Pirates: Martial Arts Masters on the Straw Hat Ship

Zoro wiped the sweat from his face. Although excited, he did not forget his other goal.

He looked down at the bruises on his body that were fading but still present, and frowned slightly.

"Hey, Ronan."

Zoro looked up, a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes:

"I've mastered the basics of Observation Haki, but... I feel like I'm progressing very slowly on the second stage of the 'Thirteen Bodyguards Body Training'."

He patted his chest hard, making a dull thud.

"Although it's a bit harder than before, it still seems far from being 'invulnerable to swords and spears and capable of breaking weapons,' as you described."

Luffy, standing to the side, nodded vigorously, pursing his lips as he said:

"Yeah, yeah! It still hurts so much when I got hit by the gun barrel! My rubber body is tougher now, but it's not steel yet!"

Ronan listened to the two men's complaints, his lips twitching involuntarily, feeling utterly speechless.

Those two ungrateful bastards...

For an ordinary person to master this skill, the second stage, achieving the "copper skin and iron bones" stage, requires at least ten years of arduous training, along with the use of precious medicinal herbs.

You've only been training for a week, and you can already withstand the blows of my iron spear. That's rocket speed!

"Haste makes waste."

Ronan sighed helplessly and said earnestly:

"You've only been training for a few days, and your bodies are already undergoing a qualitative change."

"Physical training requires perseverance and gradual accumulation."

"If you are too eager for quick results, you will damage your foundation."

"But……"

Luffy wasn't buying it. He moved closer to Ronan, staring into his large eyes, which were filled with a greedy thirst for power.

"I want to become invulnerable to swords and bullets as quickly as possible! Is there an even faster way? I'm not afraid of pain! I can endure ten times the pain!"

Although Zoro didn't speak, his burning gaze was fixed on Ronan, as if to say, "If there's a shortcut, I'd even brave hell."

Facing those two pairs of eyes that yearned for strength like hungry wolves, Ronan felt immense pressure.

He knew that this was the characteristic of the main characters.

They are never satisfied with the status quo and are always pushing the limits.

Ronan pondered for a moment, countless possibilities flashing through his mind.

"A faster way...?"

Ronan suddenly looked at the turbulent sea in the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"There is a way, though."

Ronan looked into Luffy and Zoro's eyes, which yearned to become stronger, and pondered for a moment before saying:

"A faster way does exist, but... it costs money, and a lot of money."

"What method?" Luffy and Zoro asked almost simultaneously, their voices filled with urgency.

Ronan slowly uttered two words: "Medicinal bath."

"A medicinal bath?" Luffy tilted his head, looking confused. "What's that? Is it tasty?"

Ronan shook his head and patiently explained:

"The so-called medicinal bath uses a large number of rare and precious medicinal materials, such as century-old ginseng, tiger bone, deer antler, lingzhi, etc."

"The medicine is prepared according to a specific ancient recipe and proportions, and then you jump into the water to soak in it when the temperature is extremely high."

"Taking a bath?" Zoro was taken aback, clearly not associating such a pleasurable experience with the brutal training.

"Don't underestimate this bath." Ronan's expression turned serious:

"The Thirteen Protectors' Horizontal Training is a domineering hard qigong that emphasizes 'destruction' and 'reconstruction'."

"The beatings we're taking now are 'damaging' our muscle fibers, while medicated baths are the perfect 'reconstruction'."

Ronan pointed to the bruises on Zoro's body: "The essence of the medicine will seep into the body through the pores under the action of heat."

"It can not only instantly eliminate subcutaneous bruises and hidden injuries caused by daytime beatings, but also prevent the body from becoming ruined by training."

"More importantly—it penetrates deep into the bone marrow, like adding rare metals when forging steel, fundamentally strengthening your bone density and muscle resilience!"

"This is the shortcut to cultivation and physical strength!"

"There's... such a thing?!"

Zoro was deeply moved, and a terrifying glint flashed in his eyes.

As a sword fanatic who would stop at nothing to become stronger, this method of improving physical strength has a fatal attraction for him.

"Is it really that effective?"

Zoro abruptly stood up, his hand already on his sword hilt, and surveyed his surroundings menacingly. "How much money do you want? I'll rob you!"

Ronan looked at Zoro's "I'm a bandit" expression, smiled helplessly, and placed a hand on his shoulder:

"Don't worry, the key issue right now isn't money, but that even with money, we can't buy good medicinal herbs."

"Where can we find century-old ginseng on this vast ocean? Once we reach a prosperous island, we'll go on a buying spree!"

"Alright, that concludes today's training."

Ronan let out a long sigh of relief, then sprawled out on the deck, feeling the sea breeze.

"Too much of a good thing is bad. We need to take a good rest. Only by balancing work and rest can we prevent this taut string from snapping and allow us to go further."

……

As the three of them finished their heart-pounding, self-torture-like training, Nami and Usopp finally breathed a sigh of relief and went up to the deck.

"Hey, you guys finally finished practicing!"

Usopp stretched dramatically, leaned on the railing, and complained:

"I'm so bored!"

Nami sighed helplessly, her brows furrowing as she looked at the nautical chart.

"These past few days, in order to accommodate your training, the ship has been constantly stopping and starting, which has seriously affected our voyage."

Ronan tilted his head slightly, looking at Nami's delicate yet slightly anxious face, and smiled gently:

"Our training is over, Miss Nami. Now, let's enjoy the pleasures of sailing."

As he spoke, he completely relaxed his body, looking at the clear blue sky and white clouds above his head, his thoughts gradually drifting away.

Zoro, also holding Wado Ichimonji, leaned against the shadow of the ship's railing, closed his eyes to rest, and his breathing became long and steady.

A rare tranquility and peace returned to the deck.

However, this tranquility is torture for some people with ADHD.

Luffy rolled around on the deck twice, getting really bored, then suddenly jumped up and grabbed Usopp by the neck:

"Hey, Usopp! We've got nothing to do anyway, let's go practice with the cannon!"

"A cannon?" Usopp's eyes lit up, his sniper DNA kicking in. "Alright! Let me show you my unerring aim!"

The two men excitedly ran to the side of the Merry, where a cannon was mounted.

"Target--"

Luffy pointed to a huge, black reef that stood abruptly on the sea hundreds of meters away: "That's it!"

"Hmph, too close, too close!"

Usopp confidently pushed up his goggles and skillfully loaded the gunpowder and shells.

He squinted one eye, raised his thumb, and measured the wind speed, distance, and the degree of swaying of the boat within his line of sight.

Although Usopp is usually timid and cowardly, his demeanor changes dramatically once he picks up a weapon and sets his sights on a target.

That's the focus and confidence of a top shooter.