One Piece: From Picking Up Red Hair's Broken Arm

Chapter 182 There Really is a Treasure Trove! [Second Update]

boom!
With a loud bang, the ground within a radius of several hundred meters was instantly transformed into glutinous rice, churning violently.

Countless thick tentacles, their surfaces enveloped in a dense, domineering black aura, surged towards Xia Nuo like a raging storm.

This move is called "Drooping Glutinous Rice".

It is one of Katakuri's ultimate moves that can only be used in his awakened state, and each tentacle contains terrifying penetrating power.

Meanwhile, Xia Nuo's figure flickered back and forth between the rice cake tentacles and the thunderstorm. In this extreme environment, even though he had completely concentrated his attention, he would still be hit from time to time.

Yes.

Considering that Shano's physical strength far exceeded expectations, Katakuri directly changed the rules, significantly increasing the difficulty.

The requirement was that Xia Nuo, in this environment where his five senses were impaired, must rely solely on his Observation Haki to anticipate attacks while simultaneously dodging the lightning strikes that kept crashing down from the sky.

Even a single mistake can disrupt your dodging rhythm, leaving your body vulnerable to dozens or even hundreds of attacks in an instant.

Each round of training lasts for one hour, followed by a two-minute pause to allow Xia Nuo to savor the experience before immediately continuing to the next round.

Under such demanding requirements, Xia Nuo felt like he was in a ghost world, having just left the beginner village and was still naked when he was immediately faced with a mad dog-level BOSS.

All night long.

He endured at least a thousand hammer blows and hundreds of lightning strikes. Despite being restricted from using any domineering aura, even he had several bruises and bloodstains on his body.

but……

The improvement was also rapid.

As time goes by, the number of times you fail to dodge in each round is decreasing.

In the first few rounds, the number of failures reached three digits each time, but later it gradually dropped to dozens, then to a dozen...

By the time night ended and dawn broke, the latest round had only failed nine times.

The positive feedback came promptly and frequently; Shano became more and more energetic and motivated as he practiced, while Katakuri gradually began to realize that something was wrong...

……

Time flies by.

Seven days later in the blink of an eye.

At dawn, on the black rock peak in the center of Thunder Island, Shano stood with his eyes closed amidst the thunderstorm, his expression calm and serene.

"It's the final round."

Katakuri stood not far away, his face pale, with heavy dark circles under his eyes. He looked as if he had been completely drained, and his voice was weak.
"Your Excellency, are you ready?"

Xia Nuo did not answer, but simply nodded slightly.

Wow!
Katakuri instantly activated his ability, turning the surrounding black rock ground into a sea of ​​mochi, with countless tentacles wrapped in Armament Haki rising from the ground.

At the same time, the thunderclouds in the sky churned wildly, and several bolts of lightning struck down simultaneously!
This offensive was far more ferocious than it had been seven days ago, almost a complete upgrade, but Xia Nuo's figure moved like a ghost through the gaps in the attacks.

His movements seemed slow, yet he always managed to evade attacks from all directions with minimal effort, appearing calm and composed, as if taking a leisurely stroll.

Finally, the time was up.

Katakuri staggered and almost fell backward, but managed to support himself with his hands, half-kneeling and half-sitting there, panting heavily.

So torturous!
For the past seven days, he has hardly rested except for eating and drinking.

Not only must one maintain a state of constant awareness, but one must also continuously adjust the rhythm of attacks to ensure that each round of training precisely challenges Shano's limits.

By now, I'm completely exhausted... It's even more tiring than fighting an opponent of the same level ten times.

They're supposed to be the ones having an easy time, not the instructors! How can they be in so much pain?
On the other hand, what about Xia Nuo's side?
He remained energetic and radiant for the past seven days, and even when he occasionally showed signs of fatigue, a good meal would immediately restore his vitality and bring him back to his peak condition.

Katakuri finally understood why the crew members of the Fallen Ones had looked at him like that before, and he even began to have doubts...

Given his physique and recovery ability, if he were to have a conflict with his mother in the future, how long would it take his mother to subdue him?

Five days and five nights?

I'm afraid that's not enough...

Before the two sides had decided who would win, Mom... probably had already starved to death, right?

"Compared to the first day, I went all out, and my attack speed doubled. I also kept changing the rhythm and incorporated a lot of disruptive moves."

Katakuri looked at Shano approaching, shook his head with a wry smile:

"Under these circumstances, to achieve five consecutive flawless attempts is truly astonishing... Your Excellency, I'm afraid I'm no longer qualified to instruct you on Observation Haki."

"That's far too modest of you, Katakuri!"

Xia Nuo laughed heartily, reached out to help him up, and said with emotion, "You've worked hard."

He spoke these words with genuine sincerity. Regardless of whether Katakuri stayed behind purely to protect the Charlotte family's interests and to actively befriend him, or whether he harbored ulterior motives and was secretly trying to find out the details of his ship.

But during those seven days of training, from making plans to actually fighting, there was no doubt that they had truly given their all.

The results were outstanding, far surpassing those of a mediocre teacher and even rivaling the three blows from Teacher Kai.

Now, Shano's Observation Haki has greatly improved. It is certainly not comparable to Katakuri himself yet, but it is no longer inferior to most opponents of the same level. It has finally made up for its previous shortcomings.

"You are Welcome."

Katakuri managed to stand firm, his face still pale, but upon hearing these words, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he smiled slightly:
"It is my honor to be able to help Lord Xia Nuo. If you will not forget this favor in the future and attend the tea party on time, that would be better than anything else."

Over the past few days, as they spent time together day and night, his opinion of Xia Nuo has steadily improved.

This young man, who was much younger than me, was not only incredibly strong, but also clearly had untapped potential and room for further improvement.

With such a monster entering the new world, the seemingly stable power structure of the Four Emperors is destined to be disrupted, and the peace will not last long.

Of course, if he were alone, venturing out to sea, given his temperament, he wouldn't need to be so humble.

But Charlotte's family is large and powerful, and she has a bunch of younger siblings who are still young and need her protection.

So that the kingdom they, as siblings, had built up over many years of hard work and painstaking effort could endure.

This kind of person is best befriended, but absolutely not to be provoked...

……

That evening, the special training on Observation Haki officially came to an end.

Katakuri also prepared to take his leave and embark on his journey back to Whole Cake Island.

At times like these, a banquet is indispensable.

To express his gratitude, Shano specially allowed Zhepu to showcase his culinary skills and prepare a large table of delicious dishes, including dozens of desserts, with more than ten flavors of donuts alone.

Chocolate hazelnuts, strawberry cream, caramel sea salt... a dazzling array of items piled up on most of one side of the table.

Is it really okay to just do what suits your taste?

Katakuri endured and endured, suppressing his feelings again and again.

Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer. He grinned from ear to ear, grabbed a handful of donuts in each hand, opened his belly wide, and stuffed them into his mouth like crazy.

In the blink of an eye, it had eaten all the donuts and turned into a chubby round ball.

The crew members, who had initially regarded this guy as a cold and aloof strongman, were stunned by his sudden change of image.

As dusk deepened, everyone watched as the round figure, clutching its belly, jumped off the boat with a "Duang," waved with a beaming smile, and then turned and left.

Yes, that's how they left...

They didn't use a boat either.

His method of travel was somewhat similar to Aokiji's; using his awakened ability, he turned the sea beneath his feet into glutinous rice, then swayed and wobbled, propelling himself forward like jelly—

"Devil Fruits, what amazing things!"

Seeing this scene, Xia Nuo once again expressed his heartfelt emotions.

Even the most worthless fruit can be transformed into something extraordinary in the hands of a gifted person.

Of course, there are also those who, conversely, waste their powerful fruits...

"Master, Master~!"

Just then, shouts came from behind.

"Hmm?" he replied absentmindedly.

"Come with me, I think I've discovered that Rocks' treasure that Katakuri mentioned!"

"what?"

Xia Nuo turned her head and looked behind her in astonishment. "There really is a treasure?"

The next second, he suddenly realized something was wrong: "Who's talking? Who called me master?"

The voice was unfamiliar; although it sounded like a young, charming girl, it didn't match Namino and the others' voices at all...

"Look here, look here!"

The girl's voice came again, and Xia Nuo looked toward the empty dining table beside her.

The white cat with pointed ears knelt on one knee, placed its right paw in front of its chest in a gesture of respect, then raised its head and winked with a smile.
"It's me calling you, Master~"

　P.S.: It seems there's been a misunderstanding in the book review section. I'd like to clarify that the original manuscript's protagonist removal mentioned in the leave request does not refer to Charlotte Linlin.

　　PS2: It's even less likely to be Gatomon!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)