You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395
As long as I reach 200 dollars on my Patreon, I will post 10 extra bonus chapters per month in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 300 dollars then I will post 15 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 400 dollars then I will post 20 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. So come and support me.
**Cover Story: Big News 3 – “Ha ha ha ha, this kid is really interesting.”**
[Marine Headquarters, Training Grounds. A certain Marine Hero casually sits on the edge of a wooden veranda, munching on a bag of senbei while reading the newspaper and laughing heartily. Nearby, a certain Resourceful General sits holding his head, trying to ignore his old companion. On the training grounds, a certain Marine captain is practicing his newly acquired Devil Fruit ability, darting around the track without making a sound.]
—
Robin’s delicate palm had already turned slightly red from the heat.
However, when an invisible hand grabbed her wrist and forcibly moved it away, she immediately understood that it was Liam’s ghost that had emerged once again.
Realizing that Liam was probably okay, Robin let out a small sigh of relief.
Liam opened his eyes, exhaling a visible burst of hot air that slightly distorted the view around them.
The black armor completely emerged from his body.
“Pain and pleasure… this experience is surprisingly a bit enjoyable,” Liam said with a smile as the heat rising from his body gradually subsided.
He noticed Robin’s hand which was red from the burn, and she quickly hid it behind her back, blinking her big eyes as she asked, “You don’t seem to be suffering as much as before?”
Liam flexed his hands and feet a bit, confirming that, as he suspected, the situation was much better than the times when he was incapacitated for half a day.
“Yeah, when we were on that island, I stored a portion of the energy from every ton of food I consumed inside my body,” Liam explained.
Robin was surprised, “Is that even possible?”
“Yeah, it is.”
Liam reflected on the recent sensation.
When the Stand returned to his body, the immense fatigue descended upon every cell of his being, as though it wanted to tear him apart, but it also triggered the latent power hidden deep within him.
“I was just trying it out as an experiment, and surprisingly, it worked…” Liam mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “The energy stored successfully, but I don’t seem to know how to consciously trigger the hidden stamina… It’s like my body only pulls from it when under extreme stress to make up for the depletion.”
In other words, the idea of using this method to create a second, or even third, or endless stamina reserves…
It was still beyond reach for now.
He had figured out how to store stamina, but to consciously activate it like Donquixote Family’s Lao G, who could use the stamina stored from his youth even when he was on the verge of death and still engaged in intense combat…
There was still a long road ahead of the Life Return training.
Now that Liam had grasped the concept of storing stamina, he realized it wasn’t as mysterious or advanced a technique as he initially thought.
It was similar to Life Return itself— a concept that sounded grand but was fundamentally just the “use of the body.”
In this sea, anyone who is alive, broadly speaking, is a user of Life Return.
Ordinary civilians are essentially 0.0000…01-level Life Return ability users— they only have a rough understanding of using their muscles and basic physical skills.
Those with more skill, even if they don’t know about Life Return, can use their muscles well enough to be considered 0.01-level Life Return users.
The process of learning Rokushiki is essentially leveling up in Life Return.
Once you break past level 1, even if you can’t manipulate your hair, drink milk to heal your teeth, or digest food quickly— with these agile techniques— you’re still able to perform military skills beyond ordinary people’s imagination, like making your body bulletproof, walking in the air, or even sending out your “stamina” as a tangible energy force in the form of flying Shigan or Rankyaku…
Liam suspected that even before encountering CP-9 in Water 7, Luffy had unconsciously reached a Life Return level that surpassed 1.
Luffy never trained as hard as Zoro did, spending most of his time on the Merry either eating or sleeping.
Ironically, this fits perfectly with the natural state of Life Return training.
Luffy’s ridiculous vitality— being able to survive several Rokuōgan strikes from Rob Lucci and still not die, as if he had a lock on his health bar— could very well be due to his subconscious accumulation of stamina in his body from constantly eating.
And the best proof that Luffy had unknowingly mastered the principles of Life Return…
Was his “Second Gear.”
The principle of Second Gear: manipulating the flow of blood within his body to accelerate circulation, thereby enhancing physical abilities.
No normal person should be able to control their blood flow like that!
Liam knew he wasn’t a normal person anymore.
That’s why he felt only someone as abnormal as he was now could achieve that. Just like how he could now control his hair at will, manipulating the flow of his blood…
Though he certainly wasn’t going to risk it by speeding up his blood circulation.
That’s a dangerous move— don’t try it unless you’re a rubber person.
As for his hair… it was too short to do anything with.
Robin, unaware of Liam’s drifting thoughts, said helplessly, “If that hadn’t worked just now… wouldn’t you have been stuck here, unable to move, for quite a while?”
Being immobilized on this island full of powerful female warriors, with both Liam and his ghost incapacitated?
That would be very dangerous…
“Then I’d just lay there!” Liam snapped out of his thoughts, unconcerned. “You’re here to protect me, aren’t you?”
Robin was a bit surprised, and somewhat pleased, though she didn’t show it on her face.
To keep herself composed, she pointed a small finger at the top of the towering City wall nearby and said softly, “I used my Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) to take a look up there just now…”
“Oh? Did you see anything?” Liam raised his hand to gaze in that direction.
Meanwhile, ‘B.I.B.’ picked up the green Den Den Mushi, about to remove its Shiro Shiro no Mi (Castle-Castle Fruit) chip. It paused for a moment, thinking that if it took out the chip, the previous effort of transferring the items from Liam and Robin to the snail’s internal castle would be pointless.
After all, everything would soon be shaken out again. Feeling confused by the back-and-forth process, it figured Liam might be similarly lost in thought.
With that in mind, ‘B.I.B.’ quietly removed the Shiro Shiro no Mi chip from the green Den Den Mushi. At the same time, the chest and back armor disassembled and flew out, carefully catching the items that shot out from inside the snail, and placing them gently on the ground.
The chest and back armor reassembled, and ‘B.I.B.’ silently inserted the Shiro Shiro no Mi chip into Liam’s body while Liam was still distracted talking to Robin.
It then quietly copied the Shiro Shiro no Mi ability within Liam’s body, removed the chip again, and placed it back into the green Den Den Mushi.
Once everything was completed without a sound, ‘B.I.B.’ stored the items in its internal castle and returned the green Den Den Mushi to Liam’s pocket. It then stood quietly to the side as if nothing had happened.
Returning to the conversation, Liam looked up as Robin pointed at the top of the City wall. “Earlier, I saw an old man with a long white beard standing up there…”
“Huh?” Liam wore a confused expression.
Kuja Land was a land of women— men were forbidden, and you wouldn’t see a single one. How could there be an old grandpa with a white beard?
Robin didn’t reply but instead used her Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) again, creating two heads at the top of the City wall, one looking in each direction.
“Huh, the old man is gone…”
Liam muttered thoughtfully, “Could it have been Elder Nyon? No, that doesn’t make sense. She doesn’t have a mustache… Besides, the old lady is still wandering the Grand Line on her own…”
But seriously, why worry about some old guy?
“Are you done yet?” Liam turned to his Stand.
The Stand nodded, opening a castle portal in its chest, indicating that it was ready.
Liam grabbed Robin and pulled her into the castle portal, their bodies rapidly shrinking. In a flash, they vanished into thin air.
The adventure in the land of women begins!
The black armor, like a ghost, phased right through the City wall…
—
Kujaland, the weather was clear, the clouds had stopped moving, and there was no wind…
Is any rain coming soon?
Hiss…
Ouch.
…
(End Of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395
As long as I reach 200 dollars on my Patreon, I will post 10 extra bonus chapters per month in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 300 dollars then I will post 15 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. If I reach 400 dollars then I will post 20 extra bonus chapters in batches of 5 for that month. So come and support me.
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my patreon and I’ve also activated (date to date) subscription model on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/marvel6395
Support me on Patreon for extra chapters