Ochoku: I ache just watching

The iron rod slammed into Ares's muscles, producing an extremely muffled thud.

Thud, thud, thud...

Blow after blow caused the originally bronze, glossy skin on Ares's body to begin showing distinct patches of flushed red.

Blood started racing through his body.

His metabolism kept accelerating.

And the intense pain continuously stimulated Ares's nerves, causing scenes to flash through his mind.

There, towering skyscrapers filled the view, with streets bustling with traffic.

Cars zipped along wide roads as the scene kept shifting.

Then the image appeared of a hospital called "Guangwei City First Neurosurgery Hospital," flashing by in an instant.

Next scene.

Ares felt himself lying on a hospital bed, his hands and feet strapped down.

Then a nurse appeared, replacing his IV bag with a new bottle full of medicine.

The images flickered rapidly, like slides flashing through Ares's mind, finally freezing on the nurse's scream.

"A patient drank the IV fluid!"

"..."

Then came a jumble of noise and chaos.

Consciousness returned to reality. Ares had no idea how many times his arms had bent or how many times the iron rod had struck his body.

"Am I Ares... or Li Yang?"

"Father's dying wish was to forge a blade surpassing the Supreme Great Sword Twelve Kizuki. My smithing skill can never surpass his."

"I can only seek change. I will definitely forge myself into a famous sword!"

"If I can't do it, then I'll forge someone else into a famous sword!!"

This situation of images appearing in his mind was not the first time.

Whenever something stimulated his brain, those real yet dreamlike experiences and sensations always surfaced.

His ability to endure pain had been constantly improving.

Not just because of training.

His full chest muscles had turned a bright red, and Ares began using the iron rod to pound his abdominal muscles, each one larger than an ordinary person's thigh.

Eight whole blocks, like protruding boulders.

Under Ares's forceful swings of the iron rod, the muscles on his abdomen also began to redden.

He was violently and savagely tempering his body like this.

As if hammering and forging a piece of steel back and forth to "turn steel into refined steel"!

Inside Skull Castle.

Ochoku, having washed up, donned his heavy, gleaming golden armor, opened the door, and headed toward Ares's room.

Captain Rocks had entrusted Ares to his care, so naturally he had arranged Ares's room close to his own.

He reached the door of Ares's room.

Knock, knock, knock!

The knocking sounded, and Ochoku called out, "Hey, hey, Ares, open the door."

He called several times in a row, but there was no response from inside the room.

He pushed the door open forcefully and peered inside: "This guy's not here?!"

"Could he have gone out to train again this early in the morning?!"

That was the only thought that came to Ochoku's mind, and he immediately rushed toward the training room.

In the vast training room, sounds like muffled thunder echoed.

He stared wide-eyed at Ares, who was training. That thick iron rod was almost as wide as his own wrist.

And he himself was four or five meters tall, even a bit taller than Ares.

"Absolutely... inhuman!!!"

"Brutal!!"

The iron rod pounded against Ares's body with a bang, accompanied by the whistle of wind.

Watching this made Ochoku's heart race and his scalp tingle.

He had thought Ares swimming and sailing in the sea was already extreme, but compared to this scene before him—

It was like a minor sorcerer meeting a great one.

"I thought Kaido was already fierce and tough enough, but I never expected someone even more twisted and monstrous than him!"

Ochoku could hardly imagine it—if he had to endure such training, he probably wouldn't last even an hour.

He walked up to Ares, a strange expression on his face, and asked, "Ares, training like this... doesn't it hurt?!"

"It hurts!"

Ares didn't pause his movements at all, his expression unchanged as he answered Ochoku's question.

Hurt??

Ochoku stared at Ares with a baffled look. You're telling me that hurts with a face that flat?

If it weren't for the thudding impact sounds, he'd really think it was a balloon!

That it was fake!

But the noise from the collisions told him this was a real "iron rod," and he wondered if Ares kept pounding away like this...

Would the rod eventually be ground down into a "needle"?

Ochoku suddenly recalled last night's banquet and curled his lip. "No wonder you can eat so much..."

The feast from last night was still vivid in his mind.

This guy had single-handedly downed enough food for a hundred people!!!

The Rocks Pirates' biggest eater, undisputed number one!

"How long are you going to train?!" Ochoku asked from the side.

"Until mealtime."

Ares's answer made Ochoku feel like he'd asked a really stupid question.

The next second.

Ares asked Ochoku a question instead: "The captain says battle can forge a person into a sharp famous sword. Is there another way to forge yourself into a famous sword?"

The iron rod in his hand shifted to strike his thigh.

He turned his head to look at Ochoku.

Hearing this question, Ochoku was momentarily stunned. He reached up to stroke his black beard, longer and straighter than Guan Yu's.

After thinking it over carefully, he spoke up. "In our Rocks Pirates, the strongest swordsman is undoubtedly Shiki the Golden Lion."

"But..."

"Are you sure you want to forge yourself into a famous sword?"

Ochoku couldn't help breaking out in goosebumps. He'd never heard such an absurd idea—who would forge themselves into a sword?

Were a person and iron the same thing?

The human body was complex, not something you could shape as easily as steel.

"Not just a famous sword!"

"I'm going to forge myself into a sword that surpasses the twelve Supreme Great Swords of the Twelve Kizuki!!"

Ares's voice was firm and full of fighting spirit, and it made him add a bit more force to his strikes.

With a bang, even the air trembled faintly.

And Ares's muscles rippled like the surface of a calm lake, sending out wave after wave.

The sound exploded in Ochoku's mind, and he couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath. "Sss..."

"Just standing here watching, I feel the pain."

"I'm leaving. I'll call you when it's time to eat!!"

He turned and hurried away. If he kept watching, he felt like he wouldn't even be able to eat.

He was about to throw up.

After Ochoku left, Ares kept training while muttering to himself, "Shiki the Golden Lion..."

"Does he have another way to help me forge myself into a sword that surpasses the twelve Supreme Great Swords of the Twelve Kizuki?!"

"I'll ask him after training!"

The training room continued to echo with booming impacts.