Swimming for Fitness!

Garp looked at the three little boys in front of him, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile.

"You three should all know that this world is vast, and most of the time, the only way to travel is by ship."

"Sailing the seas means facing all kinds of natural disasters and human threats, so having a strong body is essential."

"But you're still young, and I don't plan on teaching you any high-intensity training just yet."

Suspicion crept into Mercer's eyes. After all that, "So?"

"What are you planning to teach us, then? It wouldn't happen to be swimming, would it?"

Ace nodded and pursed his lips. "Exactly. If you're not going to teach us how to train our bodies, what else could it be besides swimming?"

Sabo looked fully on board. "Swimming? That works. I still don't know how, anyway. When do we start? I know a lake nearby. It's pretty safe. Let's go now."

As he spoke, he looked at Ace and Mercer. "Come on. I'll take you there."

Mercer nodded and glanced at Garp. "Let's go. Or were you not planning to teach us to swim, Grandfather?"

Garp's face darkened. He cracked his knuckles. These little brats were a handful.

He cleared his throat.

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes. Garp grinned. "That's right, swimming. But steel yourselves. Don't go and get yourselves killed."

He finished speaking, narrowed his eyes at Sabo, and said, "You're a clever little brat. Then you can lead the way."

Sabo glanced at Garp and felt a chill run down his spine. His heart started pounding, and he hastily gave an awkward laugh.

"Um, if you know a good spot too, Grandfather, you should lead us instead."

His survival instincts had kicked in full force.

Looking at sweet-talking Sabo, Garp couldn't help glancing at Ace again. Why couldn't that kid learn from him?

Ace noticed and blushed. Looking away, he muttered, "You old geezer, what are you staring at me for?"

Garp saw it and heard it. His fists started itching again.

His face darkened with anger. I'll save that one for later. I'll deal with you when we get there.

Turning around, he grumbled, "Follow me."

He strode off into the distance.

Mercer smiled and looked at Ace, giving him a look that said he was on his own, then cheerfully hurried after Garp.

A burly adult walked in front.

Three little boys followed behind.

A white-necked crow flew overhead.

They silently made their way through the forest.

Garp kept walking at a brisk pace, so the three boys had no choice but to jog to keep up.

Half an hour later, Ace and Sabo were both panting, while Mercer was fine.

Sabo, in particular, was completely out of breath.

As they jogged along, he looked in astonishment at the familiar Ace. "Hah... Ace, I've been meaning to ask. How come your stamina's so much better than mine?"

Ace glanced at Mercer. Seeing him smile without objecting, Ace immediately answered with pride, "Isn't it obvious? I'm three months older than you, so of course I'm stronger."

Mercer's lips curled as he quietly watched Ace show off. Sabo, meanwhile, snapped, "Bullshit! Three months doesn't count as older!"

At that, an indescribable look flashed through Ace's eyes. He looked at Sabo and said, "Three months? Why don't you take a look at Mercer? He's only a few seconds older than me, but he's way stronger."

At that, Sabo turned to look. Mercer's face was calm, his breathing even. He seemed completely relaxed.

He blinked.

Looking at Mercer, who was a little taller than the two of them, he asked, puzzled, "Are you really the same age as Ace? Are you sure you're not a year older?"

Ace's face darkened. It felt like Sabo was insulting him.

Insulting his incomplete development.

"Tch. Maybe that bastard stole my nutrients in the womb."

Mercer laughed in exasperation. "You bastard, why don't you say you kept squashing me in the womb?"

Ace looked bewildered, then snapped, "Bullshit! Who squashed you? How do you know you weren't the one squashing me?"

Just then, Garp stopped a short distance ahead. The three boys made their way through the trees and caught up with him.

A lake about three hundred meters across lay before them. Its water was clear, with thick water plants along the banks and yellowing lotus leaves growing in the shallows.

Wild ducks played on the lake.

They quacked loudly.

Garp turned around and looked at Ace strangely. Ace frowned when he saw it. "What are you looking at me like that for, old man?"

Garp cleared his throat, the corners of his mouth turning up in a cheerful grin. "That kid Mercer might actually be right. He's precocious. Maybe he really does remember you squashing him in the womb."

Ace froze, looking at Mercer in bewilderment. "You really remember? Are you a monster?"

Mercer's face darkened, and he laughed in exasperation. "Do you even know how to talk? If I'm a monster, what does that make you? Monster number two? The monster's kid brother?"

Ace stammered, "Sorry. I might've done it without realizing. Want me to let you squash me now?"

Mercer's mouth twitched. He was speechless. "What, you want to go back into the womb and start over?"

"Don't be stupid. If you're really that dumb, don't tell people you know me when we go out into the world. I couldn't bear the embarrassment."

Ace laughed in anger. "I'll definitely become famous before you. Then I'll spread the word that you're my little brother and let the whole world know Mercer's the younger one."

Mercer's face darkened. This kid was born rebellious. He still hadn't given up on being the older one.

"Then you'd better try your best. When the time comes, I'll just say I don't know you. It's not like we're cut from the same cloth."

"The sea is vast. There are bound to be people who look alike. Nobody will believe you."

Ace was about to say something, but Garp cut him off. "Enough talk. Strip."

Mercer turned to look. By then, Garp had stripped down to a pair of shorts. His muscles bulged like carefully sculpted marble, and the scars covering him looked like medals. He radiated a terrifying, overwhelming strength.

Seeing the three boys staring in a daze, Garp burst out laughing. "That warm-up's over. Now jump in. I'll teach you how to swim."

When the three of them didn't move right away, Garp brought his fists together. His knuckles cracked.

He shot them a sideways look.

"What? Do you want me to strip you myself?"

Mercer quietly made an excuse to get out of it. A few seconds later, he stood before Garp in nothing but his shorts.

Garp looked at Mercer with satisfaction and placed a big hand on his head, grinning. "Good. You're obedient."

"Then you can go first."

Mercer stared at Garp in shock, his eyes wide. Wait, Grandfather, aren't you going to explain how to swim first?

Garp gave a smug laugh. "Puhahaha! What's there to explain? Learn for yourself between life and death. People can push themselves to their limits much faster when they're facing death."

"Off you go!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Mercer's right arm, twisted at the waist, and swung his hips. Laughing loudly, he hurled Mercer away. Mercer became a flying arc, sailing straight toward the middle of the lake.

If it's a matter of life and death, I'm more likely to die!

In midair, Mercer watched the lake draw closer and scowled. Then he composed himself and took a deep breath. The next second, he hit the water with a splash.

Seeing Mercer enter the water like that, Ace and Sabo froze, already regretting stripping so soon.

"Puhahaha! You two are going in as well!"

Garp appeared in front of them with a wicked grin. He grabbed one in each hand, like a pair of chicks, and flung them away in a wide arc.

Three seconds later.

Splash. Splash!

Garp grinned proudly, then stretched his arms and kicked his legs. "You little brats think you can get the better of me?"

His calf muscles tensed. With a THUMP!, he stamped two footprints into the ground and launched himself in a perfect arc, heading straight for the spot where he'd thrown the boys.

With a splash, he entered the water perfectly, raising only a tiny spray.

Swimming, to put it simply, meant moving your body in the water and breathing at the surface.

In general, it involved coordinating your arms and legs, and using the water's currents to propel yourself.

As soon as he entered the water,

Mercer didn't thrash around. He simply sank under the force acting on his body.

The deep breath he'd taken before entering the water had filled his lungs with oxygen, so he wasn't in urgent need of air just yet.

The lake wasn't deep.

Even its deepest point was less than twenty meters.

He spread his body and floated motionless in the water. Lotus leaves drifting overhead blocked out the sun. When he opened his eyes, everything around him was dim.

Floating in the lake, he felt the downward pull of gravity and the buoyancy of the air in his body acting against each other. With no other force at work and no sense of direction, he neither rose nor sank. He simply moved with the current.

One moment his head was above his feet, the next it was below them. Sometimes he floated on his side, on his back, or face-down, letting the lake water carry him wherever it wanted.

A completely new sensation washed over him.

Mercer blinked and entered a state of Unity of Heaven and Man, sensing the water's breathing and its currents. He slowly moved his hand, feeling the water slip through the gaps between his spread fingers.

The water in this lake was flowing water, with a current of its own. There was also a river not far away.

He sensed different rhythms of breathing in the water—the air's components. He could feel oxygen brushing against his skin, but he couldn't draw it into his body.

It was as if a membrane covered his skin, preventing the oxygen in the water from entering his body.

A thought struck Mercer. Return of Life. If he could master it, could he combine it with Qi Flowing Through the Entire Body to control the pores in his skin, opening them so he could absorb oxygen from the water through the capillaries beneath his skin, the way some fish did?

In the stillness beneath the water, all sorts of thoughts collided in Mercer's mind. His thoughts raced faster and faster. After an unknown amount of time, a feeling of suffocation came over him.

Mercer began moving his arms, adjusting his body's angle as he prepared to swim toward the surface.

Just then, a dark shape swam over. The next moment, someone grabbed Mercer's arm, and in the blink of an eye, he was back above the water.

As soon as his head broke the surface,

Mercer opened his mouth and gasped for air. The suffocating feeling quickly faded. He raised his right hand and wiped the water from his face.

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

There was a trace of concern in Garp's eyes, but he laughed anyway. "How was it? Your first time suffocating?"

Mercer turned to look. Ace and Sabo had already learned to swim. They were splashing around in the lake, paddling like dogs.

Seeing Mercer look their way, Garp laughed. "They learned fast, and they're in good shape. It took them about ten minutes."

"What happened to you? I watched you stay underwater with your eyes open, not moving at all. 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 Garp had mentioned earlier, when he taught him the Six Powers aboard the warship.

Garp's eyes flashed with surprise. He rubbed his chin and thought it over before saying,

"Huh, that's a pretty good idea. Like deep-sea fish, using Return of Life to imitate them? It might be worth a try."

Ordinarily, it was difficult for humans, who breathed with their lungs, to think of breathing that way. Maybe it was a case of not seeing the forest for the trees.

It wasn't that it couldn't be done. It was that nobody thought of it.

Of course, the world was vast, and there might already be people who had mastered this technique.

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

Garp began properly teaching Mercer how to swim.

He started with the hands and arms, then the legs and feet, and finally coordinating the waist with the rest of the body. He taught him to lift his head to breathe, then how to work with the current and his own movements.

Mercer began learning. Ten meters away, Ace saw that Mercer was all right. He relaxed, then immediately pointed at Mercer and slapped the water, laughing loudly at him.

"Hahaha! Mercer, you're so clumsy! You sank to the bottom! Can you even learn? If you can't, come beg me. I promise I'll teach you personally, step by step!"

Sabo's concern disappeared as well, and he started laughing too.

If Garp hadn't been watching them just now, they would've gone to rescue him already.

Mercer couldn't be bothered to respond. Garp's lesson soon ended. Mercer curled up in the water and planted his feet against Garp's chest. He pushed off, borrowed a burst of force, straightened his right arm, and shot into the water with his body held taut.

With precise control of his body, he needed only a short time to get used to the water before mastering how to move and breathe.

In other words,

he had learned to swim.

Mercer coordinated his arms and legs, using the freestyle stroke underwater or the breaststroke to keep his head above the surface.

Before long, he swam past Ace with a few strokes. His gaze drifted over Ace's doggy paddle.

There was no hint of mockery in his expression, but Ace still felt utterly looked down on.

His little face turned bright red with anger.

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

"I'm not. You saw it wrong. It's just an illusion. You must've gotten water in your eyes and gone blurry."

"Pfft, hehehe!" Sabo snickered nearby. He'd figured it out: Mercer could always find some way to make Ace lose his temper. "Is this what they mean by 'one thing brings another into line'? Are you two really brothers? I'm a little jealous."

Ace was too busy bristling to notice, but Mercer did. The corners of his mouth lifted. He suddenly plunged underwater, paddled hard, and quickly swam beneath Sabo.

He grabbed Sabo by the ankle with his right hand and pulled him underwater in one go.

On the surface,

Ace heard the splash and looked back, only to find Sabo gone. There were just a few more bubbles on the surface. His heart jumped, and he hurriedly dived down.

Then he saw Mercer and Sabo playing and roughhousing underwater.

A wave of irritation suddenly rose in Ace's heart. He pushed off with his feet and paddled over as fast as he could.

He joined Sabo in fighting Mercer.

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