Ah Long! Why aren't you here yet!

Thud, thud.

Amidst the continuous trembling of the ground, Shano approached a giant tree standing over ten meters tall.

Glancing up at the canopy, he suddenly extended both hands, digging his ten fingers into the trunk. The gnarled muscles of his back abruptly bulged, and a series of muffled, cracking sounds echoed from deep beneath the earth—the roots were snapping.

It was not a mere pulling motion; it was the thunderous roar of an entire layer of soil being ripped apart!

Weighing a hefty three to four tons, the giant tree was lifted into the air with a cascade of cascading earth like a waterfall, held firmly in his grip.

Then, he turned his head to gaze at the mountain peak opposite him.

It was about three to four hundred meters away from his current position.

With a slight aim, Shano remained silent, channeling all his strength into his arms, and hurled the giant tree forward with explosive force.

Swoosh—!

The giant tree shot toward the opposite peak like a javelin. At the same time, Shano lifted his heel, gathered his strength for a brief moment, and forcefully stamped down.

"Soru!"

His figure flickered and blurred. In the next instant, he abruptly appeared atop the flying giant tree. The trunk instantly sank by a significant margin, and its speed slowed slightly.

Yet, it maintained its original momentum, hurtling toward the mountain peak.

The headwind howled fiercely, and the trees and streams beneath his feet flashed past in a blur. Shano narrowed his eyes slightly, gazing at the approaching mountain.

Just like the previous peak, both mountains had long since been leased and converted into his exclusive training grounds.

However, compared to the utter devastation of the last mountain, this one was in much better shape. Only the summit had been completely sheared off, leaving behind a massive, open-air platform.

At the edge of the terrace, Scarface, Skinny Monkey, and two others had been waiting for some time. Seeing the giant tree hurtling toward them from the air, they hurriedly scrambled further back.

Rumble!

The giant tree crashed heavily into the center of the terrace. Shano leaped down, landing firmly on his feet. He hooked the trunk with a single foot, spun around, and kicked it away casually. The huge log tumbled noisily down the mountainside.

Thud—

Even though they had grown accustomed to the various visual impacts Shano brought them over the past few months, Scarface and the others still swallowed hard involuntarily at this sight.

"Did you bring the guns?" Shano asked casually.

"We brought them all, Boss." Scarface immediately pulled a flintlock pistol from behind his back, and the other three quickly followed suit, making the same motion.

"Just as I said yesterday: all of you, aim at my head and fire rapidly."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shano remembered something and glanced at Skinny Monkey. "Not you. You aim at my feet."

"Uh," Skinny Monkey's face flushed. "Boss, my marksmanship has improved a lot. I feel like aiming at your knees is about right."

"...... Suit yourself."

Shano shook his head, standing with his hands behind his back against the wind in the center of the terrace.

The other four took their positions at the four corners—southeast, northwest—then closed the distance slightly, raised their muzzles, and aimed directly at Shano's head.

"Fire!"

Scarface waved his arm and gave the command.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sporadic sound of gunfire shattered the mountain silence. Four orange-red muzzle flashes spat in turns. After one round, they quickly reloaded and immediately fired the next.

Clang! Clang! Shano stood completely motionless, letting the bullets pelt his head.

No matter which angle they came from, the bullets were instantly deflected, producing crisp sounds like metal striking stone.

Even the surface of the flesh-heavy cheek, at the instant of impact with the bullets, merely rippled like a pebble dropped into a lake, quickly returning to normal.

This was the effect brought by the mastery of "Copper Head." Even without intentionally accelerating his blood flow with the "Iron Body" technique, he could still completely ignore the impact of bullets.

Whoosh—!

A bullet shot straight from the front, but it happened, by pure coincidence, to drill directly toward his eye.

"Oh no!"

Noticing this, Scarface's expression turned panicked, and he hurriedly reached out to stop the others. "Hey, stop shooting for a second! Boss, are you okay?"

The gunfire abruptly ceased. Only then did the others see that the bullet had not bounced off immediately; instead, it hovered eerily right in front of his eyeball as if stuck in thick tar.

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Shano spoke calmly, suddenly rolling his eyeball upward to wedge the bullet beneath his upper eyelid.

The group heard a teeth-setting squeak. In the next instant, the bullet wedged behind his eyelid was ground into countless fine lead powders, slowly sliding down the bridge of Shano's nose.

"......"

Silence descended upon the surroundings.

"It seems the effect is quite good."

Shano nodded in satisfaction, smiling at the dumbfounded Scarface and the others. "Alright, that's enough for today. You guys can go back to your own business."

"Yes, Boss."

It took Scarface and the others quite a while to snap out of their daze. They bowed and excused themselves. As they left the open-air platform, they kept looking back every few steps, clearly still unable to shake the shock in their hearts.

Shano was not surprised by this at all.

The description of "Copper Head" stated very clearly that once mastered, it enhanced every part of his body from the neck up, which naturally included seemingly fragile organs and tissues like the eyeballs and nasal cavity.

Even his tongue could remain soft or become as tough as steel; when extended, it functioned much like a dagger, capable of easily piercing another person's chest.

He walked to the southernmost edge of the open-air platform.

Shano looked into the distance. From here, he could just barely see the only port and dock of Cocoyasi Village.

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

"Arlong..."

Shano murmured softly, "It's already spring, when on earth are you going to arrive?"

During these past five months, he slept only four hours a day, dedicating almost all of his remaining time to hellish, grueling training.

Soru had reached a minor mastery four months ago, and full mastery two months ago. Then came the mastery of Iron Body, closely followed by the mastery of Copper Head!

His through-the-mill body had gradually grown fiercely peerless, far surpassing its original state, while his overall strength had increased explosively, wildly, and madly!

He already possessed absolute confidence and certainty in dealing with the Arlong Pirates. From his muscle-bound physique to his pounding heart, he was craving battle, craving to tear apart powerful enemies!

Unfortunately, a year had twelve months.

It was only early March now; the probability of Arlong arriving in Cocoyasi Village in the first two months was simply too low.

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

Shano licked his somewhat dry lips and muttered to himself, "If your strength can't keep up with my version, I'm going to be very disappointed..."

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

Just like human emotions—whether it was excitement, anticipation, or repeated disappointment—they could never withstand the merciless crushing grind of time.

In the blink of an eye, April arrived.

The trading market refreshed with the Six Powers secret manual once again. Shano bought it, rolled "Geppo" (Moonwalk) and "Shigan" (Finger Gun) from the blind box, and began his cultivation.

May.

The Arlong Pirates were still nowhere to be seen, and the hardest mountain on the island finally collapsed completely.

Shano spent a few more days leveling it entirely with his fists and kicks. From then on, this place became the best spot for villagers to gather, celebrate, and hold festivals.

June.

"Geppo" and "Shigan" were successively mastered.

Shano leased yet another mountain. In the process of practicing Shigan, he riddled the area above the mountainside with holes. When the morning mist scattered, dappled light and shadows fell upon the ground, creating a magnificent sight.

Yet, when his figure stood at the edge of the mountain peak, gazing intently at the dock every day like an empty-nest elder, viewed from below, he appeared somewhat lonely.

July.

It was Nami and Nojiko's birthdays. Shano prepared a huge cake and invited Scarface and his entire gang to celebrate grandly.

Unfortunately, he failed to control his strength while pushing the cake cart, twisting the steel frame into a pretzel. The cake lost its balance and tumbled to the ground, causing Nami to burst into tears.

August.

The trading market finally refreshed the "Flesh and Blood Furnace Method" once again. This time it was the third chapter, named "Iron Bone."

The method of cultivation turned out to be remarkably similar to Iron Body.

Consequently, Scarface and the others gained an additional daily task: brandishing maces over a meter thick and furiously pounding away at all of Shano's joint connections.

Only this time, instead of taking turns in pairs, all six of them went to work simultaneously.

September.

Shano's height shot up to 1.93 meters, and his weight reached 140 kilograms.

The tight black attire he wore had its added weight continuously shattering ceilings, reaching a terrifying 2.1 tons.

One night.

Nami woke up half-asleep to use the restroom. Passing by Shano's room, she faintly heard him muttering in his sleep:

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

"Why, why on earth aren't you here yet..."

Who was Arlong?

Was there even a girl with a name like that?

Nami grew suspicious and decided she would go ask the villagers about it first thing tomorrow morning.

Alas, a child's memory retention when waking up in the middle of the night was virtually zero. By the time she woke up the next morning to brush her teeth, she had completely forgotten about the previous night's incident.

October.

Mid-month arrived, and Shano mastered "Iron Bone."

The orange grove also entered its harvest season. The workshop had long been built, and canned oranges and orange jam began production in succession. Bellemere was beyond excited, busy from dawn till dark every day.

...

Meanwhile.

In a certain village and town in the nearby waters.

Amidst the terrified gazes of the people, a group of tall fishmen laughed wantonly, leaving with bulging money bags strapped to their backs.

"Looks like the guys on this island are all cowards, chu-mi~!"

The mudskipper fishman twisted his neck, looking unsatisfied. "Not a single one put up a fight. The last island was a bit more interesting; I actually wanted to turn this island into a pile of ruins too."

"Humans are weak and ignorant, skinny, short, and cowardly. They are truly an inherently inferior and despicable race."

The purple-skinned fishman leader sneered. "What's the next island called?"

"Hmm, let me check. Seems to be called Cocoyasi Village."

The six-sword-style swordsman drunkenly put down his wine gourd, unfolded a navigation chart, and glanced at it. "Not a very big village. Should be one of the easiest to conquer."

"Is that so?"

The purple fishman turned his head back, pulling back his lips beneath his saw-like nose to bare his fangs in an unbridled, ferocious grin.

"Sha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Well, that's really boring then. I just wonder if the humans there are wealthy enough, and how much oil we can squeeze out of them..."