Author Notes: This is extremely unrelated but you should watch To Be Hero X available in Netflix JP (I have no clue about other countries)
It's a really good story that perfectly fits my taste.
A tiny spoiler: the main character's girl dies three times in four episodes.
———
*BANG*
A continuous banging reverberated throughout the entire area.
With a bang, blood oozed out from the person's leg but he didn't stop smashing the abandoned ship with his kick.
*BANG*
*BANG*
That person wasn't afraid of breaking his bones anymore—he'd done it countless times already.
*BANG*
What he desired was the strength to overthrow his nemesis with a single kick.
Yes. The person smashing the warship was Roja.
Awakened by his ego/ambition, he began training recklessly—shattering his legs, healing them, and then doing it all over again.
But it had its effect. After all, Roja was stronger than Sakura currently, albeit he can't beat him due to the inability to use Haki.
And Roja was continuously growing, not only in strength but also in technique.
*crackle* *crackle* *crackle*
'There it is!' Roja's leg had finally given up, shattering his bones into countless pieces.
This sound was also the signal to stop his training.
He thought he knew his limits but an ordinary instructor would've stopped him—he was so wrong on many levels.
With haggard breath, Roja stripped off his shirt and wrung it dry as an extreme amount of sweat flew out.
Even abs were beginning to form in Roja's stomach despite his focus on his leg.
"I'm tired. Let's go visit Startend Cafe since I accumulated enough money," Roja cheered.
By 'accumulating money', he meant stealing the gang's budget.
…
"You there, Boss?" Roja opened the Startend's door but Sakura's usual welcome didn't exist.
'That's weird. I know Boss is lazy but he's never skipped a day because he basically lives here,' Roja thought to himself.
Then, he shrugged. 'Eh, whatever. He must be busy with something.'
…
Midnight.
The blood bag attached to Sakura had emptied.
Usually, the blood bag would last for 24 hours before the doctor had to change it out but Sakura's body was extremely abnormal. Not only could he survive multiple fatal wounds, he would deplete a single blood bag within 3 hours.
*crackle* *crackle* *crackle*
A bone-popping sound oozed out waking up Ralts who had been waiting since day one.
*crackle*
Syncing with the bone cracklings, multiple sutures all around Sakura's body loosened and fell away.
"Ralts! Ralts!" Opening its drowsy eyes, it ran hurriedly to call out the doctor.
After a while, the two could be seen running toward Sakura, the doctor still trying to fix its glasses. "What is it now?" The doctor said.
At this moment, Sakura's eyes slowly opened, surprising the two.
In contrast to his usual deep-purple eyes, his irises had been painted red, emitting a cold mechanical look.
'Gulp,' the doctor swallowed his saliva.
Slowly, the reds in his eyes diluted, restoring his original eye color. "Shit, I'm so much slimmer right now. For how many days did I skip meals!?"
Unknowingly, Sakura had attained V1's mechanics feature. However, he couldn't achieve V1's instantaneous regeneration with enough blood. Instead, he needed time to restore himself.
This didn't change the fact that this regeneration ability was extremely powerful, as with enough days, he could regenerate half a body even if he lost the other half.
That is if he managed to survive being Gojo'ed (cut in half).
"Doctor, I'm so hungr- oof," laid in bed, Sakura opened his mouth wide and pointed his finger there, saying he could fit an entire cow there. But then, his stomach was pushed by a certain weight that crashed there.
"Ralts!!" Ralts submerged her head deep into Sakura's chest.
'She feels a bit lighter,' Sakura thought patting Ralts' back. "I made you worry, didn't it?"
…
"Arf wark, nom nom nom…" Sakura feasted upon foods greedily.
"Nom nom nom,"
Meanwhile, Ralts copied his behavior, using her telekinesis to carry food to her mouth. It was as if the two were competing to see who ate more, but in truth, they were just hungry.
They hadn't eaten for a week.
Both Sakura and Ralts looked so much thinner, in an unhealthy way.
"I awmohst fwoghot abhout itw. Wartls… *gulp* can you take the Meta-Cola from the freezer,"
"Ralts!"
Responding to Sakura with her cheeks moving up and down, Ralts controlled the production units open and took a meta cola inside.
*psssshhhh* opening the bottle open, the sounds of bubbling echoed like a piece of music, soothing one's ears with a mixture of nostalgia.
"*gulp* *gulp* *gulp* haaa~… so good…" a white smoke escaped from Sakura's mouth as he praised the drink in delight.
The cola had a subtle sourness and a sweetness just perfect for Sakura's tooth. Then, the subtle carbonation that attacked his throat was nothing but refreshing.
After drinking a bottle in seconds, Sakura wiped off the sweat dripping down from Ralts and his head.
*ring* *ring*
"Boss I'm here, oh? Boss, did you lose weight? You were so much fattier in the past," Roja entered the shop.
"Oh, shut up. You can't say the same. You were so much skinnier in the past," the two joked around.
Then, Sakura passed a cola to Roja. "New products. Drink it, this one it's on me."
Roja drank it without hesitation and jolted in surprise.
"Boss, is this cola? It's so much tastier than the one I've tried. Plus, it's also blowing away my fatigue,"
*gulp* *gulp* *gulp*
Intoxicated by its taste, Roja drank cola in one go.
"That was so good! I actually don't feel thirsty after drinking such a sweet drink. Boss, I want another one, how much are you selling it for?"
"300 berries. Or 1 Contribution Point."
Sakura said nonchalantly, fed up with having to stand up to take another cola from the refrigerator.
While handing the cola, Sakura resoluted to make a robot that automatically handles customer's orders.
"Seriously? Boss that's too cheap, even the cheapest cola costs at least 500 berries here! Plus, it seems like this cola isn't a normal cola but ones that restore fatigues! You should sell it for a higher price," Roja advised him.
"Hmm… well, that's a hassle. I'll keep it at 300. Or, if you want to help me out, pay me with 1 contribution point. Its conversion rate is 1:1000."
Hearing Roja's advice, Sakura dismissed it, too tired to care about profit. No matter how low the prices were, he'll still make a benefit anyway.
"By the way, Roja wanna go for a swimming? It's been a while since I've swam."
"Huh, Boss? Weren't you a Devil Fruit User?"
"That's why I'm inviting you with me to test it, right? Let me tell you, I almost died (unknowingly) after trying to overcome this curse."
Unable to believe him, but half expecting Sakura to overturn the absolute law of the world again—and to be able to be there to save him in case he failed, Roja nodded at his invitation