Someone Was Asking for a Haki Beating!

"Konohamaru really was a genius!"

Brando was drenched in sweat, with bloodstains still on his right hand. All of it had been caused by practicing the Rasengan.

Baseballs were hard to buy in the village, but balloons were still available. He had trained all night before reaching the point where he could burst a water-filled balloon.

That was only thanks to keeping his Sharingan activated during practice, allowing him to clearly see the flow of chakra and improve so quickly.

Even knowing the trick and having the Sharingan to assist him, training was still this difficult. Brando acknowledged Konohamaru's talent for mastering the Rasengan after hearing only the two descriptions: "whoosh" and "pop."

Brando lay directly on the ground, pain coursing through his body from excessive chakra consumption and the strain placed on his cells.

"Using the Will of the Overlord on Shanks today gave me the Mangekyo Sharingan. Was it because he was a Celestial Dragon?"

"After all, the Uchiha were also so-called 'Celestial Dragons,' true descendants of sages and the nobility of the ninja world."

Brando analyzed what he had gained today.

Ordinary villagers only gave basic chakra. Only people with positions, like the village chief, could drop something like a ninjutsu.

Moreover, repeatedly using it had no effect. He could not keep farming good rewards from the same person. That was intelligence Brando had obtained after angering the village chief so badly that he had nearly fainted.

This reward had been so good that Brando could not determine whether it was because of Shanks's strength or his identity. Perhaps it was both.

But he had also confirmed one thing: he had to ruthlessly use his Will of the Overlord on people with supposedly high status and great strength.

Sure enough, the Will of the Overlord was not meant for bullying the weak. He had simply been using it in the wrong direction.

"Just as planned!"

"Sure enough, intelligence is the most important thing for a ninja!"

Brando felt thoroughly satisfied.

He then went home, took a nice bath, and slept soundly, allowing his body to recover fully.

When Brando woke up in the morning, his body felt much lighter. He continued practicing the Rasengan, but his chakra reserves were limited, so he stopped after a few attempts. Bursting a rubber ball was harder than he had imagined.

"Ninjas are glass cannons. Their destructive power is immense, but their bodies are too fragile. That's an enormous weakness in this world, even more dangerous than Devil Fruit users fearing Seastone and seawater."

Sitting on the ground, Brando felt his frail body and was somewhat helpless.

The strong people of this world could casually lift objects weighing thousands of pounds and withstand all kinds of killing moves without dying. Ninjas could not do that.

Other than possessing a Sage Body, the only way was perhaps to train until he became a muscle monster like Book Raikage. Only then might he be able to contend with this world's taijutsu powerhouses.

Sage Mode could instantly increase his strength to the level of tens of thousands of pounds, but his body itself would still remain a weakness.

"If I were to eat a Devil Fruit, those Mythical Zoans and Logias wouldn't suit me. Zoans would actually be a better fit."

"Even with this cheat, I can't stop training myself. After all, I'll need to physically Haki the strong people of this world someday. Haki is the strongest!"

Brando's gaze hardened as he began doing push-ups to train his body.

When people had no hope, they were at their laziest and most depraved. But when they saw even a sliver of hope, they could burst forth with astonishing motivation.

Brando did not merely see a sliver of hope now.

He saw a progress bar!

Since he could see the progress bar, he naturally had no reason to remain lazy.

After all, he still had to ruthlessly Haki the Celestial Dragons, the Four Emperors, the Marine Admirals, and the Five Elders. Not one of them would escape the justice of Haki!

"Village chief, this is bad! Luffy was captured and beaten by those bandits!"

The villagers hurriedly found Village Chief Woop Slap.

They could not muster the courage to resist the bandits at all, so they could only seek out the village chief.

"What happened?!"

Woop Slap immediately panicked and hurried after the villager leading the way.

"Those bandits came again today and went to Makino's bar. Luffy was inside too. It seems he insulted those bandits over what happened yesterday."

"Then those bandits grabbed Luffy and started beating him. We couldn't stop them at all."

One of the villagers explained the situation, drenched in sweat.

That brat Luffy had always been bold and foul-mouthed from a young age. He simply did not know how to be afraid.

Even when facing vicious bandits, he showed no fear whatsoever.

"That boy Luffy needs to be properly taught a lesson someday."

Although Village Chief Woop Slap said that, his mind was in turmoil. He did not know whether Luffy would even live to see tomorrow.

They soon arrived outside the bar.

They saw a group of bandits surrounding Luffy, holding him atop a barrel as they punched and kicked him.

"Still won't apologize, you little brat?!"

"But this body of yours is really interesting. If I sold you to a circus, I could probably get a hefty sum for you!"

Higuma stepped on Luffy's head and spoke with cold eyes.

He did not have Shanks's patience. Anyone who dared provoke him had to be harshly taught a lesson, so everyone would understand that there was only one terrifying outcome for offending him: death!

"I didn't do anything wrong! Why should I apologize?!"

"Get your stinking foot off me, you stupid bandit!"

Having eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit, Luffy felt no pain at all and continued shouting loudly.

Higuma's face darkened. He raised his hand, preparing to draw the long sword at his waist and send this brat to hell.

"Please let that child go!"

Woop Slap's voice was urgent.

The bandits all turned to look at him. Stared at by so many people, Woop Slap was afraid, but he did not back down, because he was the village chief!

He understood that the village was powerless against these bandits, so he slowly dropped to his knees.

"I don't know what Luffy did to offend you all, and I won't argue with you about it!"

"If you don't mind, we're willing to pay a ransom as compensation. Please let that child go!"

As he spoke, Woop Slap bent over and pressed his forehead firmly against the ground.

This was all he could do!

"Village chief!"

Seeing this, Luffy's eyes reddened beneath Higuma's foot.

"Not bad for an old man. You understand the ways of the world."

"But unfortunately, it's useless. This brat angered me. I simply can't swallow the insult of being cursed at by a little brat like him. He must die!"

Higuma drew the long sword at his waist and spoke coldly.

Seeing this, Woop Slap raised his head, his face filled with despair. Beside him, Makino tearfully pleaded with them.

But at that moment, an egg flew straight into Higuma's forehead. The shattered shell and yolk slid down from his brow and over that ugly face.

"Well, Village Chief, how did you become this pathetic after just one day apart?"

"And you, ugly squid-faced guy, you were bragging in the bar yesterday about killing fifty-six people like that red-haired guy. But don't tell me the fifty-six people you killed were actually all little brats like Luffy!"

"If that's the case, then I'm a seafood killer who's slaughtered tens of thousands of Sea Kings."

Brando strutted out with a gait like Doflamingo's, looking utterly arrogant as he pointed at Higuma and began mocking him mercilessly.

He had been so focused on training this morning that he had wondered why his mouth had been itching all day. So someone had been asking for a Haki beating!