"Hehehe…"
This time, it was Usopp's turn for revenge.
He grinned with unmistakable malice.
"Luffy—did you enjoy pinning me down just now?"
"Get him!!"
Zoro grabbed Luffy's left leg.
Sanji seized the right.
Usopp pried at Luffy's rubber arms that were wrapped desperately around the mast.
"Let me go!! You bastards!!"
Luffy struggled wildly, his rubber body bouncing across the deck—but against the combined suppression of the three, resistance was pointless.
"One—two—three! Yeet!!"
Splash—!!!
Luffy was shoved headfirst, legs flailing in the air, straight into the boiling cauldron!
"GYAAAAAA—!!!"
A shriek so sharp it warped in pitch ripped through the sky, startling the swirling snowstorm.
"HOT! HOT! I'M MELTING!! I'M TURNING INTO RUBBER MUSH!!"
Luffy thrashed violently in the pot, sending medicinal broth splashing everywhere.
"Lid—now!" Ronan barked, sweeping his arm down.
Sanji reacted instantly, slamming a massive wooden lid over the cauldron with a clang.
Then Zoro sat down squarely on top of it, legs crossed, calmly suppressing all rebellion.
From inside came muffled pounding and desperate pleas—but gradually, the noise faded, replaced by slow, steady breathing.
Inside the cabin.
Vivi had completely broken down.
She collapsed to the floor, staring blankly at the "demons" outside.
"What… what are they doing…?"
"This is supposed to be a pirate ship?! This is an execution chamber!!"
Nami finished the last sip of her hot cocoa and looked out the frosted window at her companions working fervently amid wind and snow.
A gentle smile curved her lips.
"This is… training."
"To survive this hell called the Grand Line.
To reach the very end…"
"They have to become real… monsters."
Time passed.
The wind and snow gradually subsided.
The Going Merry carved forward through the raging seas of the Grand Line.
And that massive cauldron on the deck—like a furnace forging champions—tempered both the bodies and wills of these young adventurers into something ever more unbreakable.
Ahead, through thinning snow, the outline of Whiskey Peak slowly emerged.
Grand Line — Near Whiskey Peak
At last, the sea wind stopped its hysterical howling.
For the past several days, the Going Merry had danced on the edge of hell.
One moment, blazing sunlight.
The next, goose-feather snowfall.
They had barely dodged hailstones the size of washbasins, only to be slammed by thunderous gales capable of capsizing ships.
The Grand Line, with its mercurial cruelty, had given these newcomers a vivid lesson in survival.
"…Finally. Land," Nami said, lowering her telescope and exhaling deeply.
Morning mist drifted across the sea.
Through it, the silhouette of a bizarre island gradually took shape.
It wasn't a mountain in the usual sense.
Rather, it was formed of enormous spherical rock masses covered in sharp spikes, stacked layer upon layer, stabbing straight into the clouds.
From afar, it looked like a colossal cactus growing out of the ocean.
"Land! We finally see land!!"
Luffy sprawled over the ram-headed prow, eyes shining—not from relief, but from instinctive excitement for adventure (and meat).
"So that's Whiskey Peak?" Sanji leaned against the railing, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, eyebrow lifting.
"Strange-looking place. Those bulging rocks… look like the graves of giant beasts."
"Indeed—an unfamiliar landscape," Ronan said from behind them, his gaze deep as he studied the island.
"Giant cactus-stone terrain…" he murmured.
"Usually means countless fools are buried underneath."
As they marveled at nature's handiwork, Mr. 9 and Vivi, who had been cowering in a corner of the deck, suddenly moved.
They exchanged a glance and, in perfect sync, hopped onto the railing.
"Since we've arrived, we'll take our leave!" Vivi said, glancing back once at the strange pirates, hesitation flashing in her eyes—then she hardened her resolve.
Splash! Splash!
The two leapt cleanly into the icy sea, movements practiced and fluid.
Like fish, they dove beneath the surface and vanished into the mist in seconds, leaving only widening ripples behind.
"Hey! They ran way too fast!" Usopp gawked over the railing.
"Who are they really? There's no way they're just ordinary castaways!"
"Whatever!" Luffy waved dismissively, already focused on the island.
"We're here anyway! Get ready to dock! I want a feast!"
As the Going Merry entered the bay, the waters calmed.
Nami stood at the bow issuing commands.
"There's a river entrance ahead—we should be able to sail inland and dock directly!"
"This place feels creepy…" Usopp shuddered, clutching his slingshot.
"No monsters here, right? Places that look like cacti always have monsters!"
"Monsters? The probability of that isn't zero," Sanji said casually, snapping his leg through the air with a sharp whistle.
Straightening his collar, he smirked confidently.
"But even if there are monsters… I don't see anything that can break our defenses."
At that, Zoro and Luffy both unconsciously clenched their fists, feeling the surging power within.
Ronan smiled faintly and stepped to the center of the deck, an air of calm, mountain-like authority radiating from him.
"That's only natural."
He looked at the three of them with clear satisfaction.
"After these days of medicinal baths and extreme pressure, we've officially entered the third stage of the Thirteen Iron Shirt—
Refining a Single Breath Within."
"External training tempers muscles, bones, and skin.
Internal training refines a single breath."
His voice was calm, yet carried clearly to everyone present.
"At this stage, we no longer focus solely on hardening flesh.
Your qi now flows through the entire body, forging inward—strengthening the internal organs."
"Your organs are now as tough as cured leather, capable of withstanding massive shock without rupturing.
This is the legendary prototype of Indestructible Vajra."
He paused, eyes sweeping over them.
"It's not just physical defense anymore.
You now have strong resistance to water pressure, flames—even certain toxins."
"You should all be feeling it by now—the sense of qi, right?"
"…Qi sensation…"
Zoro closed his eyes, feeling the warm current in his dantian.
With each breath, that heat surged up the spinal dragon, flooding through his limbs and bones.
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