The Shortcut to Body Refinement

Zoro wiped the sweat from his face. Although excited, he hadn't forgotten his other goal.

He looked down at the bruises on his body, which were fading but still present, and frowned slightly.

"Hey, Ronan."

Zoro looked up, his eyes showing a hint of dissatisfaction:

"I've got a handle on basic Observation Haki, but... this 'Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Refinement,' the second stage, I feel like my progress is really slow."

He forcefully patted his chest, making a dull thudding sound:

"It's a bit harder than before, but it's still a long way from what you said, 'invincible to blades and spears, shattering weapons.'"

Luffy, standing nearby, also nodded vigorously, pouting:

"Yeah, yeah! It still hurt a lot when I got hit by the spear shaft just now! My rubber body is tough, but it's not steel yet!"

Ronan couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth as he listened to their complaints, feeling speechless.

These two ungrateful guys...

For an ordinary person to practice this technique, the second stage of "copper skin and iron bones" would take at least ten years of hard work, along with precious medicinal ingredients.

You've only been practicing for a week, and you can already withstand my iron spear strikes. This is already rocket-speed!

"Haste makes waste."

Ronan sighed helplessly and said earnestly:

"You've only been practicing for a few days? Your bodies are already undergoing a qualitative change."

"Horizontal refinement techniques emphasize gradual progress, an accumulation of effort bit by bit."

"If you're too eager for success, you'll damage your foundation instead."

"But..."

Luffy wasn't buying it. He leaned in front of Ronan, staring with his big eyes, which were filled with a greed for power:

"I want to become invincible to blades and spears quickly! Is there a faster way? I don't fear pain! I can endure ten times more pain!"

Although Zoro didn't speak, his fiery gaze was fixed on Ronan, as if saying, "If there's a shortcut, I'll brave hell itself."

Facing these two pairs of eyes, hungry like wolves yearning for strength, Ronan felt immense pressure.

He knew this was the characteristic of the protagonist group.

They were never satisfied with the status quo and were always challenging their limits.

Ronan pondered for a moment, countless possibilities flashing through his mind.

"A faster way..."

Ronan suddenly looked at the rough, surging sea in the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"There is a way, not that there isn't."

Ronan looked at Luffy and Zoro's eager eyes, pondered for a moment, and said:

"There is indeed a faster way, but... it costs money, a lot of money."

"What way?" Luffy and Zoro asked almost in unison, their voices filled with urgency.

Ronan slowly uttered two words: "Medicinal bath."

"Medicinal bath?" Luffy tilted his head, looking confused, "What's that? Is it delicious?"

Ronan shook his head and patiently explained:

"A medicinal bath uses a large amount of rare and precious medicinal ingredients, such as hundred-year-old ginseng, tiger bone, deer antler, reishi mushroom, and so on."

"They are brewed into a medicinal soup according to specific ancient proportions, and then you jump in to bathe when the water temperature is extremely high."

"Bathing?" Zoro was startled, clearly not associating such an enjoyable activity with brutal training.

"Don't underestimate this bathing," Ronan's expression turned serious:

"Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Refinement is a powerful hard qigong technique that emphasizes 'destruction' and 'reorganization'."

"Our current beatings are 'destroying' muscle fibers, and the medicinal bath is the perfect 'reorganization'."

Ronan pointed to the bruises on Zoro's body: "The essence in the medicinal liquid, under the effect of heat, will penetrate the body along the pores."

"It not only instantly eliminates subcutaneous bruising and hidden injuries caused by the day's beatings, preventing the body from being ruined by training."

"More importantly—it can penetrate deep into the bone marrow, like adding rare metals when forging steel, fundamentally strengthening your bone density and muscle resilience!"

"This is the shortcut to practicing horizontal refinement!"

"There's... something like this?!"

Zoro's heart surged with excitement, and a terrifying glint shot from his eyes.

As a sword fanatic who would pay any price to become stronger, such a method to enhance physical strength held a fatal attraction for him.

"Is the effect really that good?"

Zoro shot to his feet, his hand already on his sword's hilt, and scanned their surroundings with killing intent. "How much will it cost? I'll go steal it!"

Ronan looked at Zoro, who had a "I'm a bandit" expression on his face, and smiled helplessly. He placed a hand on Zoro's shoulder.

"Don't rush. The point right now isn't money, but that even with money, we can't buy good medicinal ingredients."

"On this vast ocean, where can we find hundred-year-old ginseng? Once we reach a prosperous island, we can go on a major shopping spree!"

"Alright, that's enough training for today."

Ronan let out a long sigh and sprawled out on the deck in a spread-eagle position, feeling the sea breeze.

"Too much is as bad as too little. We need to rest properly. Only by balancing work and rest will this taut string not snap, and only then can we go further."

As the three finished their heart-stopping "self-abusive" training, Nami and Usopp, who had been watching from the side, finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked onto the deck.

"Ouch, you guys are finally done training!"

Usopp stretched exaggeratedly and leaned on the railing, complaining.

"I'm so bored I could die!"

Nami also sighed helplessly. She looked at the navigation chart, her brow furrowed.

"To accommodate your training these past few days, the ship has been stopping and starting, which has seriously affected our voyage."

Ronan tilted his head slightly and looked at Nami's delicate yet anxious face, smiling gently.

"The training has come to an end, Miss Nami. For the time being, let's enjoy the pleasure of sailing."

With that, he completely relaxed his body, gazing at the clear blue sky and white clouds overhead, his thoughts gradually emptying.

Zoro also held Wado Ichimonji and leaned in the shade of the ship's railing, eyes closed, resting. His breathing became long and steady.

A rare peace and tranquility returned to the deck.

However, for certain hyperactive individuals, this tranquility was simply torture.

Luffy rolled around on the deck twice, utterly bored. He suddenly jumped up and threw an arm around Usopp's neck.

"Hey, Usopp! Since there's nothing to do, let's go practice with the cannon!"

"Cannon?" Usopp's eyes lit up, his sniper instincts kicking in. "Alright! I'll show you my god-tier skill of hitting the mark every single time!"

The two excitedly ran to the side of the Merry, where a cannon was mounted.

"Target--"

Luffy pointed at a large black reef jutting out of the sea hundreds of meters away. "That's it!"

"Hmph, too close, too close!"

Usopp confidently pushed up his goggles and skillfully loaded the gunpowder and cannonball.

He narrowed one eye, thumb raised, measuring the wind speed, distance, and the ship's sway in his line of sight.

Although the usual Usopp was timid and easily frightened, the moment he picked up a weapon and aimed at a target, his demeanor underwent a complete transformation.

It was the focus and confidence of a top marksman.