A Month Later: Life Aboard Ship

On the azure sea, the Doghead Warship rode the wind and waves, slicing through the ocean like a pair of scissors. Its towering mast stood proud, its sails stretched full, and the naval flag at the top snapped wildly in the gale, inspiring awe at first sight!

Yet beyond the rustling sounds of the ship sailing along, if one listened carefully, they could also hear dull, thunderous booms coming from the warship.

Boom!

On the warship's deck, a bolt of lightning as thick as a waist slammed down. Amid the thunderous blast, silver serpents danced wildly, striking the thick metal plate until it caved in at the center and was completely ruined! The overflowing current lashed out violently in every direction. Anyone standing slightly too close had every hair on their bodies standing on end, their skin tingling with numbness, leaving them trembling in fear.

However, they did not retreat or scatter in panic.

Over this past month of sailing, Ron the errand boy had learned to control the affected area well enough that Vice Admiral Garp allowed him to train in the open space on deck. Out of trust in Garp, they firmly believed Ron would not hurt them.

Sure enough, the sky-blue lightning that had been flying wildly through the air, baring its fangs and claws one moment, vanished the next. Other than the lingering fear and the scorched smell at the tip of their noses, it was as if it had never appeared.

Boooom—!!!

With an ear-splitting crack of thunder and blazing electric light, a figure rose from within the lightning. The dazzling glow outlined his form as Ron, bare from the waist up, stood at the center of the ruined metal plate.

Seeing this, the soldiers exchanged looks, roaring madly in their hearts.

"It's here! The Strongest Errand Boy in Navy History!!!"

That was right!

An errand boy!

Since he had merely decided to join and had not officially registered at any base, Ron did not even count as a Navy recruit yet. He could only remain aboard Garp's ship as a handyman. At the same time, he possessed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, had an extraordinary constitution, and grew at an astonishing pace. Amid the roar of lightning, his current strength was already far beyond what it had once been, leaving people dumbfounded.

And so, things became interesting!

On this warship, aside from Garp and First Mate Traine, who had mastered Armament Haki, Ron—a mere errand boy—could rank third in combat power... Before a Logia's Elementalization, all the soldiers and officers of every rank could do nothing to him. Thus, the Strongest Errand Boy in Navy History was born!

After solidifying his form, Ron stopped moving, his chest rising and falling as he waited for his strength to recover.

Continuously unleashing his strongest current consumed a great deal of stamina. If not for a month of enhancement through electric stimulation, along with plentiful supplies that had rapidly strengthened his body, he would have been drained after just one move!

Crack!

Sizzle...

Clenching his fist, electricity flowed across it. Ron looked at his hands and nodded in satisfaction. "For now, it seems I haven't gone in the wrong direction. Before developing my Fruit Ability, physical strength is the most important thing!"

Joining the Navy had been a rational choice, because its logistics were complete and it never lacked nutritious food. Besides, Garp treated people kindly. Whenever Ron had questions and sought his advice, Garp answered everything he knew.

The strength of those beings standing at the peak of this world was so terrifying that Ron could barely breathe. Before those monsters, even the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was merely "full of potential."

Only by understanding his own weakness could he have the conviction to work hard and become stronger. Beyond that, Ron did not particularly mind what he was doing.

Over this past month, Ron had devoted all his energy to training his body. He developed a method of self-harm training by using lightning to stimulate his muscles and inflict pain, similar to Lightning Release Chakra Mode from Naruto, though the specific process was somewhat different.

The principle was actually quite simple. Though a Logia's Elementalization was a passive ability, it was still controlled by the user's body. So Ron kept his body in its original state, then blasted it with lightning from both inside and out.

The forced self-harm was largely negated by the Logia's bodily priority, making him immune to most of the damage. But he did not need much damage. Even a tiny portion was enough to stimulate his muscles and bones for training. And the first time... the pain knocked him unconscious!

If not for his Self-Healing Ability, he might have been crippled on the spot!

After a month of familiarization and experimentation, he found his body's limit and such a thing would no longer happen. Still, after every training session, his blood-soaked and savage appearance made Garp's heart nearly stop.

It was only training!

Did he have to be this ruthless?!

Now, as his physique grew stronger, even without deeply developing his Fruit Ability, the power of Ron's lightning had improved by leaps and bounds! At first, he could only kill an ordinary person while holding back to ten percent of his strength, but now...

He could already reach Ten Million Volts!!!

It might not be logical, but it sure sounded impressive.jpg

"Tch, I thought the deck had been pierced with all that noise! So that's all?"

At that moment, Garp walked over with a donut tucked in his arms, the disdain in his tone undisguised.

In truth, he admired Ron's hard work and resilience, and he was very satisfied with Ron's progress. Ron might hate trouble, but his talent was indeed excellent. With him joining, the Navy's future held great promise. However, as a member of the Monkey Family, Garp was better at expressing concern in this manner.

"...I'm already quite satisfied with these results after only a month."

Ron rolled his eyes and spread his hands.

"You're the perfect example of a snake trying to swallow an elephant... People shouldn't be too greedy."

Garp nearly choked at Ron's unyielding retort.

Fortunately, after a month, he had gained a deep understanding of Ron's talent for irritating people. On second thought, he would not be the one training Ron in the future anyway, so he could not be bothered to correct him.

At that moment, Garp glanced at the blackened, smoking center of the metal plate. Recalling Ron's move just now, he swallowed his donut and directly changed the subject.

"...But speaking of which, Ron, I don't know exactly how Logia abilities should be developed, but there's one thing I can guarantee!"

"Hm? What is it?!"

Taking the towel handed over by a soldier with a worshipful expression and wiping away his sweat, Ron turned around with his eyes gleaming.

Over the past month, Garp had proven through his actions just how terrifying the power of someone standing at the world's peak was! Aside from his own talent and effort, Ron's rapid improvement had a great deal to do with Garp's personal instruction!

Therefore, Ron listened attentively to Garp's guidance.

Seeing this, Garp grinned helplessly. "The power used by Logia Devil Fruit Users does indeed come from themselves, and all Elementalization attacks are launched from inside their bodies, that much is true, but..."

"Using yourself as a Cannonball and firing your entire body like that is absolutely, ridiculously wrong!!!"

That was right. The lightning strike from before had not been fired from a Thunder Drum or an arm like Enel's attacks. Instead, Ron himself had transformed entirely into lightning and shot forward!

He could clearly have fired lightning of equal power from his arm, yet Ron had chosen this method. Garp was thoroughly speechless.

Was it wrong? Not exactly.

A Rumble-Rumble Fruit user could transform their whole body into lightning. Given lightning's Destructive Power, simply standing still made one a terrifying weapon! Like when the Shandia warrior Kamachi used his spear to pierce Enel's head, only to be nearly electrocuted to death himself, there was nothing wrong with Ron using his power this way.

But all that was based on the premise that Armament Haki did not exist!

Once an opponent had mastered Armament Haki, this move was basically delivering himself right into their hands to be beaten. It was outrageously wrong!

"What? So that's what you meant..."

Ron, who had thought Garp would offer some profound insight, immediately curled his lip and turned away. "I'm practicing for a future move. Who told you I have to attack by turning my entire body into lightning?"

"Tsk... What kind of look is that?!"

The expression that clearly said, I obviously overestimated you, made Garp's teeth itch. He pushed off the ground, becoming a black streak that crossed more than ten meters in an instant as he raised his fist!

Duang!

After smashing down with one punch and seeing Ron squat while clutching his head defensively, Garp felt utterly refreshed. He happily bit into his donut and changed the subject again. "What future move? Tell me about it."

This petty old bastard!

I can't beat him, so I'll endure!

Ron's mouth twitched as he took a deep breath. "You told me that Admiral Kizaru has a move called Light Speed Kick. He uses the Movement Speed gained after Elementalization to build inertia, then turns kinetic energy into potential energy through a kick. Combined with the killing power of highly compressed light particles themselves, he can kick apart an entire snowy mountain with one strike..."

"Mm-hm, and then?"

Of course Garp remembered it and continued asking.

"And then... I gave it a try!"

Ron spread his hands and shrugged. "The result wasn't optimistic... While maintaining high-speed movement, I simply didn't have time to attack. My pure reaction speed couldn't keep up, and neither could the speed at which I returned from Elementalization to my physical form at the moment of contact."

"Oh!!! I understand now."

Garp suddenly understood and slapped his palm with his fist. "So just now, you weren't trying to use lightning to attack the metal plate. You wanted to change back right before contact and attack with your fists or feet, like Kizaru."

"Exactly!"

Ron crossed his arms and nodded.

Then, the next second, Garp gave him a lopsided grin and glanced at Ron. "Pfft! Sorry, but if you hadn't explained it, I really couldn't tell..."

Ron: "..."

Tsk!

My temper is flaring up!

Just then, Traine came over to the two of them and removed his earplugs.

"The sound is too loud"... That was probably the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's only side effect.

As lightning, it released tremendous heat, heating and expanding the surrounding air. The air instantly heated and expanded, pushing against the air around it and causing intense explosive vibrations, which produced deafening blasts!

The heat produced by Ron's current lightning could be used to smelt metal. He could knead swords forged from fine steel like noodles, so one could imagine how loud the thunder was. Everyone on the ship was nearly driven to nervous exhaustion by the thunder roaring right beside them, so Garp had everyone wear earplugs.

Whenever Ron finished his chores and began training during the day, unless necessary... everyone aboard communicated through gestures, eye contact, and even Flag Signals.

"Vice Admiral Garp, Main Base Port is already in sight. Please give your orders!"

"Oh? Has that much time already passed?"

Garp turned around and looked. On the distant horizon, a towering fortress came into view.

Whether it was fortune or disaster, disaster could not be avoided...

"Notify everyone. Prepare to dock!"