The day after leaving Little Garden, the sky was a dull gray. A drizzle soon swelled into a torrential downpour.
"Vivi, get upstairs! Rainer, furled the sails!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
At the stern of the Merry, Rainer stood bare-chested in the rain, unfazed. A barbell rested across his shoulders as he continued doing squats.
With just a few undead helping to haul the ropes, the sails were quickly pulled in.
"Three thousand forty-five… three thousand forty-six…"
"You're making progress way too fast, Rainer."
Zoro swung his weighted rods and glanced over, impressed. "Not long ago, you were lifting 1,200 kilograms, and now you're suddenly at 1,600? It's only been a few days."
"Yeah. Mostly thanks to what I gained on Little Garden."
Rainer explained casually. Since eating the Devil Fruit, this was the fastest leap in strength he'd ever experienced.
Lately, he could also faintly feel a strange, restless power stirring inside his body.
"What's your current max load?"
"Tried last night—close to 4,000 kilos." Rainer rose smoothly from his squat, muscles rippling in perfect form as rainwater slid down his body.
Zoro twirled his iron bars, massive plates clanging as he slashed and thrust them like swords.
"I'm at 5,000. Your strength is catching up to mine—ridiculous."
"It's not as crazy as you think."
Rainer chuckled, rain streaming down his face and dripping from his chin. "But after this, I probably won't get another boost from Devil Fruit templates for a long time."
The giants' physical stats had been overwhelmingly strong. Unless they reached the New World, he doubted he'd find another template in Paradise with better raw physical attributes.
And who knew whether Crocodile would show up in his "big form" or "small form"? Hopefully, he wouldn't stab them in the back.
Dark clouds smothered the sky, the ocean a hazy expanse as raindrops drummed against the Merry.
"Three thousand nine hundred ninety-nine… four thousand!"
BANG!
Setting the barbell down, Rainer tugged the towel from around his neck, sat beneath the parasol on a deck chair, and wrung the towel dry with a twist.
"Zzzzt—"
Water streamed out like from a twisted rope. He dried himself, leaned back in the chair, and checked the log pose on the table to confirm their course.
Just as he lit a cigarette to relax, something in the distant curtain of rain caught his eye.
"Zoro, am I seeing things?"
Rainer wiped his lenses and squinted again. "That's… a person out there, right?"
"Looks like it."
Zoro lowered his weights, stepped up to the railing, and narrowed his eyes for a better look.
WHOOSH—!
The figure suddenly rose atop something massive.
A colossal half-sphere emerged from the sea, water cascading down its surface like a waterfall.
Only then did the two realize what they were seeing.
"A ship rising from the ocean?!"
"No… that's a submarine."
Rainer corrected, his expression turning serious. "That guy must've been standing on top of it. But… damn, it's huge."
Before long, the half-sphere unfolded like a blooming flower, transforming into a grand vessel shaped like a castle.
"It can transform?!"
"Too bad Luffy isn't here to see this, hahaha."
Rainer laughed, though he discreetly summoned undead—fishmen slipping into the sea, Chainsaw Demons revving at the ready.
Hearing the commotion, Sanji stepped out from tidying the kitchen in the second-floor quarters.
"What's going on?"
"Sanji, looks like we've got visitors," Rainer said with a sidelong glance.
As the massive ship drew closer, dozens of figures appeared on its deck. At the front stood a fat, pig-faced middle-aged man, flanked by two odd-looking bodyguards, with rows of uniformed riflemen behind them.
One bodyguard was a man with a giant afro. The other wore a cutesy blue nightgown, his blank expression oddly unsettling.
"Wahaha~!"
The fat man cackled as he and his guards leapt onto the Merry's stern rail, their weight creaking the wood.
"I am King Wapol."
His fleshy face twisted into a sneer as the soldiers behind him raised their rifles. "We're returning to Drum Island. Do you have a Log Pose or an Eternal Pose for it?"
"Doesn't look like they came for a friendly chat." Zoro's hands rested on his hilts, eyes cold.
Rainer already remembered who this was—the deposed king of Drum Island, notorious for doing absolutely nothing during his reign.
BRRRRZZZT!
The Chainsaw Demons roared to life, their whirring teeth scraping against everyone's nerves.
"Hey! What are you—"
BANG!
Before the afro bodyguard could finish, Sanji's black-clad foot smashed into his face, burying flesh and bone deep.
SPLURT! SPLURT!
Zoro's blades had already carved into the nightgown man, blood spraying as deep gashes opened across his torso.
The moment the chainsaws revved, both swordsman and cook had already struck. Guns drawn at first sight? No questions needed.
Straight to combat!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gunfire erupted. But the Sword Demon rushed headlong through the storm of bullets, leaping onto the enemy ship. Three blades whirled, unleashing a storm of steel.
"Fire! Keep firing!"
"It's useless! Guns don't work!"
"He's a monster!!"
Behind them, Wapol's face darkened as the screams of his men filled the air. Yet he didn't dare move—
Because three chainsaws were already snarling inches from his face. He snapped his jaws wide and clamped down on one, shattering it in his teeth.
"What the hell?!"
Sanji froze, stunned. The man actually chewed up and swallowed the chainsaw.
"In all my years cooking… I've never seen anyone eat like that."
"Hahaha! I ate the Munch-Munch Fruit! I'm a Munch-Munch Man—I can eat anything!!" Wapol gloated, pounding his belly, jaws still gaping.
BANG!!
A gunshot rang out.
Blood sprayed from his mouth. Wapol's eyes widened in disbelief as pain exploded in his jaws. His gaze snapped toward Rainer.
"Wh-why? Once it's in my mouth… it shouldn't be able to hurt me."
"Guess Seastone isn't on your menu."
Rainer blew a thin trail of smoke from his pistol. "How's the taste of my bullets?"
"You…" Wapol's face twisted in unwilling rage, but his body gave out. He collapsed in a heap.
RUMBLE RUMBLE!!
As he lost consciousness, the massive ship began collapsing. Its parts crumbled away, revealing it had been pieced together entirely by his powers.
"Damn, didn't even get to loot properly."
Rainer sat back under the parasol, dismissed his Chainsaw Demons, and sighed as the giant ship sank. "Guess I'll just see what the fishmen can dredge up."
The skirmish had lasted only moments. Sanji, seeing it was over, turned back toward the kitchen.
But just as he opened the cabin door, he nearly bumped into Nami.
"What just happened?"
She'd heard the commotion and came out, only to see the giant ship breaking apart.
Her jaw dropped. "What the hell?! I was gone for one second, and you guys already caused some huge disaster?!"
"Nothing big. Just a few uninvited guests."
Rainer's cigarette burned out between his fingers. Without realizing it, they had already grown so strong that wiping out an enemy crew was nothing more than a blink.
As the rain lightened, the undead returned, hauling up what little treasure they could salvage.
"That's it?"
Rainer glanced at the pitiful haul, then remembered Wapol was just a fallen king now. It all made sense.
Not worth his time.
Give it to Nami, he said lazily.