The stone walls of the Shells Town dungeon were three feet thick, carved from the coastal granite of the East Blue. To any ordinary prisoner, they were an absolute finality. To Ren Thorne, they had become a gymnasium.
For twenty-four hours, the only sound in the darkness was the rhythmic, sickening thud of flesh hitting stone.
Ren wasn't just training; he was exploiting the physics of his new reality. With the 5.0x Training Multiplier active, his body was in a state of hyper-accelerated evolution. Every push-up was the equivalent of five; every minute of shadow-boxing was nearly an hour of elite combat drills. His metabolism was screaming, burning through the latent energy the System had provided during the "Rachet" click.
> [TRAINING LOG: HOUR 18]
> Current Activity: Weighted Calisthenics (Using cell bed-frame)
> Efficiency: 500%
> Muscle Density: +4.2%
> Bone Mineral Density: +3.8%
> Note: Host is approaching the 'Physical Peak' of a standard Marine Recruit.
>
Ren stopped, his breath coming in controlled, steam-like exhales. He was drenched in sweat, but his heart rate recovered to a resting state in less than ten seconds. The 10.0x Recovery Factor was the real cheat code. He could tear his muscles to the point of failure, and by the time he finished a set of squats, the micro-tears were already healed, replaced by thicker, denser tissue.
"Still alive in there, kid?"
The voice came from the hallway. A guard, leaning against the iron door, rattled his keys. He was a lanky man in a stained Marine uniform, his cap pulled low. He wasn't one of Morgan's elites—just a filler soldier, a cog in the machine of tyranny.
Ren didn't answer. He moved to the center of the cell and took a stance. He wasn't thinking about the guard. He was thinking about Impact.
"Captain Morgan's coming down in an hour," the guard continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. "He's in a foul mood. Some pirate with green hair got caught in the plaza, and the Captain's ego is bruised. He's gonna make an example of you both. If I were you, I'd start praying to whatever god you believe in."
"I don't pray," Ren said. His voice sounded different—deeper, vibrating with a physical weight that wasn't there yesterday. "I calculate."
Ren lunged. He didn't hit the door. He hit the air.
He practiced the mechanics of a Soru (Shave) step—the legendary Marine technique he knew from his memories of the show. He knew the theory: kicking the ground ten times in a fraction of a second. Without the Multiplier, his legs would have shattered. With it, his nervous system began to fire at a frequency that defied human biology.
Kick. Kick-kick-kick.
His feet blurred. The stone floor beneath him cracked.
> [WARNING: NEUROLOGICAL STRAIN]
> Technique Mimicry Detected: [Soru - 12% Mastery]
> Current Bounty: 2,000,000 Beli.
> System Note: Mastery of Rokushiki requires a higher Infamy Tier. Current 'Physical Floor' is insufficient for sustained use.
>
"Then I'll just have to raise the price," Ren muttered.
The Plaza of Executions
The sun was blinding as Ren was dragged out of the darkness and into the central plaza of Shells Town. A crowd of townspeople stood in hushed, terrified silence. At the center of the square stood three wooden crosses.
One was empty—reserved for Ren.
The second held a man with moss-green hair, his head bowed, three swords confiscated and sitting on a nearby table. Roronoa Zoro.
The third was a symbolic warning, draped in the Marine flag.
And standing before them, towering over everyone, was Captain "Axe-Hand" Morgan. His jaw was a jagged piece of metal, and his right arm ended in a massive, blood-stained executioner's axe.
"Citizens of Shells Town!" Morgan roared, his voice amplified by the silence of the oppressed. "Insolence is a disease! This boy murdered a crew of pirates—not for justice, but for chaos! He challenged my authority! And this swordsman... this 'Hunter'... dared to strike my son!"
Ren looked at Zoro. The swordsman's eyes flickered open, catching Ren's gaze. There was a spark of recognition there—not of a friend, but of a fellow predator.
"You the one they're talking about?" Zoro rasped, his voice dry from dehydration. "The kid with the 2-million bounty?"
"It's a start," Ren replied, his eyes scanning the Marines. There were fifty of them. Most were fodder. But Morgan... Morgan was the milestone.
Morgan turned his cold, narcissistic gaze toward Ren. "You. You seem remarkably calm for someone about to be decapitated."
"I'm looking at my next multiplier, Morgan," Ren said, stepping onto the platform. He didn't wait for the guards to push him. He stood tall, his chest expanded. "You're worth what? Five million? If I take that axe-hand of yours, the World Government is going to have to print a lot more ink for my next poster."
The crowd gasped. Morgan's face turned a violent shade of purple.
"Executioners! Now!" Morgan screamed.
Two Marines stepped forward with rifles. They leveled them at Ren's chest.
In the back of the crowd, a small, pink-haired boy (Coby) and a rubbery kid in a straw hat (Luffy) were watching, frozen. But Ren didn't need a savior. He had the Rachet.
Focus, Ren thought. The Multiplier isn't just for training. It's for Adaptation.
As the Marines pulled the triggers, Ren didn't move away. He moved in.
BANG.
The bullets didn't hit Ren's heart. He had twisted his torso at the last millisecond—a feat of reaction time made possible by his 5.0x sensory processing. The lead balls grazed his shoulders, drawing blood, but he ignored the pain.
> [ACUTE ADAPTATION TRIGGERED]
> Combat Multiplier: Active.
> Task: Overcome 'Axe-Hand' Morgan.
>
Ren reached out and grabbed the barrels of the rifles. With a roar, he swung the two Marines into each other like ragdolls. Their helmets collided with a sickening clack, and they slumped to the ground.
"He broke the cuffs!" a Marine shouted.
Ren hadn't broken them; he had simply ignored the pain of his wrists skinning as he slid his hands through the iron rings, aided by the increased muscle density and sweat.
Morgan swung his axe. It was a wide, arrogant arc meant to end the fight in one stroke.
Ren dropped. He felt the wind of the blade pass inches above his head. He was back in the "Training Zone," even here in the middle of a battle. He saw Morgan's stance—top-heavy, leaning too far into the swing.
"Your form is garbage," Ren said.
He drove a fist into Morgan's solar plexus.
It wasn't a pirate's punch. It was a Scientist's Strike. He hit the exact point where the diaphragm meets the nerve cluster. Morgan's eyes bulged. The "Iron Skin" floor of Ren's 2-million bounty meant his knuckles were harder than Morgan's ribs.
"Gah!" Morgan stumbled back, gasping for air.
"Kill him! All of you, fire!" Morgan wheezed.
The Birth of the Calamity
The plaza descended into a storm of gunfire and steel. Ren was a whirlwind of calculated violence. He wasn't "stronger" than everyone yet, but he was faster at learning. Every time a sword swung at him, he learned the angle. Every time a bullet missed, his Observation-potential ticked up by 0.01%.
He reached the table where Zoro's swords lay. With a swift kick, he sent the three katanas flying toward the cross.
"Catch, swordsman!" Ren yelled.
Zoro didn't need to be told twice. He caught the Wado Ichimonji in his teeth as Luffy (who had finally jumped into the fray) stretched his arms to intercept the bullets meant for Zoro's back.
"Shishishi! You're pretty cool, Bounty-man!" Luffy laughed, his rubber body bouncing projectiles back at the Marines.
"I'm not doing this for you, Straw Hat," Ren said, ducking under a Marine's spear and shattering the man's knee. "I'm doing this for the news."
Ren turned back to Morgan. The Captain had recovered and was charging like a mad bull. Ren didn't use Luffy's help. He wanted the solo credit. He wanted the Infamy.
Morgan raised the axe for a vertical cleave. Ren stood his ground. He focused every ounce of his training, every bit of his 5.0x multiplier, into his right forearm.
"Iron... Frame!" Ren shouted, a primitive version of Tekkai (Iron Body) manifesting through sheer muscle tension.
CLANG.
The axe bit into Ren's forearm. It drew blood—deep—but it stopped. It didn't sever the limb. It was stuck in the bone-density of a man who was destined for billions.
Ren didn't flinch. He used his left hand to grab Morgan's throat.
"You're not a hero, Morgan," Ren whispered as the Marines watched in horror. "And I'm not a pirate. I'm the guy who's going to make sure the World Government never sleeps soundly again."
Ren delivered a headbutt—a brutal, skull-cracking collision. Morgan's metal jaw shattered. The tyrant of Shells Town collapsed into the dust, unconscious and broken.
The Aftermath: The First Recruitment
As the Marines stood down, terrified and confused by the fall of their leader, Ren stood over the body. He was bleeding from a dozen small wounds, but they were already closing.
He didn't look at Luffy. He didn't look at the cheering crowd. He looked at a man standing in the shadows of the Marine barracks—a man with a notebook, watching the scene with clinical detachment.
This was Jax, a junior Marine clerk who had been secretly embezzling Morgan's funds for months.
Ren walked over to him, his presence radiating a heat that made Jax stumble back.
"You," Ren said, pointing a bloodied finger. "You've been recording the 'irregularities' of this base, haven't you?"
Jax trembled, clutching his ledger. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't lie. I can hear your heart rate. It's too steady for a coward," Ren said. "The World Government is going to send an Investigator here. They'll find your records, and they'll hang you next to Morgan. Or... you can come with me."
Jax looked at the broken Captain, then at the boy whose bounty was about to skyrocket. "Why me?"
"Because," Ren said, looking up at the sky where a News Coo was already circling, eager for the scoop. "I need someone who knows how to talk to the world. I'm going to become the greatest threat this sea has ever seen, Jax. And I need someone to make sure they get the numbers right."
Jax looked at the ledger, then at Ren. He closed the book with a definitive snap. "My name is Jax. And I've always hated the paperwork here anyway."
> [NEW CREW MEMBER DETECTED: THE STRATEGIST]
> Current Bounty: 2,000,000 Beli (RE-CALCULATING...)
> Projected Bounty: 15,000,000 Beli.
> Multiplier Status: Preparing for Tier-2 Unlock.
>
Ren looked at his hands. They were shaking—not from fear, but from the raw, kinetic power surging through his veins. The Grand Line was waiting. And the Rachet was ready to click again.