Chapter 3: Luffy, I'm Here to Steal Your Straw Hat!

The scent of tangerines mixed with sweat churned in his nostrils as Siano raised his right hand, gazing at the calloused knuckles crusted with scabs.

According to the secret manual's description, the essence of this Breathing Fist Style lay in "nourishing blood with Qi."

Through breathing at a special frequency, the alveoli exchanged several times the normal amount of oxygen per unit of time, causing boiling blood to carry nutrients and continuously scour every bundle of muscle fibers.

Cultivating body techniques thus achieved twice the result with half the effort, and the gains obtained further nourished the skin, flesh, bones, and tendons.

Day after day, year after year.

His physical strength would gradually increase to a level far beyond that of ordinary people, and upon reaching completion, it would greatly surpass the original limits of the human body, like unlocking the gene lock and metamorphosing into an entirely new species.

"A completely new species, huh..."

Siano's eyes flashed slightly, filled with anticipation for this.

In this world, there were too many monsters with astonishing talent.

Although this body of his possessed some aptitude for body techniques, it ultimately still fell within the category of ordinary humans.

Out on the great sea, it simply wasn't enough to look at.

It was just like...

No matter how diligently Usopp cultivated, he would ultimately remain just Usopp.

Only by shedding this layer of skin called Usopp that bound his upper limit, revealing the rugged and brand-new form within, would there be a chance to compete with monsters like Luffy and Zoro for the position of a main combatant.

If the "Breathing Fist Style" could truly help him achieve this, then he had truly struck a massive bargain back then, proving its value far exceeded the selling price of 700 points.

Over three years, through hard work and bitterness, he had only managed to save up a little over 900 points in total.

Moreover.

The benefits of cultivating the Breathing Fist Style did not stop there.

At this moment, he could clearly feel the rhythm of his heart pumping, like a ship's sail in a storm billowing with strong wind.

The lactic acid accumulation that inevitably occurred in ordinary people after strenuous exercise, under this breathing rhythm, was actually converted into thermal energy for muscle tremors.

The bruises left from striking the tangerine tree earlier were now rapidly subsiding along with the metabolism driven by the unique rhythm of the breathing method.

If not for this.

With virtually no medical security, he would have been unable to endure several hours of self-abusive, hellish cultivation every morning and night while still not delaying the tangerine orchard harvesting work during the day.

"Deep Sea."

A thought moved in Siano's heart, and he awakened the system panel once again.

The various attribute values had not yet changed.

He was not surprised by this; cultivation required accumulation over days and months and was never the work of a single day.

He stared at these lines of data, making a rough estimate in his heart.

His current self could already easily defeat more than ten adult strongmen.

If the fist style reached completion and his body truly metamorphosed to a new level.

Dealing with a few ordinary fish-men should not be a problem.

However...

What he had to face was absolutely not as simple as just a few fish-men.

Recalling the news he had seen in the newspaper after dinner, as well as the photo of Jinbe showing his face publicly, a few more shadows appeared in the depths of the black-haired boy's pupils.

The newspaper hadn't gone into detail, but he remembered it very clearly.

One of the conditions Jinbe agreed to in order to become a Warlord of the Sea was to release Arlong and his gang, former comrades of the Sun Pirates, from Impel Down prison.

Arlong, Arlong, Arlong!

Ever since the day he recovered his memories, this name had hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles, often making him feel as if thorns were on his back and preventing him from sleeping at night!

Originally, he didn't need to cultivate so desperately, at least not starting this early.

He could have continued his childhood happily, spending every day of his time in this East Blue countryside warmly, relaxedly, and brightly.

But, unfortunately, he could not.

Arlong was coming! He was about to tear off the mask with Jinbe, part ways with the Sun Pirates, and bring a bunch of underlings who supported him to the East Blue to live his life as a local Emperor!

If he remembered correctly.

In the original timeline, in the year 1512 of the Sea Circle Calendar, which was eight years before Luffy set sail, the Arlong Pirates would set foot on Cocoyasi Village and insanely charge every villager an exorbitant protection fee of 100,000 Berries per person per month.

The countryside paradise, which had no quarrels with the world, would from that day on become a hell under high-pressure rule, and Bell-mère was also shot and killed indifferently by Arlong on that very day for the sake of her daughter.

And now...

It was already late autumn and early winter of the year 1512 of the Sea Circle Calendar.

The time left for him was one year... no, at most one year!

Boom!

A sense of urgency surged into his heart; with a gloomy face, Siano suddenly smashed a fist into the tree trunk.

After enduring several days of continuous strikes, the tree finally triggered a chain reaction.

Crack, crack! Countless fine cracks spread rapidly across the tree trunk like a spiderweb; the next second, the entire seven-or-eight-meter-tall tree collapsed with a boom into countless fragments, scattering all over the ground.

In the gaps of moonlight where fine wood chips drifted, the boy's eyes gradually became cold as iron.

He too had lost his temper.

Wasn't it just a mere Arlong? A piece of goods with a bounty of 20 million Berries, someone who wouldn't even count as trash in the New World and wasn't even worth considering a small fry in the Grand Line.

On what grounds did he dare to lay hands on his hometown, and on what grounds could he exert such pressure on him for so many years!

When he had first awakened his memories, Siano would still advise Bell-mère to move away, but now, that was absolutely impossible!

Cocoyasi Village was now also his hometown, the place that had given him countless warmth and healing.

The tangerine groves and grasslands, the streams and coastlines, everywhere held memories of him and his family; even the large white dog at the village entrance that he had nearly sacrificed back then had developed feelings between them.

On what grounds should they leave?

Screw you!

The one who should scram is Ah Long!

He struck several more sets of fists against the wooden post until his already depleted stamina was completely exhausted, only then did Siano's frenzied and violent state of mind gradually calm down.

He climbed to a high spot and sat down; the distant pier was faintly visible.

The salty sea breeze swept past the boy's shoulders as Siano lifted his face to gaze at the winding Milky Way stretching across the sky, where crashing waves shattered into silver foam against the hidden reefs, reflecting flickering starlight in his eyes.

"I must set out to sea."

He murmured to himself.

Cocoyasi Village was, after all, too small.

To the East Blue, it was like an insignificant little star on the edge of this brilliant galaxy.

The world outside was vast; if he wanted to acquire more points to make himself stronger, he absolutely could not remain confined to this corner.

In fact, ever since he first realized that one sheep could not be sheared repeatedly, he had already planned to sail out and find other fat sheep.

It was just that back then he was only ten years old, a little bean sprout barely over four feet tall, who couldn't even defeat the village goose, so going to sea would have been purely asking for death.

Now he possessed some ability to protect himself, but formally sailing out to roam everywhere was still too dangerous and he was not yet qualified; that was something to be done only after reaching adulthood.

However.

If he had a clear target, following a passing merchant ship along a safe route for a quick trip there and back would be an excellent choice.

This would avoid making his family worry while keeping the probability of encountering accidents low.

As for which target to choose...

—Almost without needing to think, Siano immediately locked onto the answer in his heart.

Monkey D. Luffy!

The straw hat that once belonged to the Pirate King Roger should now have been handed over by Shanks to Luffy, and it was this very straw hat that he had his sights on.

It was something the Child of Destiny regarded as more precious than life itself, and it also carried the historical significance stretching from Joy Boy to Roger.

Looking across the entire East Blue, there was almost nothing more "valuable" than this straw hat.

As for how Luffy would react to losing this straw hat, or what changes would occur in the future timeline...

He did not care.

Not in the slightest.

Compared to improving his strength to protect his family, these matters were not worth a fart.

—————

Having made up his mind,

Siano put back on the coarse-knit sweater hand-woven by Bell-mère, took a deep breath, and strode purposefully out of the tangerine grove.

Passing the last wooden post, he casually picked up the wooden sword left resting beside it.

Although he had claimed to come out to practice swordsmanship, he had been throwing punches the entire time and had not once swung the sword.

This was unavoidable.

In fact, he had begun practicing sword techniques even before his Fist Style.

At the age of ten, he had spent 100 points to redeem a basic sword technique manual, but alas, he truly had no aptitude in this area; despite spending even more time, he had only barely reached the level of a beginner.

Human energy was limited; one must ultimately play to one's strengths and avoid weaknesses.

Therefore, once Siano realized he possessed greater talent for martial arts, he devoted all his energy to the "Breathing Fist Style," leaving his sword techniques in a state of semi-abandonment.

To gain something is to lose something.

Carrying the wooden sword during every cultivation session now was merely out of habit.

Before entering the village, Siano turned back for one last look at the distant pier.

According to the custom of previous years, within the next few days, the first batch of cargo ships coming to purchase tangerines would dock there.

There were generally three or four cargo ships, belonging to different merchant guilds, each with different trade routes.

But they would all inevitably pass through some large towns with developed ports, where transfers could be made, so he could surely find a ship heading toward Windmill Village.

It was better to act early than late; he did not want to wait any longer.

Set sail!

As soon as this first batch of cargo ships arrived, he would set out to sea immediately!

Luffy, Grandpa is coming!

(End of Chapter)