What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Stronger

On the other side, on the battlefield in the North District.

"Boss Rod!"

As soon as Pekoms and Shakky arrived in the North District, they saw Rod fighting Onigumo.

Dark Haki surged around Rod like flowing fire, and every clash with Onigumo created a terrifying momentum.

"Their attacks… they aren't even hitting each other…"

Pekoms rubbed his eyes, seemingly disbelieving what he was seeing.

Rod's fists never made contact with Onigumo's slashes, yet waves of terrifying shockwaves emanated from the two of them, spreading outwards and kicking up gusts of wind.

"I don't know what's going on, but it just feels so powerful! Boss Rod is amazing!"

Shakky nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Nerl, take them back to the ship first!"

After clashing with Onigumo once more, Rod dodged far away and called out to Nerl.

"Damn pirates!"

Opposite Rod, Onigumo's face was ashen.

After fighting for so long, not only had he failed to take down the enemy captain, but the Marine soldiers he brought with him were already annihilated!

"Understood."

Nerl nodded, saying nothing more. He simply flicked his foot, kicking the two people he had tied up and stacked at his feet towards Pekoms and Shakky.

"What is this?"

Pekoms instinctively reached out and caught the people Nerl kicked over, his face full of confusion.

"Ability users!"

Hearing Nerl's words, Pekoms's face lit up. He seemed to see new Devil Fruits beckoning to them.

So, he and Shakky each grabbed one and happily followed behind Nerl, preparing to return to the Polar.

As for Boss Rod, there was no need to worry about him!

"Let's go, Genos!"

Nerl called out to Genos, who was standing there smoking. Around him lay many Marines. Except for Onigumo's second-in-command, almost all the Marines had been dealt with by him.

A new comrade?

Pekoms looked at Genos.

He looks so strong!

Genos held a cigarette in his mouth, smoke shrouding his face. Pekoms could only see his eyes, glowing faintly red, through the haze.

His clothes had turned into rags, clinging stubbornly to his body, stained with blood.

Yet, there wasn't a single scratch on Genos.

Defeated so many Marines without a scratch?

Looking at the Marines lying around Genos, Pekoms was inwardly shocked.

"Woof woof woof~"

Dog barking?

Under Pekoms's astonished gaze, a small white dog emerged from a cloth pouch on Genos's chest and licked his face.

What a contrast!

In Pekoms's eyes, the man had been a cold and powerful tough guy one second, and a gentle and sensitive emotional man the next.

"Really, I always feel a bit too hasty."

Genos gently rubbed Xixi's head, his eyes full of warmth. He then took a deep drag from his cigarette and slowly exhaled.

"But, adventuring with guys like you isn't too bad."

He removed the cigarette from his mouth and pressed it against the back of his hand, extinguishing the tip. Genos clapped his hands and glanced at Rod, who was confronting the Marines.

"Don't get yourself killed right after I join, Captain!"

So cool!!

Watching Genos's unique way of extinguishing his cigarette, Pekoms and Shakky's eyes lit up.

It was that effortless, natural, yet incredibly cool demeanor!

"How could I lose? I won't!"

Seeing that they had all finished and were preparing to head towards the shore, Rod laughed heartily, his voice full of bravado.

"Ten minutes! I'll end this fight!"

Nerl glanced back at Rod, nodded slightly, and then quickly led the group towards the shore.

"Ten minutes to end this fight?"

Onigumo let out a bitter laugh, his hands gripping his weapon tightly as he charged at Rod. An even more ferocious Haki erupted from him, concentrating on his weapon as he swung it viciously at Rod.

"Don't get cocky, brat!"

"You're panicking!"

Rod blocked Onigumo's slash with a punch, a slight grin on his face as he felt the significantly stronger Haki emanating from his opponent.

The fight had reached this point, and his opponent couldn't possibly be holding back any longer. Yet, he was suddenly unleashing Haki stronger than before. This could only mean he had reduced the Haki distributed elsewhere!

Generally speaking, Haki users don't use all their Haki for offense during a fight. They reserve a portion to wrap around their bodies.

After all, no matter how much one trains, the human body has its limits. Only Haki can resist Haki.

Rod was able to fight Onigumo to this extent with his recently awakened Haki, partly because his foundation was solid and his comprehension was astonishing, allowing him to quickly master advanced techniques for Armament Haki, enabling him to contend with his opponent.

On the other hand, it was because his Observation Haki had reached an extremely profound level. Although he hadn't yet achieved "precognition," he wasn't far off.

Combined with his exceptionally fluid technique for circulating Haki, he could anticipate his opponent's moves in his battles with Onigumo, allocating all his Haki to offense or defense according to the rhythm of the fight.

And after their recent exchange, Rod knew clearly that Onigumo's Observation Haki was not as good as his!

However, in order to overpower him offensively, Onigumo had adopted an equally extreme combat style, completely abandoning defense and channeling all his Haki into offense.

Impatience leads to mistakes. His defeat was sealed!

Rod's heart settled, but he didn't rush to exploit the opening.

There were no shortcuts to training Haki; it couldn't be achieved overnight. Only through countless battles could one gradually enhance their spirit and strengthen their Haki.

And the elite Vice Admiral Onigumo before him was a rare opponent!

He clashed fists with Onigumo again, feeling the throbbing pain from his knuckles and the destructive force traveling up his arm into his body. Rod could barely restrain himself from laughing maniacally.

Finally, he felt this sensation of being injured again!

Although his formidable body quickly healed the minor damage, it had indeed inflicted an injury!

Bang--

Rod threw another punch, the sound of the fierce impact echoing through the town.

Did the force diminish?

Sensing the power coming from his opponent, Rod frowned slightly.

No! It's me who's gotten stronger!

After a long time, the cheat skill "[What doesn't kill me makes me stronger]" kicked in again!

Although Rod himself jokingly called this cheat skill "[Sit-ups]," it was actually a more powerful ability than the standard protagonist cheat skill of "[Sit-ups]."

This was because its activation didn't require the process of "sit-ups."

It could even take effect during combat!

The activation of this ability required several conditions:

One, Rod himself sustained damage;

Two, Rod was not killed;

Three, the damage Rod sustained had recovered.

As long as these three conditions were met simultaneously, Rod's body would become stronger, and this strength was all-encompassing.

Strength, speed, agility, defense, stamina – all aspects related to the physical body would become more powerful. This was a fundamental leap based on the physical body.