Chapter 18: Solitary Cultivation on the Island, Return

The rising sun glowed red as fire, its morning rays shimmering through the dew, sparkling and bright under the light.

A ferocious roar, tinged with fear, echoed from deep within the jungle. There, a beast as massive as an ox knelt upon the earth, its bloodshot eyes filled with terror, pleading for mercy.

Yet this almost human display elicited only cold indifference from Xuanye.

Standing before the great beast, his eyes covered with a tattered cloth, his shoulder-length hair veiling his gaze, Xuanye’s features were obscured. His hand, callused and rough, extended a single finger. Flames ignited, compressed violently, and in a blink, a golden beam pierced through the creature’s skull. As the scent of seared flesh lingered, Xuanye calmly turned and walked toward the shore.

He stood quietly at the water’s edge, untying the cloth from his eyes to greet the newborn sunlight, slowly opening his gaze.

Those eyes, black and gleaming like the stars, shimmered with countless sparks of spirit.

He breathed deeply and stretched his arms wide, as though embracing the entire sea. Bathed in divine light, Xuanye made the surrounding landscape fade into insignificance.

Touching the three faint scars on his right cheek, Xuanye’s lips curled into a smile. “I look forward to the upcoming tournament, Akainu. Are you ready? I hope the abilities I’ve developed are within your endurance.”

“Well, with a few days left before the tournament, I should continue training. Today, it’s time to go underwater again. Last time was a thousand meters—let’s see if I can break through this time.”

He flexed his body, bare-chested, with only a ragged pair of shorts below, which could not conceal his lean muscles and strength.

“Hopefully, I’ll encounter a small Sea King. It’s been ages since I tasted one.” With a wicked grin, Xuanye launched himself skyward, shooting straight toward the depths of the sea.

This place was near the Calm Belt. On his first training dive, Xuanye nearly died at the hands of a large Sea King—had he not escaped quickly, he might have ended up as its waste.

As for the smaller Sea Kings, Xuanye had been fortunate enough to eat two. In the world of pirates, their meat was exceptional, infused with strange energies. With his appetite, half a Sea King could vanish in one meal; during intense training, a whole one would barely suffice.

With a splash, Xuanye plunged into the water, moving like a human sea serpent, diving deeper and deeper.

He activated his Observation Haki immediately. At first, his range reached five hundred meters, but as he descended, his perception shrank. One hundred meters, five hundred, a thousand—by the end, it was limited to ten meters.

The density of the water increased, the crushing weight making his body flush red.

Here, sunlight no longer penetrated; only a faint, blurry glow could be discerned.

His eyes became useless; only his Observation Haki within ten meters served him now.

He moved, feeling the pressure from all sides, and began training, throwing punches and kicks in the abyss.

A thousand meters below was his limit—any deeper and the pressure would be unbearable.

Today, though, Xuanye aimed to break through. Even if he couldn’t dive another meter, he was determined to manage half.

With Armament Haki, perhaps a few meters more could be achieved.

Thus, in the pitch-black depths, unknown to anyone, a human trained relentlessly.

Half an hour later, the surface exploded as Xuanye shot skyward, his scarred body bathed in sunlight, powerful and solid.

Panting, he landed on the shore, collapsed onto the sand, and gulped air, nearly suffocated.

“Another minute gained. It seems I can now train thirty-one minutes underwater.”

“No progress with Armament Haki—it seems I need a new approach.” His Armament Haki could now coat his entire body, though thinly, forming a faint dark layer. When concentrated on his hands, it became pitch black.

A month ago, it could only cover his palms, but now his whole arm—a significant breakthrough.

Most importantly, his physical abilities had greatly improved. If before his body was untempered steel, now it had been forged once—a small leap, yet enough to elevate his martial arts and Haki to a new stage.

Above all, his Devil Fruit powers had grown stronger. Where his flames once reached three hundred thousand degrees Celsius, now they soared to at least five hundred thousand.

With this breakthrough, Xuanye had finally developed a light-energy heat ray from his flames.

Like Kizaru, he could concentrate flames at his fingertips, shooting beams of light at extreme temperatures—enough to make even a Vice Admiral cough blood with an explosion.

Although he’d developed this ability for light, he had no clue how to manipulate magnetism yet.

Still, Xuanye believed that persistent experimentation would eventually yield results.

More exciting was his progress in speed. Recently, recalling the force from his past life, he experimented countless times, nearly crippling his legs. By compressing flames under his feet and exploding them in sync with “Soru,” he achieved instantaneous movement for close combat.

However, this speed could not be sustained—Armament Haki could not fully protect his legs from the strain.

Thus, the move was reserved for close quarters, and Xuanye spent every moment adapting, hoping to master it for battle soon.

In summary, these forty days of training had not been wasted. Xuanye’s strength now approached that of a Vice Admiral; if he fought with all his might, even a Vice Admiral might pay with their life.

As for the beasts on the island capable of rivaling a Vice Admiral, that was only in strength. Compared to humans, their intellect was lacking.

To battle an experienced Vice Admiral was beyond any beast’s ability, for they simply occupied different realms.

“I wonder what’s happened in the world these past forty days—has Roger become Pirate King?”

“How is Xiaoxi?”

Sitting dazed on the beach, Xuanye realized that forty days secluded from the world could have brought countless unknown changes.

“Enough. No need to overthink it. I’ll be leaving soon. For now, I must address my hunger.”

Touching his stomach, Xuanye realized it was already late—it was time for lunch.

And so, time slipped away unnoticed. In the blink of an eye, the month and a half had passed.

As the sea breeze swept by, a warship appeared on the calm ocean, its insignia unmistakably Navy.

“I wonder how that lunatic is doing,” said Burning Mountain, now much stronger, his gaze fixed on the approaching island.

“He won’t die,” replied Spider, one hand resting on the twin swords at his waist, voice low.

“He’s definitely grown stronger. Only a madman like him would choose to stay on that hellish island.”

“Sometimes, I truly admire him. Who knows who’ll win the tournament? After last time, Akainu trained desperately.”

“In terms of training, no one surpasses that lunatic. Watch—when we return, I bet Akainu will lose again.”

“You’re that certain?” Spider looked at Burning Mountain.

“Perhaps.” Burning Mountain stared at the island, now coming into view.

Moments later, the massive warship quietly docked at the shore.

No sooner had it stopped than a figure appeared out of thin air on deck.

Burning Mountain and Spider’s pupils contracted as they stared at the sudden arrival, their hearts surging with shock.

Disheveled hair, bare torso, ragged shorts, only the faint glimmer of pitch-black, luminous eyes visible. Most striking was the aura of violence emanating from him, like a primordial raptor, as if in the next instant, they would be mercilessly obliterated.

……