Aboard the merchant ship bound for Shimotsuki Village.
[Constitution: 5.1 (rapidly transforming due to certain influences)]
Dunn looked at the changed information on the digitized Panel, his expression thoughtful.
He wouldn't waste the time it took to reach Shimotsuki Village. He'd been studying the abilities of his Flame-Flame Fruit and his digitized Panel all along.
The digitized Panel could display exactly how well he'd mastered his abilities. It could even add abilities he'd only just learned.
For example:
[Flame-Flame Fruit (Proficient)]
[Swordsmanship (Beginner): You have learned basic swordsmanship moves and training methods.]
Swordsmanship had appeared on the list, thanks to all the practice he'd gotten with a sword lately. The rating for the Flame-Flame Fruit had changed, too.
Of course, the change that caught Dunn's attention most was the one to his constitution.
After all, people in the world of One Piece were practically all monsters when it came to physical prowess. They were astonishingly strong, especially the powerful ones.
When he'd first acquired Body Digitization, his constitution had been only 1.7, and the Panel had also said it was rapidly transforming.
In just about a month, his constitution had risen from 1.7 to 5.1.
And he'd just put it to the test.
His overall physical fitness had indeed improved tremendously—compared to what it had been before, anyway.
He'd tested his speed, strength, stamina, and even his ability to take a hit. Every one of them had improved.
"Is it because of the Devil Fruit, or something else? Or does the body gradually grow stronger after coming to this world?"
That was his theory.
Of course, it wasn't a bad thing.
In this world, a strong body was the foundation of strength. It was the foundation of becoming powerful.
He just didn't know how long this growth would continue.
Judging by his strength, he was now about five times as strong as he'd been before coming here.
Of course, five times the strength of an ordinary person didn't amount to much compared to the strong fighters in this world.
After all, even a sturdy crewman aboard this ship could easily lift a barrel of wine weighing several hundred pounds.
Still, Dunn didn't dwell on that for long.
He'd just discovered another ability—one not listed on the digitized Panel, but terrifying all the same.
More precisely, it was another effect of his lack of vital points and the ability to turn bodily damage into lost HP.
When he trained, he got tired, which was normal. But the aftereffects of training were classified as damage.
He could see the HP he lost from overtraining, but the fatigue and physical discomfort caused by his workouts disappeared completely once he ate and restored his HP.
In the world he'd come from, people had limits.
This world might have limits, too, but they were incredibly high.
If his theory was right, his body would change for some reason, and this ability would let him grow stronger rapidly through effort beyond what ordinary people could manage.
Once he understood that, Dunn felt that the gap between him and the powerful figures who could destroy the world was not so great after all.
He wasn't afraid of hard work. He was afraid of working hard and getting nothing out of it.
If he always got something in return—and got far more than he could have imagined—then he felt like he could keep grinding forever.
The grind was on.
Dunn sprang to his feet, went over to the wall, and lifted the barbell from the floor.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Tremors and muffled thuds echoed through the room.
Aboard the ship, several crewmen turned to look toward Dunn's room.
There he went again.
Everyone aboard knew who Dunn was by now.
A Pirate Hunter who'd captured dozens of pirates on his own. A powerful man.
No one knew just how powerful he was, but he was certainly much stronger than they were.
Pirates were vicious creatures. Dozens of them together were intimidating, especially to merchant ship crews who sailed the seas.
"No wonder he's so strong. This gentleman works way too hard."
"I've decided! I'm going to work hard and get stronger, too. I'll become a Pirate Hunter someday!"
A thin crewman who looked no older than a teenager clenched his fist and declared, his face full of resolve. The moment he finished speaking, someone smacked him on the back of the head.
"So you want to be a Pirate Hunter, huh? Have you finished scrubbing the deck?"
The voice sounded rather displeased. Everyone jolted and immediately bent their heads over their work.
The teenage crewman, who'd looked so determined a moment ago, turned and saw the captain. He quickly put on a smile, bowed and scraped, then went to scrub the deck.
"Become a Pirate Hunter? People die doing that. Kid, don't even think about it unless you're ready to die."
The old captain spoke sourly as he watched everyone lower their heads and pretend to be busy.
He'd witnessed the countless pirates who'd taken to the sea after the Pirate King's execution.
Pirate battles, plundered islands, and a sea thrown into chaos—that was no place for ordinary people like them. People really did die out there.
In these turbulent times, just living out their lives in peace was no small feat.
At the thought, the old captain looked toward Dunn's room.
"Yeah. I guess you have to be someone like that to venture out there."
Dunn didn't waste any of the time that followed. He trained hard every day, and, of course, his appetite grew tremendously as well.
The merchant ship had planned to sail straight to Shimotsuki Village, but it had to stop at an island along the way to buy supplies.
Even so, the delay wasn't much.
After roughly two months and twenty days, the merchant ship arrived ahead of schedule. Around noon, it reached its destination.
"Sir, that's Shimotsuki Village."
An island appeared in the distance across the sea.
"Mm!"
Dunn nodded slightly at the words.
The ocean really was vast. On the whole journey, they'd encountered only a few ships, let alone pirates.
Of course, that might have been because they were in the East Blue.
Dunn rested a hand on the railing, anticipation flickering in his eyes.
[Body Digitization: Your body has no vital points; damage from attacks is converted into lost HP. Panel stats change based on your own strength. You cannot die before your HP reaches zero.] [Current body age: fourteen] [Constitution: 9.9 (rapidly transforming due to certain influences)] [Current HP: 100% (recovering; eating restores it quickly)] [Innate Talent (Indomitable): When your HP reaches zero, enter a brief enhanced state. All your physical attributes increase tenfold. Your HP can no longer be reduced. All negative status effects are cleared. Current duration: ten minutes. Cooldown: one day.] [Abilities] [Flame-Flame Fruit (Proficient): A powerful Logia Devil Fruit that grants the ability to transform into and control fire. Continuously strengthens the body. The fruit's drawbacks have been removed (weakness and a soul taking up residence). Current fruit development: 9%.] [Swordsmanship (Proficient): You have mastered basic swordsmanship moves and training methods.]
This was his current Panel, the result of training himself over the past three months.
His constitution had already surpassed that of an ordinary person in his previous life by ten times. He was strong enough to lift a thousand pounds.
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