Sure enough, as the Slow-Slow Beam hit the sika deer, its movements visibly slowed down, comparable to a snail’s pace.
Without hesitation, Foxy dashed out of the forest, machete in hand, and swung it at the deer’s neck.
Seeing Foxy’s fierce demeanor, the sika deer looked fearful. It wanted to run, but its body moved as slowly as a snail. Its prized speed couldn’t save it this time.
As the smell of blood filled the air, a cut appeared on the deer’s neck, but the blood didn’t gush out as expected. Instead, it oozed slowly.
Ten seconds passed in the blink of an eye, and everything returned to normal.
The sika deer lost its balance and collapsed to the ground, blood spurting from its neck, quickly staining the ground red.
Foxy stood nearby, panting slightly, gripping the machete tightly, looking quite tense.
His face was also noticeably paler than before.
The sika deer twitched on the ground for a while before it lost all signs of life.
Fortunately, Foxy had sharpened the machete before heading out; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been a one-hit kill.
If he had missed this chance, the deer would have escaped, and Foxy would have been out of luck. Currently, he could only use the Slow-Slow Beam five times with all his strength, with a ten-minute cooldown between each use.
The most crucial part was that the slow effect only lasted ten seconds, far less than the 30 seconds it could achieve 20 years later.
This was why Foxy cursed the Slow-Slow Fruit. It was intense, yet very weak.
But Foxy believed this would all change.
He would improve the beam’s firing speed, the number of uses, the duration of the slow effect, and the cooldown time, aiming for minutes or even hours. He refused to be a mere seconds-man.
And the orchid finger gesture had to be resolved; it was a matter of his image.
Exhaling heavily, Foxy sheathed the machete and began dragging the sika deer by its hind legs back to the village.
The deer weighed at least 200 pounds, quite a burden for the 14-year-old Foxy. But he persisted, pulling the deer with determination.
In this world, 14-year-olds were already little experts.
For example, Rob Lucci of CP9 had single-handedly annihilated over 500 soldiers at the age of 13. Then, there were future greats like Luffy, Ace, and Sabo, who were likely already dominating the animal kingdom.
Chasing away tigers and wrestling crocodiles were everyday activities for them.
Yet here he was, struggling to drag a dead deer, the difference…
No, he had to work harder for a better future.
The more he thought about it, the more determined Foxy became.
Time flew by. The sun relentlessly chased the moon each day, shamelessly pursuing it for billions of years. Fortunately, the moon remained reserved, leaving the sun longing in vain.
Unknowingly, over 30 days had passed.
At dawn, the world was silent as faint light began to break on the eastern horizon, cautiously soaking the pale blue sky. A new day was slowly approaching.
On a mountain path, a figure was running swiftly, carrying two large wooden buckets, each over a meter tall and wide, filled with water.
The combined weight of the two buckets was at least 200 pounds, but the figure ran as if on flat ground, quickly covering several meters with each stride.
Back and forth from home to the spring, about 10 kilometers each way, hauling the buckets took a lot of work.
Foxy’s water tank was already full, so he was fetching water for his neighbors now.
For the past month, Foxy had gritted his teeth and trained hard, doing frog jumps, push-ups, and sit-ups. What started as a few dozen had increased to hundreds.
In addition to fetching water, he helped neighbors with farming, carrying things—anything that could be considered training, Wang Yu was willing to do. After all, it was all practice and helping others.
Hard work always pays off. This month, Foxy helped the villagers with many things, so he no longer lived in that shabby hut. It had been renovated.
He now had enough vegetables, oil, rice, and salt to last more than a month, all gifts from the villagers.
Now, Foxy was seen as a good kid by everyone, especially a hardworking one.
Aside from these connections, Foxy’s most significant gain was losing his potbelly. A month ago, it looked like he was eight or nine months pregnant, but now it had reduced significantly, with the faint outline of four abs starting to show.
His physique had changed from bloated to tall and slender.
The only thing that still troubled Foxy was his appearance.
His hair was still split and unruly, defying all attempts to tame it. Half a month ago, he tried rolling a red-hot iron over his head to flatten it, but it split again after a few days.
Frustrated, he considered shaving his head but couldn’t bring himself to do it.
However, Foxy found that letting his hair grow longer made the split less noticeable, so he planned to keep it that way.
Besides his hair, there was also his witch-like red nose. Foxy had tried many methods, but none worked.
And then there were his inverted eyebrows and triangular eyes. Every time he looked in the mirror, he felt he resembled a fox and a particularly lewd one at that.
Unfortunately, there were no cosmetic surgeons in the village.
Additionally, Foxy’s stamina had improved several times over the past month, and his Devil Fruit abilities had significantly progressed.
For example, he used to be able to fire the Slow-Slow Beam only five times before running out of energy. Now, he could fire it ten times, and the slow effect had increased from ten seconds to eleven.
Don’t underestimate that one second; it was the result of Foxy’s hard work over a month, sweating and pushing himself. The cooldown time had also decreased from ten minutes to nine.
This month of effort taught him why some Devil Fruit users were considered weak—it was because the training was genuinely tricky. Developing a Devil Fruit ability required more than just creative ideas; it needed repeated practice until mastery.
As the saying goes, there’s no weakest Devil Fruit, only the weakest users.
This saying is half true. If given a choice between an ordinary Zoan-type Fruit and a Logia-type Fruit, which would you choose?
Although Haki and martial arts can make up for the difference, there still needs to be a gap.
So, it can’t be generalized.
Perhaps because the Slow-Slow Fruit is somewhat related to time, its development was complicated.
Though the Slow-Slow Fruit didn’t have any large-scale attacks, what if Foxy somehow awakened it?
There are gains and losses; no Devil Fruit is perfect.
If used well, the Slow-Slow Fruit could kill enemies in an instant, but that required Foxy to be competent.
If he had martial arts and Haki like Garp, combined with the Slow-Slow Fruit, he could dominate the seas, and no one would dare to challenge him.
In short, personal strength is crucial.
More than just relying on the Devil Fruit is required. With martial arts and Haki, he might get close to an enemy and defeat them.
Surprise attacks might work, but remember, there’s an ability in this world called Observation Haki, which can even predict the future.
Isn’t that terrifying?
Overall, Foxy’s efforts this month had paid off, at least in terms of his aura, which was now full of flair.
He felt much more spirited.
In the past month, Foxy also planned some future paths for himself.
For example, cosmetic surgery was a must, and not even Jesus could stop him.
Next, he planned to join the Marines to stay alive for the next 20 years and learn the Marine’s Six Styles, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki.
Martial arts couldn’t be neglected, as they were crucial for his physical fitness, endurance, and use of the Devil Fruit abilities. They were also essential for survival.
He hoped to awaken Conqueror’s Haki, though it seemed unlikely. It was just a fantasy.
In summary, there were three main goals: cosmetic surgery, joining the Marines to become stronger, and surviving for the next 20 years.
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