Chapter Ten: Rapid Progress

Red Snapper Island, in the tenfold gravity zone.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Drenched in sweat-soaked clothes and crushed by the suffocating weight of tenfold gravity, Chu Yi’s fists flew at breakneck speed. Each punch was delivered with unwavering focus and meticulous attention to detail. The force behind his blows, the trajectory of each fist—everything was identical, yet Chu Yi’s speed didn’t falter in the least. It was as if he’d broken through the barrier of ten times gravity, completing the set of exercises Tiger had assigned him in less than half an hour.

That was five hundred straight lefts, followed by five hundred straight rights!

It was this monotonous, grueling training that Chu Yi had endured for a full half month, throwing tens of thousands of punches every day, at the very least.

At first, Chu Yi hadn’t understood why Tiger had him train this way, why he insisted on such dull routines.

Weren’t they supposed to be learning Fishman Karate?

What was the point of endless, tedious punches every day?

But in the end, Chu Yi never complained to Tiger—he didn’t want to seem impatient.

So, he did exactly as Tiger instructed. Until one day, Tiger couldn’t hold back any longer, his face dark as he strode over to Chu Yi and said, “Hey, kid, aren’t you even curious why I’m training you like this?”

Curious? I’ve had enough of this mind-numbing training!

Chu Yi screamed internally, but before Tiger he remained calm, smiling as he replied with certainty, “I know you’d never harm me, Tiger. You want me to grow stronger, so I’ll do as you say. Is there some deeper meaning behind this?”

I’ve been waiting every day for you to ask, but you never did!

Tiger’s face twitched violently as he held back his own internal outburst, finally explaining the reason behind such monotonous training.

What is the essence of Fishman Karate? Is it truly about fancy techniques?

Of course not.

Fishman Karate’s moves are easily learned by anyone after a few demonstrations. Even in the original story, regardless of the practitioner—even Jinbei, the former Warlord—Fishman Karate is straightforward. The so-called Tile-Breaking Fist is no more than a basic straight punch. Other than punches, kicks, and some simple throws, there are no intricate or profound techniques involved.

Then why is Fishman Karate renowned worldwide?

How did Tiger and Jinbei become warriors of Warlord caliber through it?

The answer lies in one thing: mastery of force. That is the true essence of Fishman Karate.

Fishmen are naturally far stronger than humans. In the terminology of Fishman Karate, an ordinary adult human may possess only a few ‘watt’ strength—the power to shatter a few tiles with a punch—while an adult fishman easily wields a hundred watts or more, ten times stronger than a human, at the very least.

But if God closed a door for humanity, he opened a window elsewhere.

Humans might start with inferior physicality, but they have remarkable potential for growth. Precisely because their bodies are weaker, there is greater room for improvement. With consistent training, human experts can eventually surpass fishmen in raw physical power.

Fishmen, however, are limited by their natural gifts. To grow stronger, they must seek another path. Thus, Fishman Karate was born.

The training Chu Yi endured was essential to Fishman Karate: monotonous repetition to enhance physical ability and to engrain, through muscle memory, the perfect method of generating force with every punch. Once this perfection is achieved, the practitioner can continuously push beyond their own limits.

Take Tiger, for example. At his peak, his raw strength reached four thousand watts. By mastering his own body through relentless training, Tiger could unleash four thousand watts with every technique, every move. Further breakthroughs led him to five thousand watts, six thousand, seven thousand, and now his ultimate, devastating twenty-thousand-watt punch.

Combined with his exceptional mastery of Armament and Observation Haki, this is what makes Tiger a warrior of Warlord class.

Now, as for Chu Yi’s training: with the first awakening of his Devil Fruit powers, not only did his transformed Asura form gain a tremendous boost in physical strength, but even his normal state was greatly enhanced. According to Tiger, Chu Yi’s body already matched Luffy’s at the start of his own journey—possessing a hundred watts of power.

So, while they were still aboard the ship, Tiger’s plan was simple: have Chu Yi complete the first stage of Fishman Karate in half a month—mastering the hundred-watt punch.

Never did Tiger expect he’d underestimated Chu Yi’s talent.

Or perhaps—Chu Yi himself hadn’t realized his fruit bestowed a hidden buff: the monstrous talent of an Asura.

The Asura exists to fight; its very existence is for battle. Thus, an Asura possesses extraordinary combat gifts and terrifying adaptability, able to improve with every conflict and swiftly master enemy techniques, adapting to any environment.

It was thanks to this overwhelming talent that, after just one day of grueling practice, Chu Yi awoke the next morning to find he could already use the hundred-watt punch with ease.

In other words, Chu Yi had mastered the basics of Fishman Karate in a single day.

Even Tiger, with his extraordinary gifts, had needed half a month just to reach this level.

When Tiger realized Chu Yi had achieved in one day what had taken him two weeks of hardship, he retained a calm façade, giving only a half-hearted word of encouragement: “At least you’re not slacking off.”

But inside, Tiger felt a herd of wild horses trampling over him.

If my half-month struggle to reach the basics made me a once-in-a-million genius, what does one day make you? A monster?

That night, recognizing Chu Yi’s prodigious progress, Tiger changed his plans, taking Chu Yi and Hancock to train on Red Snapper Island, where gravity itself was their opponent. Still, Tiger clung to a naive hope: Chu Yi’s fast start wouldn’t necessarily mean sustained rapid progress. He set a new goal—master the five-hundred-watt punch in half a month.

But as Chu Yi continued to perform miracles, Tiger grew numb…

Breaking through onefold gravity and mastering the two-hundred-watt punch took only a day.

Overcoming fivefold gravity and mastering the five-hundred-watt punch—just two days!

It was only upon reaching ninefold gravity that Chu Yi spent more time, but even then it was only five days to master the nine-hundred-watt punch.

These days, Tiger spent more time training Hancock and was less often by Chu Yi’s side. Thus, he hadn’t realized that, half a month later, Chu Yi had already completed training under tenfold gravity, perfectly mastering the one-thousand-watt punch. If he had known, that proud man might have been so shaken by Chu Yi’s meteoric progress that he’d consider hanging himself out of sheer frustration.

And so—

Having shattered the shackles of tenfold gravity, with a physique now boasting one thousand watts even in his normal state, Chu Yi was elated. Reveling in the rocket-like improvement of the past half month, he mused:

“I’ve already tested it—the stronger my base form, the greater the boost when I use my fruit to transform into an Asura. Now I can handle tenfold gravity without effort. If I use my Devil Fruit power…”

“Would even the hundredfold gravity zone—enough to make Tiger wary—still be my limit?”

The thought set his heart racing with anticipation. Yet, seeing that dusk was falling and night would soon descend, Chu Yi hesitated.

Tiger had warned him: the most dangerous time on Red Snapper Island was after dark.

The island’s creatures were nocturnal; every night, from their makeshift camp on the shore, Chu Yi and the others could hear the roars and clashes of wild beasts.

Without Tiger’s protection tonight, Chu Yi frowned, weighing his options. In the end, caution won out. He decided to wait until daylight, when he could safely explore the limits of his strengthened powers.

After resting a few minutes and feeling his fatigue ebb away, Chu Yi prepared to return to the twofold gravity zone where Hancock and Tiger were training.

But then—

“Hm?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught fleeting movement. His pupils narrowed sharply.

That was—

The Marines!