The days of rigorous training flew by in the blink of an eye, and before anyone knew it, five months had passed.
Cocoyasi Village had endured several cold spells and heavy snowfalls, but eventually, the harsh winter gave way to the warm and blooming season of spring.
The wind carried a hint of warmth, and grass sprouts pushed through the frozen soil. The expansion of the orange grove was gradually nearing completion.
New saplings were being planted in batches, and there was no shortage of work—loosening the soil, watering, fertilizing, and pruning branches. Man-Scar and the others were so busy they barely had time to rest, yet they found joy in it.
Over the past few months, they had begun to integrate into the local community, and the villagers had slowly come to accept these outsiders.
Compared to the days of constant fear and struggle for survival in the Corvo Mountains, life now felt like paradise.
If only…
—That little troublemaker wasn't so mischievous, things would be even better.
"Hey!"
A small figure with orange hair suddenly darted out from behind a coconut tree, startling Fat Cow, who was carrying a bundle of orange saplings. He nearly threw out his back.
"Not again, Nami! Always scaring people!" Fat Cow huffed, hands on his hips. "If you keep this up, I'm going to report you to Lord Xiano and see how he deals with you!"
Ten-year-old brats were really the worst!
"Neener neener~"
Nami stuck out her tongue and turned to run. "My brother's too busy for that! Why don't you try catching me yourself, you big clumsy cow!"
As she passed the village entrance, the Postman, who was delivering letters, spotted her and quickly stopped his bicycle, waving to get her attention.
"Wait! Nami, there's a package for you. It's pretty heavy, though. You probably can't carry it back alone. Should I deliver it for you?"
"A package?"
Nami's face lit up with excitement, and she immediately crouched down to open it on the spot. Inside was a thick stack of books.
The Postman leaned over to take a look.
Titles like Nautical Chart Atlas, A Study on Log Pose Crafting, Advanced Techniques for Complex Contour Mapping, and To Vegapunk: Applications of Sea Stone and Navigation Through the Calm Belt…
All hefty tomes, just the titles alone made his head spin.
"Are all these books for you?" the Postman asked in astonishment. "Or are they for the adults in your family?"
"They're mine, to be exact. My brother bought them all for me!"
Nami giggled and patted the stack of books with satisfaction. "The bookstore in the village has so few books, and I've already read them all. My brother often buys new ones for me from nearby towns. This batch is really high quality—it'll keep me busy for a while!"
"That's amazing, Nami."
The Postman gave her a thumbs-up in admiration. "At such a young age, you can actually read these kinds of books. My daughter just runs around playing all day. I wish she could be as sensible as you!"
Sensible?
"Y-yeah…" Nami kicked a pebble guiltily. "Oh, right, the books are pretty heavy. Maybe you could help me take them home, Uncle."
"Of course, it's my job after all."
The Postman nodded with a smile.
He had been to Cocoyasi Village many times and was quite familiar with the layout.
Pushing his bicycle ahead, he turned left and right, and soon a cozy wooden house came into view.
"We're home! Bellemere and Nojiko aren't here—they're probably at the orange grove."
Nami pointed to the coffee table in the living room. "Uncle, just put the books here, please."
"Sure thing!"
The postman put down the book and suddenly noticed a pile of hand-drawn nautical charts scattered on the sofa beside him.
Picking them up to examine, the first one was a detailed and exquisite map of the surrounding islands near Cocoyasi Village, far superior in quality to anything available on the market.
"Nami, did you draw all these?"
The postman was genuinely amazed. "That's incredible! Your talent is extraordinary. You might become a renowned cartographer in the future!"
"Of course, old man!"
Nami proudly brushed her hair behind her ear with a graceful and carefree gesture. However, having neglected to wash her hair for a few days, her hand got stuck and it took her a while to pull it out...
"Ahem... Anyway, my dream goes beyond that. My goal is to navigate across this vast sea with my own skills and create a world map based on what I've seen with my own eyes!"
"A world map?" The postman laughed heartily. "That's an extraordinary dream, Nami. But the outside world is very dangerous, filled with powerful pirates. You wouldn't be able to handle them!"
"I might not be able to fight them, but following my brother is enough."
Nami snorted. "He's the most famous Master Swordsman in the East Blue! No matter which pirate crew it is, with one swing of his sword, he can split their ship in half!"
That young man named Xiano?
The postman was slightly taken aback.
He remembered that about half a year ago, this name had indeed been quite famous, but then there were no further updates, and it gradually faded from people's sight.
The postman couldn't help but be curious: "Where is your brother? Now that you mention it, I've been to Cocoyasi Village so many times, but I've never actually seen him in the village."
"He's a training maniac, that's what everyone calls him. You'd be lucky to see him during the day. As for this time of day..."
Nami leaned out of the window and pointed to the highest mountain in the northern hills. "Hey, can you hear the sounds from the mountain?"
The postman listened carefully.
Only then did he notice the rumbling, thunder-like noises faintly emanating from the mountain. Upon closer inspection, he could also see wisps of dust rising from the peak.
He was momentarily stunned. "You mean..."
"It's my brother, he's in that mountain."
Nami said with a smile. "Those are all the sounds he's making. Luckily, the village is further south, so we can't hear it too clearly, otherwise, there would have been complaints about the noise long ago."
Your brother?
The postman was wide-eyed. Are these the kinds of things a human can do?
...
Boom!
A massive boulder, at least five or six meters high, was suddenly shattered into dust by a single punch.
Amidst the swirling dust, the tall and robust figure of a black-haired young man emerged.
Xiano stepped over the still-rolling debris, the quartz particles crushed under his feet sparking with blue flames as he quickly moved past the spot where the boulder had once stood.
He raised his head, looking at the scarred mountain face before him.
It no longer resembled a mountain.
Everywhere he looked, the mountain was pockmarked as if it had been bombarded by a meteor shower, with countless rock cross-sections exposed.
A tunnel that ran through the mountain slanted towards the peak, wide enough for several people to pass through simultaneously. If not for the fist marks still visible on the cross-sections, it would have seemed as if it had been drilled through by a giant drill.
"The hardness is still too low."
Xiano stood expressionless, gazing at the rocky walls on either side of the tunnel. "The metal content here is the highest among all the mountains on the island, and the rocks deep within are the hardest. But for me now..."
He shook his head slightly. It was gradually becoming insufficient.
Withdrawing his gaze, he took a few steps forward, emerging from the shadow of the mountain.
The afternoon sunlight fell upon his shoulders.
His height had now reached 1.87 meters, his muscles twisted and gnarled like thick tree roots, with an extremely high density, exuding a cold, metallic sheen. His shoulders were terrifyingly broad, making him appear like a towering hill in the eyes of ordinary people.
With each step he took, the rocks beneath his feet trembled slightly. As he passed by a large tree, he happened to step on a few mushrooms.
Xiano didn't notice, but when he lifted his foot, the mushrooms had already merged with the ground, flattened into two dimensions.
The reason was simple.
His current body weight was just 125 kilograms, but the black combat suit he wore added an additional 1.6 tons.
Considering the sharp increase in pressure due to the small surface area of his soles, the force he exerted on the ground surpassed that of an adult elephant.
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