Three years later.
Upper Yard (God's Shrine), The Holy Land.
Reno faced the group lined up before him, feeling a sense of nostalgia.
Three years had passed. The current Reno was over two meters tall, with a handsome face and deep, bright eyes.
His companions around him had also changed more or less.
"Captain, why did you call us all over? Are we not training today??"
Black Shadow, who had completely integrated into the group, asked in confusion.
"Yeah, Captain. I just comprehended a new move and was about to test it out," said Jace, who was now the same height as Reno, waving his fist with an eager look.
"No training today," Reno smiled and shook his head. "We have been training on Sky Island for three years. Your strength has improved a lot. There's no point in staying here any longer."
As soon as Reno finished speaking, everyone looked at each other, joy appearing on their faces.
"Captain, are we preparing to leave here??"
Hajrudin, reacting first, asked.
"That's right. There are still many adventures waiting for us outside. We leave this afternoon."
"Whoa! Awesome! Finally, we can continue adventuring!!"
Upon confirmation, everyone jumped up happily.
Although Sky Island was beautiful and they liked it here, staying in one place for a full three years had made them somewhat weary. They had been waiting for this day for a long time.
"However..." Reno paused, then continued, "Don't be in a hurry to celebrate. Before we leave, let me test your strength."
"No problem!!"
Jace volunteered immediately, standing up and saying matter-of-factly:
"Captain, my opponents are still Black Shadow and Roge, right??"
"This time I'll definitely crush them!!"
"Who's afraid of you!!"
Unwilling to admit defeat, Black Shadow stepped out as well. The two confronted each other, neither giving an inch.
"Black Shadow, just you alone are no match for me."
Jace looked at Black Shadow contemptuously, faint lightning surging on his fingers, mocking him mercilessly.
"Tch! If it weren't for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit the Captain gave you, I wouldn't be afraid of you."
Two years ago, Reno gave the Rumble-Rumble Fruit he had found to Jace.
In terms of talent, Jace was the strongest here besides Reno and Linlin. Moreover, he was born with Observation Haki, so this Devil Fruit was undoubtedly the most suitable for him.
"That was the Captain's decision. You can't blame me. Why don't you ask the Captain to find you a Devil Fruit too??"
Hit where it hurt, Black Shadow looked at Reno.
Reno had long been accustomed to the daily bickering between the two. It reminded him of a certain pair of rivals in the original story.
It seemed that if they didn't bicker every day, the day wasn't complete.
Facing Black Shadow's gaze, Reno coughed twice lightly: "Don't worry, Black Shadow. I'll find a Devil Fruit suitable for you in the future."
Receiving Reno's assurance, Black Shadow turned his head back.
"Brother Roge, help me beat this guy up!!"
Still angry, Black Shadow immediately called on his good partner to prepare to thrash Jace.
Seeing the two ready to fight at the drop of a hat, Reno waved his hand.
"Your opponent today is Linlin."
After speaking, Linlin walked to the opposite side of the two.
Looking at Linlin's faint smile, their faces instantly fell, turning bitter.
"Captain, you can't be serious??"
"You want the two of us to fight Linlin?? Isn't that just asking for a beating??"
Self-aware, Jace smiled bitterly, and Black Shadow followed with a sheepish grin.
Their starting points were the lowest, but due to their powerful talent and aptitude, their progress over the past three years had been the greatest.
Especially Jace, who had obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
But even so, facing Linlin, their chances of winning were still too slim.
"Hey! Can you two do this or not? Two against one and you're still so wimpy??"
At only nine years old, Linlin's height had skyrocketed to four meters.
Linlin stood with her hands on her hips, looking angrily at Jace and Black Shadow, her face full of dissatisfaction.
"Linlin, who can compare to your freakish talent?"
Jace curled his lips, complaining wildly.
It wasn't like he hadn't sparred with Linlin before, but every time, he was utterly thrashed by her.
If not for his Observation Haki being far superior to hers, who knew how many more beatings he would have taken.
Just seeing Linlin made his body ache phantomly.
"Don't worry. I'm not asking just the two of you to deal with Linlin. There's also Hajrudin and Roge."
Reno pointed to Hajrudin and Roge, who were standing still nearby.
Since Streusen was the crew's cook, Reno didn't demand much combat power from him.
As long as he had a certain ability to protect himself, that was enough.
"The four of us together??"
Looking at Hajrudin and Roge stepping out, Jace rubbed his chin and fell into thought.
If that was the case, then they indeed stood a chance.
Linlin was strong, but the four of them weren't weak either.
"Hehe... Isn't this a bit like bullying? Linlin is just a little girl after all."
Hajrudin scratched his head embarrassedly. His giant pride made him reluctant to do this.
"Hey, hey, Hajrudin, did you forget the time Linlin beat you until you cried??"
Jace bluntly brought up Hajrudin's dark history.
Hajrudin blushed upon hearing this, his face unable to hold on.
That time, he got greedy and ate an extra strawberry cake of Linlin's, and as a result, he was beaten so badly by Linlin that he didn't recover for a whole day.
If Reno hadn't stopped her in time, Linlin would have taken him apart.
"Cough, cough... If the four of us join forces, we do have a chance to defeat Linlin."
As the eldest brother, Roge stepped in to smooth things over.
Facing the four of them, Linlin remained calm and composed, looking quite casual.
Three years of sparring and cultivation meant they understood each other far better than they understood themselves.
Even facing four people, she had no fear at all.
As Roge's voice fell, the atmosphere on the field instantly fell into silence. The four of them looked at Linlin in unison.
Black Shadow toyed with the short blade in his hand, his aura surging, a dangerous glint flashing in his narrow eyes.
"Linlin, this is the Captain's request. Don't blame your big brothers."
"When we win, I'll give you strawberry cake to eat."
"Black Shadow is right. Linlin, I'll go easy on you later."
Knowing Linlin's terror well, electric arcs began to emerge around Jace, making crackling sounds.
"You guys talk too much!!"