Settsetse! The Pirate Nemesis

Upon hearing that familiar sentence, Garp grinned and said, "Is there even a question?"

As he spoke, Garp cracked his knuckles, a fighting spirit flashing in his eyes: "Let's exchange punches!"

Upon hearing Garp's words, Sett was slightly taken aback, but immediately afterward, his expression became even more excited.

Clearly, Sett was very satisfied with this training method—in fact, there wasn't much else to choose from, because other training methods, whether iron plates or steel blocks, were too soft for him. In comparison, Garp's punches were far superior to those other methods!

No fancy techniques are needed. The two stand in the center of the field, raise their arms, and unleash a powerful attack.

Meanwhile, Ace, who was training with Luffy, saw Sabo's arrival and his face was filled with fighting spirit: "Sabo! You come too!"

"Of course!"

Sharing the same dream and having confirmed that Makino was alright, Sabo returned to his group and quickly rejoined training.

Unfortunately, this exciting and exhilarating training session didn't last long. Shortly after, the three children heard a series of loud bangs coming from nearby.

Without dodging, he went straight for his opponent's fists. In Ace and the others' sight, every time Sett's punch collided with Garp, it created an invisible shockwave.

Crash! Crash!! Crash!!

The fight went faster and faster. Feeling the pain in his fists, Sett's only sensation was an ever-increasing surge of spirit and fighting will!

For the next month, Sett was in a cycle of exchanging blows until his bones cracked almost every day during the day, then his body would automatically repair itself while he slept at night, and then he would continue exchanging blows until his bones cracked again.

It's less like Garp is teaching and more like he's sparring with Garp!

152 System Prize Pool Update

At first, Luffy and Ace were not fully aware of Sett's strength, and they believed that after a period of training, they would definitely be able to defeat Sett soon.

However, upon seeing Sett's training regimen, they quickly realized the seriousness of the problem.

Even Garp was somewhat surprised—in the beginning, sparring with Sett only required constant punching in the stronghold. But later on, not only in the stronghold, but even in the forest, every punch Sett threw would startle a flock of birds.

His bones kept cracking and healing. But Sett knew that this wasn't enough. So, during his ten-year break, Sett actively worked on his legs and waist.

It only took Sett a month to turn Ace and his crew from initial high spirits to final despair. This was because, towards the end, Sett's daily training shifted from battling Garp to crashing into mountains.

Sett cleared a platform from the massive mountain, each impact actively dispersing the force across its core. Similar to a penetrating strike, but unlike a penetrating strike which inflicts significant single-target damage, Sett's method dispersed all the power, allowing it to permeate every grain of dust.

In the tavern, Makino is still selling drinks today—Sett's arrival hasn't had a major impact on Makino's life. If anything, the only downside is that with fewer bandits around, her future income might decrease slightly.

However, Makino's reason for opening a tavern in Windmill Village wasn't just to make money; it was more out of her love for bartending. In comparison, the absence of that band of bandits actually made Makino happier... at least the people of Windmill Village no longer had to worry about bandits constantly coming to the tavern and ruining their mood.

"Speaking of which, have you noticed? The soil over Beishan has been unusually soft lately."

While sipping his drink, an old man said with a smile, "You don't even need oxen to plow; you can dig it up with just a gentle nudge of a hoe!"

"I heard that someone was cultivating there and caused this?"

"Impossible, right? What does exercising have to do with soft soil? Does he expect to plow the entire North Mountain every day?"

"I don't know, I just heard it from Luffy and his two little buddies~"

The villagers chatted casually. Windmill Village is sparsely populated, and daily interactions mostly revolve around this mundane routine. It lacks passion, yet possesses a captivating simplicity.

Of course, for Sett, this was mostly just boring—Sett couldn't be bothered to experience this kind of ordinary happiness. Like tea, rather than savoring its subtle nuances in small sips, Sett preferred the raw, malty flavor of beer!

Sitting atop the mountain, having completed their training for the day, Ace, Luffy, and the others showed no signs of the post-exercise dopamine rush. Instead, their faces were filled with seriousness.

Even from their vantage point high in the mountain, they could hear the continuous, heavy bombardment. The mountain was so solid, yet the muffled sounds made it seem as if it might collapse at any moment.

"This guy... can we really beat him?"

Touching his chin, Ace's gaze was filled with solemnity—even though it was just a little kid, Ace could sense Sett's power, and this almost pathological method of training.

If it were anyone else, even someone stronger, even his grandfather Garp, Ace was confident he could defeat them one day.

After all, Ace and the others often referred to Garp as "old man" behind his back. In their minds, as long as they kept getting stronger, they would eventually catch up with Garp—and that was indeed the case.

But Sett was different. Even with Ace's limited understanding, he could easily sense that Sett was getting stronger every day.

As his grandfather had told him, Sett's bones were strengthening to a new level every day. First the bones in his arms, then his legs, then his torso, his joints... It was less like exercise and more like forging. He was treating his body like steel, constantly hammering it, removing impurities while increasing its strength.

"That's great! I'll train like that in the future!!!" Having inherited Garp's strength and experienced Sett's power, Luffy felt no frustration whatsoever; in fact, he found Sett exceptionally cool.

"But... why is he a bounty hunter?" Luffy asked, somewhat puzzled. "Pirates should be freer!!"

Upon hearing this, Ace and Sabo exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement: "Yeah... why did he go back to being a bounty hunter?"

On the high seas right now, the vast majority of powerful figures are either marines or pirates. Bounty hunters? Don't be ridiculous. For those powerful individuals, even living in seclusion is better than being a bounty hunter... After all, no matter how nice the name sounds, "bounty hunter" still has a hyena-like connotation. And their reputation is extremely bad; they even occasionally dabble in pirate raids...

"Because there was an agreement."

Hawkeye walked over from the side, glanced at the three little brats beside him, and casually said, with his sharp sword "Rusty Velvet" slung at his waist, "This guy made a pact with another Marine that he wouldn't become a pirate... As for defeating him, you're all too young."

Having spent a month in Windmill Village, Hawkeye had gotten to know these three kids quite well. Ace, standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "So what exactly is this agreement?"

"Ask him yourself."

Without much thought of replying, Hawkeye disappeared from their sight in a few breaths.

The two arrived at a platform at the foot of the mountain, a very nice place to rest. Garp sat on the steps with a beer in one hand and a big piece of meat in the other, watching Sett crash into the mountain with a grin.

Training someone like Sett would be a pleasure for any teacher—especially since Sett himself is very interested in it. Even if the teacher doesn't actively suggest it, Sett will proactively try and even improve.

"Here I am~ Mihawk~"

"Hmm." He nodded, then placed the food he was holding on the steps. There was no one else around, and everyone knew each other, so Mihawk didn't deliberately hold it up; he simply sat down calmly and began preparing lunch.

"How is Sett's training going?"

"Too fast." Hearing this, Garp shook his head with some emotion and said, "I didn't quite believe Zeff when he said it before, but now that I've seen it, I realize that Zeff was being too conservative..."

"..."

"He's progressed too fast... More importantly, he hardly needed any recovery time."

"..."

He remained silent, but the surprise in Hawkeye's eyes betrayed his true thoughts.

Recovery is an unavoidable part of human life, whether it's from exercise or injury. Muscle growth is essentially a repair process, which often takes place during sleep. This is why fitness enthusiasts need to ensure adequate rest.

If muscles are like this, imagine how badly a bone fractured.

But no matter the severity of the fracture, no matter how much pain he endured the day before, or how many bruises he was covered in, Sett always woke up the next morning feeling completely refreshed… his powerful organs provided Sett with an almost terrifying regenerative capacity.

Like this, impacting mountains day after day, would indeed strengthen the bones of a normal person. However, the shocks can also cause serious damage to the internal organs.

Even a powerful figure like Garp couldn't withstand such relentless impacts as Sett. After all, while bones and muscles can grow stronger during the healing process, internal organs cannot.

After the internal organs are damaged and healed, they will not become stronger; in fact, they may even lose vital energy as a result—just like the white-bearded man, whose body was strong, but whose organs were already overburdened.

Of course, that's all in the future. Right now, with his vigorous vitality, the hidden injuries have a very limited, even negligible, impact on Whitebeard. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's in his prime. According to Garp's speculation, in just over ten years, Whitebeard will likely have to pay the price for the debts he incurred in his youth.

"Speaking of which...aren't you going to train with me?" Garp asked Hawkeye with some curiosity as he drank and ate meat. "Being physically stronger would be good for your swordsmanship, wouldn't it?"

"Different methods of cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Hawkeye shook his head and said silently, "Developing calluses on my fists like Sett would reduce my senses... In that case, even if I'm holding a sword, I won't be able to unleash a perfect strike."

Hearing Hawkeye's words, Garp smacked his lips—he didn't quite understand Sett Hawkeye's comments. However, those who practice swordsmanship often have different temperaments and personalities than ordinary people. Having been somewhat prepared for this, Garp didn't say anything more.

Another hour or so passed. Seemingly having had enough of the crashing, the frequency of the heavy thuds gradually decreased. A moment later, Sett, covered in wounds, walked over from the side.

The continuous impacts against the mountain, without the use of Armament Haki, resulted in flesh colliding with flesh. One or two impacts were manageable, but the constant collisions caused large areas of bruising and even torn flesh on Sett's body.

Upon reaching the steps, Sett didn't say anything, but simply sat down and began stuffing food into his mouth.

With constant chewing, the teeth in the mouth are like a millstone, and even bones are crushed into dust and swallowed in an instant.

Sett's terrifying regenerative abilities didn't come from nowhere. His organs, in particular, require enormous amounts of food to recover from each injury. During this time, the restaurants in Windmill Village practically treated Sett like a grandfather—he ate more in a single day than they earned in the previous week!

While I was eating, the system completed its review.

Ding! Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievement: 【The Man of One Piece】

Ding! Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievement: [Fire Fist]

Ding! Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievement: [Dragon's Claws]

Ding! Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievement: 【Beer Bottle Takedown of the Four Emperors, I'm the King of the East Blue Mountain Bandits!】

Upon seeing these three achievements, Sett's brow furrowed slightly. Sett could somewhat guess the "Man Who Becomes the Pirate King" achievement—Luffy's favorite phrase was, "I'm going to be the Pirate King!" Knowing his goal was to become the Pirate King, anyone who didn't would think he was gay.

Never heard of Fire Fist. He glanced at it; was it related to Ace? But no matter how Sett thought about it, he couldn't understand what about Ace resembled Fire Fist. If he had to pinpoint anything related to fire, it would only be his naturally curly hair, right? But it's just naturally curly hair; what does black hair have to do with fire? He didn't understand…

The dragon's claws are related to Sabo... This is even more outrageous than Ace, because Sett never saw any connection between Sabo and dragons from beginning to end... Could it be the dragon that Garp's son had?

I'm not sure, but Sett didn't bother with it.

When it came to the last one, Sett was truly bewildered—the Mountain Bandit King… was that guy named Higuma? An eight million bounty was indeed substantial in the East Blue, but why was it considered an achievement? You see, Sett had previously taken down countless pirates with bounties exceeding ten million. Even so, he hadn't received an achievement. And now, eight million was enough to earn an achievement?

Using beer bottles to fight the Four Emperors... What are the Four Emperors? Are they so powerful that they can be listed in achievements?

Thinking this, Sett shook his head somewhat listlessly. He didn't really care, though, since Sett had never been a platinum trophy collector. He cared more about skill points than those inexplicable achievements.

There are four achievements, each of which allows you to draw one rune and one skill.

Let's start with runes.

Sett thought to himself, "If I could get the Bone Plating, then my bone strengthening would be much more effective."

Moreover, even without considering other factors, runes are more suitable than skills.

First draw: Adaptability +9, Defense +6, Skill Speed ​​+10.

"..."

Silence. Sett's expression was like that of an elderly person using a cell phone on the subway.

"Is this all the update you've given me this time?"

[In response to the host, this update has improved the skill mechanics, added more selectable skills and runes, and fixed some bugs.]

"...Then what about these runes?"

Basic runes provide significant advantage in lane duels.

"..."

He fell silent upon hearing this. Indeed, these runes were indispensable in the game. However, from another perspective, in reality, the effect of these ability enhancements was negligible—Sett had previously been dissatisfied with secondary runes like Scorch, focusing more on keystone runes like Grasp of the Undying. But now, Sett suddenly realized that Scorch, as a secondary rune, seemed quite good?

At least the branch runes include infinitely scaling runes like Storm Gathering and Bone Plating. In comparison, this basic rune…