Arlong! Why Haven't You Come Yet!

Thump, thump.

Amidst the continuous tremors shaking the ground, Xianuo arrived before a giant tree over ten meters tall.

Glancing up at the treetop, he suddenly extended his hands, fingers digging into the trunk. His knotted latissimus dorsi muscles bulged, and muffled sounds of snapping roots echoed from underground.

It wasn't a pull, but the roar of an entire layer of earth being overturned!

The giant tree, weighing a good three to four tons, lifted off the ground with a cascade of mud, held firmly in his grasp.

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Then, he turned his head towards the summit of the mountain opposite him.

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

After a brief aim, Xianuo remained silent, concentrating all his strength, and hurled the giant tree on his shoulder forward.

Whoosh--!

The giant tree shot towards the opposite mountain like a javelin. Xianuo then lifted his heels, gathered some momentum, and stomped down abruptly.

"Soru!"

His figure flickered and blurred. In the next instant, he suddenly appeared on top of the giant tree. The trunk instantly sank by a large margin, and his speed slowed slightly.

But he maintained his original momentum, soaring towards the mountaintop.

The headwind howled, and streams and trees flew by beneath him. Xianuo narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the mountaintop that was about to be reached.

Just like the previous mountain, both peaks had long been claimed and turned into his exclusive training grounds.

However, compared to the devastation of the previous mountain, this one was much better. Only the summit had been completely leveled, creating a huge open-air platform.

At the edge of the platform, Scarred, Skinny Monkey, and four others were already waiting. Upon seeing the giant tree flying towards them from the sky, they hurriedly retreated further back.

Rumble!

The giant tree crashed into the center of the platform. Xianuo jumped down, landing steadily on the ground. He hooked the trunk with one foot, kicked it back casually, and the trunk rolled down the mountainside with a rumbling sound.

Gulp—

Even though they had grown accustomed to the visual shocks Xianuo brought over the past few months, Scarred and the others still unconsciously swallowed after witnessing this scene.

"You brought the guns?"

Xianuo asked casually.

"We brought them all, boss." Scarred immediately pulled out a flintlock pistol from his back. The other three also made the same motion.

"As I said yesterday, aim for my head and shoot rapidly."

As soon as Xianuo finished speaking, he remembered something and looked at Skinny Monkey. "You don't have to. Aim for my feet."

"Uh." Skinny Monkey blushed. "Boss, my marksmanship has improved a lot too. I feel like aiming for your knee would be just right."

"...As you wish."

Xianuo shook his head and stood in the center of the platform, hands behind his back, facing the wind.

The other four took positions in the four corners—east, south, west, and north. Then, they closed the distance, raised their muzzles, and aimed at Xianuo's head.

"Fire!"

Scarred waved his hand grandly and gave the order.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The not-so-dense sound of bullets shattered the mountain's silence. Four orange-red muzzle flashes spat in succession. After one round, they quickly reloaded and fired the next.

Clang! Clang! Xianuo remained motionless, letting the bullets strike his head.

No matter the angle from which they were fired, they were instantly deflected, ringing out with the crisp sound of metal striking metal.

Even the flesh of his cheek, the area with the most flesh, only rippled like a stone dropped into a lake upon impact with a bullet, quickly returning to its original state.

This was the effect of "Bronze Head" reaching mastery. Even without deliberately using Tekkai to accelerate blood flow, it still allowed him to completely disregard the impact of bullets.

Whoosh—!

A bullet shot from directly in front, but it happened to be precisely aimed, drilling into his eye.

"Not good!"

Scarred noticed this and showed panic. He quickly reached out to stop the others. "Hey, stop shooting for now! Boss, how are you? Are you okay?"

The gunfire stopped. Only then did everyone clearly see that the bullet had not been deflected immediately but had strangely stopped in front of his eyeball, as if stuck in asphalt.

"I'm fine, no need to worry."

Xianuo spoke calmly. He suddenly controlled his eyeballs to roll upwards, trapping the bullet under his upper eyelid.

Everyone heard a grating crunch. In the next instant, the bullet, lodged behind his eyelid, was crushed into countless fine lead fragments, slowly sliding down Xianuo's nose bridge.

Silence descended for a moment.

"Looks like the effect is good."

Xianuo nodded with satisfaction, smiling at Scarred and the others who were dumbfounded around him. "Alright, that's about enough for today. You can all go about your business."

"Yes, Boss."

It took Scarred and the others a while to snap out of their daze. They all took their leave, casting backward glances as they walked away from the open-air platform, their shock still evident.

Xianuo was not surprised by this.

The description of "Bronze Head" was very clear: after mastering it, all parts of his body above the neck would be enhanced, naturally including seemingly fragile organs and tissues like eyeballs and nasal cavities.

Even his tongue could remain soft or become as hard as steel, extending out like a dagger capable of easily piercing another's chest.

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

Xianuo gazed into the distance. From here, he could see Cocoyasi Village's only port.

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

"Arlong..."

Xianuo murmured softly, "It's already spring, when are you finally coming?"

Over the past five months, he slept only four hours a day, dedicating almost all his remaining time to hellish training.

Soru was mastered four months ago, and Geppo was mastered two months ago. Following that, Tekkai was mastered, and Bronze Head was also mastered shortly after!

His body, tempered through a thousand trials, gradually became incomparably strong, far surpassing his previous state. His overall strength surged, skyrocketed, and exploded!

He was now fully confident and had the backing to deal with the Arlong Pirates. In fact, from his muscles to his beating heart, he was yearning for battle, yearning to tear apart his enemies!

But unfortunately, a year has twelve months.

It was only early March now, and the probability of Arlong arriving at Cocoyasi Village in the first two months was ultimately too low.

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

Xianuo licked his slightly chapped lips and muttered to himself, "If your strength can't keep up with my current level, I'll be very disappointed..."

A strong gust of wind suddenly blew past, swallowing his voice.

Just like human emotions, whether excitement and anticipation or repeated disappointment, they were ultimately no match for the relentless march of time.

In the blink of an eye, it was April.

The trading market refreshed again with Rokushiki manuals. Xianuo bought one and drew "Geppo" and "Shigan" from the blind box, beginning his training.

May.

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

Xianuo spent a few more days, using his fists and feet to completely flatten it. From then on, it became the best place for villagers to gather, celebrate, and hold festivals.

June.

"Geppo" and "Shigan" were both mastered.

Xianuo then took on another mountain. While practicing Shigan, he turned the area above the mountainside into a sieve. When the morning sun shone through, dappled light and shadow fell on the ground, creating a beautiful sight.

However, when his silhouette stood on the edge of the mountaintop, staring blankly at the dock every day like an old person in an empty nest, he appeared somewhat lonely when viewed from afar below.

July.

It was Nami and Nojiko's birthdays. Xianuo prepared a giant cake and invited everyone from Scarred's crew for a grand celebration.

Unfortunately, he misjudged the force when pushing the cake cart, twisting the steel frame into a pretzel. The cake lost its balance and fell to the ground, causing Nami to burst into tears.

August.

The trading market finally refreshed with "Flesh Furnace Method" again. This was the third chapter, titled "Iron Bones."

The training method was almost identical to Tekkai.

Thus, Scarred and the others were given another task: every day, they had to carry a wolf-tooth club over a meter tall and relentlessly hammer the joints of Xianuo's bones.

Previously, only two people took turns, but now six people worked simultaneously.

September.

Xianuo grew to 1.93 meters tall and weighed 140 kilograms.

The black combat uniform he wore, with its added weight, repeatedly broke through the ceiling, reaching a terrifying 2.1 tons.

One night.

Nami groggily got up to pee. Passing by Xianuo's room, she vaguely heard him muttering in his sleep:

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

"Why, why haven't you come yet..."

Who was Arlong?

And did girls have names like that?

Nami became vigilant, planning to ask the villagers about it first thing tomorrow.

Unfortunately, a child's memory upon waking up from a nighttime trip to the bathroom was practically zero. By the time she woke up and brushed her teeth the next morning, she had completely forgotten what happened last night.

October.

Mid-month arrived, and Xianuo's "Iron Bones" reached mastery.

The orange grove also entered its harvest season. The workshop had long been built, and orange preserves and marmalade began to be produced one after another. Bellemere was incredibly excited, busy from dawn till dusk every day.

Meanwhile.

In a certain town near the nearby sea.

Under the terrified gazes of the people, a group of tall Fish-Men laughed wantonly as they left, their backs laden with bulging money bags.

"Looks like everyone on this island is a coward, Chuu~"

The kissing Fish-Man twisted his neck, unsatisfied. "Not a single one resisted. The last island was a bit more interesting. I wanted to turn this island into ruins too."

"Humans are weak and ignorant, short and cowardly, truly a naturally inferior and despicable race."

The purple Fish-Man leading them sneered. "What's the next island called?"

"Hmm, let me see. It seems to be called Cocoyasi Village."

The Six-Sword Style swordsman drunkenly put down his gourd and looked at the sea chart. "It's not a big village. It should be the easiest to conquer."

"Is that so?"

The purple Fish-Man turned his head. Beneath his shark-like nose, he bared his fangs in a wild grin.

"Shahahahaha--! That's truly uninteresting. I just wonder if the humans there are rich enough, how much profit can we squeeze out..."