Blood and Sweat, Inner Fragility

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Dawn broke, red clouds at the horizon shifting into all sorts of shapes above the sea, faintly visible and indistinct.

A new day had begun. Who knew how many people would die at this moment, and how many would set sail with dreams in their hearts, braving the wind and waves across that azure, abyssal sea amid cheers and wails?

Warm sunlight spilled down, illuminating a thin body and casting a long, wavering shadow.

Embracing youth, he recklessly poured out his sweat. It dripped onto the ground and seeped into the earth in the blink of an eye.

"80."

"81."

"8."

With both hands braced against the ground, he pushed himself upright. Beads of sweat the size of beans kept rolling down. Ye Chen gritted his teeth, his body rising and falling. The muscles in his arms were taut, veins bulging; every movement seemed to take all his strength.

His clothes were completely soaked and clung to his body. There was no doubt that a light squeeze would fill a bowl with sweat.

"98."

His face was flushed red. His two arms, not particularly thick to begin with, were already giving off smoke and even flashing with sparks of Fire. Clearly, he had reached his limit.

"No, there are still two more."

Gritting his teeth, Ye Chen felt as though his hands had gone numb. Every kind of discomfort in his body began assaulting his mind.

"99."

As if an entire century had passed, Ye Chen rose and fell once more. His hands instantly swelled and reddened, smoke and sparks of Fire coiling around them as they neared collapse.

The immense tearing pain felt as if someone were carving flesh from his body alive. Ye Chen's bloodshot face twisted together in agony.

But whenever he recalled the pain from before, Ye Chen clenched his teeth even harder, his eyes red with unwillingness.

"One more. Today, I have to break yesterday's record."

Forcibly suppressing his hands, which felt ready to explode, Ye Chen bent down once again.

"Sizzle, sizzle."

The immense tearing sensation seemed to reach a critical point, making it impossible for Ye Chen to restrain.

"100."

Boom!

A tremendous explosion blasted up the ground. Amid a gust of dust and sand, Ye Chen coughed up blood and fell miserably into the deep pit—yet his face broke into a broad grin.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Watching his hands continuously recover amid smoke and the glow of Fire, Ye Chen laughed without restraint.

Four months. A full four months. From being pinned to the ground at the beginning, unable to move, to now being able to run and train normally, he did not know how much blood and sweat he had shed. At last, at last, he had broken through his limits again and again.

Although he could only do a hundred push-ups and a hundred frog jumps now, he had successfully reached one hundred in every kind of training exercise.

A hundred might not seem like much, but one had to remember that Ye Chen was carrying ten tons of weight on his body.

Over the past four months, Ye Chen had felt his body crying out in pain every moment. Even breathing had been so heavy, but he had persevered.

Once his hands had recovered, Ye Chen clenched them, feeling that immense strength. His eyes shone brightly.

The previous training had already exhausted his stamina, so he simply lay in the pit, gazing at the cloudless sky and smiling.

A light breeze swept past, bringing a touch of coolness. Unknowingly, Ye Chen's smile vanished. He stared hollowly at the sky, his face filled with longing.

"Dad, Mom..."

His eyes could not stop growing wet. Recalling everything from the past filled Ye Chen's heart with pain.

How badly he now wanted to hear his mother's same old nagging reminders, and see his father sternly scolding him whenever he talked back to his mother.

Happiness had always been by his side, yet every time, he had turned a blind eye to it. He had even rejected and hurt it. Why had he been unable to understand back then, wasting his rebelliousness so recklessly?

Now that he thought about it, wrinkles had probably already appeared on their faces, and their hair had begun to turn white. Yet he had never cared for them, not even with a single word.

More than two years. Ye Chen had been in this world for more than two years. Every night, he gazed alone at that round moon, filled with regret and longing.

"I miss you so much."

No one could understand Ye Chen's loneliness in this world. He had been afraid; he had been terrified. He was not as strong as he had imagined. If possible, he only wanted to go back, to hear his parents scold him again.

Every morning when he woke up, he even hoped this was all just a dream. But reality disappointed him every time, throwing him into a boundless abyss and swallowing him whole.

"Brother Ye Chen."

Suddenly, a girl's voice rang out, carrying a hint of playfulness as it came closer.

Wiping away his tears, Ye Chen, who had recovered some strength, slowly climbed to his feet. His tear-streaked face instantly returned to its usual indifference.

Hina ran to the edge of the pit and peered inside. Puffing out her cheeks, she said angrily, "Brother Ye Chen, everyone is waiting for you!"

By age, Hina was actually older than Ye Chen. Yet whenever she addressed him, she always called him Brother Ye Chen. From the look of it, she had become completely used to it.

Without saying anything, Ye Chen nodded and jumped out of the pit, his feet sinking deep into the ground.

Frowning, Ye Chen looked at his feet embedded in the earth and sighed. He still had not fully mastered it.

"Let's go!"

With that, Ye Chen and Hina headed in another direction. If one looked carefully, they would notice that every footprint Ye Chen left sank slightly into the ground.

Before long, Ye Chen and Hina arrived at the place where Vergo and the others were training. Because Ye Chen's ability was so unusual, everyone trained separately. After all, no one knew when a boom might suddenly erupt beside them.

When they saw Ye Chen arrive, the others stopped training and sat in a circle.

Aside from exchanging training experiences every ten days or half a month, they had all been looking forward to Ye Chen's ideas.

That was right—ideas for developing Devil Fruits. Three days ago, Ye Chen had casually commented on Shu's ability, and that had set everything off. The ability users all wanted to hear Ye Chen's thoughts.

"Shu, how has your Rust-Rust Fruit testing been going?"

"Ye Chen, just like you said, my ability is incredibly powerful."

Grinning, Shu had devoted all his energy to his Devil Fruit besides his regular training ever since hearing Ye Chen's advice. Now, he could already corrode ordinary weapons.

Most importantly, he could now use his ability in battle. So long as he struck someone, the flesh at the point of contact would rust, restricting the enemy.

"Your ability was always powerful. It is even the nemesis of swordsmen. If you develop it to the end, one slap could rust an enemy's entire body and turn them into fragments. Most importantly, your ability is closely tied to time. Any object, especially metal, will rust if enough time passes."

Ye Chen roughly pointed out a direction. As for the rest, it would depend on Shu himself.

"After hearing Ye Chen explain it, I feel like Shu's ability is even stronger than a Logia!"

Everyone felt a little embarrassed as they looked at Ye Chen with Pei in their eyes. After all, these were things they could never have imagined. Shu, meanwhile, sat to the side grinning foolishly, looking like an idiot to anyone who did not know better.

"Ye Chen, what about me?" Seeing Ye Chen finish commenting on Shu, Very Good looked at Ye Chen impatiently, his face full of anticipation.