"Three years. Within three years, I will find a way to cure your brother."
Three years. Whether through his own efforts or by venturing out to sea in search of a skilled doctor, that was more than enough time. Bellamy was absolutely confident he could resolve this minor inconvenience. Of course, he first needed to convince Muret.
"If I fail, you can leave the crew at any time."
Her hesitation was understandable. After all, the Hyena's notoriety was well-known in Neon Town. Seeing the conflicted expression on Muret's face, Bellamy knew she was already wavering. He just needed to give her one final push.
"Three million Belly." He tossed a bundle of cash he'd prepared onto the table. "Take this money and send your brother to school."
Neon Town had only a few private tutors, but this sum would certainly be sufficient.
"You can also move into the dojo where I live. That's my territory; no one will dare to bully your brother there."
The Hyena's infamous reputation wasn't entirely negative. At the very least, no one in this small town dared to ignore his presence. Of course, if they encountered pirates from outside the town, there was nothing he could do.
"Alright." Muret bit her lip and finally agreed.
With the conditions Bellamy had offered, she truly couldn't find a reason to refuse. Her brother's life was at stake. If three years could truly cure him, she would be willing to sell herself into servitude.
"Excellent."
With the ship's doctor secured, Bellamy was elated. He could finally begin his formal training. He'd been waiting for two days, and his impatience was growing.
"Bring your medical tools and medicines. Come with me."
He had already chosen the training location.
The crew's provisional cook had also prepared the necessary ingredients and was waiting there.
Although she didn't know what Bellamy was planning, Muret was smart enough not to ask too many questions. She quickly began to prepare, following his instructions.
North Blue, Minion Island, Neon Town. This small town was just an ordinary settlement in one of the Four Blues.
However, Bellamy knew that it held many hidden secrets.
From what he knew, Law had obtained the Op-Op Fruit on Minion Island, stolen from Doflamingo. As for what exactly happened, perhaps only Law himself knew.
But there was one key figure he remembered clearly.
That was Corazon.
Corazon, real name: Donquixote Rosinante, Doflamingo's biological brother.
At this point in time, Corazon should already be dead.
Law should have also consumed the Op-Op Fruit and embarked on his path of revenge.
This information was extremely important. The Op-Op Fruit was one of the most valuable treasures in the world of One Piece, if not the most valuable.
However, it was still too early to be thinking about such things. Immortality was not something he could grasp at his current level.
Minion Island was an island covered in forests. Stepping out of Neon Town, one was immediately greeted by a vast, primeval forest.
This was not Bellamy's destination today.
Leading Muret, Bellamy slowed his pace and headed towards a small hill beside the forest. Muret's physical condition was quite poor; he couldn't expect much from her in terms of combat ability.
However, she was the ship's doctor. Bellamy couldn't be too demanding for the time being. She just needed to focus on her primary duties.
After traveling in the wilderness for some time, Muret glanced at Bellamy with some concern as they moved further and further away from town. "Where are we going?"
Her voice was laced with a hint of anxiety, and Bellamy knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Don't overthink it. We're almost there." Bellamy didn't bother to reassure her, because they truly were almost there.
Before long, after pushing aside a thicket of dense weeds, a large tent came into view. This was the campsite Ross had set up, and it looked quite decent.
Seeing the campsite, Muret quietly sighed in relief. It seemed Bellamy truly didn't have any malicious intentions.
Hearing the rustling of the weeds, Ross quickly emerged from the tent. "Boss."
"Mm."
Bellamy was quite fond of this subordinate. He was hardworking and, most importantly, reasonably loyal.
"This is Muret, our future ship's doctor."
"This is Ross, the crew's temporary cook."
After introducing them, Bellamy didn't want to waste any time and immediately began preparing for training.
As for why he had come to this particular hill… it was because his training method was somewhat… unique.
This method was something he had pondered for a long time, created specifically for his own distinctive Devil Fruit ability. It was a special training regimen designed for a Spring-Spring man, though it might also be applicable to a Rubber-Rubber man or a Paw-Paw man.
He took off his shoes, wrapped his body in bandages, and put on various protective gear, mainly to protect his head, knees, and various joints.
Before long, Bellamy was ready.
After warming up a bit, he walked into a small cave near the hill. He'd spent quite a bit of money at the black market to find this cave.
Entering the cave, he carefully examined it and felt it was well worth the price. The interior of the cave was oval-shaped, with no significant protrusions on the ceiling or walls. The entrance was narrow, allowing only one person to pass through.
This terrain was perfect for him.
"Alright, then. Cave Ricochet Training, begin."
Bellamy took a deep breath and leaped towards the cave wall with a powerful jump.
His body swiftly collided with the wall, and the immense spring force immediately bounced him back, sending him ricocheting back and forth within the small, oval-shaped cave.
"What is the boss doing?" Ross stared blankly at Bellamy bouncing around inside the cave.
Not only him, but Muret was also completely bewildered. "Don't ask me. I just joined the crew."
They didn't even know what Bellamy's ability was, so naturally, they couldn't understand what he was doing.
According to the characteristics of a spring, if Bellamy exerted one unit of force, in this nearly enclosed environment, he would receive approximately one unit of reactive force. And after accounting for friction with the air, the cave walls, and his own body, that one unit of force would be reduced to roughly less than half a unit.
In other words, in this kind of environment, as long as Bellamy's body could withstand it, his training time would increase exponentially. Moreover, ricocheting back and forth in the oval-shaped cave would exercise his entire body at once.
It was both energy-efficient and a full-body workout.
While being tense and stimulating, it also trained his Devil Fruit ability.
The biggest drawback of this training method was that it was easy to get injured if he didn't control his force properly. That was why he had gone to such great lengths to find a ship's doctor.
Sure enough, before long, during one of his ricochets, he exerted slightly too much force, and his body slammed directly into the cave wall.
"Ptoo." Bellamy spat out a mouthful of blood. Since he hadn't been prepared in time, that impact had hurt quite a bit.
"Muret, come and patch me up."
His back felt numb from the impact, so the injury was likely quite serious. Getting injured at the very start of training seemed like a bad omen.
However, Bellamy felt great. This training method not only strengthened his body but also improved his mastery of the Spring-Spring Fruit. It was absolutely perfect.
He had a rough classification for his mastery of his Devil Fruit ability:
Grasped -> Proficient -> Mastered -> Awakened.
He was definitely only at the "Grasped" stage, far from "Proficient."
However, Bellamy was confident that once he completed his cave training, his mastery of the Spring-Spring Fruit would reach an entirely new level.