Sparring and Training (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

The sea breeze brushed against their faces as rolling waves rocked the ship, making the people on deck rise and fall as if on clouds. A seabird perched atop the mast, watching the figure below swing his blade again and again.

"45..."

"46..."

The figure wielded a long sword wildly disproportionate to his body, slashing over and over.

Bogart had been watching from the side for a while. He stepped forward and called Zhong Hao to a stop. "Why aren't you training on land?"

"I always trained on land before, but battles won't only happen on land. I want to get used to this first." Zhong Hao sheathed his sword and asked, "When will Teacher return?"

"Hard to say. The vice admiral went home on leave this time and has no assignment, so he could return at any time." Bogart adjusted the brim of his hat. "Don't worry. He instructed me to supervise your training, at ten times the usual intensity. First, I need to know your exact strength. Attack me."

After speaking, Bogart stood motionless, holding his sheathed sword in his left hand.

Zhong Hao understood what he meant. Bogart wanted to tailor the training plan to his strength. But seeing that he still had not moved, Zhong Hao frowned. "Aren't you drawing your sword?"

"This is enough."

Zhong Hao did not think Bogart was insulting him. Just as he would not draw his sword if an ordinary person attacked him, either.

"Here I come." He lowered his body, leaned forward slightly, placed his left hand behind him to lightly support the scabbard, and opened his right palm above the hilt.

Iaijutsu: Iai Slash

Clang

Zhong Hao's fastest move was easily blocked by Bogart. Fine grooves lined Bogart's scabbard, and one of them caught the blade perfectly. With a twist of his arm, Zhong Hao felt an enormous force surge through him, nearly making him lose his grip on the sword.

Zhong Hao used Bogart's force to leap up, his body flipping upside down as his left foot kicked toward Bogart's head. Bogart reached out with his right hand and caught the incoming foot. Zhong Hao then kicked Bogart's wrist with his right foot, breaking free after connecting.

The instant he landed, he stomped off the ground and charged again.

Clang... Clang... Clang

Borrowing the momentum of his charge, Zhong Hao's sword struck Bogart's scabbard three times in an instant. Then he swept past Bogart and changed positions.

Just as Zhong Hao was about to advance again, Bogart raised a hand to stop him. "That's enough. I roughly understand your strength now."

Zhong Hao stopped at once, sheathed his sword, and asked, "Based on my strength just now, what position could I hold in the Marines? Ignore age and merit. Judge only by strength."

"A captain at Marine Headquarters," Bogart answered without hesitation.

"Then are there many captains like that in the Marines?" Zhong Hao asked again.

"Many. There are at least tens of thousands. But you needn't be discouraged. Excluding Devil Fruit users, there are very few people your age with this level of strength anywhere on the seas," Bogart replied.

Zhong Hao nodded, accepting the comfort, then asked, "What level is your strength at? Rear admiral? Or vice admiral?"

"You'll know once you surpass me." Bogart paused after speaking, then offered an unusually detailed explanation. "I once captured a pirate with a bounty of five hundred million by myself."

Hearing that, Zhong Hao's thoughts churned as he roughly compared the power levels of the two worlds.

Although Naruto only had four titles—genin, chunin, jonin, and Kage, the highest leaders of the major ninja villages—the disparity among jonin was simply too great. Kage could generally kill ordinary jonin instantly, yet some jonin could defeat Kage. It was too chaotic. So Zhong Hao roughly classified them by strength as: genin; chunin; special jonin; jonin; elite jonin; pseudo-Kage; Kage-level; and beyond Kage-level.

In terms of abundant products and vast resources, the pirate world utterly surpassed Naruto. In terms of the number of low-, mid-, and high-tier powerhouses, the pirate world was likewise far ahead.

Yet when it came to the very strongest tier, Naruto overtook it again. That was because Naruto had Six Paths-level beings who transcended ordinary humans. They were all world-destroying powerhouses. The gap was simply too vast, like the difference between humans and gods, utterly unreasonable.

Of course, these comparisons were based only on destructive power. In a life-and-death battle, the one with greater destructive power would not necessarily win. Take the Fourth Hokage, for example. Even if his destructive power was not pitifully weak, it was definitely inferior to those who casually unleashed A-rank and S-rank ninjutsu. But how many people were qualified to call him weak?

Then there was Sugar from the pirate world. Her Hobby-Hobby Fruit nearly touched the laws of fate and causality. If she touched Hashirama Senju, could she turn him into a teddy bear? Maybe she could, or maybe she could not. Who knew...

The two worlds had different power systems. Without truly fighting, no one could know which was stronger.

Bogart spoke again. "The test is over. Come with me."

Zhong Hao followed him to the ship's rail.

Bogart pointed at the sea. "Now jump from here. Swim five thousand meters out and back at your fastest speed."

Zhong Hao was somewhat puzzled. A ten-thousand-meter round trip did not seem particularly difficult, so he could not help asking, "This is... ten times the training volume?"

A rare hint of teasing amusement appeared on Bogart's stern face. "This is only the first item. There are five more after this, each harder than the last."

Zhong Hao nodded in satisfaction. The greater the difficulty, the faster he would grow. Without hesitation, he casually tossed his sword to Bogart and leaped into the sea.

"This kid really doesn't stand on ceremony." Bogart curled his lips and drew the sword halfway. With a soft ring, the blade reflected a white gleam beneath the sunlight.

"Not a bad sword." Yes, it was not bad, but only not bad. This sword had been brought by Zhong Hao from Naruto. It was modeled after the standard steel swords used by the Anbu, merely made one size smaller.

Shinku Yuhi often hid in the shadows to check on Zhong Hao. When he saw Zhong Hao practicing swordsmanship without a suitable weapon, he specially commissioned one for him, then had Kurenai pass it on.

However, in the pirate world, it was merely passable.

On the constantly rolling sea, a head sped through the water, both arms moving so fast they were nearly wheels. During his three months in the pirate world, Zhong Hao had specifically sought advice from the fishermen of Foosha Village in order to catch sea fish. After repeated underwater pursuits, his swimming ability had improved by leaps and bounds.

More importantly, his constitution allowed him to survive unharmed in endless space without oxygen. Water was naturally no problem.

A full-speed five-thousand-meter round trip was not too difficult for him. He quickly swam five thousand meters. As he turned back, a two-meter-long sea fish overtook him from behind. When it passed Zhong Hao, it paused, its eyes rolling around as its tail swayed comically, as though mocking his speed.

Getting mocked by a fish? That would not do! Free ingredients were not to be wasted. Zhong Hao immediately punched the fish on the head, knocking it unconscious, then grabbed its tail and swam back toward the ship.

After returning to the ship, he tossed the stunned sea fish onto the deck. Soldiers quickly carried it into the kitchen.

"Next." He looked at Bogart, his words brief and direct.

"Follow me." Bogart disembarked directly, with Zhong Hao close behind.

The two arrived on an uninhabited dirt road.

Bogart pointed in one direction. "Sprint at full speed for five thousand meters. I'll wait for you at the finish line."

There was still no time limit, entirely dependent on self-discipline. Coercive training could only make someone skilled, not strong. The reason the strong were strong was because their hearts were strong. Perseverance, willpower, indomitability, and never admitting defeat—none of these could be lacking.

Zhong Hao had understood this principle in his previous life, so he said nothing. He shot forward, reaching his top speed in the shortest time possible.

The road was not easy to run on. It was like a winding country road, full of pits and hollows. Running on it meant every step rose and fell unevenly, with no regular rhythm. At full speed, it was difficult to watch his footing, and one careless step could twist an ankle.

Thud

Zhong Hao lost his footing and fell. Carried by momentum, his small body rolled along the ground for quite a distance, kicking up dirt at once. This was his third fall. He did not take the opportunity to catch his breath, nor did he pity himself for the pain. Gritting his teeth, he climbed back up and continued running.

Though he was sprinting at full speed, anyone knew that running at maximum effort consumed tremendous stamina. His muscles would ache, and his body's protective mechanisms would instinctively slow him down. It was impossible to maintain top speed forever.

The purpose of this training was to break through those limits, forget the body's exhaustion and the aching of the muscles, and learn through years of training how to shut down those protective mechanisms, so that even when stamina was depleted, combat strength could remain at its peak.

Although this extreme training would create hidden injuries throughout the body, the physical cultivators of this planet were exceptionally blessed. Vast creatures were as numerous as stars, and the life energy contained in their meat could greatly ease or even eliminate such hidden injuries. This was something Naruto did not possess.

It was somewhat similar to Might Guy's Eight Gates. The Eight Gates removed the restrictions on chakra, while this training removed restrictions on pure physical strength and stamina.

Even the side effects were similar. Opening the Eight Gates could kill someone unable to withstand the violent chakra, while draining one's stamina completely could lead to death from depleted life force.

By the time he reached Bogart, Zhong Hao was covered in mud and dust, with fresh red blood hidden beneath the grime.

He ran another dozen meters before stopping. Zhong Hao braced both hands on his knees and struggled to control his breathing. It took twenty minutes before he gradually recovered.

"Very good. You didn't slack off at any point. Now, fifty thousand meters in that direction. Set your own pace. I'll wait for you there." Bogart indicated the direction.

Zhong Hao looked where he pointed. Rolling green mountains stretched ahead. Judging from the distance and elevation, he would have to cross at least four mountains to get there. He could not help swallowing as he looked toward Bogart, only to find the spot already empty.

Turning back, he found that white figure halfway up the first mountain.

So fast. In less than ten seconds, he's already run that far.

Zhong Hao rubbed his face and encouraged himself inwardly. Come on, Zhong Hao. Fifty thousand meters will be over soon. Didn't you come to this world to become stronger? Think of Kurenai, Ji Mei, Tang Ze, Da Ye, and then think of the Uchiha.

He took a deep breath, steadied his resolve, and began running forward. His pace was neither fast nor slow, just slightly faster than an ordinary person sprinting with all their strength.

Cross-country mountain running was different from running on a flat, straight road. On uneven mountain terrain full of gullies and ridges, the greatest challenge was endurance, bodily movement, and coordination.

Besides the drain on his stamina, he also had to endure the harassment of various wild beasts along the way. Sometimes monkeys laughed as they threw fruit at him; other times packs of wolves tore at him viciously. Fierce tigers and venomous snakes were impossible to guard against.

After who knew how long, Zhong Hao finally neared his destination. From far away, he saw Bogart—and Garp as well. There stood a wooden house, far more refined than Zhong Hao's cabin by the sea.

Luffy probably hasn't been sent to Mountain Bandit Dadan yet at this point. So the grandson he's supposedly watching must be Ace.

From a great distance, he could hear Garp's distinctive laugh. "Ahahahaha! Good kid, I've been waiting here for you for ages!"

"Teacher, Mr. Bogart." Zhong Hao forced himself to stay alert as he greeted them. "What's the next item?"

Garp carelessly slapped Zhong Hao on the shoulder, knocking him flat onto the ground.

Garp laughed loudly. "What next item? Recover your stamina first, you idiot brat."

This violent old man. Sooner or later, I'll get even by bullying your grandson. Zhong Hao grumbled inwardly. Then he leaned against a tree as drowsiness washed over him. He did not force himself to stay awake and soon fell asleep.