One Piece: Honey Badger Speedruns the World

The sea was calm and still, with only the sound of the Narwhal cutting through the waves.

But on the deck, the air felt heavy, as if it were filled with lead.

boom!

A loud bang.

A solid steel wreck weighing several tons, originally salvaged from the destroyed captain's cabin, was lifted overhead by hand and then tossed into the air as easily as a stone.

Immediately afterwards, a dark shadow flashed by.

"Armament Haki: Hardening".

Goss was shirtless, his well-defined muscles gleaming like a marble sculpture in the sunlight.

His right fist was instantly covered by a dark, gleaming aura of dominance, and he threw a punch at the falling steel behemoth without any fancy moves.

when--!!!

A sickening metallic creaking sound rang out.

The solid steel wreckage was punched so hard that it left a fist-shaped mark half a meter deep. Then, under the enormous impact, it flew off the ship's side like a cannonball and crashed into the sea, creating a towering column of water.

The rope attached to it also chased the iron block and quickly plunged into the sea.

"Hoo..." Goss withdrew his steaming fist, not even turning his head, but simply called out softly towards a shady corner of the deck:

"Bucky, pull it up."

"Huh?!?!"

In the corner, Bucky, who was lazily taking a nap, had split himself into several pieces and arranged them in a comfortable position like building blocks. He was so frightened that he fell apart.

His head popped out from the pile of limbs, staring at Goss with dead fish eyes and roaring:

"Are you treating me like a slave, you bastard?! That piece of scrap metal weighs at least five tons!! I am a noble man..."

Goss didn't say anything, but simply picked up a small pebble from the side, a scrap that had been broken earlier.

"Wow! I'll do it right now! I'd be happy to help!!"

"Fragment Crane!!" Bucky's two hands flew off his wrists and gripped the rapidly falling cable tightly, while his feet braced themselves against the ship's side.

Bucky's face turned red, and the part of his neck that wasn't originally there seemed to have thickened a bit.

Accompanied by an extremely exaggerated roar: "Ughhhhhh! Get up—!!"

however.

The five-ton iron lump that had sunk to the bottom of the sea remained motionless, as if mocking him.

"Huff...huff...I can't take it anymore...I'm going to die..."

Bucky collapsed on the deck, exhausted like a dead dog, his tongue lolling out, his mouth still muttering defiantly, "That damned devil Goss... treating me like a slave... one day I'll steal all your treasure and leave you not a single penny..."

pat.

The sound of a heavy book closing echoed in Bucky's ears.

"Too noisy, clown."

Reiju, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, sighed, seemingly unable to bear the red-nosed man's incompetence and noise any longer.

She stood up gracefully and strode over to the cable.

"Hey! Pink-haired girl! What do you think you're doing? Even a great Devil Fruit user like me can't budge this thing, and you, all delicate and fragile..."

Bucky's sarcastic remark got stuck in his throat before he could finish.

Reiju stretched out her slender, fair hand, which even had pretty nail polish on it, and casually grabbed the cable.

There was no roar, no bulging veins, and not even a change in his breathing rhythm.

She simply lifted it up gently, like carrying a shopping bag.

Splash!

With a loud splash, the five-ton steel behemoth that Bucky couldn't budge even with his life on the line was easily pulled from the sea into the air by her with one hand, and then slammed back onto the deck, shaking the entire ship three times.

"Done."

Reiju brushed non-existent dust off her hands, didn't even glance at Buggy on the ground, and walked back to the shade to sit down and pick up her book.

"Don't make that constipation-like sound next time, it's very disturbing to the neighbors."

Bucky remained with his mouth agape, his chin resting on the deck, staring at the elegant pink figure, his eyes twitching wildly.

Monster...monster! Isn't there a single normal human being on this ship?!

Goss ignored the two of them, focusing intently on the dissipating black aura, his brow furrowing slightly: "The coverage speed is still too slow. And the fluidity of the hardness is insufficient."

He was not satisfied.

But to Reiju, who was forced to be both her "sparring partner" and "surveillance target," this scene was nothing short of a horror movie.

Reiju leaned against the cable post and picked up the book again, but the pages hadn't been turned for half an hour.

Her icy blue eyes, hidden behind her bangs, were fixed on Goss's back, her pupils trembling slightly.

On the first day, his use of domineering aura was still immature, and it didn't last long.

The next day, he was able to master the use of dual-color Haki, and his own attacks couldn't even touch him.

Today is the fourth day... Reiju has no doubt that Goss can now handle his three idiot brothers all by himself.

As a cyborg of Germa 66, Reiju has the most scientific and rational understanding of power.

A person's growth into a stronger individual should be gradual and has its limits.

But the man in front of me... he's evolving.

It wasn't training; it was as if a wild beast had awakened and was frantically devouring nutrients within him, breaking the shackles of his genes every single second.

Whoosh!

Just then, the sea beside the ship suddenly exploded.

A giant sea monster, over twenty meters long and with serrated fangs, smelled the presence of humans on the ship. It roared as it burst out of the water, opening its blood-red maw to bite Goss on the deck.

"Danger..." Reiju instinctively tried to get up.

But Goss didn't even turn his head. He even closed his eyes.

The color of sight and hearing.

The world appeared as black and white lines in his perception.

The sea monster's muscle contractions, blood flow, and attack trajectory are clearly visible.

Just as the sea monster's sharp teeth were about to touch him, Goss slightly turned his body, narrowly avoiding the fatal bite.

Then, Armament Haki precisely covered only his fist, and he casually threw a punch back.

*Thud!* Blood rained down. The raging sea monster didn't even see what happened before its massive head exploded, and its body slammed heavily onto the deck.

"Reiju."

Goss shook the blood off his hands and turned around: "Lunch is sorted out. Go and prepare the meat."

Four days ago, Reiju would have elegantly retorted with "I'm not your babysitter," or glared at him fiercely with her beautiful eyes, or even tried to shut him up with the poison on her fingertips.

but now……

Reiju silently closed the book she had been reading for half an hour without turning a page, her movements mechanical and fluid.

There was no rebuttal.

They couldn't even be bothered to roll their eyes.

Her exquisite, sophisticated face was etched with a numbness that suggested she had seen through the illusions of the world.

In these short four days, she had been ordered around countless times by this monster who had no common sense—to grill fish, grill birds, and even retrieve iron blocks from the sea.

Her protests seemed somewhat weak and powerless in the face of Goss's violence.

I am the eldest daughter of the Vinsmoke family... the 'Poison Powder' that strikes fear into the North Sea...

Reiju numbly recited her titles in her mind, trying to regain a little dignity.

But her body had already developed a tragic conditioned reflex.

She walked with somewhat heavy steps toward the enormous sea monster corpse, casually pulled out the precision gold dagger that was originally used to cut the throats of enemies from her thigh, and skillfully... plunged it into the sea monster's belly.

Why is it that my skinning and bone-removing skills are now more proficient than when I kill someone?

As the blade slid smoothly across the meat, Reiju sighed in despair and resignedly began her day as a "chef."

……

Half an hour later, the enticing aroma of roasted meat wafted across the deck.

It must be said that although Reiju is an assassin princess, she seems to have inherited Germa's talent for "precision operation" in cooking. She used a special method to roast the huge sea monster meat until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Goss carried two huge plates piled high with steaming steaks and gestured for Reiju to follow.

"Where are you going? Aren't you going to eat by yourself?" Reiju asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Feeding pigs," Goss replied casually.

He led Reiju to a cell deep inside the hold—a place used to imprison "special cargo".

The dimly lit cell was filled with smoke.

Although Smoker was chained with sea stone shackles, the two cigars in his mouth miraculously never went out.

Tashigi, standing nearby, huddled in a corner, hugging her legs, looking resentful.

Clang.

The food delivery slot on the cell door was opened, and two large platters of fragrant sea monster meat were stuffed inside.

"Eat."

Goss stood outside the iron bars, looking down at the two sailors: "This is a sea monster we just killed. As prisoners, it has no trading value if it's dead."

"Goss!!"

Upon seeing Goss, Tashigi leaped up like a cat with its fur standing on end and rushed to the railing: "You despicable pirate! Release us! Justice will never yield to you!"

"Save your energy." Smoker exhaled a smoke ring, looking at Goss with a gloomy gaze, then glanced at the pink-haired woman behind him.

He picked up a piece of roast meat and took a big bite, as if he were biting into Goss's flesh: "It tastes good... humph."

"Goss, don't think you can bribe me with a few pieces of meat. If I can get out of here, I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and bring you to justice."

"what ever."

Goss didn't care at all about the barking of these losers.

He gave Smoker a deep look: "But before you go out, you'd better pray your body can hold up."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Reiju followed silently behind him until they reached the deck, at which point she finally couldn't help but speak up: "Why didn't you kill them? That smoke man is a Logia-type user; keeping him alive is a huge threat."

"Only by staying alive can you have leverage, and perhaps you can exchange it for something unexpected."

Goss picked up his piece of grilled meat, tore into it, and mumbled, "Besides, not all marines in this world are enemies. Sometimes, keeping that kind of stubborn 'justice' is more useful than killing him."

Reiju watched as Goss wolfed down his food to replenish his energy.

In just a few days.

The aura emanating from this man has undergone a dramatic transformation. If Goss four days ago was a sharp sword that still needed polishing, then he is now a demonic blade unsheathed.

She recalled the punch she had just received, and the look in her eyes when she dodged the sea monster's attack.

That speed of progress not only surpassed Germa's technology, but even surpassed biological instincts.

Father... the "strongest human" you've always pursued...

Reiju felt a strange chill creep up her spine.

She instinctively hugged her arms tightly, watching Goss's retreating figure, a deep fear appearing in her eyes for the first time:

This man... isn't human at all. He's a monster in human skin...