“They weren’t trying to be difficult, they were just worried about me.”
Leaving Green Bit.
Mansherry stood cautiously on Hermes’ shoulder, trying to explain.
Some unpleasant events had taken place earlier, and they had almost come to blows.
When Leo and the others found out she had to leave again and follow Hermes, they strongly opposed it. They wanted to find another way to repay Hermes for saving her.
But Hermes only needed Mansherry’s healing abilities.
So, they couldn’t reach an agreement, and things almost escalated into a fight.
Mansherry knew how strong this man was and didn’t want Leo and the others to get hurt, so she insisted on leaving with Hermes, even arguing with Leo over it.
“When I go out into the world, I stand by my word. It’s just a small matter; I didn’t take it to heart.”
Hermes waved his hand casually, exuding the magnanimous air of a grand statesman.
“Thank you so much.”
Mansherry was touched, but the next thing he said almost made her choke, and she once again realized how cold and black-hearted this man was.
“Good thing you kept your word; otherwise, I was planning to wipe them out. But it’s mostly because I’m so generous. I’m just too kind!”
Mansherry’s face stiffened, and any gratitude she felt vanished.
This was a man who wouldn’t hesitate to kill. How could she have such feelings?
Leo was right; I am easy to deceive and a crybaby.
At that moment.
Mansherry began to self-reflect.
“Don’t hold onto any false hopes while you’re with me. Ten years, you only need to stay with me for ten years, and then you can be free.”
“But before that, you’re too weak. You have no ability to protect yourself. Until my ability can affect living beings, this is a significant weakness.”
“So…”
Hermes turned to Mansherry, planning to teach her Soru, at least a basic life-saving skill. Otherwise, she’d be too useless, apart from her healing fruit abilities.
If the Mini-Mini Fruit could already affect living beings, it would be great. He could hide Mansherry in his ear or hair without her needing to learn Soru.
Although Mansherry was a dwarf, she was still too big to fit in an ear or hair. Developing the Mini-Mini Fruit further would take time, so teaching Mansherry Soru was the best option.
Seeing Hermes’ strange look, Mansherry swallowed nervously, sensing impending doom.
Time flew by.
Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
During this time, the Donquixote Family frantically searched for Hermes, but he disappeared into thin air. At least in Dressrosa, there was no trace of him.
Doflamingo was furious but helpless.
In their quest to find Hermes, the family’s business suffered significantly. They were now quite poor, struggling to manage their finances.
Years of accumulated wealth had been swept away by Hermes, and now they needed to stabilize their business and recover, forcing them to shift their focus back to business.
So the Donquixote Family was very busy.
They also had to consolidate their rule over Dressrosa and fulfill their duties as Warlords, making them incredibly stressed.
All this blame fell squarely on Hermes.
The entire Donquixote Family hated him with a burning passion.
Western Dressrosa.
In the primeval forest.
The weather was clear.
“I need a break. If this keeps up, I’ll die!”
In the mountain stream.
Mansherry’s hair was a tangled mess, her face haggard with dark circles and bloodshot eyes. She looked utterly exhausted as if she might collapse at any moment.
She couldn’t take it anymore.
She just wanted to lie down, even if it meant dying right there.
Three months.
Three whole months.
Do you know what she’s been through these three months? Going to bed later than a dog and waking up earlier than a rooster, no matter the weather, repeating the same action like a soulless machine every moment.
Demon.
Hermes was a demon who wouldn’t stop until he wore her down completely.
“You won’t die, get up and keep going!”
“If your legs reach their limit, just heal them. It’s been three whole months, and you only managed to learn Soru. You haven’t even started on Geppo. You’ve wasted three months of my time!”
Hermes looked expressionlessly at the collapsed Mansherry, continuing his training. He felt that the Six Powers were becoming more and more integrated, and Life Return was just around the corner, only lacking a catalyst.
He had stayed here for three months to make sure Mansherry learned Soru.
With her healing ability, even if her legs were crippled, it didn’t matter. Her conditions were much better than his. If he had had such an ability at the start, it wouldn’t have taken him so long to master the Six Powers.
He had lost his temper several times because Mansherry was so frail and lazy. She always wanted to rest after a bit of training. If she had half his determination, she might have mastered Soru and Geppo in two months.
“I really will die.”
Mansherry pouted, her eyes filled with tears of grievance and exhaustion.
She hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in three months.
This man was not only cruel to her but also to himself, with training intensity that made her dizzy, and a tendency towards self-harm.
She often used her healing ability to treat his battered body.
“Think about how the Donquixote Family abused you, how wronged you feel now, and about your people. If that doesn’t motivate you, then you deserve to be bullied.”
“You’re just mud that can’t be molded.”
“Go jump off a building!”
Hermes’ disdain was extreme.
His gaze was like daggers to Mansherry’s heart. She was still a naive child; how could she be treated this way?
The more she thought about it, the more wronged and angry she felt.
She wasn’t entirely spineless. The days of being abused were a permanent scar on her heart.
“Training it is, I’ll defeat you one day.”
Mansherry got up in a huff, both angry and resentful towards Hermes. When she became strong, she would teach him a lesson to make up for her grievances.
“You have half a month left. Since you can use Soru proficiently, learning Geppo should be easier, and also Rankyaku.”
Mansherry actually had a lot of talent. In just three months, she had mastered Soru, mainly because Hermes pushed her mercilessly, like a heartless worm, exploiting her relentlessly.
With her healing ability, there was no fear of her becoming crippled.
“I understand.”
“Hmph!”
Mansherry walked to the side, forcing out a few tears to heal her overburdened legs, then mustered her energy to continue training. The snort was her final act of defiance.
Hermes ignored her and continued his own training.
Mansherry’s ability was undeniably powerful. Her healing tears quickly alleviated fatigue from training, allowing her to resume soon, greatly increasing her training duration.
Perhaps it was the growth period.
In these three months, Hermes had made significant progress. His mastery of the Six Powers, Haki, and the development of the Mini-Mini Fruit were all steadily advancing, with the most effort spent on the Six Powers, naturally achieving significant breakthroughs.
The sense of Life Return awakening grew stronger.
Once Life Return awakened, his overall strength would peak, making a solo fight against Doflamingo less desperate.
At this point, Doflamingo’s strength hadn’t reached its peak either. His Devil Fruit awakening probably hadn’t been long, given there were still years before Luffy arrived in Dressrosa.
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