Shell Town.
Nearly a month had passed since Vane and Meowth descended into this world. According to the Sea Circle Calendar, in another three months it would reach Round Calendar Year 1505.
"All units, fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang…
A rapid series of gunshots burst out.
At the Rocket Team firearms training ground on Shell Town, a six-meter-tall flagpole had a white flag tied to it, bearing a cat-head emblem—the head was Meowth's.
Shouldn't the Rocket Team's flag be a big "R" or a rocket symbol? How did it turn into a giant Meowth cat head instead?
To this, Meowth told Vane not to mind it. It was just that drawing itself was the easiest and what it drew best—there was absolutely no other meaning.
"Ten-ring, ten-ring, nine-ring, eight-ring…"
Since they hadn't gone to sea, the navigator Briggs temporarily acted as the recorder.
The muskets in these soldiers' hands were all Meowth-made. Not only could they be loaded with multiple rounds at once, their accuracy and range were both top-tier.
Even those with no shooting talent at all wouldn't miss the target anymore with regular practice, and among them were a few with decent talent who shot extremely accurately.
"I'm last again."
"I'm done for—I'm third from last."
The four people at the bottom of the rankings showed pained expressions on their faces.
Being at the bottom meant relatively poor shooting talent. Although their muskets wouldn't be taken away, they would have to put in extra effort on physical training.
"I, I actually think it's not too bad."
The one speaking was Tant, second from last. Just hearing the name made people feel uneasy.
Tant used to be a deck-scrubber on the Buri Pirates, the kind without looting qualifications. He was eighteen years old, with an appetite equal to three crew members.
On the pirate ship, because his work was the lowest-tier, he was usually never full, and his body looked rather thin.
Now that the food was good and he trained constantly, he had become strong. Compared among pirates, he had already gone from an ordinary pirate to… a strong pirate.
"What I'm really afraid of isn't the physical training—it's the electric shock training!"
After more than twenty days of training, they had gradually adapted to the basic physical workouts. Just when they thought training was nothing more than this, Vane and Meowth introduced electric shock training.
The electricity used naturally came from Electabuzz.
This was arranged after Vane personally experienced Electabuzz's current. As long as the intensity was reasonable, it could stimulate cells and awaken the physical potential of talented individuals.
He seriously suspected that that super rookie was precisely because he was constantly shocked by Pikachu, awakening his physical potential and thus gaining that terrifying physique.
Recently, Vane himself had also been using Electabuzz's current to train his body. It did indeed have a certain effect—especially having an electric treatment after daily routine training felt exceptionally comfortable.
Since that was the case, this electric therapy package naturally had to be given to those low-ranking grunts as well.
Especially those with little shooting talent—strengthen their physical abilities, turn them into close-combat units who could wield blades and fight head-on.
After a round of electric therapy, they really did discover one somewhat talented individual—Tant. Because he could eat so much yet never be full, he had long been in a state of malnutrition.
Now that he could eat his fill, went through physical training, and then electric shock training, the change was extremely obvious.
A second growth spurt pushed him past two meters tall, and his once scrawny body turned into bulging muscle blocks. Considering this was the pirate world, this level of change was really nothing special.
Next, Tant would definitely withdraw from shooting training and begin hand-to-hand combat training, which would be handled by Electabuzz.
Vane had underestimated Electabuzz. He originally thought it could only shock people, but who would have guessed it also knew moves like Million-Ton Punch, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, and Ice Punch. It looked like this Electabuzz had pretty good talent—able to do a bit of everything.
Letting humans learn hand-to-hand combat from Pokémon wasn't very reliable, but that was fine. In the pirate world, once you know some force-application techniques, what you need to do next is get beaten up.
As long as you can take hits and don't die, you'll gain something in the end.
...
Bullfish Bay.
Vane's legs were submerged in seawater. One step forward would take him to a sea cliff. Where he stood, the water only reached his thighs; further ahead was a drop of dozens of meters.
At this moment, floating on the sea surface before him was the corpse of a small sea beast that looked somewhat like a seal. There were ring-shaped cutting wounds all over its body, and a large amount of blood seeped out, dyeing a small patch of the water red.
Splash, splash.
A rather enormous shadow appeared beneath the sea. Then the surface bulged upward violently, a huge mound of water pushed up before collapsing back down.
It was a gigantic fish covered in gleaming scales, with horn-like protrusions growing from its head.
The Bullfish King.
Its size was comparable to a house, and in the waters near Shell Town it held a status similar to the "Lord of the Coast" that once bit off Red-Haired Shanks' arm.
"Finally waited for you."
Ten days ago, in Bullfish Bay, Vane had caught a fleeting glimpse of it. From that moment on, he had set his sights on this Bullfish King.
The Bullfish King was an intelligent creature. During this period, within its territory, its people had been slaughtered by these two-legged monkeys to the brink of extinction, and it harbored deep hatred toward them.
Now, this monkey had actively stepped into its territory. Today, only one living being was destined to leave this place.
"Come on."
Vane carried no sword or blade. He sought out the Bullfish King to test his strength.
"Ha-roar!"
The Bullfish King slammed its muscular tail hard against the water's surface. Its massive body immediately sprang up from beneath the sea, its maw full of sharp teeth tearing straight toward Vane.
Vane didn't dodge. Instead, he immediately assumed his opening stance.
"Flowing Water Crushing Rock Fist—Gentle Flow!"
It was more effective against humanoid opponents. Against beast-type enemies like this, it could still work but not as clearly—more of the force still had to be borne by Vane himself.
The trajectory of Vane's fist traced a curved blue stream of flowing water through the air. At the instant the bullfish pressed close, his punch struck its lower jaw.
Boom! Crack!
The bullfish's head was lifted by the flowing-water punch, its original trajectory deflected to one side. But its reaction was still quick—it borrowed the momentum to sweep its tail horizontally toward Vane's position.
The tail's assault carried a massive amount of seawater. Before it even struck Vane, a huge wave surged forward, raising layer upon layer of roaring surf.
"Waterfall Flow!"
The flowing water around Vane's hand instantly changed from gentle to boiling, like a waterfall crashing down from a height onto rocks, constantly churning up white foam.
Although Flowing Water Crushing Rock Fist leaned toward defense, the words "Crushing Rock" in its name made it clear that defense was just the style—the very existence of the attack was for offense.
Bang!
The bull-horn fish's tail collided with Vane's fist. The clash of tremendous force exploded outward. Centered on the point of impact, the seawater was forced aside by the shockwave, forming a hollow ring of water that briefly exposed the seabed before being quickly filled again.
The bull-horn fish rolled back into the deep sea. With a flip, it soon surfaced again, continuing to glare viciously at Vane.
Vane slid a short distance across the shallow seabed. The fist that had collided with the fish tail bore terrifying wounds, but they were rapidly healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
That guy Luffy's Devil Fruit had rubber properties—blunt force and ordinary impacts couldn't harm him, which was why he especially loved close combat.
Vane didn't have rubber properties to resist impact, but his ability was, in a sense, even more abnormal. There was no need to worry about his injuries—they would recover on their own, quickly.
His recovery ability was still relatively average for now, but Vane believed that one day his recovery speed would be the same as that of Marco, the Phoenix Devil Fruit user.
And besides—Marco feared Seastone. He didn't.