CHAPTER 4
A flash of yellow light streaked through the bar at blinding speed.
Each time it halted for even a moment, it meant only one thing—someone was about to be sent flying, bones shattered, bodies crumpling to the ground.
The gangsters barely had time to react. In an instant, they were flung in different directions, smashing into walls, overturning tables, coughing up blood, and screaming in agony.
"How does it feel to be on the receiving end of a kick?"
Leone finally stopped, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as his breathing grew heavier. It was clear that, despite his devastating attack, such rapid movements drained his stamina significantly—he had only recently consumed a Devil Fruit, after all.
"What happened? Weren't you all so arrogant a moment ago? Trying to kill me, huh? You bastards!" Leone scoffed, his tone filled with disdain. "Trash! Scum like you dare come to Windmill Village thinking you can do whatever you want? You thought no one could stop you? Well, today, I'll make sure you understand what it's like to be on the other side of a beating!"
With that, Leone seized a thug who was still coughing up blood, his body limp and powerless. The world spun around the unfortunate gangster as Leone tightened his grip—then came a flurry of brutal punches, each blow sinking deep into his opponent's body.
After about a dozen heavy strikes…
"Congratulations! You have obtained a Physical Strength Pill Fragment!"
A sweet, mechanical female voice echoed in Leone's mind. Only then did he let out a small sigh of relief.
"Tch… I kicked at least seven or eight of them earlier and didn't get a single fragment. Thought my luck ran out…" he muttered to himself.
But now that he had heard the system prompt, his anxiety eased.
"Do I have to use my fists to get fragments?" Leone pondered. "Or have my drop rates decreased?"
To confirm his theory, he delivered another brutal roundhouse kick, sending another gangster tumbling like a ragdoll, barely conscious.
"Congratulations! You have obtained a Physical Strength Pill Fragment!"
Hearing the voice again, Leone's suspicions were confirmed—it wasn't just about using fists. The drop rate had simply decreased.
Not only that, but these weaklings no longer dropped Devil Fruit fragments—only Physical Strength Pill fragments.
"Tch… if that's the case, there's no point wasting my time on them."
Leone had originally intended to use these thugs as practice dummies, honing his skills while farming Devil Fruit fragments. After all, he needed 100 fragments to synthesize a complete Devil Fruit.
With the drop rate being random, collecting all 100 meant he'd have to land at least a thousand hits. Without a reliable group of punching bags, how else could he gather that many fragments?
"…But the Physical Strength Pill only requires 30 fragments to synthesize. Much cheaper."
Unlike Devil Fruits, which granted abilities at the cost of stamina, the Physical Strength Pill instantly replenished lost energy.
For Leone, who had just obtained his fruit and wasn't yet accustomed to its drain on his body, this was a lifesaver.
A grin spread across his face.
"And as for you lot… I'll make sure you understand the meaning of true despair!"
He grabbed another thug and continued his relentless barrage. Punch after punch, their faces swelled, bruises blooming across their skin like splashes of ink on parchment. Their cries of agony filled the air, but Leone showed no mercy.
If it weren't for Maggie, who was soft-hearted and couldn't bear to watch them die, constantly begging him to stop, Leone wouldn't have even considered sparing them.
"Hmph. Fine."
With a final scoff, Leone tossed the battered thugs out of the bar like discarded trash.
"Scram! I've shattered all your muscles and bones—forget fighting, you'll be lucky if you can even crawl after this!"
The once-rowdy gangsters lay outside, groaning in pain, utterly broken.
Leone dusted off his hands, satisfied.
Leone had broken their bones in several places, the pain excruciating. Their screams echoed through almost the entire Windmill Village.
The villagers, who had initially feared that these thugs would harm or even kill people, were now stunned into silence. Seeing the once-dominant gangsters rolling on the ground, wailing like slaughtered pigs, was beyond their expectations.
"Weren't they just beating up Leo at the bar? How did they end up like this in the blink of an eye?"
"I saw it with my own eyes! Leo suddenly became incredibly strong, as if he had gained some kind of special power. He took down all those thugs by himself!"
"Devil Fruit powers?! No wonder they were completely outmatched! Serves them right! These guys have been terrorizing the village for ages—finally, someone put them in their place. This is so satisfying!"
"Look, Sifu is charging at them!"
"Sifu's father was beaten to death by these thugs… Before, he couldn't take revenge for the sake of his family. But now that these scoundrels are too weak to fight back, how could he not avenge his father?"
A debt of blood must be repaid in blood.
The gangsters had ruled over Windmill Village with fear for too long, and their cruelty had angered many. Now that they were powerless, the villagers seized the chance to take their long-awaited revenge.
More and more people rushed forward. Even those who didn't fight made sure to spit on them at least twice.
Their fate was sealed.
"Leo, are you okay?"
Maggie looked at Leone with concern, recalling the moment he coughed up blood when the thugs attacked him.
"Maggie, don't worry! I'm fine!" Leone patted his chest confidently. "See? Still standing strong!"
"It's a relief… but they said you suddenly gained special powers. Did you really eat a Devil Fruit?"
Maggie knew about Devil Fruits and understood the consequences of eating one.
"That's right, Maggie. To be honest, I ate the Glint Fruit," Leone said with a grin. "It's a Logia-type fruit, you know? Against those weaklings, they never stood a chance!"
"Logia Fruit! I heard Shanks mention it once. He said Logia-types are the most powerful Devil Fruits!"
Maggie, like most villagers in remote places, wasn't aware that Admiral Kizaru possessed the Sparkling Fruit.
"Shanks… Red-Haired Shanks…"
Leone's blood boiled at the thought of that name.
Before, he could only admire Shanks from afar, knowing he would never reach his level. But things had changed.
With his ability to wield Devil Fruits, as long as he trained hard, his strength would become terrifying. One day, he would stand on equal ground with even the Yonko.
"Shanks will be my benchmark… but as for the title of Pirate King, I won't compete with Luffy for it. No… I have my own ambition. I will rule this world. I will become its true king!"
Leone's words were filled with conviction, his chest swelling with ambition.
"Maggie, I've made up my mind. I'm going to set sail! I'll follow in Luffy's footsteps, enter the Grand Line, and reach the New World!"
"I knew it… You all dream of becoming pirates and chasing after great treasures," Maggie sighed helplessly.
"But before that, I need to train and grow stronger," Leone declared. "I may not be around as much, but don't worry—I'll still hunt those wild boars. In fact, now that I have this power, I might just bring back even bigger beasts!"