The Shadow Giant, A Cheat for Training!

"Ahh..." 

"That is..."

"The sea was cut open..."

"Good lord! What immense power!" 

"That's just a monster..."

They watched as the several kilometer stretch of sliced open sea slowly restored itself. The zombie soldiers, unable to disobey William's orders to work day and night, as well as Perona and Dr. Hogback who were training nearby - everyone was frozen in shock. 

Their mouths hung open, unable to close them for a long time.

"G-Gulu! That guy...he's really only seventeen years old?" Perona couldn't help but swallow hard.

She couldn't fathom that William was just seventeen, a year younger than her eighteen years. His strength was overwhelming. Unbelievable.

"Hissss...You are truly worthy of being Lord William..." Dr. Hogback's eyes shone with excitement. "In terms of ability development, he has already surpassed Lord Moria!"

"With the powers of the Shadow Fruit, combined with the formidable physical prowess cultivated by the World Government, Lord William is completely qualified to replace Moria as the leader of the Seven Warlords of the Sea!"

Hogback had already resolved to follow this Hell William. After gaining the powers of the Paramecia Repair Fruit, he was even more impressed by William's boldness. Now witnessing his overwhelming might firsthand, how could Hogback not be thrilled? The more powerful William proved himself, the more limitless their crew's future seemed - validating Hogback's decision.

"The path ahead is still long!" William had returned to his usual calm demeanor, not outwardly proud. 

At his current level of strength, directly enlarging himself via the Shadow Revolution to become a giant would be extraordinarily draining. Going all-out to maintain that giant form for intense, protracted battles would quickly deplete his stamina to the extreme.

More training was needed.

"Furthermore, the Shadow Revolution is just one aspect of the Shadow Fruit's abilities! Shadow Magician!"

William's eyes narrowed as the black shadow stood up, swelling in size to form a "humanoid shadow" matching his own shape. A pair of massive black fists waved out instantly.

"Boom...boom..."

The shadowy fists kept coming, smoke and dust flying as countless bits of gravel scattered from the rocks ahead being pounded relentlessly. The materialized shadow fist extended and contracted wildly, sometimes twisting greedily like a snake to strike targets from incredible blind angles. Its movements were dazzling and impossible to predict.

"Shadow Giant!" William crossed his arms and shouted.

"Rise!"

In the next moment, the Shadow Magician beside him burst outward. The three meter tall figure, originally the same size as William's body, suddenly expanded further. The extremely dark form kept visibly enlarging at a rapid speed until, in the blink of an eye, it had grown into a towering dark shadow giant. 

"Tempest Kick!" The giant's massive right foot lashed out like lightning.

"Wuhuhuuu!!" A deafening roar tore through the air as an immense crescent-shaped slash materialized from nowhere.

"Phewww!!" The overwhelming force blasted forth unabated, striking the distant sea.

"Boom! Boom!..." 

"Craaash!!"

Seawater erupted skyward as an enormous trench gouged the ocean floor. The display was indescribably shocking.

"When coupled with the Shadow Fruit's abilities, the combat power exerted by the shadow clone is indeed tremendously potent..." William mused, touching his chin appraisingly. "Moreover, the Shadow Magician possesses advantages my original body does not.

"It is impervious to physical attacks, able to simply ignore damage. Being a shadow, it can freely alter its shape and move unpredictably. On the contrary, it can surprise and create difficulties for the opponent - making defense extremely challenging!"

Though the shadow clone could currently only enlarge to a giant's form and not to the exaggerated size of an actual island, William believed that as he further developed his Devil Fruit abilities, he would definitely empower the Shadow Magician to even greater sizes and combat effectiveness.

...

"Thump!"

"Thump!" 

Perona and Dr. Hogback finally completed the grueling training regimen William had set, collapsing to the ground in a sweaty heap, too exhausted to stand. Early that morning, they had been forced to run twenty laps around the Island Ship.

"Phew, I'm so drained, I finally finished running!" Perona panted heavily, drenched in sweat with tears in her eyes as she recalled how much easier things had been under Moria's command. At least that man never put them through such torturous daily workouts.

"Twenty laps...almost killed me!" Dr. Hogback wheezed weakly. "Water...I need water!!"

A fierce-looking zombie soldier standing guard hurriedly brought glasses of water to the two exhausted trainees. Aside from his somewhat dried and darkened skin, he appeared just like a normal human. 

Thanks to the Paramecia Repair Fruit's effects, although still affected by salt and direct immersion, the zombie soldiers no longer had to fear ingesting seawater or salt. Their lower throats were completely rebuilt, allowing speech despite being unable to drink the seawater.

"You two need to apply yourselves fully," William stated calmly as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I have already taught you the training methods for all six martial stances!"

"Do not let me down!"

"Yes, Lord William!" Both Perona and Hogback couldn't help but look solemn despite the immense pressure.

Although William had only demonstrated the six forms, the two were envious at the prospect of mastering them. To become so powerful...at the very least, it would allow them to defend themselves.

"I don't know when I'll be able to fully master all six stances!" Perona said wistfully.

"Do not be impatient..." William smiled, patting her head gently. "As long as you diligently follow the training plan I've laid out and persevere as your physical conditioning improves, I have a way to accelerate your practice!"

"Really?" Perona's eyes lit up, gazing at William longingly.

As a doctor, Hogback was also surprised. "Does it involve some kind of medicine?"

"Of course not..." William chuckled. "The powers of the Shadow Fruit go far beyond that!"

"In fact, doctor, if you are interested you could study genetic medicine and the like in your spare time!" he suggested to Hogback.

"What power of the Shadow Fruit?" Perona asked, puzzled.

"While the purloined shadows implanted into others can only temporarily enhance their physical abilities for a short time..." William explained bluntly, "On the flip side, it can also grant me possession of the target's long-term muscle memory and combat instincts in that brief period - fully integrating their experience into my own physical consciousness!"

"So by ardently training and focused understanding during those fleeting two or three minutes, you may be able to gain something substantial!"

This was a major discovery William made through repeated experimentation. The Shadow Fruit's powers were uniquely bugged in a sense - an accelerated training aid that allowed skills to be shared.

Moreover, unlike normal people who assimilated shadows and only gained a temporary combat boost, by impersonating the target he could absorb the combat instincts and experience they had cultivated over years in an instant. As the Shadow Fruit's inherent user, he could even access the deeper memories of the stolen shadow's owner.

"So that's it!!" Perona and Hogback realized with dawning comprehension. 

Of course they knew well how implanting a stolen shadow could enhance the recipient's fighting abilities - Moria had relied on that very power to crush William and imprison him. But they never expected such esoteric potential effects from assimilating other people's shadows.

The two immediately felt a surge of joy and excitement. 

"Don't get too eager..." William cautioned. "While I can help you find a Grandmaster of the Six Powers, plunder their shadow to accelerate your understanding of those skills...your physical conditioning must still be able to keep pace!"

"So we must continue intensifying our training!"

"Yes, Lord William!!"

"We will work diligently!"

(end of chapter)