Chapter 4: Three Years of Training

The first training I did was a general training method. I did push-ups, chin-ups, squats, planks, leg raises, and other similar exercises using modern training methods. The only difference was one thing.

I had to do all of this while wearing clothes made of heavy metal wires, each weighing dozens of kilograms.

“Ughhh…”

Each step I took was so hard that I couldn’t stop myself from groaning. After all, I was only five years old, and my body weight was only around 10kg to 20kg. It was only natural that moving with clothes that weighed several times more than my own body would be difficult.

I had gathered herbs on the outskirts of the village, and after changing my clothes to prepare for serious training, I struggled to move. I was barely able to move my legs but gritted my teeth and forced myself to move forward. Slowly, I lay down and began bending my arms.

My arms trembled as if they would break, but they wouldn’t break. If they didn’t break, I could endure!

The tenacity I showed was something I couldn’t have imagined when I was a cripple. Maybe this was one of the qualities that lay dormant in Boa Hancock’s body. It could be called indomitable willpower. After all, as a queen, such mental strength was to be expected…!

With that thought, I pushed myself to keep going, doing push-ups, leg raises, squats, and stretches, making sure to move my body, even if just a little. Sweat dripped to the floor in puddles, but I didn’t give up and kept moving.

After all, I was just a child. I had nothing to do and plenty of time.

And—somewhere along the way, Nyon Halmeom had arrived and was quietly watching me. But I didn’t care about her presence. I was focused solely on getting used to the heavy clothes and kept moving.

“…Huuu…”

Nyon Halmeom couldn’t help but admire what she saw. Of course, it wasn’t admiration for being able to bear the weight of dozens of kilograms. An old woman like her could lift that with one hand.

But that was something to be considered in light of her age.

Boa Hancock, after all, was only five years old, and she had never trained before. Of course, being born a “Ku-sai” child, her potential was great, but no matter how talented she was, enduring the weight that was several times her own body weight at that age was definitely not easy.

‘Did she say that the clothes weighed around 60kg? That would be about three times her weight…’

For a moment, lifting three times one’s body weight with explosive strength might be easier. But constantly enduring it, wearing it for an extended period, was a completely different kind of ability. It wasn’t something a child could endure. It was essentially a form of torture.

Evidence of that was the sweat pouring from her body, so much that steam seemed to rise from her. Her skin, which had been so pale and delicate, was now flushed red from the blood circulating rapidly through her body. It was clear she was pushing herself beyond limits.

While this training would have been hard even for an adult to bear, watching a child go through it made one think she was developing the spirit of a warrior.

That being said, such training was far from ideal. In fact, it could easily lead to harm, as the old saying goes—“Excess is as bad as deficiency.”

‘It’s good that she’s training, but if she keeps this up, she won’t last long.’

Nyon Halmeom knew that. No matter how strong her mental will, pushing her body this far would surely damage her physically. It was better not to push too hard. She was thinking of stopping Hancock’s training, but only until she got a chance to speak with her.

“Huuu… Huuu…”

My whole body felt hot, and it hurt so much that it felt like my muscles were melting. The sound of a rope snapping echoed constantly, even though I was resting. My muscles were on the verge of tearing.

Still, I marveled at my body’s resilience and grit, clenching my teeth and, with a grunt, threw off the heavy clothes. I couldn’t rest with the outfit on, so I had no choice but to take it off.

After all, this was an island only inhabited by women, and everyone wore revealing outfits. So, being naked didn’t matter much, especially since I was only five.

With that thought, I stripped off and began making a herbal concoction with the herbs I had gathered earlier. I placed them in a pot and added water, boiling it.

I began preparing a medicinal herbal bath. After that, I carefully started inserting golden needles into my body, one by one…

The needles would activate my body, recover my fatigue, heal wounds, regenerate my muscles, and stimulate my metabolism. I inserted the needles into areas where I could feel that they were needed. Even though my hands trembled, I was a genius, so I instinctively knew where to place them. The moment I inserted them, I could feel the vitality surging in my body.

Traditional Chinese medicine relies on the body’s natural healing power, so the more innate vitality someone has, the better the effect. I inserted the needles in, and when I felt the right moment, I stopped.

After inserting about 100 golden needles, I turned off the boiling pot and soaked my body in the hot medicinal bath.

“Ughhh… It’s soaking in…”

It felt like it would burn me, but it was the perfect temperature. I submerged my whole body in it, allowing the medicinal essence to seep into my skin for an hour.

One hour later, I was fully restored, feeling much stronger than before. I began my training again with a sense of growth and renewed physical ability.

“…Where did you learn such methods?”

Nyon Halmeom had approached me at some point and asked that, but I just smiled and didn’t say anything, continuing my training.

Nyon Halmeom seemed to have come to the conclusion that my training methods had some merit. She didn’t interfere and silently watched me continue.

Because of that, I was able to keep training the way I wanted to—time passed, and after about three years…

Nyon Halmeom couldn’t help but admire Boa Hancock. She was training in an inexplicable way, with both her innate talent and the intense training pushing her towards becoming a true monster. It was clear that she was on her way to becoming the next Queen of Amazon Lily.

To become the Queen of Amazon Lily, one had to be the strongest in the Amazon Lily tribe. And based on Hancock’s growth, it wouldn’t be long before she surpassed the current queen. If she continued to grow like this…

She might even become a legendary figure in the world, standing alongside the admirals of the navy or the emperors of the sea.

If she did that, Amazon Lily would have no reason to worry.

Nyon Halmeom, thinking about all of this, headed to the training grounds, feeling a sense of anticipation.

“…9998. 9999. 10000!”

As Nyon Halmeom arrived, she saw Hancock had been training with an absurdly strong iron rod and heavy iron discs, which she had asked a blacksmith to make for her. She used them to train her whole body, lifting, holding, or squatting with them, systematically building up her strength.

Even Nyon Halmeom, with all her experience, couldn’t hold that weight, not even in her prime. But Hancock was handling it easily, and that was incredible.

What was even more amazing was her beauty. Despite all the brutal training, her arms remained slender and smooth. It was as if the gods of beauty themselves were helping her grow stronger, but without making her muscles bulky.

Her muscles were probably becoming more compact and higher in quality. It was a good thing. The Queen of Amazon Lily needed to be beautiful as well, after all. Not that beauty mattered that much, but strength came first.

As Nyon Halmeom was admiring her, Hancock paused her training, dropped the barbell with a loud thud, and looked at Nyon Halmeom.

“Finally here, Nyon Halmeom??”

“Yeah! Wasn’t it today that you wanted to learn?”

“Yeah! I’m ready to learn the technique now!!!”

That’s why Nyon Halmeom had come to visit after a long time. After three years of physical training, Hancock was ready to start learning the technique.