Luffy, I'm Here to Steal Your Straw Hat!

The scent of citrus mingled with sweat churned in his nostrils. Xia Nuo raised his right hand, gazing at the calloused scabs on his knuckles.

According to the description in the Secret Manual, the essence of this Breathing Fist lay in "nourishing blood with breath." Through a specific frequency of inhalation and exhalation, the alveoli exchanged several times the normal oxygen volume per unit of time, allowing the surging blood to carry nutrients and continuously wash over every muscle fiber. Physical training thus became twice as effective with half the effort, and the gains in turn fed back into the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones. Day after day, over time, his physical strength would gradually increase to a level far beyond ordinary people, and upon reaching mastery, it would greatly break through the body's original limits, as if unlocking a Gene Lock and transforming into a brand-new species.

"A brand-new species, huh..." Xia Nuo's eyes flickered with anticipation. This world had far too many monstrously talented individuals. This body of his, though possessing some talent in physical techniques, ultimately fell within the realm of ordinary humans. Out on the sea, it simply wasn't enough. It was like... no matter how diligently Usopp trained, he would always just be Usopp. Only by shedding the skin of Usopp that bound his limits, revealing a sharp and novel new form within, would there be a chance to compete with monsters like Luffy and Zoro for a main combat role. If the Breathing Fist could truly help him achieve this, then he had really struck gold back then, proving its value far exceeded the purchase price of eight hundred points. In three years, he had only saved up a little over a thousand points; those eight hundred had drained most of his savings.

Moreover, the benefits of practicing the Breathing Fist didn't stop there. At this moment, he could clearly feel the rhythm of his heart pumping, like a sail filled with a storm wind. The lactic acid buildup that ordinary people inevitably experience after intense exercise was, under this breathing rhythm, transformed into the heat of muscle tremors. The bruises left from striking the Citrus Tree earlier were now rapidly fading through the unique metabolic rhythm of the breathing technique. Without this, lacking any real medical support, he wouldn't have been able to endure such hellish training for several hours every morning and night, while still managing the Orange Grove harvest during the day.

"The deep sea." Xia Nuo's mind stirred, and he summoned the System Panel again. The various attribute values hadn't changed yet. He wasn't surprised by this; cultivation required daily accumulation and was never a one-day achievement. Staring at the rows of data, he roughly estimated in his mind. At his current level, he could easily defeat over a dozen adult strongmen. If the fist technique reached mastery and truly transformed his body to a new level, dealing with a few ordinary fish-men shouldn't be a problem. However... what he had to face was far from just a few fish-men.

Recalling the news he'd seen in the newspaper after dinner, and the public photo of Jinbe, a shadow deepened in the black-haired youth's pupils. The newspaper hadn't gone into detail, but he remembered clearly. One of the conditions for Jinbe agreeing to become a Shichibukai was the release of Arlong and his crew from Impel Down—former comrades of the Sun Pirates. Arlong, Arlong, Arlong! Ever since the day he regained his memories, that name had hung over him like the Sword of Damocles, a constant thorn in his back, robbing him of sleep! Originally, he didn't have to train so desperately, at least not this early. He could have happily continued his childhood, making every day of this East Blue village life warm, bright, and carefree. But he simply couldn't. Arlong was coming! He was about to sever ties with Jinbe, break away from the Sun Pirates, and bring his loyal underlings to the East Blue to live like a local tyrant!

If he remembered correctly, in the original timeline, in Marineford Era 1512—eight years before Luffy set sail—the Arlong Pirates would set foot on the land of Cocoyasi Village, ruthlessly extorting a sky-high protection fee of one hundred thousand Beli per person per month from all the villagers. This peaceful rural paradise would become a hell under oppressive rule, and Bellemere would be coldly shot dead by Arlong that same day for the sake of her daughters. And now... it was already late autumn, early winter of Marineford Era 1511. The time he had left was one year... no, at most one year!

Thump! A sense of urgency surged in his heart. Xia Nuo's face darkened as he slammed his fist into the tree trunk.

After several days of continuous strikes, the tree finally triggered a chain reaction.

Crack, crack! Countless fine fissures spread like a spiderweb across the trunk, and the next second, the entire seven- or eight-meter-tall tree exploded into countless fragments with a loud crash, scattering everywhere.

In the gaps of moonlight filtering through the fine wood chips, the boy's gaze gradually turned as cold as iron.

He had lost his temper too.

Wasn't it just some Arlong, a bounty of 20 million Beri? Not even worth mentioning in the New World, a piece of trash that didn't even count as small fry in the Grand Line.

What right did he have to covet his hometown? What right did he have to pressure him for all these years!

Back when his memories first awakened, Xia Nuo would have advised Bellemere to move away, but now—absolutely impossible!

Cocoyasi Village was now his hometown too, a place that had given him countless warmth and healing.

Orange groves, grassy fields, streams, and coastlines—everywhere held memories of him and his family. Even that big white dog at the village entrance, which he had almost sacrificed back then, had grown on him.

Why should they leave?

Screw that!

The one who should get lost was Arlong!

He threw several more sets of punches at the wooden post until his already meager stamina was completely drained, and only then did his wild, violent mood gradually calm down.

He climbed to a high spot and sat down, the distant dock faintly visible.

The salty sea breeze brushed past the boy's shoulders. Xia Nuo tilted his face up, gazing at the winding Milky Way in the sky. Waves shattered into silver foam among the hidden reefs, reflecting the flickering starlight in his eyes.

"I have to go to sea."

He murmured to himself.

Cocoyasi Village was ultimately too small.

For the East Blue, it was like an inconspicuous little star on the edge of this brilliant galaxy.

The outside world was vast. If he wanted to earn more points to grow stronger, he absolutely couldn't be confined to this one corner.

In fact, back when he first realized you couldn't keep shearing the same sheep, he had already planned to go out to sea and find other fat sheep.

But back then, he was only ten years old, a little bean barely over 1.4 meters tall, unable to even beat the village geese. Going to sea would have been asking for death.

Now, he had some ability to protect himself, but formally setting out to roam was still too dangerous and not good enough—that was something for adults to do.

However.

If he had a clear goal, following a passing merchant ship along a safe route, going and coming back quickly, that wasn't a bad choice.

It would avoid worrying his family, and the chance of running into trouble wasn't high either.

As for who the target should be...

—He didn't even need to think; Xia Nuo locked onto the answer in his heart instantly.

Monkey D. Luffy!

The Straw Hat that once belonged to Pirate King Roger should now have been entrusted to Luffy by Shanks, and that was exactly what he was after.

It was both something the child of destiny treasured as his life and carried the historical significance from Joy Boy to Roger.

Across the entire East Blue, almost nothing was more "valuable" than that Straw Hat.

As for what would happen if Luffy lost that hat, or how the future timeline would change...

He didn't care.

Not one bit.

Compared to getting stronger and protecting his family, those things weren't even worth a damn.

Having made up his mind.

Xia Nuo put back on the thick-knit sweater Bellemere had sewn for him, took a deep breath, and strode out of the orange grove.

As he passed the last wooden post, he casually picked up the wooden sword resting beside it.

He had said he was coming out to practice swordsmanship, but he had spent the whole time boxing and hadn't swung the sword even once.

There was no helping it.

In fact, he had started practicing swordsmanship before his fist techniques.

At ten years old, he had spent 100 points to exchange for a basic swordsmanship secret manual, but he just didn't have a knack for it. Even after spending more time, he had only barely reached the entry level.

A person's energy was limited; in the end, you had to play to your strengths.

So, when Xia Nuo realized he had more talent in physical techniques, he poured all his effort into the "Breathing Fist" and basically half-abandoned swordsmanship.

You win some, you lose some.

Now, he still carried the wooden sword with him every time he trained, purely out of habit.

Before entering the village, Xia Nuo turned back one last time to look at the distant dock.

According to past routine, within the next few days, the first cargo ship coming to buy oranges would dock there.

There were usually three or four cargo ships, each belonging to different merchant guilds with their own trade routes.

But they all had to pass through some large, well-developed port towns where they could transfer. Either way, he would find a ship heading toward the Foosha Village area.

It was better to act sooner rather than later—he didn't want to wait any longer.

Set sail!

As soon as this first batch of cargo ships arrived, he would head straight out to sea!

Luffy, your grandpa is coming!