Early the next morning.
"990!"
"991!"
"992!"
Ages stood on one finger, doing one-finger handstand push-ups.
Ages was drenched in sweat. His clothes were soaked through, as though they had just been pulled from the water, and drops of sweat ran down his cheeks and fell to the ground.
A puddle of his sweat had formed beneath the finger supporting him.
"998!"
After he struggled through his 998th push-up, Ages felt as though the finger supporting him no longer belonged to him. Waves of soreness coursed through his arm, and his delicate features scrunched up.
Ages gritted his teeth, repeating to himself, Two more, two more... then I'm done. Keep going! Keep going! If I give up now, all my work will be for nothing! Keep going! I can't give up!
"999!"
With that constant encouragement, Ages struggled through his 999th push-up.
By now, Ages had nearly exhausted all his strength, and even his vision was growing blurry. If someone had given him a gentle touch, he probably would have collapsed on the spot.
Ages clenched his teeth. His consciousness was growing hazy, and all that supported him now was his unyielding willpower.
After several grueling minutes.
"1000!"
Ages spent several minutes and exhausted every last bit of his strength before finally completing the thousandth push-up.
Thud!
After finishing his one-finger push-ups, Ages collapsed to the ground, his chest heaving as he gulped for air.
"Whew... whew... finally, a thousand."
Ages could feel it: the instant he completed his thousandth push-up, a great deal of strength had surged back into his exhausted body.
Break through the limit and unleash potential!
When people exercised and relied on tenacious willpower to push beyond their limits, their bodies would unleash their potential, breaking through those limits and reaching a higher level.
Ages had broken through his limit, stimulating his body to unleash its potential.
Once Ages had rested, doing another thousand one-finger handstand push-ups would no longer be so difficult.
After resting for more than ten minutes.
Ages got up, twisted his waist, and swung his arms in a few circles, feeling how much strength he had recovered.
"Gurgle..."
Just then, Ages's stomach let out a loud rumble.
Ages rubbed his stomach and muttered.
"I'm starving. I wonder where Pops went. He's probably off gambling again."
Thinking of Fujitora and his love of gambling, Ages shook his head helplessly.
"Forget it. I'll go eat first. He's probably already eaten on his own again. I'd better hurry and eat, then practice swordsmanship."
Having made up his mind, Ages left the inn's courtyard and headed for a ramen shop.
As Ages was heading to the ramen shop.
A group of people dressed in all sorts of outfits approached the entrance to town.
Their leader had a big red nose and looked like a clown.
Beside him was a white lion, with a person wearing a strange white fur outfit sitting on its back.
On the other side was a person with bangs covering half his face. He rode a unicycle, wore a scarf and a cape, and always had a sinister smile on his face.
More than a dozen subordinates of various appearances followed behind the three.
At that moment, the person riding the white lion spoke.
"Boss, according to the map, we'll reach Pasatemu Town soon."
The man with the big red nose listened to the person on the lion, rubbed his chin, and laughed loudly, a greedy gleam in his eyes.
"Men! Take everything valuable when we get there! Whoever takes the most gets a reward, and tonight, we'll have a wild party! Hahahaha!"
"Oh!!!"
When the man with the big red nose finished speaking, his subordinates shouted excitedly behind him.
Before long.
The strange group arrived in Pasatemu Town.
The people of Pasatemu Town looked at the strange group, their faces full of confusion.
Suddenly!
A villager noticed that all of them bore a clown skull emblem and cried out in terror.
"Everyone! Run! Pirates are here! Run!"
The villager's shout sent the others fleeing in terror, scattering in every direction and hiding inside their homes.
The man with the big red nose was even happier at the sight of the terrified villagers and laughed.
"Hahaha, the great Buggy is here! Hand over all your treasure, or I'll blow this village up! Hahaha!"
That was right. The man with the big red nose was none other than Buggy the Clown, who had a bounty of 14 million.
Unfortunately, the villagers seemed to ignore Buggy the Clown's words, hiding in their homes and not daring to come out.
His subordinates gave Buggy strange looks.
The corner of Buggy the Clown's mouth twitched. The villagers had actually ignored him, making him feel that he had lost face in front of his subordinates. He shouted angrily.
"Bring out the Buggy Cannonball! I'm going to blow up the village!!"
"Yes, sir!"
Creak, creak.
Buggy's subordinates wheeled out a cannon.
They loaded a Buggy Ball into the cannon, and Buggy the Clown lit the fuse without hesitation.
Hiss... hiss...
Bang!
Whoosh!
The cannon boomed, and the Buggy Ball hurtled toward Pasatemu Town.
"Hahahaha, all of you, die! Hahaha!"
Buggy the Clown laughed without restraint.
Just as he prepared to enjoy the spectacular sight of the Buggy Ball destroying Pasatemu Town!
Just as the Buggy Ball was about to hit, a dark figure darted out like lightning.
The figure sent a flash of blade light toward the Buggy Ball in midair.
The blade light flashed, followed by a faint cracking sound.
The Buggy Ball was cleaved cleanly in two.
Boom!!
Boom!!
The two halves of the Buggy Ball exploded in midair!
Two clouds of black smoke blossomed.
The shock wave from the explosions in the air shattered the windows of many houses in Pasatemu Town.
Fortunately, Pasatemu Town had not been destroyed by the Buggy Ball.
Buggy the Clown and the others all gaped, staring in shock at the figure that had leaped through the air.
"He actually split the Buggy Ball in two!!" Mohji exclaimed, his eyes wide like a dead fish's.
Buggy's mouth was also hanging wide open, his eyes nearly bulging out as he stared at the figure in shock.
"Who are you!"
To be continued.
(Lengyue is kneeling here, begging all you esteemed readers for some flowers, ten-point ratings, and tips.)