Xingyi Quan really was pretty impressive.
After the quartermaster finished checking the cargo manifest, he handed Guan Yi a stack of Berries and exclaimed, "Three hundred items total, ten workers, and you carried sixty-two all by yourself. You're worth two men! Here, I'll round it up for you — that's 5,000 Berries. Take it."
"You look unfamiliar. Just arrived in our little West Sisicono Town?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
Guan Yi took the money, wiped the thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and said, "I'll be at the docks for a while. If there's work, call me anytime, Uncle Quartermaster."
"No problem. Young men who work hard always find a place in town."
The quartermaster chuckled. "Tomorrow morning at the same time — we've got a shipment to Aomori. Metal and ironwork this time, heavier stuff. Pays more too — 120 per sack. Be here."
"Got it."
Guan Yi glanced toward another ship. "They're hiring over there — I'll check it out."
"You're not even gonna rest—?"
The quartermaster didn't finish. Guan Yi was already jogging away.
He shook his head, boarded the ship, and muttered, "Seriously… what is Xingyi Quan?"
Xingyi Quan was a representative style of traditional Chinese martial arts — hard, direct, built for real combat.
After a year of training under an Xingyi master, Guan Yi, I was no longer anything like an average untrained person. Unrestrained, he was confident he could take a life in three punches.
But this was the world of One Piece, enough reason to stop him from getting cocky.
He needed a few more years of training before he had any real foothold in the East Blue.
To train, he needed money — and nothing suited him better right now than carrying cargo at the docks.
His martial arts foundation gave him a sharper sense of how to use strength efficiently and control stamina. That meant carrying more cargo and making more money.
More importantly, the work directly supported his martial arts. Carrying heavy loads strengthened his legs, waist, and core. Every step polished his Xingyi basics.
By the end of the day, Guan Yi had carried over three hundred loads and earned 23,800 Berries. Only after unloading the final ship did he wobble away from the dock and head into town.
"Steamed buns! Fresh hot steamed buns!"
"Sea beast meat! Fresh sea beast meat!"
"Warm ocean milk~."
The town was lively at night, calls mixing with mouth-watering aromas.
Guan Yi touched his stomach.
Breakfast felt ages ago due to the year in the Kengan Asura world, and at noon, he'd only spent 200 Berries on a dockworker's boxed lunch.
Tonight, he deserved something good — time to taste what sea beast meat was all about.
A few minutes later, Guan Yi walked down the street holding a massive skewer in each hand, tearing into them fiercely.
His left hand held chunks of some unknown sea beast, each piece the size of a child's fist, charred outside and tender inside.
His right hand held something like a giant octopus tentacle — one weighed three or four kilos, juicy and chewy.
Delicious. Absolutely delicious.
The two skewers cost him 2,100 Berries — pricey, but worth every bit.
Walking down the street, eating meat, he felt surrounded by the cheerful noise of children and the haggling of merchants. It reminded him of a modern city's pedestrian street.
Except no skyscrapers.
Just winding roads made of rough stone and wooden planks.
On both sides stood vibrant, almost cartoonishly colorful buildings: bright yellow walls, grass-green roofs, pink window frames, deep blue signboards. Every structure looked like a child's doodle — mismatched yet bursting with bizarre life.
Guan Yiwas getting used to it.
One Piece world… I'm here.
"One night, 5,000."
"How much?"
"5,000 Berries."
Guan Yi wanted to leave.
The purchasing power of the Berry was similar to yen, and this tiny-town inn dared charge 5,000 for a night?
"So expensive? Can't give me a discount?"
"Everyone on this street charges the same. If you find it cheaper, I'll pay the difference. If you think it's pricey, stay longer. One week — 30,000 Berries."
"…Fine. One night. There's a bath, right? Show me the room."
If not for safety concerns — and for wanting a proper bath — he never would've spent 5,000 Berries. He was willing to splurge on food, but lodging? Sleep was sleep.
Later that night, lying on the tatami he'd paid 5,000 for, he opened the mission log.
[Extending basic training for one year requires 100,000 Berries.]
[Wealth: 16,600 Berries]
He'd also bought water for 100.
"Tomorrow I need to earn more. If I can save 20,000 a day, I'll have enough for the second year of training in four days!"
The next morning, before dawn, Guan Yi crawled out of bed and stood in San Ti Zhuang — the Three-Body Stance.
A year at Master Wen Yunshen's home had drilled good habits into him. Half an hour of stance training, followed by a set of Eight Utter Hands, the School's 24 Methods, and the Five Element Fists — an unshakable morning routine.
When he finished, he adjusted his breath in surprise.
"Why… does this feel easier than before?"
Later that day at the docks, the feeling became stronger.
"This isn't an illusion. My strength really increased?"
A change like this normally took at least a month of training — but he'd only carried cargo for a day and slept a single night.
Over the next two days, the difference became undeniable. Cargo weighing sixty to seventy jin (30–35 kg): carrying four bags used to strain him. Now he felt like he could carry five or six.
In just three days, his strength increased by at least 20% — comparable to half a year of training at his master's house.
He didn't know the reason, but good news was good news.
At dawn on the fourth day, his Cannon Fist roared through the air, the force sharp and fierce.
[Wealth: 71,300 Berries]
He was close to his goal.
Just one more push!
At the docks, a ship captain called, "Ian! Over here!"
"Ian" was Guan Yi's alias — similar in pronunciation to "Yi," easy to remember.
After three days of outstanding efficiency and stability, most captains and quartermasters already knew him.
"Here for the cement? 100 a bag?"
"Yep. Not much today, only 120 bags. You can handle it alone, right? I'll add 10 per bag. Better than letting the others make a dusty mess."
13,200. Guan Yi calculated instantly. He grinned. "No problem. Thanks, captain!"
He grabbed two 60-jin sacks in each hand, hoisted them onto his shoulder, then hooked a foot under another sack and flipped it perfectly onto the stack.
A professional football player's reflexes.
Even under such a load, his back barely bent — the fullness and emptiness of the Three-Body Stance applied instinctively.
"Five bags at once, two minutes per trip! I'll finish in an hour!"
The captain stared wide-eyed.
"You ever consider working as a guard on a major merchant ship? Around the Conomi Islands, pirates rarely show up — it's not dangerous."
"I'm thinking about it. Maybe later."
"If you do, come find me. I'll get you a recommendation."
One hour later: +13,200 Berries.
Guan Yi wiped the sweat off and immediately looked for more work. Another loading job in the morning, two unloading jobs in the afternoon — in total, 26,000 Berries.
After meals and water, his total savings hit:
110,000 Berries.
"Perfect. Enough. After paying for tonight, I can still eat something good and recover."
He finally felt tired. Time to eat.
But just as he was leaving the dock, two men blocked his path.
"You, Ian?"
One had droopy eyes.
The other was dark and fat.
Both had rough skin, looking like dock laborers.
But Guan Yi had never seen them.
"Yeah… who are you?"
"We're from the Boar Gang."
The droopy-eyed man looked him over. "Our boss, Boar, heard there's a newcomer at the docks working fast and steady. That's you, right? Boss approves. You can join the Boar Gang. No need to run around looking for work — he'll assign you jobs."
Guan Yi had indeed heard about the Boar Gang these past three days.
One of the two major dockworker gangs in West Sisicono. Their boss, "Boar," had some skill and gathered a bunch of thugs, monopolizing more than half of the easy, high-pay jobs.
Merchants passing through didn't want trouble. Local businessmen didn't bother resisting — they'd rather work slower and accept worse quality than spark conflict. Independent laborers didn't dare cross the Boar Gang. Everything Guan Yi carried these days had been heavy loads — never anything under 50 jin.
Honestly, he wanted to complain — even the One Piece world had dock mafias?
"The Boar Gang? Ah, gentlemen, a pleasure."
Guan Yi smiled politely. "I've heard of Boss Boar's reputation. Didn't expect I'd be invited. So… what do I need to do?"
Satisfied with his attitude, the droopy-eyed man said, "You got money on you? Pay 80,000 Berries as the entry fee, then come with us to meet the boss. He'll arrange everything."
"Eighty thousand?"
Guan Yi's expression didn't change.
Not bad. They estimated his recent earnings pretty closely.
If they had more experience, they would've asked him for a clean 100,000.
"So if I say I don't want to join," Guan Yi continued calmly, "and I don't want to pay—"
The two men's faces darkened instantly.
"You'll get upset, right? Will you try to beat me and rob me? And the Boar Gang will block me from working at the docks… right?"
Droopy-eyes snorted. "Smart boy."
"Yeah, my teachers always said that."
Guan Yi nodded. "And smart people don't waste time. Let's skip the middle part."
Want to rob me?
I'll just beat the crap out of you first!
Before his sentence finished, Guan Yi burst forward like an arrow, both fists blasting out!
In just 0.2 seconds, two sharp, violent Xingyi Crushing Fists smashed into both men's faces.
Thud!
Thud!
They didn't react in time.
Two impacts.
Two screams.
Two fountains of nosebleed.
They dropped like sacks.
Fight over.
Guan Yi walked away without looking back.