"Never mind the Admirals—what about those old farts Garp and Sengoku in the Marines? One punch from each of them—you think you could take it?"
"If you ask me, Tsuru is the strongest. When Tsuru speaks, Garp and Sengoku go stand in the corner like scolded children."
The voice that cut through the argument brought a moment of silence to the cells. Then someone said, "If you're putting it that way, isn't Bakkin stronger than Whitebeard?"
"Laughable. Whitebeard would just punch Stussy into next week."
"Anyway, Straw Hat's most likely target should be Whitebeard, right? That old man among the Emperors doesn't have many days left."
The prisoners began discussing this newly emerged Straw Hat with great enthusiasm—where his limits lay, whether he would truly become the Fifth Emperor stirring up the New World, or whether he would take down one of the current Emperors.
From there, the conversation inevitably extended to legends like Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp.
Some prisoners here were even older than Shiki. Someone called out to him from across the cells:
"Shiki, do you think this Straw Hat kid has the potential to surpass Roger—or stand shoulder to shoulder with Rocks?"
Shiki was silent for a moment behind the ice. Then he let out a low, unreadable laugh, his voice carrying through the frozen barrier with a hint of self-mockery and something like deep emotion: "If I said he can match Rocks, would you believe me?"
Some here knew Roger in his prime twenty years ago. And naturally, some also knew who the true overlord of the seas was in that era.
Rocks D. Xebec.
For a moment, all of Infinite Hell fell silent.
Everyone knew that Golden Lion Shiki had been one of the core members of the Rocks Pirates.
That was an incredibly high assessment!
But talk of who was stronger and who was weaker—in this sunless prison, such discussions always faded quickly. Because it was meaningless.
Soon enough, the prisoners' topics shifted elsewhere.
Treasure. Fame. Territory. World Government secrets. The Celestial Dragons... In these cells from which there was no escape, only their respective glorious or twisted life experiences, along with endless speculation and memories of the outside world, served as diversions in these endless dark years.
Without Luffy's knowledge, Shiki had been sent back to Impel Down to continue his imprisonment.
Meanwhile, back on the Sunny, Luffy's situation was something Shiki would have envied.
He was being attended to by several ladies in rotation.
Chopper's diagnosis as the ship's doctor was:
The injuries looked severe—multiple muscle tears, minor fractures with internal bleeding—but his vitality was exceptionally strong, his recovery rate superhuman, and he would need plenty of nutritional replenishment.
The verdict: eat a lot, rest a lot.
But given Luffy's constitution, rest was flexible. Eating was mandatory.
With Chopper's diagnosis, Luffy was now being attended to in rotation by Vivi, Robin, and Nami. Merry occasionally blinked her big eyes as she brought him fruit. Enjoying the rare privilege of being a patient, Luffy's mouth was hardly ever empty.
For Luffy, the more he ate after being injured, the faster he recovered.
This was practically an iron law.
So Sanji was going all out in the kitchen. Various dishes—nutritious, easy to digest, and delicious—flowed like water to Luffy.
The injuries covering his body looked terrifying—small cuts and bruises everywhere—but with his monstrous constitution and the massive food intake, he healed at an astonishing speed.
In less than half an hour, even the nastier wounds had begun to fade.
GULP!
Luffy swallowed a hunk of bone-in meat that Nami had brought to his mouth, crunching the bone between his teeth. "Delicious! Sanji, ten more of these!"
"You trying to eat yourself to death?!"
Sanji called back from the kitchen, cigarette dangling from his mouth, his hands never stopping their work. But a small smile tugged at his lips.
Seeing their captain eating with such vigor was worth more than anything.
Though he looked badly injured, covered in bandages, within two hours Luffy was already moving around freely, even doing some light stretches on the deck.
"You scared me half to death."
Nami watched Luffy bouncing around and let out a sigh of relief, though her hand still trembled slightly as she fed him—nearly shoving her whole hand in along with the meat.
"Nami, are you feeding me your hand too?"
"Don't even think about licking it!"
Nami pulled her hand back, her cheeks flushing slightly. "It's your fault for getting hurt so badly this time!"
Were his injuries severe?
Honestly, not really.
Luffy stood up, grinning. His tenacious vitality was thanks to Garp's training methods when he was a kid.
There was no injury a good meal couldn't heal. If there was, two meals would do it.
Unless he lost an arm or a leg—that would be a different story. You can't just grow limbs back by eating.
"That Golden Lion—was he really that strong?"
Nami recalled how Luffy had looked when he was brought back—covered in small wounds, blood seeping through—and still shuddered. "When you fought Aokiji, you didn't look this worn out."
Luffy sat cross-legged on the deck, working his arms as he spoke. "That's not quite it."
There was still a gap between Shiki and Aokiji.
The most notable difference was stamina. If the fight had continued, Luffy would have had the advantage.
It's just that Shiki had gone all out with his awakened abilities at the end—that final clash had been a double knockout.
But still—
Luffy grinned, his signature smile. "Satisfying. Really satisfying."
He'd gained so much from that fight.
The full-power clashes, the pressure of being on the edge of life and death—they had deepened his understanding of his own strength, especially his grasp of Haki.
The only regret was that he'd only barely brushed against the secret of Haoshoku Haki infusion, not quite grasped it completely.
If every opponent was a teacher, then Shiki was a somewhat unqualified one.
"What a shame," Luffy muttered under his breath.
"What's a shame?" Nami hadn't heard clearly.
"Nothing."
Luffy shook his head, patting his stomach. "Just a shame someone took that old man Golden Lion away in the end. Otherwise, we might have been able to chat."
"Chat about what?!"
Nami's voice rose involuntarily. "Stay as far away from dangerous legendary pirates like that as possible! You weren't actually thinking of inviting him onto the ship, were you?"
Luffy whistled, looking up at the sky with a guilty expression. The thought had crossed his mind, actually. That fight had been fun.
One look at his face and Nami knew exactly what he was thinking. She was so mad she wanted to grab his ear, but held back because of his injuries, settling for stomping her foot.
Still, while Luffy and Shiki were both savoring their battle, the rest of the crew had clearly been affected by it too.
Once Luffy had eaten enough to move around normally, his crewmates gathered around.
Zoro was the first to approach. His green bandana was already tied on, his three swords at his waist. "Luffy, who are we training with next? I'm ready."
Zoro was eager to improve. The shockwaves from that battle had shown him clearly how far he was from the top.
Chopper opened his mouth, wanting to point out that Luffy had just been a severely wounded patient.
As a doctor, his professional ethics dictated that patients shouldn't be treated like this.
But seeing Luffy already bouncing around, he swallowed his words—though his round eyes expressed the same eagerness.
Chopper wanted to get stronger too!
Sanji walked over. He didn't say anything, but his meaning was clear from his expression.
Usopp, though a bit intimidated, mustered his courage and stood behind them. Even little Merry blinked her big eyes, looking up at Luffy with anticipation.
Luffy looked at his crewmates, all fired up, and scratched his head. "What's gotten into all of you?"
"Like you have to ask!"
Sanji lit a cigarette, blowing out a smoke ring. "Watching you go out there and fight tooth and nail while we can't do much to help—it's not a good feeling. Marimo, don't drag us down this time."
"Who's dragging who down? You want a fight, Curly-brow?"
Zoro shot back immediately.
"Bring it on. I could use the exercise!"
Those two could argue for a whole day.
But this time they stopped quickly, because there was something more important.
Sanji took a drag from his cigarette, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he stared at Luffy. "Hey, Luffy, you can't keep picking the ladies! Lately, you've been choosing between the ladies every single time. I'm starting to think you're doing it on purpose!"
The sour note in his voice was practically dripping.
"It's not entirely up to me." Luffy spread his hands innocently.
The [Pirate King Training Plan] had a lot of say in choosing study partners.
Everyone stared at him with expressions that clearly said, Like we believe that.
As if you, the captain, don't get to decide who you train with?
Who do you think you're fooling?
But Luffy's oddities were nothing new. Everyone was used to them by now. What mattered was their burning desire to get stronger.
Each in their own way.
Sanji and Zoro were fighters—naturally, they wanted to improve their combat abilities.
Chopper wanted to improve too, and training with Luffy would likely also help him grow as a doctor.
Learning was mutual.
As a sniper, Usopp was very interested in this Kenbunshoku Haki Luffy talked about.
Wouldn't a sniper with that ability be on a whole different level?
Vivi wanted to develop her Fū Fū no Mi. When it came to Devil Fruit development, the undisputed authority on the ship was Luffy.
Robin and Nami didn't expect to become fighters on par with Sanji and Zoro, but they wanted to develop their abilities or refine their skills as well.
Even little Merry gazed at Luffy with those big, sparkling eyes full of anticipation.
"Since everyone wants to get stronger, let's train together!"
It was about time for the [Pirate King Training Plan] anyway.
"We'll start with Zoro and Sanji!"
Luffy clapped his hands together. Maybe as they fought, he could find that feeling again—the secret to Shiki's Haoshoku Haki infusion.
***
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