Chapter 4 [Edited]

"Forty-eight, forty-nine, fif.....ty!!" Rowan struggled as he made his final push up, before collapsing on the hard ground.

It has been a month since Rowan began his training regime. He could not lift a sword, or handle the recoil of a gun. He did not know any martial technique either.

Special power? What, like chakra? If it did exist in this world, Rowan didn't know how to gain, awaken, or use it.

What option did Rowan have then?

Naught but various exercises that he saw from the internet in his previous life.

He did not have proper knowledge in regards to training regimes. He barely worked out before. When he asked Genzo and others, they too did not know any about it, for they did not have any special training. Their strengths came from what they naturally had as they grew up.

But he had to do something. Therefore, he began with a simple goal of 1000 push-ups, 1000 sit-ups, 1000 squats, and 100km run.

That's right, it's basically tenfold of all exercises Saitama, from One Punch Man, did.

Start simple and small. Then, once you are used to it, increase the load. Add the exercises of more diversity: Plank, burpees, mountain climber, wall-sit, pull-ups, whatever he knew of.

As for today, Rowan was able to complete 5 sets of 50 push-ups, 5 sets of 50 sit-ups, 3 sets of 100 squats, and 3km run. Although he was experiencing an exploding growth in terms of his stamina at a rapid rate, running still was a bit taxing on him. He still had a long way to go.

'I have to grow stronger. Stronger than Arlong and his crew.' Rowan stood back up with determined eyes. 'I can't fathom how strong he must be, with that tall height and muscular physique of his. I can't stay complacent simply because of a small improvement. Hell, I don't even know if this can be considered as anything in this world.'

Rowan was very paranoid. As someone weak, Rowan could not have a proper grasp of how strong Arlong Pirates are. If he did overestimate their strengths, it was still much better than the underestimation, which will result in his death.

Thankfully, he found out that his body in this world was much more tough and strong than in the previous world. When he wake up the next day after the exercise, he would not feel as much pain from over-exercising; his muscles, somehow miraculously healed by themselves, overnight. This boon allowed him to last up to the present, unlike the other youngsters who fell off in no time.

Having finished his daily routine of exercise, Rowan left the desolate area, which was surrounded by the palm trees that he was training in.

Now, after some time passed by, with the money that he stripped from the villagers, Arlong built a luxurious building of his own, and named it the 'Arlong Park.'

'A hideous-looking building.' Rowan gritted his teeth as he thought of it.

Speaking of Arlong, the villagers discovered over the past month that Arlong and his crew were fish-men, a race that lived somewhere in the Grand Line.

<The... the Grand Line?! They came from that harsh sea?!>

<No wonder that they were so strong...>

This information only served to enhance their despair.

'4 years. In 4 years, I will make sure that I have the strength to kill them.'

_________

2 years have passed since, and Rowan reached the age of 15.

Rowan reached his goal of 1000 push-ups, sit-ups, squats a long time ago.

And that was just the beginning.

Punching. Kicking. Long-lasting stamina. Drastic increase in muscle mass and height. Including his past life, Rowan never tried as hard as he did now. Although sometimes,

'Would something have changed if I began this sooner?'

Rowan couldn't help but ask himself such a question, he nonetheless continued his endeavour.

'Still not enough. No, far from enough. I must get stronger than this.' Rowan did not learn any fighting techniques, nor could he do so.

He attempted to learn a sword, however, whenever he slashed once, it broke.

Gun? He didn't even think of an idea after seeing how the bullets that his father, Fob, shot toward Kuroobi, had no effect on the latter.

Simply put, the weapons in Cocoyasi village weren't strong enough to combat the Fish-men toe-to-toe. Unlike the supernatural growth of his physical prowess, the weapons seemed ordinary.

Therefore, Rowan decided to continue his training regime.

Keep punching the woods, stones, and whatever hard that he could find. Hone and harden his body to an extreme degree until it becomes capable of injuring them.

Over the past 2 years, the villagers had to suffer from Arlong's Crew, who continuously ripped off their hard-earned money. Facing such injustice for a long period of time, the rebellious mind within the villagers' hearts began to grow. It could be said that the villagers began to lose their senses, thinking that dying is no different to their current lives.

Rowan had to hurry. Time wasn't infinite.

On the other hand, Nami was seen to be exiting the Conomi island (an island to which Cocoyasi village belongs to) very frequently, although they had no idea as to what she was doing outside of the village.

But if she was trying to worry Rowan, she surely did succeed.

"Rowan!" Turning around, Rowan saw Nojiko and Genzo waving at him. "Finished your training as usual, huh?"

Over the years, people finally adapted to his new name. Everyone now called him Rowan.

"Yeah. I cannot be slacking off when you guys are placing your trust in me." Unlike other villagers, Rowan was alleviated from his responsibility to work, so that he can focus on his training.

"Well, you surely do look strong enough." Pointing at Rowan's exposed arms, Nojiko noted. "Are you sure that you are unable to defeat Arlong right now?"

Nojiko has seen Arlong Crew recently, when he came to collect tax, while Rowan missed them due to his secluded training. In terms of physical prowess, Rowan looked far stronger than any of them!

"No, we must be careful, Nojiko. Remember, they are fish-men. Their strengths are way above the average human beings such as us." Genzo shook his head. "2 years, right? We will try to hold villagers back as much as possible. Please, you are our only hope."

Rowan gave a serious nod. He knew he couldn't fail. It was all or nothing.

"Naturally. I promise." Satisfied with his reply, Nojiko and Genzo walked away.

Recently, Rowan has been contemplating a combat strategy in addition to his exercises. He could finish 100m run in 7 seconds with his trained strength, however, that wasn't as helpful in a fight. What he wanted was a very quick, sudden burst of speed that allowed him to gain an advantage against the Arlong pirates.

'But how do I do that? Kick on the ground for like 10 times?' Laughing at the seemingly impossible idea, Rowan continued his thought. '...Let's stick with a simple increase in my leg strength for now, so that one push will cause an extreme speed.'

Having finished the thought, Rowan stood up from his training ground. As he gazed into the sea, he sighted a small boat arriving at the village.

'Nami?' Rowan thought as he sighted a girl with orange hair from afar.

Was it that she let her guard down today? Nami usually reached the different section of the island that was quite close to the Arlong Park. However, today was different.

'That sack... is it the money that you are carrying?' Rowan thought in a mix of intrigue and frustration, 'Just what are those Arlong pirates making you do?!'

Nami, who was landed on the ground with a sack of money, looked to her left and right with caution before sneaking her way toward the village.

Rowan, who didn't see her for a long period of time, wasn't sure what was going on. However, he did see one thing: the hollow and sunken eyes that Nami had as she looked around.

'She isn't enjoying that at all. As I figured,' Rowan narrowed his eyes, 'she's being forced into it.'

Taking a deep breath, Rowan turned around and began to walk back to the village.

'Just a bit longer, Nami. Hang on. I will get you out of there, and end everything once and for all.'