Pirates: Martial Arts Masters on the Straw Hat Ship

"Hehehe..."

This time, it's Usopp's turn to get revenge.

He grinned maliciously: "Luffy, you enjoyed pressing me down just now, didn't you?"

"Go!!"

Zoro grabbed Luffy's left foot, Sanji grabbed his right foot, and Usopp was responsible for pulling Luffy's hands off the mast.

"Let me go!! You bastards!!"

Luffy struggled desperately, his rubber body bouncing back and forth on the deck, but his resistance was futile under the combined suppression of the three.

"One, two, three! Let's go!!"

"Thump—!!!"

Luffy was forced headfirst and feetfirst into that boiling pot!

"Chirp! Chi ...

A piercing, distorted scream echoed through the sky, startling the swirling snowflakes.

"It's so hot! So hot! I'm melting! I'm turning into clay!!"

Luffy frantically struggled in the pot, splashing up large amounts of medicinal liquid.

"Put the lid on!" Ronan waved his hand.

Sanji reacted quickly, grabbing a huge wooden lid and slamming it onto the pot with a loud bang.

Then Zoro simply plopped down on the lid, sat cross-legged, and suppressed all dissent.

From inside the pot came Luffy's muffled pounding and pleas for mercy, but gradually the sounds subsided, replaced by steady breathing.

Inside the cabin.

Vivi has completely broken down.

She collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the group of "devils" outside:

"What...what are they doing...?"

"Is this really a pirate ship? This looks more like a torture chamber!"

Nami finished the last sip of her hot cocoa, looked out the window at her companions busily working in the snowstorm, a warm smile spreading across her lips. She whispered:

"This is... cultivation."

"In order to survive in this hell called the 'Grand Line,' in order to reach that end."

"They must become real... monsters."

As time went by, the snowstorm gradually stopped.

The Merry sailed through the turbulent waters of the Grand Line.

The large cauldron on the deck is like a furnace that nurtures the strong, forging the bodies and wills of these young people into something even more indestructible.

Ahead, the outline of Whiskey Mountain was already faintly visible through the wind and snow.

......

The Grand Line, near Whiskey Peak.

The sea breeze finally stopped its hysterical roar.

These past few days, the Going Merry has seemed to be dancing on the edge of hell.

One second the sun is shining brightly, the next second it's snowing heavily;

Having just escaped hailstones the size of washbasins, they were immediately met with thunderstorms and gales that could capsize ships.

The Grand Line, with its capricious and tyrannical temperament, taught these newcomers a vivid lesson in survival.

"Phew... finally, we can see land."

Nami put down her binoculars and let out a long sigh of relief.

The morning mist swirled on the sea, and through the thin fog, the outline of a uniquely shaped island gradually became clear.

Those were not mountains in the conventional sense, but rather huge, spiked rock spheres stacked one on top of another, reaching straight into the sky.

From a distance, it looks like a giant cactus growing on the sea.

"An island! We finally see an island!"

Luffy lay on the bow of the ram's head ship, his eyes shining, not with a longing for land, but with an instinctive reaction to adventure (and meat).

"Is that Whisky Peak?"

Sanji leaned against the railing, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, his brow slightly raised.

"They look really strange. Those round, bulging rocks... they look like the tomb of some kind of giant beast."

"It is indeed a sight I have never seen before."

Ronan stood behind the two, gazing intently at the island.

"A massive cactus rock formation..." Ronan murmured, "often means that countless souls, oblivious to their fate, are buried beneath it."

Just as everyone was marveling at the wonders of nature, Mr. 9 and Vivi, who had been huddled in the corner of the deck, suddenly moved.

The two exchanged a glance and, with perfect understanding, jumped onto the railing of the Merry.

"Now that we're here, we'll take our leave!" Vivi turned around, giving the strange group of pirates a complicated look before making no further hesitation.

"Splash! Splash!"

The two leaped into the icy sea with practiced ease, diving swiftly underwater like two fish, disappearing into the vast morning mist in the blink of an eye, leaving only a few spreading ripples.

"Hey! You're running way too fast!"

Usopp leaned against the railing, staring dumbfounded in the direction the two had disappeared. "Who were they? Were they just ordinary survivors?"

"Never mind it!"

Luffy waved nonchalantly, his attention already completely focused on the island: "We're here anyway! Let's get ready to land! I'm going to have a feast!"

As the Merry entered the estuary, the current became calmer.

Nami stood at the bow of the boat, directing: "There's a river entrance ahead; we should be able to sail directly inland and moor!"

"This place is gloomy..."

Usopp shrank back, clutching his slingshot tightly. "Is there some kind of monster? Places that look like cacti are the most likely to have monsters!"

"Monsters? There's a possibility that such things exist."

Sanji casually kicked his leg, his leather shoes cutting through the air with a sharp whistling sound.

He straightened his collar, a confident, cold smile playing on his lips:

"However, even if there really are monsters... I don't think anything can break through our defenses."

Upon hearing this, Zoro and Luffy both clenched their fists instinctively, feeling the surging power within them.

Ronan smiled slightly, walked to the center of the deck, and exuded the aura of a master who was as profound as a mountain.

"That's natural."

Ronan looked at the three of them with satisfaction in his eyes: "After this journey of medicinal baths and extreme pressure, we have now officially entered the third stage of the Thirteen Protectors' external training - internal breath training."

"The so-called external training focuses on muscles, bones, and skin, while internal training focuses on breath control."

Ronan's voice, though not loud, reached everyone's ears clearly:

"At this stage, it is no longer limited to the hardness of the skin and flesh. The energy has permeated the whole body and has begun to temper your internal organs from the outside in."

"Your internal organs are now like tough leather, able to withstand enormous shocks without rupturing. This is the prototype of the legendary 'indestructible'!"

Ronan paused, his gaze sweeping over the three of them:

"Not only can it defend against physical attacks, but it also has extremely strong resistance to certain water pressure, flames, and even poisonous gases. You should all have 'qi sensing' by now, right?"

"A sense of energy..."

Zoro closed his eyes, feeling the warm current flowing in his lower abdomen.

With each breath, the warm current surged down the spine and into every part of the body.