Chapter 4: Start of Training
' What's up'- Thoughts
"What's up"- Speech
*What's up*- Sounds
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After finishing his breakfast, Pride wasted no time and immediately expressed his intention to head out.
"Grandpa, I'll go get the fruits and vegetables so we can start training right away!" Pride called out with determination, his youthful energy propelling him forward.
"All right, don't forget to pick up my favorite beans," came Grandpa's reminder as Pride dashed off.
Returning... They discussed for a few minutes which fruit and vegetables Pride should collect before he left the house for good.
Pride and his grandfather Rey lived in a quaint two-story hut, nestled deep within the woods, far from the prying eyes of civilization.
'Centaurea. There wasn't much information available about the island from the anime. It was only mentioned once and not much more was revealed about it. However, from what I recall, it was supposed to be quite picturesque. Of course, that was before the Revolutionary Army waged a war there and caused a lot of destruction. Perhaps staying in the East Blue instead of the South Blue would have been a wiser choice. After all, the East Blue is considered to be the weakest of the four seas. Moreover, I can't gauge the strength of the average pirates in the area. All I can say is that the ones at the top are incredibly powerful.'
The island that Pride remembered was of a relatively ordinary shape and size with nothing particularly unique about it. The island was mostly surrounded by forests, and there was a small town where the few remaining inhabitants lived. Centaurea didn't have too many residents to begin with.
'Countdown for destruction has now begun!'
*Step*
*Step*
With each step, he approached civilization.
The town was bustling with activity as people set up stalls to sell their fruits, vegetables, and other goods. Additionally, there was a shop that sold homemade weapons as well as various everyday items.
Mostly, civilians were visible on the island, but occasionally, Marines were present for inexplicable reasons.
As the island was relatively small, there was no Marine base located there.
Pirates were virtually non-existent, mainly because they were not particularly well regarded. This was especially true in the year 1470, as the motivations of modern-day pirates differed greatly from those of the future. Moreover, most of the pirates who sailed to Centaurea with intentions to plunder it met their end instead.
Along the way, Pride gathered all the memories of his predecessor and found out that his grandfather Rey was responsible for scaring away many of those wannabe pirates who approached the island.
This only reinforced Pride's assumption. Although there were no signs that his grandfather had ever sailed to the Grand Line as a pirate or anything similar, the fact that he could fend off visiting pirates, even if they were only from the South Blue, left the impression that he had seen more of the world.
Now, you might ask, why a pirate? Perhaps he was a former Marine?
Based on Pride's recollection of his grandfather, Rey did not appear to have the demeanor of a Marine. However, this perception may not necessarily be accurate. What was clear, though, was that Rey was a formidable fighter, possibly even too powerful for the Blues.
►A few hours later◄
After Pride finished his shopping, he immediately headed back home, eager to begin his training and build up his strength.
'Finally. Everything still seems surreal to me, but since I'm already in the world of One Piece, I want to reach the top! Especially since I believe that One Piece has the best abilities of all anime and such. Just behind would be Hunter X Hunter with Nen.'
*click*
"Grandpa, I'm back. Let's start training!" Pride yelled, placing the groceries in the kitchen.
"Sigh. Put on your training clothes and go to the backyard. I'll join you shortly," Rey instructed.
Pride quickly ran upstairs to change. Then he waited in the backyard of their house for his grandfather.
'Straight in the forest. Not a soul in sight.'
But his grandfather had deliberately chosen the location. He preferred to live in a peaceful and quiet environment, far away from the hustle and bustle of crowds.
"Well, come here, Pride."
"Umm."
"Listen carefully and do not interrupt me. Understand?"
"Yes, Grandfather," Pride replied attentively, smiling.
'Goddamn, that's annoying.'
"We will start by building your physical strength before moving on to training with weapons. But first, tell me, what kind of weapon do you prefer to use?"
"I want to train in swordsmanship, Grandpa."
Rey simply grinned. "Well, I mainly use the sword. Conveniently, you want to learn it too, considering that my knowledge of other weapons might not be sufficient."
After receiving further instructions from his grandfather, he was instructed to run until he reached the point of exhaustion to improve his endurance.
"Now hop to it. Run!"
...
...
On the first day, Pride couldn't run very far, most likely due to his young and developing body. After running only two kilometers, he collapsed and had to be carried home by his grandfather.
Every day, the routine continued with Pride pushing himself a little further before collapsing and needing to be carried home by his grandfather. But with each passing day, he managed to run a bit farther before reaching his limit.
'10 years old and already running 2 kilometers. It doesn't sound like much, but if you compare it to our old world, most of mankind would be failing.'
After two more weeks of this training, Pride's physical condition had significantly improved, and he was now capable of running four kilometers without requiring his grandfather's assistance to carry him home.
"Pride, you have made remarkable progress and can now run much farther distances. In addition to your running, we will introduce some additional physical training to further improve your overall fitness."
-Run: 4 km
-100 Push-ups
-100 Sit-ups
-100 punches to striking post
-100 kicks to striking post
"I have prepared the list of exercises for you to complete within a day. You don't necessarily have to perform them consecutively, but you must complete them daily."
"I've got it, Grandpa!" He replied proudly with a smile on his lips that made his white teeth gleam.
...
"We will focus on these exercises until you can perform them with ease and proficiency. After that, we will start with your sword training."
►3 months later◄
Three months elapsed, during which Pride trained diligently with the guidance of his grandfather.
He was able to complete the run with relative ease. However, he initially struggled with the other exercises as his underdeveloped body made it challenging to complete them successfully.
Pride experienced muscle soreness and fatigue daily, making it even more challenging for him to perform the exercises the following day. However, he persevered through the discomfort, and gradually, he began to notice an improvement in his physical abilities. The exercises became easier for him to complete, and he was able to do them in less time.
After three months of dedicated training, Pride was finally able to complete the exercises mentioned earlier in less than five hours.
Initially, his training regimen took up a significant portion of his day, leaving little time for him to practice his Devil Fruit abilities. However, as his physical training became more manageable, he was able to devote more time to honing his Devil Fruit abilities.
Pride also received information from Shanks about his initial training. However, most of it focused on swordsmanship, and the physical exercises were almost identical to the ones he had done before.
"Make sure you get a restful night's sleep. We'll be beginning our swordsmanship training tomorrow."
"Understood, Grandpa. Goodnight."
A short while later, Pride was lying in his bed, trying to rest. However, there was one thing that was weighing on his mind before he went to sleep.
*ding*
[Info:↓]
[Name: Pride]
[Age: 10 years old]
[The template "Shanks" extraction 1%]
[Abilities:]
[Devil Fruit: Zushi Zushi no Mi, progress 1%]
"Progress is still progress," he mused under his breath.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone