Chapter 55: Life Return
No matter what kind of person, they couldn't go into battle with a troubled mind. Being a pirate, of course, required clean reasons, so that one could rob with a clear conscience. Especially in this magical sea, the power of the heart could be said to be dominant.
If the heart wasn't clear, the combat power that could be displayed would be greatly reduced.
And for those who had regained their freedom, holding a party to let everyone vent the憋屈 (pent-up frustration,憋屈 is a very specific feeling in chinese) they had experienced when being escorted to Bridge-Top Kingdom was the best thing to do.
"Sag, are you alright?"
Lily worriedly watched Sag continue to eat. Although they were having a party, it was different from before. Before, although Sag ate a lot, he would stop at a certain point, basically letting Marika prepare two or three times more food than others.
But now, he was like a bottomless pit. Although he still maintained his table manners, and even showed a confident expression when drinking, the amount of food he ate was obviously more than his original amount.
The bones of the prepared meat and fish were crushed into渣 by his teeth and swallowed. The shells of seafood were violently broken open, and the meat was poured into his mouth. No matter what dishes were served, the speed of his hands was like an afterimage, quickly devouring them.
Normal people eating, basically when their stomachs were full, they were full. Those who were厲害, just made their abdomens bulge to an obvious degree, making people think that their stomachs were a little big.
This point, whether it was Lily or others, was like this.
Even Renettia, who was eating well now and striving to grow up quickly, only ate until her little belly was round.
But Sag was different.
His body was getting fatter visibly. In the past, if you wanted to gain weight, it took time to accumulate. If you didn't exercise and ate every day, just lying there every day, you would definitely get fat over time.
Sag didn't even need a night. In just these short one or two hours, eating crazily, his body quickly became fat.
His belly even swelled into a ball, and it spread to his whole body, even his hands and feet swelled. His face also quickly became obese from that angular face.
It was completely illogical.
Normal humans, no matter how much they ate, would at most burst themselves. How could they get fat so quickly...
Sag wasn't an ability user...
"Eh? Are you going to become a sumo wrestler, Sag?"
Renettia was stunned for a moment and said, "Are you not going to be a pirate anymore? Did Garp scare you? But you have a bounty now, you can't be a sumo wrestler."
Marika had just finished making a large rock-plate grilled meat, and let Pearl and other pirates carry it away. Then she approached here, maintaining a smile, and said, "Ara, is he injured? Is he preparing to use Life Return?"
Just at this moment, the obese face, which was almost unrecognizable, quickly shrank. In just an instant, Sag's physique quickly returned to its original appearance.
It was as if the fat and meat just now were like an illusion, disappearing without a trace.
He clenched his hand, felt his body, and looked at Marika, saying, "You know?"
"I also know it."
Marika smiled, "This move is very good. Because chefs always have to taste food from all over the world, whether it's delicious or not, you have to try it, you know. With this move, you don't have to worry about gaining weight."
"Is this the origin of your monstrous strength?" Sag asked in surprise.
Marika smiled without saying a word, but that expression also revealed everything.
"Hey, don't be riddlers, what is Life Return?" Renettia said dissatisfied.
"Hmm..."
Marika put her finger on her chin, looked up and thought for a while, and smiled, "Simply put, it's controlling every part of your body through consciousness. No matter how small, you can control it freely. You can also freely choose to digest and absorb. No matter how much you eat, you can quickly decompose it. That's why the Captain became fat."
"Exactly."
Sag moved his head slightly, and his white hair suddenly lengthened, twisting into things like white tentacles, extending around.
Renettia reached out and touched the twisting white 'tentacles'. The silky feel of the hair made her shiver and she took two steps back.
Lily even retreated directly, with cold sweat on her face.
"What are you afraid of with my hair?"
Sag controlled his white hair to return, turning it into its original hairstyle, and glanced at Lily, "It's not a real tentacle. You, this kind of knight, don't need to be afraid." (*姬骑士, himekishi: lit. Princess Knight. This can refer to the "knight in shining armor" archetype, but Sag is being sarcastic, implying something more along the lines of "easily frightened/damsel in distress".*)
"I, I'm not!" Lily's face flushed, and she said stubbornly, "I'm just surprised... And that kind of thing doesn't matter. Learning Life Return means you don't have to get fat?"
"In theory, yes."
Sag nodded, glanced at Marika, and said, "The absorbed nutrients, normally, will be converted into other things, because the human body can't absorb so many nutrients. But with this move, you can use the nutrients for other aspects."
"Healing injuries, replenishing stamina, and even storing this power, and then bursting it out in battle, or like Marika, increasing your strength. I'm injured, so I need a lot of nutrients from food to make up for my injuries, and use Life Return to quickly heal."
"Eh? Are you injured?" Renettia was stunned.
Sag gave her a blank look. "That was Garp. We don't have a relative relationship. How could I not be injured when encountering that kind of battle?"
He took a hard hit from Garp's so-called Galaxy Impact, but it hadn't reached the point of 'internal destruction', it was just purely external. Even so, that kind of power was enough to make him seriously injured.
It was just that he didn't show it. Now that it was safe, of course, he had to rely on food to speed up the recovery of his injuries.
He took a sip of wine and said, "If you want to learn Life Return, the easiest way is to learn Rokushiki first. This will give you a higher probability of comprehending it."
Life Return was not an advancement of Rokushiki, the two were not very related. Strictly speaking, it was a kind of meditation method, after all, it was using consciousness to control the body. But learning all of Rokushiki had a higher probability of learning Life Return than ordinary people.
After all, in the end, it was the fine control of the body, and as the 'Rokushiki', which maximized the development of the ordinary human body on the sea, naturally had the qualification to comprehend Life Return.
Even he, who had the highest attainments in martial arts, had only mastered Life Return after mastering Rokushiki.
"Marika, prepare food for a hundred people for me," Sag said.
"Ara, meat, right? After all, it's the fastest and most convenient." Marika said.
"Hmm..."
Sag's pupils flashed a red light. "There are many beasts on the island, kill them."
"The chef is of course responsible for finding ingredients."
Marika smiled. "Leave it to me."
An island with fresh water, how could there be no life?
But Sag didn't care. He was even a little fortunate. This way, wouldn't there be ingredients to replenish?
The strength of those things was not an opponent for these three women.
The three went to the vicinity of the island, and before long, strange roars and explosions could be heard.
Marika dragged a long-necked giant bird to the bonfire. Renettia used her dynamic power to move a scorched giant wild boar, and Lily came back to find someone to help, letting people carry a giant clawed deer-shaped thing.
The size of these three beasts was enough for hundreds of people to eat for a long time.
And as meat, simple cooking was enough to eat. Sag now needed something to eat, not to deliberately pursue deliciousness, so it was simple to make.
This time, when he ate again, Sag would no longer let his body swell. He had been unfamiliar with it before, but he could be proficient the second time. He could precisely use the nutrients from the food to recover from his injuries. After eating, his injuries were completely healed.
This rapid recovery, without leaving any damage, the broken bones, damaged internal organs, also quickly healed under the support of nutrients.
Marika was also observing Sag. Seeing that he seemed to have no abnormalities, she was surprised. "Can you do it to this extent? It seems to be completely restored, do you not need to recuperate?"
"Can't you do it?" Sag glanced at her.
"No, eating so much can only recover to 50%, and the rest of the time still needs rest. After all, injuries are easy to recover, but the fatigue of the body is not easy to recover. Life Return also requires energy," Marika smiled.
Sag showed a look of inquiry. He looked at his hand and fell silent.
It took energy, which was normal, but he could fully recover, but Marika couldn't...
This woman had developed Life Return to the point of increasing strength. Even if her own strength was not small, and perhaps had a natural bonus, but to be able to do this, her proficiency would not be low.
If she couldn't do it like him, was it a matter of realm...
Or was it a limitation?
"Lily, give me your sword."
He finished speaking, and without waiting for a response, he drew the rapier from Lily's waist, quickly cutting a wound on his finger. The energy accumulated from the food he had just eaten, under the use of Life Return, rushed to the wound with extreme precision, and the small wound disappeared instantly.
This sudden action, Lily and Renettia didn't realize it, but Marika, who was proficient in Life Return, thought of something. Her smiling face froze, her pupils contracted, and sweat appeared inexplicably on her forehead.
"Hehe, hahaha... Ho-hahahaha!"
Sag clenched his fist, a ferocious smile appearing on his face. "It's really interesting!"
No matter what the problem was, he had found a new way to strengthen himself!
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