cocoyashi Village should take about ten days or so.
Meaning, once he's home, he should be able to buy the new round of market items right away.
"Hopefully something useful will come up."
Shano's eyes flickered with hope.
Closing the system panel, he freshened up briefly, then lay down comfortably in his bed, planning to get a good rest.
After days of trekking in the Korbo Mountain Range and making preparations for setting out today, including withdrawing money and finding a ship, both his body and mind were fatigued beyond measure.
Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.
...
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, twelve days passed.
On the second floor of the cabin, in a specially modified spacious training room, Shano was practicing "Soru," one of the Rokushiki techniques, alone.
The current Shano was no longer the pauper he was when first boarding the Old Gat Merchant Ship twenty days ago.
He had booked half of the seats on this merchant ship, and his dining expenses were lavish, naturally earning the highest-level VIP treatment.
A minor request for a training room led the captain to immediately have the sailors renovate it within half a day.
On the southern side of the training room, as per Shano's request, three short wooden stumps were set up in a line.
And the same on the northern side.
In a corner, Hercules' statue silently provided a threefold body technique training efficiency boost.
Standing atop the middle stump on the southern side, Shano stared intently at the corresponding one ten meters away to the north.
In the next moment, he took a deep breath, slightly raised his right leg, and strained his arch.
"Soru!"
Whoosh! As the sound of the wind-breaking filled the air, Shano's figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
Reappearing on the middle stump to the north, but he didn't stand steady and stumbled off.
"Very close!"
Getting back up, Shano's eyes didn't reflect disappointment or frustration, but rather excitement.
After all, having started training the Rokushiki only ten days prior, the progress speed could be described as rapidly fast.
He initially spent a few days mastering the technique's exertion, and then a few more to pinpoint the vanishing location to a smaller margin of error.
And today.
This margin shrank gradually to a point where it almost became negligible.
In battle, it allows him to teleport instantly to any precise location while facing the enemy.
This is crucial.
If not practiced well, instant teleport could embarrassingly land him atop the opponent's head in combat.
Even worse, should he miscalculate further, his chest could end up pierced by the enemy's sword blade.
"Has it been deemed as beginner level?"
Glancing at the skill section of the system panel, Shano nodded in satisfaction.
Having reached beginner level, he wouldn't need to focus all his training time daily on this specific body technique alone.
He could commence practicing other body techniques, allocating only part of the day to consolidate "Soru," likely elevating his mastery to accomplished within a month and fully grasping it.
"Although the statue's boost helps, the speed of progress is much quicker than anticipated."
After several trials, each time landing accurately on his targeted stump, Shano's mood became even better.
It seems the physical transformation post-mastery of the "Breathing Fist Technique" has additional benefits.
Like unlocking the Ren and Du Meridians in martial arts novels, transforming once it all connects, allowing faster cultivation of other body techniques than before.
Speaking of which.
The principle of "Soru" appears simple.
Essentially, it's about generating explosive counterforce through rapid foot tapping on the ground in an instant.
Achieving fast movement, even disappearing instantly from the enemy's sight.
But it requires certain baseline qualities, such as bodily fundamentals and microscopic muscle control. If falling short, then aptitude alone doesn't suffice.
Shano happens to excel in these two aspects.
Coupled with inherent talent in body technique cultivation, both elements combined, resulting in such terrifying progress.
"Mastering 'Soru' in over ten days, next up, spend another ten days to see if 'Tekkai' can be grasped."
Wiping sweat with a towel, Shano opened his backpack, intending to skim through "Tekkai" training methods first, when knocking at the door suddenly interrupted him.
"Who? Just leave the delivery outside."
He replied casually, spending over ten hours here daily, relying on the dining hall staff to deliver meals using a cart.
"It's me, Mister Shano!"
Scar entered and pointed out of the window, delighted, "It's time to disembark, sir. Cocoyashi Village has arrived!"