One Piece: It All Started When I Found Shanks' Arm

Chapter 67: A Whole New Level of Strength

Once I get this ship, I can cross Reverse Mountain and head for the Grand Line…

Shane's calm gaze fell upon his System panel.

He had no desire to waste any more time messing around in the small pond that was the East Blue.

Including his intense training period before Arlong's arrival, he had been steadily developing his strength in the East Blue for a solid four years. If he hadn't wanted to spend more time with his family before coming of age, he would have set out for the Grand Line long ago.

As for his current strength, it was on a completely different level than before.

[Name: Shane (Siano)]

Age: 18

Height: 185 / 370cm

Strength: 6.8

Agility: 6.6

Stamina: 6.4

Spirit: 5.2

Skills: Six Powers (Ultimate), Armament Haki (Mastered), Life Return (Mastered), Breathing Fist (Ultimate), Ripple Fist (Mastered), Reinforced Occlumency (Mastered), Flesh-Melting Furnace Art (Mastered), Yone's Fate Sealed (Mastered), Fishing (Mastered), Mining (Mastered), Thievery (Mastered).

Remaining Points: 29,000

Three years ago, when his stats were still hovering in the 3-4 range, he had already been able to single-handedly crush the Arlong Pirates with ease.

And now?

Each of his base stats had risen to a terrifying level.

With his powerful physique enhancing them, his physical arts, led by the Six Powers, had reached a state of near-perfection.

To put it plainly, if the version of himself who defeated the Arlong Pirates were to stand before him now, he would last a few seconds at most before being torn to shreds.

It wouldn't be much harder than slaughtering small-fry like Hachi or Kuroobi.

The East Blue was no longer a match for him.

At this point, he was confident he could make a name for himself not just in the first half of the Grand Line, but even if he went straight to the New World!

I wonder what tier the fans from my past life would put me in now.

Vice Admiral level?

Or some kind of 'Half-Step to First Commander Perfection' nonsense?

Those power-scaling memes, born from fantasy novels, were still pretty amusing to think about.

Shane grinned, his gaze shifting to his inventory.

He had bought quite a few things over the years. Besides the various training manuals, there were also some interesting items.

He had spent points like water, but thankfully, his "leek farm," led by Luffy, was of such high quality that the yearly harvest of points consistently replenished his funds.

Compared to two years ago, he was only down by less than ten thousand points.

Among the manuals he'd purchased, the most expensive was the Ripple Fist, costing 2800 points. It was a direct upgrade to the Breathing Fist.

Not only did it further increase his body's growth potential, but it also allowed him to concentrate his full power into his fists and palms much more efficiently.

The technique had a wide variety of moves that could be deconstructed and combined at will to adapt to any combat situation. A single punch could create a terrifying shockwave, causing the very air to ripple violently.

Furthermore, he had also mastered Yone's Fate Sealed.

That's right, he had successfully found a loophole, bypassing the prerequisite of being a Swordmaster.

Using his mastery of Life Return, he could now transform his arms into razor-sharp blades at will, capable of cutting through steel as easily as a hot knife through butter.

So, to be precise, besides Kuina, he was now also a full-fledged swordsman on the ship—a dual-wielding swordsman.

—And if anyone dared to question it, he wouldn't care. You gonna tell me a hand-blade isn't a blade?

As for the items he had bought…

The most noteworthy was the "Devil Fruit Radar." Sold directly by the System, it had cost him 2,500 points.

It looked almost identical to the Dragon Ball Radar that Bulma had made, and it was about the same size.

It had a total of ten uses and didn't need to be taken out. As long as it was in his inventory, a green light would automatically turn on if a Devil Fruit came within a hundred-kilometer radius. If a Devil Fruit came within ten kilometers, it would flash a bright yellow light.

If multiple Devil Fruits were detected at once, the corresponding number of lights would appear on the screen, and it would only count as a single use, so he didn't have to worry about wasting charges.

It was a very practical and powerful tool.

After buying it last year, Shane had kept an eye on it during his final "wool-shearing" trip, but unfortunately, he hadn't found anything.

That was to be expected, though. His trip only lasted about twenty days, and he followed a fixed route.

In the future, when he was constantly adventuring on the high seas, he was bound to find something eventually.

…

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.

The New Gat was significantly faster than the old ship, and on the afternoon of the eighth day, they smoothly arrived at Sherry Island.

From a distance, they could already see the giant neon sign for the "Whale Shipbuilding Company" at the docks.

It was dazzlingly bright, flashing with golden light, and larger than all the other shipyard signs combined, making it impossible to miss.

"We're finally here?"

Kuina stretched languidly and yawned as she disembarked. Thanks to Shane, she had also been given a first-class luxury suite.

The bed was huge and soft, and she had slept like a log every night. It was the most comfortable sailing experience she'd ever had.

Thinking back, traveling on her grandfather's small, cola-powered boat had been pure torture in comparison.

"Haha, don't you worry. Your new ship is guaranteed to be even better than this old tub of mine!" Old Gat chuckled, puffing on his pipe.

"How do you know? Have you already seen our ship?" Nojiko asked curiously.

"Not exactly, but it's an easy guess! Rest assured, with your brother's reputation, the Whale Shipbuilding Company wouldn't dare to be negligent. In fact, they'll treat it with the utmost seriousness and make this ship their proudest creation!"

Old Gat turned to look at Shane.

"If you don't believe me, ask Lord Shane. When he contacted them on the phone, weren't they especially sincere and enthusiastic?"

"Sincere and enthusiastic?"

Shane paused, stroking his chin in thought. "They did seem quite enthusiastic, now that you mention it. They even knocked twenty million off the price. I didn't think much of it at the time, just assumed it was standard treatment for a major client…"

"It's not what you think!"

Old Gat blew a smoke ring. "Any other shipyard would have to bend over backward for their big clients, but the Whale Shipbuilding Company has been around for over a hundred years! They have a golden reputation!"

"Their senior shipwrights are all very proud. They have a constant stream of big orders from all over the Four Blues. They wouldn't be so polite to just any major client. And to voluntarily knock off tens of millions of Berries? Heh, that's something that only happens when the sun rises in the west!"

"He's right about that," Zeff nodded in agreement. "When I was younger, I had my first ship built by the Whale Company. Their service attitude was as cold as ice."

"So, in my brother's case, how did the sun end up rising in the west?" Nojiko teased with a grin.

"Because your brother basically wiped out all the major pirates in the East Blue, of course!"

Old Gat roared with laughter. "This is the home sea of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, yet the pirates here are now so weak they're a complete joke! Isn't that hilarious?"

"It's much easier for merchant fleets to travel now, and the shipyards are more stable. Who do they have to thank for that? Your brother! And the Whale Shipbuilding Company is no exception!"

Shane was speechless.

It was true. Over the past few years, almost every pirate in the East Blue with a bounty over ten million Berries had died at his hands.

It felt a bit like he had fished the sea dry. In the end, the new fish couldn't grow fast enough to replace the ones who'd sent themselves to their deaths.

Now, the entire East Blue was practically devoid of pirates. Forget big fish; there were barely any small fry left. You could count the number of pirates with bounties over five million on one hand.

"How time flies," Old Gat sighed. "When I first met your brother, he was just a little runt, not even 160cm tall. Who would have thought that in just a few years, he'd become one of the most respected figures in the entire East Blue!"

As he spoke of these things, Old Gat's face flushed with pride, as if he shared in the honor.

After all, the "Strongest Swordsman in the East Blue" had taken his first long voyage on his ship. And they had fought a Sea King side-by-side.

Over the years, whenever he bragged about it to his old colleagues, he was always met with envious gazes. It gave him a great sense of prestige.

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