Aboard the merchant ship bound for Shimotsuki Village.
[Constitution: 5.1 (rapidly transforming due to certain influences)]
Dunn studied the changes on his digitized status panel, a thoughtful look on his face.
He wasn't about to waste the time it took to reach Shimotsuki Village. He spent it studying his Mera Mera no Mi abilities and the digitized panel.
The panel gave him a clear picture of how well he had mastered his abilities. Even abilities he had only just learned could be added to it.
For example:
[Mera Mera no Mi (proficient)] [Swordsmanship (beginner): You have learned basic sword techniques and training methods]
Swordsmanship had appeared on the panel thanks to his training with a sword during this time, and the evaluation of his Mera Mera no Mi had changed as well.
Of course, the change that caught Dunn's attention most was the one in his constitution.
After all, people in the One Piece world were practically monsters. They had astonishing physiques, and the strong were never frail.
When he first gained the Body Digitization ability, his constitution had been only 1.7, and the panel had said it was rapidly transforming.
In just about a month, his constitution had risen from 1.7 to 5.1.
He had just tested it, too.
His overall physical abilities had indeed improved by a great deal—compared with his former self, at least.
He had tested his speed, strength, stamina, and even his ability to take a hit. Every one of them had increased.
"Is it because of the Devil Fruit, or something else? Or does a person's physical ability slowly improve just by coming to this world?"
That was his guess.
Of course, it wasn't a bad thing.
In this world, a powerful physique was the foundation of strength. It was also the foundation for becoming a strong fighter.
He just didn't know how long this improvement would continue.
Based on his strength, he was now about five times stronger than he had been before crossing over.
Of course, five times an ordinary person's strength was nothing impressive compared with the strong in this world.
After all, even a well-built crewman aboard this ship could lift a barrel of wine weighing hundreds of pounds with ease.
But Dunn didn't dwell on that for long.
He had discovered another ability that wasn't listed on the panel, and it was terrifying.
It was really just another effect of his weak points disappearing and injuries being converted into lost health.
When he exercised, he used up stamina. That was normal, but the aftereffects of training were classified as injuries.
He could see the health he lost from overtraining, but the fatigue and bodily discomfort caused by exercise vanished completely once his health recovered after eating.
People in the world he came from had limits.
This world might have limits too, but they were far higher.
If his theory was right, his body would change for some reason, and this ability would let him get stronger quickly through effort beyond what ordinary people could manage.
Once he understood that, Dunn felt that the seemingly vast distance between him and the powerhouses who could destroy the world wasn't so great after all.
He wasn't afraid of working hard. He was afraid of working hard and getting no results.
If he kept seeing progress—and if the results were huge, far beyond his expectations—then he'd throw himself into training with every fiber of his being.
The workaholic was back.
Dunn sprang to his feet, strode over to the wall, and hefted the barbell off the floor.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The room filled with rattling and muffled thuds.
Several crewmen aboard the ship turned to look toward Dunn's room.
There he went again.
Everyone aboard the ship knew who Dunn was by now.
He was a Pirate Hunter who had captured dozens of pirates single-handedly. He was strong.
No one knew exactly how strong, but he was certainly much stronger than they were.
Pirates were a frightening bunch, and dozens of them together were intimidating—especially to the crewmen of merchant ships sailing the seas.
"No wonder he's so strong. This man works way too hard."
"I've decided. I'm going to work hard and get stronger too. One day, I'll become a Pirate Hunter."
A skinny cabin boy who looked no older than his teens clenched his fist and declared this with steely determination. The moment he finished speaking, someone smacked him on the back of the head.
"You want to be a Pirate Hunter, huh? Have you even cleaned the deck?"
The unfriendly voice made everyone jolt. They immediately bowed their heads and got back to work.
The boy, who had just been so resolute, turned and saw the captain. He hurriedly put on a flattering smile, bowed and scraped, and 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 watched the crew pretend to work with their heads down and spoke with exasperation.
He had witnessed the countless pirates who set sail after the Pirate King's execution.
Pirate battles, plundered islands, and chaos across the seas—it wasn't something ordinary people like them could get involved in. People really did die.
In these turbulent times, simply living out their lives in peace was no easy feat.
At the thought, the old captain looked toward Dunn's room.
"Yeah. I guess it takes someone like him to get involved in all that."
Dunn didn't waste a moment over the days that followed. He trained hard every day, and naturally, his appetite grew considerably as well.
The merchant ship, which had planned to sail straight to Shimotsuki Village, had to stop at an island along the way to buy supplies.
Even so, the detour didn't add much time to the journey.
About two months and twenty days after setting out, the merchant ship arrived ahead of schedule, reaching its destination around noon.
"Sir, that's Shimotsuki Village."
An island appeared in the distance, out on the sea.
"Mm!"
Dunn gave a slight nod.
The ocean really was enormous. They had barely encountered any ships on the way, let alone pirates.
Of course, that might have been because they were in the East Blue.
Dunn rested a hand on the railing, a look of anticipation in his eyes.
[Body Digitization: Your body's weak points have disappeared. Attacks are converted into health loss; panel attributes change according to your strength; you cannot die as long as your health remains above zero] [Current body age: 14] [Constitution: 9.9 (rapidly transforming due to certain influences)] [Current health: 100% (recovering; eating speeds up recovery)] [Innate Talent (Indomitable): When your health reaches zero, you enter a brief enhanced state; all your physical attributes increase tenfold; your health no longer decreases; all negative statuses are cleared; current duration: 10 minutes; cooldown: 1 day] [Abilities] [Mera Mera no Mi (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 (weaknesses and the resident soul); current fruit mastery (9%)] [Swordsmanship (proficient): You have mastered basic sword techniques and training methods]
This was his status panel now—the result of nearly three months of training.
His constitution had already surpassed that of ten ordinary people from his previous life. He was strong enough to lift a thousand pounds.
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