Chapter 41: Arlong! Why Haven't You Arrived Yet!

Boom, boom.

Amid the constant trembling of the ground, Siano arrived before a giant tree over ten meters tall.

Glancing up at the treetop, he suddenly extended both hands, digging his ten fingers into the trunk; the knotted muscles of his latissimus dorsi abruptly bulged, and immediately a series of muffled cracks echoed from underground as roots snapped.

That was not pulling, but the roaring of an entire layer of soil being overturned!

The giant tree, weighing a full three or four tons, lifted off the ground with mud cascading down like a waterfall, held firmly in his grasp.

Then he turned his head, gazing toward the peak of the mountain opposite.

It was approximately three or four hundred meters away from his current position.

After briefly taking aim, Siano, without uttering a word, channelled his full strength and violently hurled the giant tree from his shoulder.

Whoosh—!

The giant tree shot toward the opposite peak like a javelin, while Siano lifted his heels, gathered strength for a moment, and then stomped down abruptly.

"Soru!"

His form flickered and blurred; in the next instant, his figure suddenly appeared atop the giant tree, causing the trunk to sink down significantly and its speed to slow slightly.

Yet it still maintained its original momentum, flying straight toward the mountain peak.

Facing the howling north wind, with trees and streams flashing rapidly beneath his feet, Siano narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at the approaching peak.

Like the previous peak, this mountain had long been leased, becoming his exclusive training ground.

However, compared to the scarred devastation of the earlier mountain, this one was in much better condition; only the peak had been completely flattened, clearing a huge open-air platform.

At the edge of the terrace, Manba, Skinny Monkey, and the other two had already been waiting; seeing the giant tree flying directly toward them from the sky, they hastily retreated even further back.

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The giant tree crashed onto the center of the terrace; Siano jumped down, landing steadily on the ground, hooked the trunk with one foot, turned, and casually kicked it, sending the trunk rolling noisily down toward the mountainside.

Thud—

Even though they had grown accustomed to the various visual shocks Siano brought over these past few months, witnessing this scene, Manba and the others still instinctively swallowed hard.

"Did you bring the guns?"

Siano asked casually.

"We brought them all, Boss." Manba immediately pulled a flintlock pistol from behind his back, and the other three quickly did the same.

"As I said yesterday, everyone aim for my head and fire rapidly."

Just after Siano finished speaking, he remembered something else, looked at Skinny Monkey, and added, "You don't have to; you aim at my feet."

"Uh." Skinny Monkey's face flushed red. "Boss, my marksmanship has improved a lot too; I feel aiming at your knees would be just about right."

"... Suit yourself."

Siano shook his head, standing in the center of the terrace with his hands clasped behind his back, facing the wind.

Meanwhile, the other four took positions in the four corners—east, south, west, and north—then closed the distance, raised their muzzles, and aimed directly at Siano's skull.

"Fire!"

Manba waved his large hand, issuing the command.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The not-so-dense sound of bullets shattered the mountain's silence; four streams of orange-red muzzle flash spurted out in turns, and upon finishing one round, they quickly reloaded, immediately firing the next volley.

Clang! Clang! Siano remained motionless, letting the bullets strike his head.

No matter what angle they came from, they were instantly deflected, emitting a crisp sound like metal striking stone.

Even on his cheeks, where there was the most flesh, the moment the bullets collided with the surface layer of skin, it was merely like a pebble dropping into a lake, rippling slightly before quickly returning to normal.

This was the effect brought by the mastery of "Iron Head"; even without deliberately using iron blocks to accelerate blood flow, it still allowed him to completely ignore the impact force of bullets.

Whoosh—!

A bullet shot from directly ahead, yet coincidentally, it drilled straight into his eye.

"Oh no!"

Noticing this, Manba's face filled with panic; he hurriedly reached out to stop the others, "Hey, stop shooting for now! Boss, are you okay? Is everything alright?"

The gunfire ceased abruptly; only then did everyone see clearly that the bullet had not been deflected immediately but had strangely stalled before his eyeball as if sinking into asphalt.

"It's fine, no need to worry."

Siano spoke calmly, suddenly controlling his eyeball to roll upward, wedging the bullet into his upper eyelid.

The crowd heard only a teeth-gritting creak; in the next instant, the bullet wedged behind the eyelid was crushed into countless fine lead powders, slowly sliding down the bridge of Siano's nose.

"..."

Silence fell everywhere for a moment.

"It seems the results are excellent."

Siano nodded in satisfaction, smiling at the dumbfounded Manba and the others around him, "Alright, that's about enough; we're done for today. You all go attend to your own affairs."

"Yes, Boss."

It took Manba and the others a long while to come to their senses; they all bowed and withdrew, but as they left the open-air platform, they looked back every few steps, clearly unable to hide the shock in their hearts.

Siano, for his part, was not surprised by this in the least.

The description of "Iron Head" stated very clearly that upon mastery, it enhanced all parts above his neck, naturally including seemingly fragile organs or tissues such as the eyeballs and nasal cavity.

Even his tongue could remain soft or become tough as steel; when extended, it resembled a dagger, capable of easily piercing through someone's chest.

He moved to the southernmost side of the open-air platform.

Gazing into the distance from here, he could see exactly the only port dock of Cocoyasi Village.

The dock was empty, with only a few inconspicuous small fishing boats moored there.

"Arlong..."

Siano murmured softly, "Spring flowers are blooming now; just when exactly do you plan to arrive?"

During these five months, he slept only four hours each day, devoting nearly all his remaining time to hellish, arduous training.

Tekkai reached minor completion four months ago and major completion two months ago; soon after, Iron Body achieved major completion, with Copper Head closely following suit!

His body, tempered through countless trials, gradually became incomparably formidable, far surpassing its former self, while his overall strength surged, exploded, and skyrocketed!

Against the Arlong Pirates, he now possessed absolute confidence and assurance; indeed, from his bulging muscles to his pounding heart, everything craved battle, yearned to tear powerful enemies apart!

But unfortunately, a year has twelve months.

It was only early March now; the probability that Arlong would arrive at Cocoyasi Village within the first two months was, after all, far too low.

"I hope you don't come too slowly or too late."

Siano licked his somewhat cracked lips, muttering to himself, "If your strength can't keep up with my current version, I'm going to be very disappointed..."

A sudden gust of wind blew past, swallowing his words.

Just like human emotions, whether excitement, anticipation, or repeated disappointments, none could ultimately withstand the merciless march of time.

In the blink of an eye, April arrived.

The trading market once again refreshed with a Six Styles manual; Siano purchased it, opening the blind box to reveal "Moon Step" and "Finger Pistol," and immediately began cultivating them.

May.

The Arlong Pirates still showed no sign of appearing, while the island's sturdiest mountain finally collapsed completely.

Siano spent a few more days leveling it entirely with fist and foot, turning it into flat ground; henceforth, this became the villagers' preferred spot for gatherings, celebrations, and festival events.

June.

"Moon Step" and "Finger Pistol" successively reached major completion.

Siano took on another mountain; while practicing Finger Pistol, he riddled everything above the mountainside with holes until it resembled a sieve. When the morning light spilled down, dappled shadows danced upon the ground, creating a truly beautiful sight.

Yet, when he stood with his back to the world at the mountain's edge, staring fixedly at the dock every day like an elderly person in an empty nest...

Viewed from far below, he appeared somewhat lonely.

July.

Nami and Nojiko celebrated their birthdays one after another; Siano prepared a massive cake and invited everyone from the Scar Gang to join in a grand celebration.

Alas, while pushing the cake cart, he failed to control his strength, twisting the steel frame into a pretzel; the cake lost balance and tumbled to the ground, causing Nami to burst into loud wails.

August.

The trading market finally refreshed with the "Flesh and Blood Smelting Method" again; this time it was the third chapter, titled "Iron Bones."

The method of cultivation proved largely similar to that of Tekkai.

Thus, Scar and the others gained a new task: every day, they had to wield spiked clubs over a meter tall and desperately hammer every joint and connection point of Siano's bones.

Previously, only two people took turns; now, six worked simultaneously.

September.

Siano's height soared to 1.93 meters, his weight reaching 140 kilograms.

The black training suit he wore saw its added weight limit repeatedly shatter previous ceilings, arriving at a terrifying 2.1 tons.

One night.

Nami, groggy from sleep, got up to urinate; passing by Siano's room, she faintly heard him murmuring in his dreams from within:

"Come on, Arlong, come on, Arlong..."

"Why haven't you come yet... why exactly haven't you come..."

Who is Arlong?

Do girls have names like that?

Suspicion arose in Nami's heart; she planned to ask the villagers about it first thing tomorrow morning.

Unfortunately, a child's memory during a nighttime bathroom break is basically zero; by the time she woke up the next day to brush her teeth, she had already forgotten last night's events completely.

October.

By mid-month, Siano's "Iron Bones" achieved major completion.

The tangerine groves also entered harvest season; the workshop had long been built, and production of tangerine canned fruit and tangerine jam began rolling out. Bell-mère was ecstatic, busy from dawn until deep into the night every single day.

Meanwhile.

In a certain town within the nearby seas.

Under the terrified gazes of the people, a group of tall fish-men laughed wildly, departing with money bags bulging on their backs.

"Looks like everyone on this island is a coward, chim~"

The Kiss Fish-man cracked his neck, lingering with regret, "Not a single one resisted. The previous island was more interesting; I wanted to turn this one into ruins too."

"Humans are weak and ignorant, short and cowardly; truly a naturally inferior and despicable race."

The purple fish-man leading the group sneered, "What's the name of the next island?"

"Hmm, let me see; seems it's called Cocoyasi Village."

The Six-Blade Style swordsman drunkenly set down his wine gourd, unfolded a sea chart, and took a look, "Just a small village; should be the easiest one to conquer."

"Is that so?"

The purple fish-man turned his head; beneath his shark-saw nose, he grinned widely, exposing fangs in a wild, sinister laugh.

"Shahahaha—! That's truly boring. I just wonder if the humans there are rich enough, and how much oil we can squeeze out of them..."

Second update, 3,000 words; writing takes considerable effort, so it's a bit late, sorry about that. Also, humbly requesting monthly votes.

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(End of Chapter)