Swimming and Fitness!

Chapter 41: Swimming and Fitness!

Garp's lips curved into a smile as he looked at the three little sprouts in front of him.

"You three should all know that this world is vast, and most travel is done by ship."

"When sailing the seas, you must face all sorts of natural disasters and man-made calamities, so a strong body is essential."

"But you are all still young, and I don't plan to teach you any high-intensity training right now."

Mercer's eyes showed suspicion. After all that talk, he asked, "So?"

"Then what do you plan to teach? It's not like you're going to teach us to swim, right?"

Ace nodded, pouting. "Yeah, if you're not going to teach us how to train our bodies, are you really going to teach us to swim?"

Sabo agreed, "Swimming? That's fine, I can't swim yet anyway. When do we start? I know a lake that's pretty safe. Let's go now."

With that, he looked at Ace and Mercer. "Let's go. I'll take you."

Mercer nodded and glanced at Garp. "Let's go. Or rather, Grandpa, aren't you here to teach us to swim?"

Garp's face darkened slightly, and he clenched his fist. This bunch of brats was hard to handle.

He cleared his throat.

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and Garp grinned, baring his teeth. "That's right, it's swimming. But be prepared, don't you dare die."

He narrowed his eyes and glanced at Sabo. "You little brat are quite clever. You lead the way then."

Sabo looked at Garp, felt a tightness in his backside, and panicked. He immediately gave a forced laugh.

"Uh, if you know any good places, Grandpa, you should lead the way."

His survival instincts were off the charts.

Looking at the sweet-talking Sabo, Garp couldn't help but glance at Ace. Why doesn't this kid learn from him?

Ace saw the glance, blushed, and shifted his gaze away, muttering, "You old geezer, what are you looking at me for?"

Garp saw and heard this, and his fists itched again.

His face darkened in anger. I'll save it for later, I'll deal with you when we get there.

He turned and cursed, "Keep up."

He strode off into the distance.

Mercer smiled, glanced at Ace, gave him a look of "good luck," and cheerfully chased after them.

A burly adult in front.

Three little boys behind.

A white-necked crow flying in the sky.

Silently making their way through the forest.

Although Garp was walking, his pace was fast. The three little boys had no choice but to trot to keep up.

Half an hour later, except for Mercer, Ace and Sabo were all panting.

Sabo, in particular, was wheezing.

Running along the road, he looked at Ace with surprise. "Haa~ Ace, I've wanted to ask for a long time, how is your stamina so much better than mine?"

Ace glanced at Mercer, saw him hook his lips into a smile, and not object.

He immediately said proudly, "Isn't that obvious? I'm three months older than you, so I'm naturally stronger, right?"

Mercer's lips curved as he quietly watched Ace show off. Sabo, however, said indignantly, "Nonsense, three months doesn't count as being older!"

Hearing this, a flicker of unidentifiable emotion crossed Ace's eyes. He looked at Sabo and said, "Three months? Then why don't you look at Mercer? He's only a few seconds older than me, but he's much stronger than me."

At this, Sabo turned to look. He immediately saw Mercer's expression was calm, his breathing even, and he looked exceptionally relaxed.

He blinked his eyes.

Looking at Mercer, who was slightly taller than the two of them, he asked doubtfully, "Is Mercer really the same age as you? Is he really not a year older than you?"

Ace's face darkened, feeling like Sabo was insulting him.

Insulting him for not developing properly.

"Tch, maybe that bastard stole my nutrition in the womb."

Hearing this, Mercer laughed in exasperation. "You bastard, why don't you say you were always pushing me in the womb?"

Ace's face was blank, and he immediately said angrily, "You're talking nonsense, who pushed whom? Why wasn't it you pushing me?"

At this moment, Garp, who was not far ahead, stopped. The three passed through the trees and came up behind Garp.

Before them was a lake about three hundred meters in diameter. The water was clear, with lush aquatic plants along the shore. In the shallow areas, some yellowed lotus leaves were growing.

Wild ducks were also playing on the lake surface.

The caw of a crow was heard.

Turning around, Garp looked at Ace with a strange expression. Upon seeing him, Ace frowned, "Old man, why are you looking at me like that?"

Garp coughed, a grin spreading across his face, and he chuckled, "That kid Mercer might not have been wrong. That kid is precocious, he probably remembers you always squeezing him in the womb."

Ace's face went blank, and he looked at Mercer somewhat helplessly, "You really remember? Are you a monster?"

Mercer's face darkened, and he said with a laugh, "Do you know how to speak? If I'm a monster, what are you? Monster number two? Little monster brother?"

Ace stammered, "I'm sorry, I might have been unconscious then. How about I let you squeeze me back now?"

With a twitch of his lips, Mercer was speechless, "What? You want to be reborn again?"

"Don't be silly. If you're this stupid, don't you dare say you know me when we go out later. I'd be too embarrassed."

Ace immediately laughed in annoyance, "I'll definitely become more famous than you in the future, and then I'll announce to the world that Mercer is my younger brother, letting everyone know you're the little brother."

Mercer's face darkened. This kid had rebellious bones, his ambition to be the elder wasn't dead yet.

"Then work hard. When that time comes, I'll just say I don't know you. We're not cast from the same mold anyway."

"The sea is so big, there are always people who look alike. No one will believe it."

Ace was about to speak again, but Garp interrupted, "Stop the nonsense. All of you, strip for me."

Mercer turned his head to look. By now, Garp had stripped down to just his shorts, his muscles bulging like meticulously carved marble, adorned with scars that symbolized medals, exuding a terrifying pressure of Strength.

Seeing the three kids staring blankly, Garp burst into laughter, "The warm-up is over. Now all of you jump in. I'll teach you swimming techniques first."

Seeing the three hesitate, Garp clapped his fists and palms together, his knuckles cracking.

His eyes narrowed, "What? Do you want me to undress you?"

Mercer calmly took off his clothes, and after a few seconds, leaving only his shorts, he walked up to Garp.

Garp looked at Mercer with satisfaction, placing a large hand on his head and chuckling, "Good, very obedient."

"Then let's start with you."

Mercer's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Garp, his heart racing, "Wait, aren't you going to explain the swimming techniques first?"

Garp grinned triumphantly, "Pfft, what techniques are needed for that? Learn it yourself in the throes of life and death. A person's potential is often squeezed out faster in life and death."

"Here you go."

Saying that, he grabbed Mercer's right arm, twisted his waist and hips, and with a laugh, flung him directly, turning Mercer into a parabola as he was thrown towards the center of the lake.

"I'll fucking die faster in the throes of life and death, okay."

Mid-air, Mercer looked at the rapidly approaching lake surface, his face darkening. Then, his expression turned serious, and he took a deep breath of air. The next second, with a splash, the lake surface erupted with a spray of water.

Seeing Mercer enter the water this way, Ace and Sabo's faces stiffened, and they regretted stripping so early.

"Pfft, you two jump in too."

At this moment, Garp appeared before them with a sinister grin, grabbing one in each hand like he was carrying chicks, and flung them out in a giant swing.

Three seconds later.

Splash. Splash!!

Garp smiled triumphantly, then stretched his arms and kicked his legs, "I still can't handle you brats."

His calf muscles bulged slightly, and with a bang, he imprinted two footprints on the ground, turning into a parabola as he shot straight towards the spot where he had thrown the three.

With a "splash," he entered the water perfectly, creating only a small spray.

Swimming, in essence, is about body movements in the water and breathing techniques on the surface.

It generally involves coordinating arm and leg movements, utilizing the water's flow, to perform an underwater activity.

As soon as he entered the water, Mercer didn't move rashly, simply letting the force acting on him pull him down.

The deep breath before entering the water filled his body with oxygen, so he didn't desperately need air for the time being.

The water wasn't deep.

The deepest part was less than twenty meters.

He quietly spread his body, floating and sinking in the water. The lotus leaves floating above blocked the sunlight, and when he opened his eyes, the surroundings were dim.

Floating and sinking in this lake water, the earth's downward pull and the buoyancy of the air within his body interacted. With no other forces introduced, there was no sense of direction, neither up nor down, just moving with the water flow in the lake.

Sometimes head up, feet down, sometimes head down, feet up, or even lying sideways, diagonally, or prone, letting the lake water dictate his movements.

A brand new experience surged through him.

Mercer blinked and entered the state of Unity of Heaven and Man, perceiving the water's breathing and flow, slowly moving his palms. Water flowed through the gaps between his splayed fingers.

The water in this lake was flowing, and there was a river not far away.

Mercer sensed different breathing frequencies within the water, composed of air. He felt the oxygen brushing against his skin, but at this moment, he couldn't inhale it.

The surface of his skin felt as though a membrane existed, hindering the oxygen in the water from entering his body.

A thought sparked in his mind, and Mercer recalled a special ability, "Return of Life." If he possessed it, could it be combined with "Qi Flowing Through the Entire Body" to control the opening of his skin's pores, allowing him to absorb oxygen from the water through capillaries in his skin, much like some fish?

In the silent aquatic environment, Mercer's thoughts collided, his consciousness racing. After an unknown amount of time, a sense of suffocation washed over him.

Mercer began to move his arms, adjusting his body's angle, preparing to swim towards the surface of the lake.

Just then, a dark shadow swam closer. The next second, Mercer's arm was grabbed, and in the blink of an eye, he was floating above the water.

Breaking the surface, Mercer gasped for air, the feeling of suffocation quickly receding. He raised his right hand, wiping the water from his face.

Looking at Garp, who had brought him up, Mercer tilted his head. "What's wrong? Grandpa?"

A hint of worry flickered in Garp's eyes, but he laughed heartily. "How was it? How did it feel to almost drown for the first time?"

Mercer turned his head and saw that Ace and the other had already learned to swim, dog-paddling in the lake.

Seeing Mercer look at them, Garp chuckled, "They learned quickly. Their bodies are good too. It only took them about ten minutes."

"What's wrong with you? I saw you just floating there with your eyes open, completely still. Are you afraid of water?"

Mercer shook his head and told Garp about his idea of using Return of Life to breathe underwater through his skin.

"Return of Life" was a special ability that Garp had mentioned before when teaching the "Six Powers" on the warship.

Hearing this, surprise flashed in Garp's eyes. He rubbed his chin and thought for a moment.

"Hmm, that's a good idea. Similar to deep-sea fish, imitating them with Return of Life? That's something worth trying."

Generally speaking, humans who breathe with their lungs would find it difficult to conceive of such a method of breathing. Perhaps this was what they called being blinded by what's in front of you.

Not impossible, just not thought of.

Of course, the world is full of wonders, and perhaps someone has already mastered this technique.

"Haha, enough about that. Let me teach you the most basic swimming techniques first."

Garp began to truly teach Mercer how to swim.

From the coordination of hands, arms, legs, feet, and then the waist, combined with lifting the head to breathe, and further to cooperating with the water flow and one's own movements.

Mercer began to learn. Ten meters away, Ace, seeing that Mercer was alright, first breathed a sigh of relief, then pointed at Mercer, splashing the water and laughing loudly.

"Hahaha, Mercer, you're so stupid! You actually sank to the bottom. Can you even learn? If you can't, just beg me, and I promise I'll teach you hand-in-hand."

Similarly, Sabo's worry disappeared, and he also started to laugh.

If Garp hadn't been watching, they would have rushed to save him long ago.

Mercer couldn't be bothered with them. Garp's lesson ended quickly. Mercer crouched in the water, placed his feet on Garp's chest, and pushed off. Using the force, he straightened his right arm and shot forward like an arrow into the water.

Through precise control of his body, he adapted to the water in just a moment and mastered how to move and breathe.

In other words.

He had learned to swim.

Mercer's limbs moved in coordination, using a freestyle stroke in the water, or a breaststroke to keep his head above the surface.

In no time, Mercer swam past Ace with his hands and feet, his gaze calmly sweeping over Ace's dog-paddling style.

Although there was no hint of mockery in his eyes, Ace still felt thoroughly underestimated.

His small face instantly turned red with anger.

"Mercer!! Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I wasn't. You're mistaken. It must be the water in your eyes playing tricks on you."

"Pfft, hehehehe!" Sabo snickered from the side. He had discovered that no matter what, Mercer could always make Ace explode with anger. "Is this what they call 'one thing conquers another'? Are you brothers? I'm a little envious."

Ace was too busy fuming to notice, but Mercer's lips curled. He suddenly dove into the water, his limbs churning, stirring the water, and quickly swam beneath Sabo.

He grabbed his ankle with his right hand and pulled him into the water.

On the surface of the lake.

Ace heard the commotion, turned his head, and immediately noticed Sabo was gone, with only bubbles rising to the surface. Anxious, he quickly dove down.

He then saw Mercer and Sabo playing and splashing in the water.

Instantly, he felt a surge of displeasure. He pushed off with his feet, dog-paddling quickly towards them.

He joined Sabo in playfully confronting Mercer.

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