Silver Reward: Fighting Technique!

"Damn!" Aeneas cursed. "I let my guard down!"

Then, Terror Black Bear smacked Aeneas away with a single paw, sending him flying a hundred meters.

Fortunately, Aeneas did not panic. With Iron Sword cushioning and dispersing the force behind him, he landed safely without suffering more than a few superficial injuries.

"But the impact of that paw was really something!" Aeneas shook his still-dizzy head, barely managing to recover. "And that was just a backhanded swipe. Little Black is way too ruthless!"

Aeneas had thought he and Little Black had gotten along quite well, but it seemed there was still a long way to go.

"I'll have to spend more time building our relationship!"

Aeneas had always sparred with Silverback Gorilla because its intelligence was closer to that of a human. Its strength was not as absurd as Terror Black Bear's, and its speed was comparable to Aeneas's. Fighting Little White was the only time it truly felt like actual combat!

That was why Aeneas had made Little White his exclusive training partner, and why he had neglected Little Black.

"But don't worry. I came here specifically to grow closer to you this time!" Aeneas looked at the arrogant Terror Black Bear in the distance. Although he had just been sent flying, he was not discouraged. "I've finally mastered this fighting technique, and Little White is already down. I'll use you to keep practicing!"

Aeneas immediately planted Iron Sword somewhere conspicuous, then walked toward Terror Black Bear step by step, unarmed.

His confidence came from none other than one of the three Silver Rewards he had drawn over the past year: Fighting Technique!

Fighting Technique might sound ordinary, but after seeing its description, Aeneas felt that this Silver Reward had been incredibly worthwhile!

"Congratulations, Host. You have drawn a Silver Reward: a martial arts technique, Fighting Technique!"

"Fighting Technique description: The fighting style used by Sett, the 'Beast-Boy,' in the fighting pits of Navori, located in the underground kingdom of Ionia. Upon cultivating Fighting Technique, the passive ability 'Pit Grit' is activated, along with four moves: 'Knuckled Down,' 'Haymaker,' 'Facebreaker,' and the ultimate technique 'The Show Stopper'!"

When he had first drawn this fighting style, Aeneas's calm expression had instantly turned to astonishment, followed by ecstatic delight.

"What Fighting Technique? Isn't this just the passive and abilities of a champion from League of Legends, the game I played in my previous life?" Aeneas had never expected it. "This Silver Reward is ridiculously valuable!"

But on closer consideration, Essence Breathing Technique had not seemed like a particularly lethal combat art either, yet it had still brought Aeneas tremendous benefits.

The fact that he had been able to train all the way until now, while improving his strength at practically an explosive rate, was at least sixty or seventy percent thanks to Essence Breathing Technique.

Even Aeneas's willpower needed to be tempered by Essence Breathing Technique. Without it, using Obi-Wan's self-destructive training methods, Aeneas would definitely have ended up in serious trouble!

Broken arms and legs would have been minor concerns. What he feared was leaving Aeneas with incurable internal injuries.

If Aeneas had not repeatedly proven to Obi-Wan that he was in excellent physical condition and could handle even more intense training, Obi-Wan would never have allowed him to train so recklessly.

"Thanks to Essence Breathing Technique, my strength should have already surpassed that of Ace, Sabo, and Luffy, the three brothers of the same age, right?"

Aeneas's feeling was not wrong. All of them were nine years old, but he was already strong enough to become the leader of the three little ones.

"Waaah—but why did I have to transmigrate to the North Blue?!" Aeneas wailed again. Countless times in his previous life, he had fantasized that if he could transmigrate into the world of One Piece, he would become the leader of the three little ones—or at the very least, their underling.

Ace was the biological son of Roger, the Pirate King, and Whitebeard's adopted son. Becoming Ace's underling would mean befriending Whitebeard in the future.

Sabo came from nobility and would later become the Revolutionary Army's second-in-command. Becoming Sabo's underling would be no different from having the Revolutionary Army as his shield, would it?

And Luffy needed no further explanation: he had the protagonist template, was the child of destiny, and would become the future Pirate King!

If Aeneas had not possessed a little ambition of his own, he might really have wanted to board Luffy's ship as his vice-captain or something.

Of course, all of that had been Aeneas's fantasies in his previous life. Now that he had truly transmigrated, he had ended up in the North Blue!

The North Blue!

Aeneas roared, and Fighting Technique was said to be a fighting style, but it was more like a state.

Whenever Aeneas used Fighting Technique, it automatically activated the passive "Pit Grit," granting him the invincible kingly presence of someone who had fought a hundred battles without defeat—or rather, the unshakable stance of someone who had fought in the arena and never fallen!

This passive was practically like adding a buff to himself.

Aeneas felt it was somewhat like Luffy activating Gear Second. In short, all his attributes were enhanced, and the price was stamina.

Yes, using Fighting Technique placed an intense burden on Aeneas. In that respect, it was indeed very similar to Luffy using Gear Second.

Aeneas had drawn this Silver Reward long ago, but he had been unable to use it for more than half a year.

The reason was that his stamina simply could not support the state.

However, Aeneas came up with a wonderful idea.

"Zoan Devil Fruit users seem to possess tremendous stamina and recovery abilities?" The more Aeneas thought about it, the more interesting it seemed. "If I can train my recovery ability to rival that of a Zoan user, then perhaps I can keep 'Pit Grit' active permanently!"

Aeneas really did dare to imagine anything. In other words, he hoped that every punch he threw would carry Pit Grit's passive enhancement, eventually transforming him into the undefeated legend of the fighting arena—or, to put it another way, the woman-destroyer of the Rift, Sett!

That was not impossible. If Fighting Technique was cultivated to its ultimate realm, there might truly be a chance to unleash all of Sett's power. By then, if Aeneas used swordsmanship while in that savage state—

Hiss—

It would make one's scalp tingle!

Whether it was his frustration at having transmigrated to the North Blue or his joy at finally making progress with Fighting Technique, Aeneas no longer cared about any of it. He simply stared intently at the prey before him.

It was Terror Black Bear. As it watched Aeneas approach step by step, his aura steadily rose, until even the Terror Black Bear felt a trace of fear.

After all, why was it called Terror Black Bear?

Precisely because it made people feel terror. Yet now, the violent, mindless Terror Black Bear was actually feeling afraid?

Aeneas's speed suddenly changed, and he swung a heavy left punch.

The left punch slammed into Terror Black Bear's left cheek. After his hellish training, Aeneas's strength had definitely surpassed that of an adult, and he was probably not much weaker than an ordinary fish-man—the strength of a fish-man was ten times that of an adult human!

At nine years old, Aeneas had already reached ten times the average strength of an adult human. His progress was truly astonishing.

Of course, the original One Piece world was not lacking in young people with extraordinary talent. Rob Lucci of CP9, for instance, had been a ruthless prodigy who became famous at a young age. Aeneas believed he was still somewhat behind Lucci, but it had only been a year...

There was still plenty of time!