It's Time to Show My True Talent! Give Me Some Points!

Black Body Flow.

The name itself wasn't particularly eye-catching, but it still filled Luo Yi with longing.

He thought to himself that it was no wonder Zephyr had been able to teach Kizaru, a master of kicking techniques, as well as Akainu, a boxing king whose legs were only used for walking.

So it turned out that Zephyr's physical technique had never been limited to "boxing." It was a technique for tempering the entire body.

That was why he was so excited.

Because he knew that physical strength and physical techniques were indeed the foundation of everything.

Even for Ability Users, it was the same.

Leaving aside the fact that Devil Fruit Abilities required physical energy to use,

powerful physical strength and physical techniques alone could provide an Ability User with a tremendous boost.

Take the Navy Admiral Aokiji, for example.

As Garp's disciple, he had learned Iron Fist and successfully mastered it.

Combined with the Freeze-Freeze Fruit, the power displayed by his Iron Fist was terrifying enough to be called unbelievable.

As for Luo Yi—he possessed an almost limitless Devil Fruit Ability. If he also had sufficiently powerful physical techniques to bring out the full potential of his Devil Fruit Ability, then he would not be far from truly standing at the summit of the world!

But even as he felt excited, Luo Yi was somewhat puzzled.

If Zephyr's Black Body Flow was merely about tempering the entire body, then theoretically, anyone should be able to learn it.

Just like Garp's Iron Fist.

That could be seen from Koby, the young man who would join the Navy several years later.

As long as one wasn't afraid of breaking one's arms, anyone could actually train in Iron Fist.

Yet after all these years, Zephyr still hadn't found a true successor. That was rather strange.

At that moment, Zephyr seemed able to see Luo Yi's confusion as well.

But he didn't explain. He merely shook his head. "Black Body Flow is somewhat special. Ability Users cannot train in it at all, and most people can't endure the training environment."

As he said this, he glanced at Luo Yi.

"It took this old man a long time of observation to determine that you wouldn't lose your life because of it. You'll understand the specifics very soon."

"Huh?"

Upon hearing that, Luo Yi also let out a confused "Huh?" "Did I hear that wrong? Did you just say something about losing my life?"

That sounded rather unsettling.

He hadn't even finished speaking when he saw Zephyr nod at Binz.

Binz immediately went to a corner of the training room, where he found an operating console.

"Hey, wait a second, I..."

Luo Yi was just about to say something, but before he could finish,

the next moment,

"Clack!"

As Binz pressed a button on the operating console, the platform beneath Luo Yi's feet suddenly split apart.

Luo Yi could even see that there was a hollow space beneath the platform.

At the far end of the hollow space, he could see blue seawater!

"Get ready. We're heading out!"

Zephyr threw back his head and laughed boldly.

"Wait."

Before Luo Yi could react, the Coating Extension Pipe above his head suddenly extended downward.

"Boom!"

An incredibly powerful burst of air pressure struck him, and Luo Yi instantly felt his body fall uncontrollably down the pipe.

Seeing this, Zephyr didn't hesitate. He leaped down after him.

After falling for a long time...

"Thud!"

Accompanied by a heavy impact, he finally crashed onto the bottom.

"Hiss!"

Of course, with Luo Yi's physique, an injury that would have sent an ordinary person to the afterlife ten times over only made him hiss faintly.

"Thud!"

Immediately afterward, Zephyr also landed heavily from above.

Only then did Luo Yi clearly realize that he and Zephyr were still inside the pipe.

The pipe was semi-transparent overall. Through it, he could vaguely see that it was wrapped in a layer of rainbow-colored material, while beyond that was a pitch-black silence.

"Coating?"

Luo Yi instantly recognized the origin of that rainbow-colored material—the unique coating technology of this world.

"Are we... in the deep sea?"

He immediately realized where he was.

"That's right. We're five thousand meters beneath the sea—the deepest point that can be reached by traveling through the SSG's specially made Coating Extension Pipe."

Zephyr nodded and casually pulled a Coating Bubble from the pipe beside him, placing it over Luo Yi's head.

"This is also the first lesson you're going to learn."

Upon hearing that, Luo Yi was already completely stunned.

He had vaguely guessed what Zephyr meant by "the first lesson."

And sure enough,

the next moment, he saw Zephyr grin, revealing a mouthful of bright white teeth.

"Go!"

With a low shout, he raised his foot and kicked Luo Yi squarely in the butt.

Before Luo Yi could react, the kick sent him flying out of the pipe. He had no idea what material the pipe was made of, but it seemed to be coated itself, allowing things to pass straight through it.

The instant he left the pipe,

"Urgh!"

Luo Yi felt the icy seawater instantly swallow his body.

Then he felt it. Pain!

Excruciating pain radiated from his entire body.

Every inch of skin, every bone, muscle, and even every cell in his body seemed to be bombarded by tremendous force at that moment.

Luo Yi even felt his bones and muscles constantly make cracking sounds, as though they were being torn apart.

Of course, Luo Yi knew what this was—the water pressure inevitably present in the deep sea, powerful enough to compress steel into iron cakes!

At that moment, Zephyr, standing inside the Coating Extension Pipe, watched the scene and slightly relaxed his tense body.

His voice was carried through the coating and clearly pierced the seawater, reaching Luo Yi's ears.

"Feel it, kid?"

That was what he said.

"We need to temper every part of the body. It's extremely difficult. No matter how precise ordinary training is, it can never completely temper every part of the body equally. There will always be weaknesses."

"But the sea can help you."

There was unmistakable pride in the admiral's words.

Using the deep sea as the hammer and water pressure as the anvil to forge a powerful physique—this was the basic principle of the Black Body Flow he had researched and practiced to this day.

Hearing this, Luo Yi, who had been somewhat dazed, suddenly understood.

"No wonder it requires an incredibly powerful physique and recovery ability, and why Ability Users can't train in it."

Training in the deep sea at five thousand meters—if an Ability User could train there, that would be the strange thing.

At that moment, Zephyr continued speaking.

"However, don't think this is all there is to Black Body Flow."

"I tested your physical data during this period. It was astonishing, but it's still not enough. You're far behind where I was back then."

Zephyr spoke in a deep voice.

"So, for now, you still can't begin the true formal training. I've set a training goal for you. Within one month, you must adapt to the water pressure here."

"Only after your body becomes tougher will I take you into formal training."

His tone was extremely stern, as though he were a homeroom teacher saying, "You're the worst class I've ever taught."

But in truth, Zephyr's eyes were filled with admiration.

Because Zephyr knew very well that what he had just said was only half true.

He had indeed accurately judged Luo Yi's physical strength through the tests conducted during this period. That was why he had dared to bring Luo Yi here.

Luo Yi's physical strength was indeed just a little lacking, and he needed some time to adapt to the water pressure here.

But—

"He's already able to come here without using Haki. He's a monster."

Zephyr understood this very clearly.

Back then, he had been a genuine genius in the Navy as well. Throughout his rise, he had encountered almost no opponents aside from a tiny handful of people such as Garp and Sengoku.

He had indeed created Black Body Flow at a depth of five thousand meters—but by the time he created it, he had already been a top Haki master.

Only after combining Haki with his physique, and spending a considerable amount of time, had he finally been able to train here.

But Luo Yi knew absolutely nothing about Haki. He could withstand the water pressure at five thousand meters using only his physical strength. This was a genuine monster of a physique, far surpassing Zephyr's when he was young.

That was also the source of Zephyr's expectations.

Back then, Zephyr had developed Black Body Flow step by step, taking quite a few wrong turns along the way.

By the time Black Body Flow was perfected and complete, he was already quite old. His body had also passed its prime, and some old injuries prevented him from fully reaching the limits of Black Body Flow as he had envisioned them.

But—

"He can do it."

Looking at Luo Yi's grimacing face under the crushing water pressure, Zephyr's heart filled with boundless anticipation.

But at that moment,

"Adapt for one month, then start the formal training? You mean this isn't formal training yet?"

Luo Yi, of course, had no idea what Zephyr was thinking, so he could only frown slightly.

"Just adapting will take a month, and then there's the formal training afterward. Isn't that a little too long?"

Luo Yi muttered inwardly.

"I still have things to take care of."

So—

"It's time to show my true talent!"

"Fruit Encyclopedia—give me... some points!"

As for speaking underwater, in the manga, Luffy seemed to be able to speak in the deep sea while wearing a coating, so I've set it so that the coating can transmit sound. More importantly, I'm just too lazy to write another tool for dialogue.