Chapter 171

3407, 3408, 3409, 3410……

"The captain will be alright, right?"

Konis lay flat on the deck, staring down at the dense, black mass of thunderclouds below, her eyes full of worry.

"That's lightning we're talking about."

Luo Bin was also worried. "Even with Armament Haki for defense, under such dense thunderbolts, he probably won't be able to hold out for long…"

"Master…"

Xiao Qi was also full of worry.

Standing to one side with her arms crossed, Bonney quietly clenched her fists, her fingers nearly digging into the flesh.

"He'll be fine."

Kuina's calm voice rang out behind the few of them. Turning to look, they saw Kuina in a white training outfit, thick steel bracers on her arms, both hands gripping a massive steel barbell, practicing vertical chops over and over.

"He's Luo En, our captain. No matter what, he always strides toward his goal and climbs higher. Whatever crazy thing he does, I believe in him and trust him — so you all need to trust him too."

Damp strands of hair clung to either side of her cheeks; on Kuina's sweat-drenched face and in her eyes there was utter calm and resolve.

"This is the New World, the strongest of seas! The powerful opponents we run into from here on out will only be more and stronger. Rather than worrying about him, we'd better go strengthen ourselves. We can't rely on him for everything, can we."

Hearing her words, Konis and the others all fell silent.

"I… I'm going to train."

Xiao Qi said, turning and heading toward the gravity chamber.

Luo Bin, Konis, and Bonney exchanged glances, then all smiled.

"You're right — we didn't board this ship just to be decorations!"

"Let's show the sea what the Calamity of the Void crew can do!"

"The captain can't be the only one stealing the spotlight."

The girls all began to train harder as well.

There were three directions of training.

Haki, breathing techniques, and the development of Devil Fruit abilities!

…………

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

A pitch-black humanoid object plunged down from the thick, dark thunderclouds.

It slammed heavily onto the Thunder Island below, which was wreathed in dense thunderbolts.

It smashed a small hill on the island to pieces.

【Beep. Detected host's location — Thunder Island. Sign-in conditions met. Sign in to receive sign-in reward. Sign in?】

"Sign… sign in."

【Beep. Sign-in successful. Obtained sign-in reward: Vitality +10.

Obtained sign-in reward: 50% Lightning Resistance.】

【50% Lightning Resistance: All lightning attacks deal 50% less damage to you.】

Boom!

Accompanied by a roar that tore through the air, a bolt of lightning ripped through the air, falling from the sky into the great pit and slamming into that charred humanoid figure wreathed in arcs of electricity!

Zzzzzt!

3539… 3540… 3541…

【Beep. Extremity of Force level increased. Current level: lv4.

Consumes Vitality to activate this skill, increasing strength by 40%.】

3561… 3562…

Another two days passed.

Under the baptism of raging thunderbolts.

【Beep. Sublimation Core Burst Kick level increased. Current level — lv3.】

【Sublimation Core Burst Kick lv3: Gather power in your right leg and deliver a full-force kick, extreme destructive power increased by 300%.】

Hearing this system prompt.

"It… it finally leveled up…"

Luo En, whose consciousness was already growing fuzzy, forced his numb and agonizing body upright and immediately cast a healing spell on himself.

The effect was mediocre.

He cast it once more.

Slightly better, but he still couldn't even crawl.

Like a humanoid piece of charcoal, he lay with his eyes closed on his back in the great pit of charred earth. Around him, bolts of lightning rained down from the sky like a downpour, the roar unceasing. In the thunderclouds above, lightning serpents flickered — if their full energy were to fall, it would probably be enough to easily destroy the entire island.

"Stamina and mental strength are both about to hit their limits…"

"Underestimated the power of nature a bit. Nothing to be done…"

With his remaining consciousness, Luo En took out from the system space the senzu bean obtained from sign-in, put it in his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed.

The moment the senzu bean entered his stomach, a preposterously unreasonable mysterious energy surged into Luo En's body.

Luo En's terrifying, horrifying injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye; his nearly depleted stamina and mental strength were also fully restored to their peak within seconds.

However, once that strange energy faded, because of his eyes' devouring, his stamina and mental strength remained at 2/3.

"Worthy of a senzu bean. Too bad after all this time signing in I only got two, and now there's just one left — gotta save it for when it really counts…"

Looking like a humanoid piece of charcoal, Luo En slowly rose to his feet from the deep thunder pit, his whole body shuddering.

The thick layer of charred shell wrapped around him on the outside instantly shattered apart.

GLOSSARY

【Ron, Luo En; Robin, Luo Bin; Thunder, Lei Ting; Thundercloud, Lei Yun; Razer, Lei She; Master, Master; Konis, Konis; Xiao Qi, Xiao Qi; Bonney, Bonney; Kuina, Kuina; Calamity of the Void, Calamity of the Void; Thunder Island, Thunder Island; Extremity of Force, Extremity of Force; Sublimation Core Burst Kick, Sublimation Core Burst Kick; senzu bean, senzu bean】

Like a worm breaking its cocoon, molting into a butterfly.

Luo En stood within the deep pit, his height now reaching two meters, his build tall, robust, and well-proportioned, his muscle lines clearly defined, containing astonishing power.

The black hair that had regrown under the strange energy of the Senzu Beans completely exceeded its previous length, nearly reaching Luo En's waist, dancing wantonly in the whistling wind all around.

Boom—!

Another bolt of lightning, a Lei She, came crashing down from the sky.

Luo En, with his eyes closed, didn't even look, raising his fist to blast out.

The terrifying power brought by his vast blood energy, the reinforcement of his lv6 Armament Haki, combined with the tremendous boost to power from his lv4 Extreme Intent of Strength.

When he threw this punch, the air above seemed like shattered glass, countless cracks appearing in it.

A terrifying fist force, carrying a shockwave, collided with that bolt of lightning!

Boom!

Accompanied by a tremendous roar, the gathered terrifying wind pressure exploded with a rumble!

The several hills around were swept flat in an instant!

That terrifying Lei She, as thick as a house, was completely shattered and pierced through by this fist force and shockwave, transforming into countless small lightning whips that struck the ground around, blasting pits of varying sizes into the scorched earth around Luo En.

"Huu…"

Luo En, his whole body radiating blood-colored steam, eyes closed, long black hair fluttering behind him in the wind, gently exhaled a breath.

Now his strength should have returned to what it was on Drum Island—no, it might even surpass it a little.

It was not in vain that he had taken such a risk.

The harvest was still worth it.

"System, list my current attributes."

【Okay.】

【Host: Luo En.

Age: 18.

Blood Energy Value: 3569.

Transparent World: lv4.

Sun Breathing mastery: 100%.

Swordsmanship: Great Accomplishment Iron-Cutting Realm of comprehending the Breath of All Things (Great Swordsman)

Extreme Intent of Strength: lv4.

Ultimate Technique: Sublimation Core Explosion Kick — lv3.

Sealed Tenseigan (Sealing…)

Devil Fruit Ability: Side-effect-free Pika Pika no Mi ability (Second Stage)