Surprisingly, the forest here turned out to be much quieter and "more ordinary" than the one I grew up in. If, of course, you can call a place dotted with palm trees, vines, and tall trees ordinary.
We were walking along a narrow path, winding between trees, until the noise of the city was far behind us. About a hundred steps after the last stump, I stopped, looked around, and nodded:
— Alright, we've gone far enough. Time to start the training.
Sabo stopped next to me, wiping his forehead and looking around:
— So, what are we going to do?
I smirked, took off my jacket, and threw it on a tree root:
— Toughen the body, what else.
— Then why did we come so far into the forest? — Sabo asked, looking around.
— Because there are trees here, — I replied, taking a step forward.
I extended my arm forward, and my muscles began to twist and tighten, like the coils of a spring. My arm instantly became a spring. In the next second, I hit the nearest palm tree with a crunch.The blow was so strong that the trunk of the palm shook, bent, and then with a deafening crack, split in two and fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust and leaves.
— Now, — I said, walking closer and looking at the fallen tree, — we can train with it.
— That's for you, but what should I do? — Sabo asked, standing aside and watching as I squatted with the fallen palm tree on my shoulders.
— Grab one for yourself and start the workout, — I replied, waving toward another fallen palm.
Surprisingly, he didn't refuse. Sabo approached the trunk, wrapped his arms around it… and, with unexpected ease, lifted it.
— Hmm, not bad, — I muttered, raising an eyebrow.
He got into position and began squatting without losing his balance.
— This is pretty easy, — he said after a couple of minutes, slightly out of breath but still confidently continuing.
— Well, this is just for warm-up, you could say, — I nodded approvingly. — Now we can do push-ups.
I carefully lowered the palm to the ground, placed it across my back, resting both ends on my shoulders, and got into the push-up position. My fists pressed into the ground, my body tensed — and I began to slowly do push-ups. The weight of the trunk pressed on my shoulders, but that was the point: it was a test of endurance.
— Repeat after me, — I said, rising and lowering myself in rhythm with my breathing. — The key is not to rush. Work with your body, feel the weight.
Sabo surprised me again. He placed his palm in a similar way, got into the same position, and, gritting his teeth, began doing push-ups. At first a bit awkwardly, but soon he found his rhythm.
— Three… four… — I counted, — five!
When he reached fifty repetitions, his arms started shaking, but he didn't stop.
— Fifty-one… fifty-two…
— So this is training? — he muttered through clenched teeth.
— That's exactly the point, — I smirked. — If you want to get stronger, get used to the weight. We didn't come out here for a picnic.
After the push-ups, I suggested the next step: running with the palm on our shoulders around a small clearing. The ground bounced under our feet, puddles, roots, branches — everything got in the way, but that only made it more interesting.
Then there were crunches, where we held the palm on our chests. And we finished the workout with a series of high jumps, each time lifting the trunk upward like a barbell and jumping from a squat.The sun was already setting, and after dropping the tree, we headed back to the hotel…
I had been training the whole time, giving it my all — running, strength exercises, punches, coordination. Sabo was always nearby, and to my surprise, not only did he not fall behind, but sometimes even surpassed me. There was something iron in him — persistence, strength of spirit, and, despite his age, a body already accustomed to heavy loads. Apparently, life in the forests of Goa had toughened him far more than I could have imagined.
That's how our days went — morning runs through the forest, exercises with fallen palms, push-ups with weight…
Surprisingly, the city itself turned out to be much quieter than I had expected. Yes, sometimes drunk guys approached us — with bad breath, empty threats, and wobbly walks. But it only took one rough shove, and they would fall to the ground, immediately falling asleep where they stood.
— Is this what they call a pirate island in East Blue? — I muttered once, brushing dust off my hands after a little skirmish at the market.
Of course, there were plenty of bandits around, and the pirate market spoke for itself — weapons, stolen goods, fake maps, and even strange animals that no one dared to buy. But there were almost no real pirates here.
At most, small crews with captains would arrive, with bounties ranging from two hundred thousand to maybe five million berries. They didn't inspire fear or authority. They were just looking for a place to drink, sell a couple of bags of stolen goods, and move on.
Sabo lazily tossed a stone from hand to hand while I finished a set of pull-ups on a sturdy vine. Then, without looking, he said:
— You know, Bellamy… We've never fought each other.
I jumped down, wiping sweat from my brow.
— You mean a sparring match?
Sabo nodded and grinned:
— Yeah. Just... checking ourselves. I've been wanting to see how strong both you and I are.
— And you picked the exact moment when I just finished doing push-ups?
Clever, — I scoffed. — Alright. Let's go.
We stepped back and stood on a spacious clearing surrounded by tall trees. I loosened up my shoulders, and Sabo stretched his neck. He was focused, his gaze sharp.
— Ready? — he asked.
— Always.
Sabo was the first to strike — fast as a bullet. I barely managed to dodge his punch to my stomach, but immediately received an elbow to my shoulder. I jumped back, grunted:
— That was close. Alright… now it's my turn.
I clenched my fist, the muscles in my arm tightened and twisted, and my right arm turned into a solid spring. I shot it forward — Sabo dodged, rolling sideways, but I immediately pushed off with my heels and darted toward him from the other side. In a jump, I twisted my legs and hit the ground with my foot like a spring. An explosive wave of earth and leaves shot into the air — Sabo shielded himself with his arm and lost a second of sight.
That was enough. I rushed forward, punching him from behind cover with a fist that had emerged from behind a tree. But he, although surprised, still managed to deflect the blow at the last moment, stepping sideways.
— So, you don't just crash into walls?
— Nah, — I smirked, pushing off the ground and landing to the side.
Sabo counterattacked — he started spinning kicks. I caught one with my torso, but in a split second, I turned the point of impact into a spring — my body softened the impulse and sent the force back, as though I were a taut rope. There was almost no damage — just a slight pressure. I slid a step back and sharply lowered my hands to the ground.
My palms turned into springs — I pushed off them, flying upwards. From there — down, with a spinning kick.
Sabo didn't expect that. He put his hands up, but my body was already rotating — the kick wasn't just about force, it was about throwing off his balance.
He rolled across the ground, kicking up dust. I landed, pushed off with my spring-loaded legs, and began gliding across the grass, dodging his punch. Sabo jumped up, trying to get a hold of me — and at that moment, I changed the angle, jumping and throwing myself toward the trees.
— Though I saw you using your fruit, I thought this would be easier, — he muttered as he got up.
— The spring is pretty multifunctional, — I smirked. — Watch this.
I shot my hands forward, latched onto two trees like a spider, and sharply contracted the springs.
My body shot forward in an arc — and at that moment, I straightened my leg, using the momentum and strength to deliver a pinpoint strike to Sabo's chest.
He was thrown back and fell on his back, rolling across the ground. For a couple of seconds, he lay there, breathing heavily, then raised his hand:
— Alright… I give up. That was... damn awesome.
I walked over, extended my hand. He grinned and took it.
Though I hadn't put all my strength into the blow, it probably hurt – I said as I helped him up.