On the second day after leaving Little Garden, the sky was overcast, and the light drizzle gradually turned into a torrential downpour.
"Get upstairs, Vivi! Reiner, take down the sails!"
"Yeah, got it."
At the stern of the Going Merry, Reiner stood bare-chested in the rain without budging, continuing his squats with a barbell across his shoulders.
He merely sent out a few undead to help haul in the sails.
"3,045, 3,046."
"Your progress is a little ridiculous, Reiner."
Zoro swung his weighted equipment and glanced sideways with a sigh. "Your weight suddenly went from 1,200 to 1,600 kilograms. It's only been a few days, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, mostly because of what I gained on Little Garden."
Reiner gave a simple explanation. Since the first day after eating a Devil Fruit, this was the fastest he had ever improved.
And over the past few days, he had vaguely felt some inexplicable force raging within his body.
"What's your maximum weight now?"
"I tested it last night. It's close to 4,000 kilograms." Reiner rose from a squat, every solid muscle on his body rippling with strength as rainwater ran down the smooth lines of his physique.
Zoro held an iron rod in each hand, several massive iron plates hanging from their ends. He slashed, swept, and thrust with them as though they were swords.
"I'm at 5,000 kilograms. Your strength is about to catch up with mine. That's seriously absurd."
"It's not as exaggerated as you think."
Reiner chuckled, letting the rain strike his face and drip from his chin. "After this, I probably won't get any more boosts from Devil Fruits for quite a while."
A giant's physical talent held an overwhelming advantage. Unless he entered the New World, it would probably be difficult to encounter a stronger physical template in the first half of the Grand Line.
He also wondered whether Old Sand was in his stronger form or weaker form right now. Hopefully, the man would not stab him in the back when the time came.
Dark clouds covered the sky, turning the sea gray and hazy as raindrops pattered against the Going Merry.
"3,999, 4,000!"
Bang!
After setting down the barbell, Reiner pulled off the towel around his neck and went beneath the nearby parasol, sitting on a lounge chair to shelter from the rain.
Squeeze—
He twisted the towel hard into a rope, instantly wringing out the water. After drying himself off, Reiner leaned back in the lounge chair.
He studied the pointer on the table to confirm their route. Just as he lit a cigarette and prepared to relax for a while, he noticed something standing on the sea in the curtain of rain ahead.
"Zoro, are my eyes playing tricks on me?"
Reiner wiped his lenses and looked again. "That's a person, right?"
"I think so?"
Zoro set down his iron rods as well, took a few steps forward, and leaned against the railing, narrowing his eyes as if that would let him see farther.
Splash!
Before his words had even faded, something enormous seemed to rise beneath the humanoid figure.
A massive half-sphere slowly emerged, seawater cascading down its surface like a waterfall.
Only then did the two of them see the "beast" clearly. "A ship coming out of the sea?!"
"No, it's a submarine."
Reiner corrected him, his expression turning serious. "That person was probably standing on top of the submarine just now. But isn't this thing way too big?"
Before he finished speaking, the semicircular submarine opened like a blooming flower bud. Before long, it transformed into a ship with an outrageously exaggerated castle-like design.
"It can transform too?!"
"What a shame. Luffy didn't see it, hahaha."
Reiner laughed. As he watched the other vessel slowly approach, he quietly summoned undead one after another. The Fish-man Undead slipped silently into the water, while the Saw Devil stood ready to attack.
Sanji had been tidying up the kitchen in the second-floor living room. Hearing the commotion behind him, he could not help stepping outside for a look.
"What's going on?"
"Sanji, huh? Looks like we have visitors." Reiner glanced at him meaningfully.
Once the giant ship drew near, dozens of figures emerged onto its deck. Leading them was a potbellied middle-aged man, accompanied by two bodyguard-like figures, with a group of soldiers in matching uniforms carrying rifles behind them.
One guard had an afro, while the other wore an adorable blue nightgown yet had a blank expression. The contrast looked strangely out of place.
"Walala~."
The leading man cackled. Together with the two guards, all three jumped onto the stern railing of the Going Merry, their massive bodies making the wooden rail creak.
"I'm King Wapol."
The man grinned viciously, his face full of flesh. The soldiers on the ship behind him raised their guns at them. "We're going back to Drum Island. Do you have a Log Pose or an Eternal Pose?"
"Doesn't look like a friendly visit." Zoro rested both hands on his sword hilts, his gaze icy as he prepared to cut someone down at any moment.
Before the other side could say anything more, Reiner remembered. The man before him was the former king of Drum Island, and he had done absolutely nothing worthwhile during his reign.
Whirr—whirr—!
The chainsaws in the Chainsaw Devil's hands revved, their piercing shriek scraping at everyone's nerves.
"Hey! Are you trying to—"
Bang!
Before the afro-haired guard could finish, a pitch-black kick smashed into his face, burying itself in flesh and bone.
Slash! Slash!
Before the other side could react, two deep gashes appeared out of thin air across the nightgown man's body, blood spraying wildly.
The moment the chainsaws started, Sanji and Zoro sprang into action. Since the other side had aimed guns at them on sight, there was no need to ask questions.
They attacked immediately!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dozens of gunshots rang out. The Sword Devil charged forward without dodging, enduring the hail of bullets as he leaped onto the enemy ship. Three blades danced wildly, raising a storm of flashing sword light.
"Shoot! Hurry up and shoot!"
"No, guns don't work on him!"
"It's a monster! A monster!"
Wapol's face darkened as he listened to the wails and screams behind him, yet he did not dare move rashly.
Because three savage chainsaws had already reached him. He opened his huge mouth and bit down on the swinging chainsaws.
Amazingly, his teeth really did shatter the chainsaws.
"What the hell?!"
Sanji was utterly stunned. Watching Wapol chew them up and swallow them, he said, "I've been a chef for years, but I've never seen anyone eat like that."
"Hahahaha! I'm a Munch-Munch Human who ate the Munch-Munch Fruit! No matter what it is, I can eat it!" Wapol gave a vicious laugh, patting his belly with his mouth wide open as though he still wanted more.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out.
Blood sprayed from his mouth. Wapol stared in shock, feeling the searing pain inside his mouth as his gaze involuntarily fell on Reiner.
"Wh-why? Once something enters my mouth, it shouldn't be able to hurt me."
"Looks like you can't eat Seastone."
Reiner gently blew away the wisp of smoke from his gun barrel. "How did my bullet taste?"
"Y-you..." Wapol looked unwilling, but under a wave of weakness, he could only collapse limply.
Rumble!!!
As Wapol lost consciousness, the enemy ship began to fall apart as well. It turned out that the ship had been assembled from components made with his ability.
"We didn't even have time to loot it."
Reiner returned to the lounge chair beneath the parasol and recalled the Saw Devil. Watching the giant ship gradually sink, he sighed. "We'll just have to see how much the fish-men can salvage."
This minor disturbance had lasted only moments from beginning to end. Seeing the farce was over, Sanji turned around and went back to prepare food.
The moment he opened the rear door of the cabin, he ran straight into Nami, who was coming out.
"Did something happen?"
Nami asked in confusion. She had heard quite a commotion and come outside, only to see a gigantic ship falling apart before she could finish speaking.
Nami froze. "What the hell?! In the blink of an eye, it looks like you guys did something incredible!"
"Ah, nothing much. Just some unwelcome visitors."
Reiner's cigarette had just gone out. Without realizing it, they had become strong enough to wipe out a pirate crew in the blink of an eye.
The rain gradually weakened, and the undead returned to the ship one after another after finishing their salvaging.
"That's all?"
Reiner looked at the small amount of treasure they had recovered. Then he remembered that Wapol was merely a destitute king now, and it made sense.
Reiner could not even be bothered to look at it. "Just give it to Nami."
Before you continue