The Devil Fruit's Power

"Clap, clap, clap—"

A small boat drifted across the boundless sea. From aboard it came the unending sound of something being struck.

"Crack—"

"Whew... pant, pant..."

The blows stopped. Bai Ina stared at the broken stick in his hand, panting like a damaged bellows. His face, however, was contorted with ferocity. It was already the third day since he had left Frost Moon Village...

"Whew... pant... No. I'm still too weak. I'm far too weak!"

Bai Ina muttered through a twisted expression. Then, without even taking a moment to rest, he went straight into the small cabin and hauled out a huge barrel filled with fresh water, carrying it on his shoulder.

For Bai Ina's build, just lifting such a massive barrel made every muscle in his body tremble. A sharp ache throbbed through his muscles all over.

But Bai Ina acted as if he hadn't noticed at all. With the barrel on his shoulder and his body shaking, he began doing squats.

He rose and lowered himself slowly each time, each repetition pushing him to the very limit of his strength.

His body swayed uncontrollably, his cheeks flushed red and purple, and his clothes were soaked with sweat. The sight of his small frame was enough to bring tears to the eyes of anyone with a shred of compassion...

But Bai Ina paid no heed to what his body could endure, relentlessly wringing every bit of potential from himself. As he did squats, his face twisted in a fierce grimace, and he muttered like a man possessed.

"No... not enough. This is still nowhere near enough. It's nowhere near enough to become the World's Strongest. It's not enough to become the World's Strongest swordsman alongside Kuina... It's still nowhere near enough!!!"

After nearly thirty squats with the massive barrel on his shoulder, Bai Ina sank down and couldn't get back up. His legs had gone numb. No matter how frantically his brain sent the command, his legs were like artificial limbs, utterly unresponsive.

"Move... Get moving! This isn't my limit! Move... move!!!"

A mad, shrill roar rang out over the sea.

Crack—

A soundless shattering seemed to come from nowhere. Bai Ina stood up with the barrel on his shoulder once more, as if he had broken through some kind of limit in that instant.

Breaking through his limit, Bai Ina started moving again, doing squats over and over with frenzied determination.

This time, he managed more than sixty squats—twice the number he'd done before his legs gave out. But now, no matter what, he couldn't keep going. A terrible dizziness overwhelmed his mind.

Thud—

With a muffled crash, the barrel slipped from his shoulder and landed on the deck. Bai Ina collapsed onto it as well.

But he bit down hard on the tip of his tongue, forcing the dizziness in his head to recede a little. With the knowledge from his previous life, Bai Ina knew that after strenuous exercise, immediately resting or passing out could lower blood pressure and temporarily deprive the brain of blood. His body would also stiffen after he woke, making it difficult to train.

Bai Ina didn't care about physical discomfort, but he absolutely couldn't accept anything that would interfere with his future training.

So, lying on the deck, Bai Ina forced himself to resist the urge to give in to the dizziness. He began rolling his shoulders and elbows, and gently moving his knees and leg muscles to ease the aftereffects of pushing himself too hard. He kept at it for nearly ten minutes before his eyes finally closed and he lost consciousness completely.

By the time Bai Ina opened his eyes again, dusk had fallen.

Half the sun had dipped below the horizon. The sea, bathed in yellow light, seemed so peaceful... and empty.

He slowly raised a sore hand to shield his eyes and murmured, "Kuina..."

He'd had a dream, a beautiful one. In it, Kuina had walked beside him through a golden forest of maple leaves, smiling sweetly. Hand in hand, they'd both worn happy smiles.

In an instant, Bai Ina's mind recalled every inch of Kuina's body, etched into his soul. He could remember even the length of her toes with ease.

Perhaps without realizing it, Kuina had become his sole reason to keep living in this world, the focus of an obsessive love.

He lowered his hand. The dampness in his eyes and the wet streaks on his palm shimmered beneath the setting sun.

"Back to training!!!"

A blissful smile lifted Bai Ina's lips.

That really was a beautiful dream...

After getting up, Bai Ina didn't immediately start training again. Instead, he trudged into the cabin and took some dry rations from a compartment. Beside the fresh water, he ate a bite of food and took a drink.

Bai Ina ate very little, just enough to keep himself from feeling hungry.

After all, he didn't have a Log Pose. He was sailing wherever the wind took him, with no idea where he would end up—or when he might find an island. He had to conserve his food.

After eating, Bai Ina began recalling the various training methods from Kuina's memories.

He started with the basics, practicing his sword swings, bringing the blade down from above. His arms stayed steady, repeating the motion like a scene playing over and over.

This training wasn't difficult for him, since he had inherited Kuina's swordsmanship instincts and talent. He trained this way to build a stronger connection with the sword in his hands, something of utmost importance to any swordsman.

Bai Ina didn't know the name of his Devil Fruit, but he had some understanding of its power.

Basically, by engaging in physical intimacy with another person, he could acquire that person's latent talents and some of their memories and instincts—and even... their Devil Fruit powers.

Although this "person" could be... male or female... Bai Ina had already decided that "person" meant a woman—

The memories he gained were mostly connected to the other person's talents. So the memories he'd acquired were mainly Kuina's recollections of training in swordsmanship, though they were interspersed with scattered memories of other things. There weren't many of these memories, but they added up.

To Bai Ina, those scattered memories were far more precious than the memories of sword training that could make him stronger. They let him gradually learn about Kuina...

Sharing her joy with her,

sharing her sadness with her,

sharing her... dreams with her—

To return to the point, talent was arguably the most important thing. It let him perfectly copy Kuina's latent talent for swordsmanship.

Talent had no tangible form and seemed even more elusive than memory.

Yet its effects appeared first.

His eyesight and dynamic vision had improved, and he felt an inexplicable affinity with swords.

Even... his body's latent potential had changed. If he'd put his original self, Bai Junyi, through training that intense, he might not even have managed ten squats.

This had nothing to do with willpower. No matter how frantically someone trained, an invisible barrier would block them from breaking through. That was talent—the talent each person was born with...

His training continued: sword swings, squats, sit-ups, push-ups, and anything else that could make him stronger. Bai Ina trained without the slightest hesitation.

Under the pitch-black night, on the boundless sea, a nine-year-old child had embarked on the turbulent path that would define his life...