Two hundred times the effort? Haha~

A bullet whizzed past his ear. Boren slumped to the ground, gasping for breath.

He had nearly died.

"Why-agh!"

Before he could voice his confusion, a sharp pain tore through his abdomen.

Already shot five times, Boren immediately collapsed and lost consciousness.

Dill withdrew his fist, pointed his pistol at Boren's head, and threatened:

"You getting beaten up over there, stop resisting right now, or the next shot goes through this guy's head."

Gunpowder stumbled, nearly cursing aloud.

I'm the one who got ambushed, I'm the one getting beaten up, and now you're threatening me with a hostage? Who's the mafia here?

Seeing Brandon and the others raising their fists to hit him again, Gunpowder reluctantly raised both hands.

"I surrender!"

"A wise choice." Dill kept his gun trained on Boren as he turned toward the window and called:

"Secretary, have someone bring a wooden barrel filled with water."

Ability users were hated by the sea and lost their strength when they fell into it.

Through Robin's own experiments, the sea here had proven not to mean just seawater. Fresh water worked too. Bathtubs, hot springs, and swimming pools all drained ability users of their strength.

Gunpowder was submerged in the wooden barrel up to his neck, with only his head sticking out.

Dill told Brandon to return to the inn and bring his hypnosis tools, preparing to hypnotize Gunpowder here.

Gunpowder was an ability user, after all, and had considerable future potential.

Besides, he also needed Gunpowder, their leader, to manage the remaining gang members.

Once everything was ready, Dill brought over a wooden barrel and sat on it. Swinging a pocket watch in his hand, he stared at the utterly weakened Gunpowder.

"Do you believe me?"

I believe you, my ****!!

Gunpowder cursed inwardly, but outwardly, he gave a feeble nod.

Six hours later, the hypnosis ended.

Dill smashed the barrel to free Gunpowder, then once again began his speech about his dozens of abilities.

Robin, who had been watching from the sidelines the whole time, asked:

"Why go out of your way to say all that? You don't have those abilities."

"Once enough people believe it, I will." Dill grinned and raised his index finger.

"Look!"

A tiny bead of water formed at his fingertip, spinning continuously.

It was an ability he had just acquired: the ability to create and control water.

"Then there's fire and lightning, and I'll have all kinds of other abilities in the future."

Flames ignited on his middle finger, and lightning flickered on his ring finger.

"And the more people believe, the higher the upper limits of my abilities will be."

"Then put in some effort and raise your bounty. The more famous you are, the more people will believe you, and the stronger you'll get."

The greater his fame, the more believers he would have. The more believers he had, the stronger he would become. The stronger he became, the greater his fame...

At that rate, Dill would become the World's Strongest before long, and they would no longer have to hide like this.

Unfortunately, reality would not go so smoothly. Dill dispelled the fire and lightning in his hands and explained:

"These abilities all rely on stamina to activate. Besides, an upper limit is just an upper limit."

"It won't turn me into a powerhouse overnight. I'll still need to train to actually reach those limits."

Stamina was the equivalent of a mana bar, while abilities like fire and lightning were active skills.

An increase in "belief" would raise the skills' maximum levels, but Dill still needed to train to add points step by step and raise those skills to their maximum levels.

He also needed a sufficient mana bar-in other words, stamina-to use those high-level skills.

Hearing that, Robin grew even more puzzled as she recalled Dill's usual habits.

Lying on the couch, lying in bed, lying on the floor. At the very least, he would be sitting in a chair.

"Then why don't you ever train? Why do you never sit if you can lie down?

Shouldn't you be training like your life depends on it to build up your stamina?"

"Because I don't have the talent. Training gets me nowhere fast, so I just gave up."

Dill spread his hands helplessly. Talent mattered a great deal in this world.

Big Mom, a future member of the Four Emperors, had given birth to thirty-nine daughters and forty-nine sons.

She spent her days eating, drinking, or having children, never training at all, yet she had become one of the Four Emperors through talent alone.

At seven, Luffy could beat up thugs with a pipe. Zoro could defeat adults not long after joining the dojo. Kaido had become his kingdom's strongest warrior at ten...

Dill had delicate features and a slender, pale body. He looked like a consumptive, and his physical talent was abysmal.

That was why Aimee had taken a liking to the body's original owner, and why Dill had abandoned the path of improving his stamina through training.

Two hundred times the effort? Haha~

Although he did not have an effort buff that would let him reach the finals after just two years of boxing, he had his own special way to improve.

"Starting today, you're to train hard, develop your Devil Fruit ability properly, and get stronger as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Yes, boss."

Dill nodded in satisfaction at the sight of Gunpowder bowing in submission.

People who were strong or famous could provide more belief.

As long as Gunpowder became strong enough, passive skills such as "physical attributes increase every moment" would grow stronger and stronger.

If he hypnotized all the promising future prospects, then once they achieved fame and success, he could grow stronger while lying down.

Or he could simply control Morgans and have him write extensively in the papers, letting the whole world know that Dill's "physical attributes increase every moment."

A ray of morning light shone through the window onto Dill's face, interrupting his daydream. Six hours had passed, and the sun had just risen.

He squinted and yawned, then took Robin's hand and headed toward the inn.

"It's already light out. Let's go back and sleep first."

After the two left, Gunpowder began his work.

He returned to the tavern, gathered his subordinates, and stood on the bar, raising his arm as he called out:

"The operation to capture the Devil Child is canceled. Go see Captain Geno later to collect a month's pay. You have two days off, so go enjoy yourselves!"

"Oh, and don't call me boss anymore. Just call me chief."

"Whoooo!!!"

"Long live the boss-pah, the chief!!"

"I'm staying with Black Fire for life!"

The gang members below cheered in unison, their excitement plain to see.

Even gang members received a base salary. Getting a full month's pay at once was no small sum, not to mention that ten straight days of grueling work had finally ended.

They left in twos and threes. Some were going home to catch up on sleep, some were going out for a feast, and some were going to find some fun.

Before long, only Gunpowder and a few others remained in the tavern.

The mute bartender gestured furiously, tearfully recounting Pica's crimes from the previous night to Gunpowder.

Gunpowder patted his shoulder in consolation, then turned and told Pica to fetch a doctor to treat Boren.

By the afternoon, Brandon, Geno, and the others had gone home to rest, and the mute bartender had also been given a day off.

Only three people remained in the tavern, and Gunpowder, who had been riding high that morning, was being berated.

"You're not the ones generating electricity, and you're not the ones supplying water;

"The port isn't yours, and neither is the shipyard;

"You don't get involved in construction, and you don't handle agricultural products either."

"Why aren't you in a single profitable business? Why are those measly protection fees all you think about?"