Begin the Trial in the Third Area!

"You did a good job this time!" Woli praised.

"I'm almost immune to the old man's praise. Can you change to a different compliment?" Swain picked at his ear, looking thoroughly perfunctory.

"A proud army is bound to lose!" Woli suddenly came out with that line.

It certainly made Swain feel rather uncomfortable.

Swain realized he was indeed getting a bit full of himself, so he laughed it off: "I was just joking with you, old man, don't take it to heart."

"Better that way! I certainly wasn't joking with you."

"..."

It completely silenced Swain... Woli's words were like dropping a bomb between the two of them, directly ending the conversation.

Someone's private thoughts: The old man's emotional intelligence is so low!! No wonder I've never seen a master's wife.

Swain carefully observed Woli's expression and asked in a soft voice, "Can I go to Area Three for trial training?"

"You can already. Your strength has reached the level."

This nameless island was exceptionally large, comparable to six or seven small islands put together.

The wild creatures inside naturally varied in strength, and when giving lessons, Woli had simply divided this place into five regions.

The place where they lived belonged to the first area, which was the relatively safest spot. After Swain turned ten, he hunted in the second area.

Because Woli said he liked eating game from the second area, it was actually also a trial for him.

"That's just fantastic!" Swain was very joyful.

It wasn't that he hadn't sneaked into Area Three before; the one time he went, it almost cost him his life. He always thought that when Zoro was at Mihawk's place back then, the monkeys there using dual-sword style was already defying the heavens.

Yet after witnessing the beasts in Area Three, his eyes were truly opened, because they could actually use Armament Haki.

The reason he dared to sneak behind Woli's back to train was because he relied on his Devil Fruit ability; the moment he couldn't take the pressure, he would turn elemental, and could even escape easily.

He used the method from the second area, preparing to run rampant through the third, but the result was self-evident—he got beaten until he had black eyes.

It was only when Woli carefully discovered the situation and rushed over anxiously to find him that he was brought back.

"Once you've beaten the beasts there into submission, you can set out to sea."

"Figuring out the time, that should also be five years from now."

"The old man underestimates me way too much! I'll beat them all into submission in three months." Swain obviously looked a bit unconvinced.

Woli didn't answer his words, merely glancing at him with a simple smile.

This completely ignited Swain's strong masculine competitive spirit.

He said in his heart: Just watch, I'll only use three months!

He prepared nothing and simply set off.

"The direction is wrong! It's over there." Woli sipped his tea while pointing in that direction with his finger.

Swain proudly twisted his body, indicating that he didn't need his reminder.

Not far from Area Three, Swain drank coconut juice in a coconut tree nearby. He crossed his legs, lay in a bamboo-woven cradle, and applied leaves he got from somewhere unknown to his face. In Swain's words, this was a leaf facial mask, and life was going swimmingly!

Actually, he just wanted to get away from Woli, because once living with Woli, he had to wake him up on time to study every day, which always interrupted Swain's sweet dreams. Leaving Woli to go to Area Three this time meant he only needed to report in on time when encountering danger or checking in.

Aside from that, this was a vacation! It belonged to Swain's holiday life, so naturally he wanted to live as comfortably as possible!

Blech blech blech blech blech blech! Seagulls overhead made sounds as they passed by.

Swain opened his eyes to look, hoping against hope that a News Coo was passing by, but unfortunately not!

He also had no idea why even the news papers didn't pass by this place. According to the pirate world in his memories, newspapers should be everywhere in the world.

How could he not encounter even a single one over here?

He wanted to pay attention to what was happening everywhere in the world right now. He didn't know if Luffy had gone out to sea, and as for Ace—who left him with the most lingering regret—he wondered where he was; he actually wanted to make friends with him.

Swain had asked Woli if he had ever heard of a pirate named Luffy or Ace when he went to the Grand Line.

Yet he indicated he had never heard of either. However, the Four Emperors were still the four people he was well-acquainted with: Red-Haired Shanks, Beasts Kaido, Big Mom, and Whitebeard.

If he asked any deeper, Woli wouldn't say another word. He even refused to say what year of the Sea Circular Calendar it currently was.

He only said that knowing too much did him no good and would destabilize his mindset.

Sometimes Swain even suspected whether Woli knew he was a transmigrator! Otherwise, how could he understand Swain's psychology so well?

Of course, there was no way he could know!

That could only mean Woli's ability to observe and fathom human hearts was too formidable.

He guessed that the current time should still be early, and those world-shaking events had yet to happen. As for Luffy, his guess was that he was older than Luffy by about four or five years or so.

Because Woli hadn't even heard of Ace's moniker, and one must know Ace went out to sea earlier, plus his moniker was even more famous than Luffy's at the same age.

"Fire Fist Ace" had truly been earned through genuine combat, rather than relying on indiscriminately killing the innocent.

Just as he was calculating these matters in his heart, he failed to notice danger quietly approaching.

"Ssss." A lizard four or five meters long was already very close to him.

"Rustle." A sudden attack tore apart all the surrounding leaves.

The large lizard bit down, but the fleshy sensation it anticipated did not arrive; instead, there was only the feeling of teeth colliding.

It bit down into a mouthful of sea water!

That was close! Fortunately, while resting outside, I persist in maintaining my elemental state.

This was also something Woli frequently reminded him about, because Swain's Observation Haki cultivation fell far short, which was why he was reminded repeatedly.

Sure enough, details determine success or failure at critical moments!

At this moment, his heart had already begun to feel fortunate for unconditionally following Woli's admonition earlier.

"Humph! You dare ambush me."

"Watch me roast this big grasshopper of yours and eat it."

Swain looked at the lizard quite angrily and said.

"Rankyaku!" A moderately powerful technique launched a quick counterattack.

Bang! Bang! Several slashes erupted within a couple of breaths.

Dust kicked up all around the combat area.

"Ssss." The sound of silk spitting came through. Once the dust cleared, he found that the lizard in front of him had vanished!

"Crap, I underestimated the enemy!"

That lizard had somehow already circled around behind Swain!

"It knows Armament Haki too!" He originally wanted to turn elemental once more to dodge this strike, but in the nick of time he had no choice but to meet it head-on.

"Sea Binding!" Several chains emerged from the ground without warning to bind it.

Swain also applied Armament Haki to his hands, using his arm to block the lizard's bite force.

"It hurts!" There was no time left to think.

Taking advantage of the moment the lizard was bound, he hurriedly counterattacked.

"Shigan!" His fingers acted like sharp gun barrels, dotted with Armament Haki to amplify the power of this move.

"Clang," the sound of metal colliding rang out.

"It knows combat techniques?!" This came as an extreme shock to Swain.

One had to know that beasts who knew combat techniques were few and far between. Even if they existed, they were primates close to humans who could learn human combat behaviors to strengthen themselves.

"Looks like I have to get serious!"