Grind, Grind Harder

Early Morning, dawn had barely broken.

"Beep~~"

The assembly whistle woke the sleeping recruits.

Including Luo Ya, the branch had recruited only six new recruits yesterday—not even half the number from the previous enlistment drive. The number of recruits over the next few days would only be even smaller.

The residents of Shells Town had been frightened badly.

With so few people, everything had to be kept simple.

The welcome ceremony and such could be skipped if possible. The other matters had mostly been explained yesterday. Right now, the most urgent thing was to keep up with training, become official Navy soldiers as soon as possible, and provide combat strength for the branch.

The East Blue was far from peaceful. The waters guarded by the 153rd Branch could suffer a Pirate Raid at any moment, just like when the Black Cat Pirates had rampaged unchecked.

Only with sufficient troops could the branch protect the civilians!

Below the dormitory building.

While the other recruits were still dawdling, Luo Ya had already arrived downstairs in high spirits. He stood at the edge of the formation and waited for the Instructor's orders.

"Look, it's that kid."

The new recruits secretly glanced at Luo Ya, uncertainty filling their hearts.

"He actually managed to get up."

"He's got a pretty impressive build."

"Strange, it feels like he's gotten a lot thinner."

Luo Ya had trained with them yesterday, and everyone had seen his performance. What they remembered most clearly was that Luo Ya's training load had not been any less than theirs.

Normally, Luo Ya should have been lying painfully in bed right now, unable to get up because every muscle in his body was sore. Yet he stood with his back ramrod straight, his gaze as fierce as a beast's.

This kid was something else!

"Grrrumble~~"

Green light flashed in Luo Ya's eyes as his shriveled stomach let out repeated low growls.

He had put in another three hours of training in the "World" last night, exhausting himself half to death. But after leaving the "World," all his fatigue and injuries had vanished, and his body had returned to its peak condition.

That was another effect of the "World."

The "World" consumed his muscles and fat to heal his injuries and fatigue. Compared to yesterday, he had lost at least three jin.

The most immediate feeling was hunger!

He was so hungry he wanted to swallow stones!

But when becoming a soldier, the first thing one had to learn was endurance!

Soon, the other recruits ran out of the dormitory building amid the Instructor's scolding. Yawning, they joined the formation and headed to the Training ground together.

The morning's training was very simple.

Military posture training, lasting half an hour.

Luo Ya straightened his back and looked ahead. In less than five minutes, sweat began to bead on his forehead, while his entire body started itching and aching.

Standing in military posture was not difficult, but standing properly was definitely no easy task!

Luo Ya recalled the military training he had undergone during his school days. Back then, they had only been required to stand for ten minutes, yet he had always tried every possible way to slack off.

Military posture was that terrifying—a test of both willpower and physical strength.

The 153rd Branch was only a small branch, so its requirements were not that strict. While Luo Ya desperately clenched his anus and puffed out his chest, the other recruits had long since skillfully avoided the Instructor's line of sight, making little movements to slack off.

The Instructor had noticed the recruits' little tricks. Those were tactics he had already played to death himself; how could they possibly fool him?

Still, he chose to turn a blind eye.

The 153rd Branch was merely one of the many Navy Branches in the East Blue. The recruits it took in generally had mediocre physical fitness, and training that was too intense might instead crush them.

Besides, once these recruits carried out missions in the future and witnessed the Pirates' brutality, they would naturally understand the importance of training.

"Huh, this kid."

Seeing Luo Ya's standard posture and the sweat covering his head, the Instructor raised the corner of his mouth in surprise.

Sweating this much meant he had not been slacking off.

He was good material!

Smack!

The Instructor's palm landed on Luo Ya's perky butt with a smack.

"Not bad!"

"..."

Luo Ya's asshole clenched.

That was going too far. Why was everyone so interested in his ass?!

The sun gradually rose, and military posture training came to an end. Led by the Instructor, the recruits headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.

There were all kinds of bread, roasted meat, fish steaks, seafood fried rice, vegetable salad, mashed potatoes, as well as tea and other drinks.

When it came to food, none of the branches treated Navy soldiers poorly. Not only was there a rich variety of ingredients, but there were no limits—you could take as much as you could eat.

Fighting Pirates meant risking one's life. With the high casualty rate, skimping on meals could easily spark a mutiny.

"This is it!"

Green light flashed in Luo Ya's eyes as he piled chunks of meat onto his tray like a starving ghost. It was at least three times the portion of an ordinary Navy soldier. The moment he sat down, he eagerly began wolfing it down.

Big Eaters were not uncommon among Navy soldiers, especially those born with huge physiques. Eating ten times as much as ordinary Navy soldiers was perfectly normal for them.

Only by eating more could the body become stronger!

If not for his limited digestive ability, Luo Ya truly wanted to become a bottomless pit like Luffy. But with his current physical condition, three times the normal amount was already his limit.

Ten minutes later.

"Burp~~"

A full stomach brought forth happiness naturally.

Luo Ya held his slightly swollen belly. He was so stuffed that he did not want to move at all. If only he could light up a cigarette at a time like this...

Unfortunately, ordinary Navy soldiers were forbidden from smoking.

To smoke freely, one's rank had to reach at least School Official. By then, Cigarettes, coffee, Cigars, and the like would all be supplied in abundance.

There were hardly any among the Navy's upper ranks who did not smoke.

That was simply the culture.

At the Training ground, the recruits assembled.

After a simple warm-up, the six newcomers, including Luo Ya, formed a single line and began running laps around the Training ground.

Ten laps totaling five kilometers. After that, there were one hundred push-ups, one hundred squats, one hundred sit-ups, ten rope climbs, and more.

All training had to be completed before noon.

The training load was only half that of the "veterans." This would continue for one month, and after that month, the workload would increase regardless of how the newcomers performed.

If they failed to finish, they would do extra training after completing their afternoon work!

"Huff~~"

Luo Ya adjusted his breathing rhythm and ran as fast as possible within the limits his body could handle.

Completing the training tasks was only the baseline. What he wanted was to reach a passing—no, an outstanding—level as quickly as possible and become an official Navy soldier.

There were still five years until Luffy set sail!

If he could not attain the strength and position of a Vice Admiral or above within five years, then when the upheaval that would soon sweep across the world arrived five years later, he would be nothing more than cannon fodder.

Forget hunting Supernovas and the Great Pirates of the New World. Whether he could even survive the Summit War would be a question.

Becoming a Vice Admiral was the bare minimum. Only with Admiral-level strength could his uneasy heart finally settle. Then, even if the world turned upside down, he would still have a place on the stage.

There was no time to dawdle.

In less than thirty seconds, Luo Ya had left the other recruits more than ten meters behind.

"This kid runs so fast!"

Eating dust behind Luo Ya, the other recruits' faces immediately fell.

It was only the first day of training. Was there any need to go this hard? They had plenty of training time—enough to finish every exercise.

Watching Luo Ya pull farther and farther away, they began to feel anxious.

"Damn it, we can't fall behind either!"

The group gritted their teeth and quickened their pace indignantly. If they fell too far behind, would that not make them look utterly useless?

They could not let that bastard hog all the glory!

Under normal circumstances, it took new recruits twenty minutes to run ten laps. Yet under Luo Ya's influence, the five recruits forced themselves to finish the entire course in less than fifteen minutes.

"I... I can't do it anymore."

"Huff~~ Me neither!"

The five were so exhausted that they could barely catch their breath. Bent over, they pressed their hands against their trembling knees to stop themselves from collapsing.

Then Luo Ya swept past them.

"Eh???"

The five stood there dumbfounded, staring at one another wide-eyed.

What was going on?

Shouldn't this kid have finished ten laps already?!

When Luo Ya completed another lap, passed in front of them again, and showed no intention of stopping whatsoever, they finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Fuck, this kid's doing extra training!"

Bastard, it was only the first day. Could he leave them a way to live?!