In the holy land of Upper Yard, within Luo Chen's territory.
Luo Chen sat cross-legged on a tree branch, meditating on all the moves and skills he had mastered.
First was Haki. He had just awakened Observation Haki, but only at its most basic level. If it were divided into beginner, intermediate, advanced, and peak levels, then Luo Chen was probably at the beginner stage.
He could only sense an area roughly ten meters in diameter around himself, listening to the sounds made by the bodies of all living things within it and reacting accordingly.
As for the other two types of Haki, he still had no idea how to use them. Luo Chen thought that Armament Haki could probably only be awakened through external stimulation after his physical condition met the required standard.
But Luo Chen couldn't be sure whether he had Conqueror's Haki. It was a qualification and ability found in only one person in a million. He had never thought that, just because he was a transmigrator, his protagonist halo would let him dominate everything and guarantee him Conqueror's Haki. He had never considered it. He would be better off training the other two types of Haki honestly. Hadn't people like Zephyr and Sengoku become some of the world's strongest without Conqueror's Haki?
As for his Devil Fruit ability, Luo Chen could now activate and suppress it at will, and he had even developed various moves. There was Blood God Curse, which let him control a person like a puppet by branding them with his mark, and Shadow Blood Hand, which condensed baleful energy into a giant palm that he could wield perfectly to strike his enemies. There was also Condensing Qi into a Sword, among others. But most of these moves were unpolished and easily countered by enemies, so Luo Chen still needed to improve his mastery of them.
Finally, his physical condition was still sorely lacking. After all, even counting every last day, he had only trained for a year. Compared to those monsters, he was still far too weak. Take Luffy, the protagonist of this world: his ability to defeat those famous great pirates in just a year or two could not be separated from the more than ten years his grandfather had spent laying his foundation.
That showed just how important physical condition was in the world of pirates. So, for the time being, Luo Chen would focus his training on improving his physique, allowing him to better raise his other stats.
"Mm! It's decided. I'll start by tempering my body! Starting today, I'll temporarily stop using my ability and rely on my physical strength alone to establish myself in this forest. Finally, I'll be able to take on and defeat the Four Priests one-on-one."
He immediately put his plan into action. Luo Chen not only completely suppressed his ability, but also blindfolded himself. Barehanded, he walked through the primeval forest in search of the best opponents, hoping to improve his strength through combat.
But it seemed Luo Chen had underestimated this land and greatly overestimated himself. On his first day blindfolded and without using his ability, he encountered a formidable opponent.
"Rumble!!!"
Tree trunks, branches, and leaves shook, and countless birds took flight in alarm. Then a black bear paw the size of a child suddenly slammed into a large tree, uprooting it and flinging it 3.4 meters backward.
"Roar!!!"
A massive bear's head emerged and let out a tremendous roar in one direction.
"Rustle!!!"
"Rustle!!!"
The bushes shook, and a black-clad figure darted out. His hair was somewhat disheveled, and a strip of black cloth covered his eyes. He burst out of the undergrowth in a panic, with the creature behind him in pursuit.
"Whew! I was too careless. I didn't expect to provoke the ruler of this area, the Grizzly Bear King. Hopefully he hasn't caught up yet."
Luo Chen gasped for breath in a sorry state as he muttered to himself. Before he could finish, a huge bear paw descended straight toward the top of his head.
"Huh! This is bad, danger!"
Luo Chen's Observation Haki sensed it first and drove his body to roll forward on instinct, narrowly avoiding the bear paw's attack.
"Boom!!!"
A tremendous sound rang out, and the shock wave sent Luo Chen, who had yet to stop rolling, tumbling even farther away. Smoke shrouded the area.
"Roar!!!"
The Grizzly Bear King's roar blew away the clouds of smoke, gradually revealing its enormous body. Gray-black fur covered it from head to toe, and it was about seven or eight meters long. A scar some twenty or thirty centimeters long ran straight across one eye, and it looked fresh.
It was the Grizzly Bear King, the ruler of this area, which had pursued Luo Chen for a full day and night. That scar had been inflicted by Luo Chen.
As for why they had become enemies, and why the Grizzly Bear King had chased Luo Chen for so long without giving up, it was mainly because Luo Chen had accidentally entered its territory during the day when he began his first day of training. He had found the Grizzly Bear King and its mate being intimate. Luo Chen's sudden appearance had disturbed them and spoiled the Grizzly Bear King's fun. Furious, it had swiped at him, intending to tear the little fellow before it to pieces, only for Luo Chen to strike back.
Relying on his Observation Haki, Luo Chen had avoided its attack and leaped up, slashing that wound across its face with the edge of his hand. And so their grudge had begun.
"Roar!"
The Grizzly Bear King panted impatiently, its eyes fixed on Luo Chen. It had chased this little fellow for a day and a night. Now that he could finally run no farther, it couldn't let him off so easily.
"You keep roaring and making a racket! If I didn't want to avoid using my ability, I'd have killed you ages ago. Would you still be alive now?"
Luo Chen stood up, straightened his appearance and clothes, and shouted at it.
"Roar!!"
The Grizzly Bear King's voice grew deeper, its eyes reddening further as it glared at him with fire in its gaze. If he hadn't provoked it, why would it have pursued him so relentlessly? And now he was making such thoughtless remarks. How could it not be furious?
"Uh... hehe, forget it. Let's call our grudge settled and each go home, all right?"
Hearing its low growl, Luo Chen suddenly remembered that he had provoked it first. Feeling somewhat in the wrong, he made the suggestion to the Grizzly Bear King.
"Roar!!!"
The Grizzly Bear King's voice suddenly rose, and it leaped into the air again, lunging straight at Luo Chen.
"Bang!!!"
Luo Chen flashed away from where he stood, and the bear paw came down as expected, slamming into the ground with a tremendous boom.
A huge paw print was left in the ground, with cracks spreading out in all directions.
"Whoosh!"
Seeing Luo Chen dodge its attack, the Grizzly Bear King turned and pounced at him again.
"Tch! No choice, I can only fight!"
Seeing that he couldn't dodge, Luo Chen swung his fist straight at it.
"Bang!!!"
Luo Chen's fist collided head-on with the grizzly bear's enormous teeth. A violent shock wave erupted between them and swept outward, as though a storm had risen, carrying all the fallen leaves and broken stones nearby into the air.
"Boom!!!"
A moment later, Luo Chen was the first to buckle. The Grizzly Bear King sent him flying into the trunk of a large tree, where he came to a stop, buried beneath fallen leaves and dust.
"Rustle!!!"
Luo Chen quickly got up, watching the Grizzly Bear King warily and constantly studying its body, hoping to find a weakness.
"Whoosh!"
Before he could find one, the Grizzly Bear King's body flashed, vanishing from where it stood as it attacked Luo Chen again.
"So fast. I can't see its movements at all."
The moment it disappeared, Luo Chen stared intently, but all he could see was a black shadow flashing past. The next time he looked, it was already in front of him, its left paw striking down.
"This is bad!"
Luo Chen hurriedly raised both arms to block its attack.
"Bang!!!"
The enormous paw struck Luo Chen's arms, sending him flying.
"Boom!!!"
Luo Chen crashed heavily into a large rock, smashing it apart before his body finally came to a stop.
"Cough, cough! Good. This is the kind of opponent I need. My blood is already boiling. Come on, Grizzly Bear King! I'll do everything I can to bring you down."
Luo Chen waved away the dust and smoke with his right hand and stood up. His gaze burned as he stared at the Grizzly Bear King, his eyes full of fighting spirit as he spoke to it.