After returning to the base, Colonel Hammond was not stingy at all. He let everyone have a lively gathering in the cafeteria, allowing them to eat as much as they wanted, anything available in the cafeteria was fair game. Additionally, all alcohol and cigarettes were offered at a 50% discount with a "buy two, get one free" deal.
This made everyone ecstatic, and they all spent generously.
As the saying goes, money earned by the base is spent by the base.
Anyone who knew about it understood this was a Marine branch base, but to outsiders, it might as well have been some kind of amusement park.
Before long, the cafeteria turned into a wild party, with people boasting about how brave they had been, how many pirates they had taken down in the battle.
Many of them, who previously had blank records, now had a notable achievement to their name:
[Year 1518 of the Sea Calendar, participated in the joint operation that crushed the Black Tiger Pirates in a certain sea area of the West Blue.]
The celebration lasted the entire night.
As a result, the next morning, over a hundred people were still sound asleep in their dormitories.
Of course, Jay was not among them.
He was up early as usual. However, since Buck had drunk too much, their morning "resilience training" had to be put on hold. Instead, Jay went to the gym and started lifting weights.
After more than a month of relentless training, his progress was astonishing!
It was as if the concept of bottlenecks didn't exist for him, he was getting stronger at a speed visible to the naked eye.
His muscles had become increasingly solid, exuding a powerful and explosive aesthetic.
If he were to face Johnson again, one punch would be enough to send the guy into a baby-like slumber.
This is power!
Since his morning training was unexpectedly canceled, Jay decided to stay in the gym and focus on building his strength.
By noon, the new promotion list for non-commissioned officers was released.
With two direct competitors eliminated and his latest accomplishments, Jay's name naturally appeared on the list, officially making him a corporal!
Although a corporal was just a low-ranking officer, it meant he was no longer just a grunt, he was now a "superior".
This was a significant step up in rank.
Many sailors served until their retirement or died in battle without ever rising beyond a basic rank.
So, when the news broke, plenty of people were envious, even jealous.
However, when they thought about Jay's ruthless methods and the powerful backing behind him, they had no choice but to swallow their grievances and force smiles as they congratulated him on his "promotion."
Jay, of course, was in a great mood and didn't care whether their praise was sincere or not.
What he enjoyed most was seeing people who despised him yet were utterly powerless against him.
The next day, the most immediate effect of Jay's promotion became apparent.
Those who had written IOUs to borrow money before all came rushing in with their payments, now eager to "lend" him money instead.
With no way to refuse, Jay reluctantly accepted their offers. Right in front of them, he burned all the IOUs they had written previously.
But when he pretended to write them an IOU in return, they all quickly stopped him, insisting it wasn't necessary.
Since they were so persistent, Jay didn't want to embarrass them, so he sighed and agreed.
Between this and what he had already accumulated, he had pocketed nearly two million Berries in this round alone.
After some thought, Jay decided not to sink the money into the system for another round of spending.
For now, all five of his card slots were filled, he needed time to "digest" his current gains before worrying about drawing new cards.
Secondly, the card pool was simply too much of a rip-off. Throwing two million Berries into it probably wouldn't even make a sound. Forget about drawing an Orange Card or a Red Card, he might not even get a Purple Card out of it.
It was better to hold onto the money for now, just in case.
For example, he might need it to bribe Colonel Hammond or just to cover daily expenses.
After all, his current expenses were no joke, just buying those 170 sakura mochi every day cost him nearly 19,000 Berries.
His previous salary as a Private First Class wasn't even enough to last a week!
If he hadn't found ways to make some extra cash, eating like this for 38 days straight would have bankrupted him!
"I can't afford it, I can't afford it. Better to keep the money and make sure I can eat first."
With a helpless sigh, Jay carefully stashed away the money.
Time always flies when life is fulfilling.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days had passed since Jay's promotion to Corporal.
Under the bright sunlight, Jay stood with his well-built, muscular upper body exposed.
A thick wooden stick was swung hard against his back.
PAH!
The stick snapped in half on impact, the broken end spinning through the air.
Meanwhile, aside from a faint red mark, Jay's back was practically unscathed.
"No... I can't do it anymore. I'm out of strength..."
Buck was sprawled on the ground, panting like a dying dog. The others were in the same state, lying on the floor gasping for breath.
Scattered around them were seven or eight other wooden sticks, all broken in half.
"That's enough. Let's stop the endurance training here for now. Starting tomorrow, you all can go back to your usual tasks."
"Really? That's great!"
"I never thought hitting someone could be this exhausting... until I met Brother Jay."
"Yeah, it's time to stop. With our strength, we can't even help with his training anymore."
"Brother Jay is just too strong. I bet there are barely a handful of people in the entire base who could take him on."
"Probably. I mean, look at how many of those thick wooden sticks we've broken."
As the group showered him with praise, Jay's mind was completely focused on the system interface.
He couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.
The requirement for unlocking the ability was to withstand 10,000 effective attacks...
But his initial estimates turned out to be way off in the later stages.
Because of the "Hanma Bloodline", his endurance and resistance kept improving the more he trained.
The problem was, attacks that previously counted as "effective" were no longer recognized due to his sheer toughness.
In simple terms, it wasn't breaking his defense anymore.
This forced Buck and the others to hit him even harder just to register a valid strike.
But every time they increased their force, Jay's endurance grew even stronger, creating a ridiculous cycle where they had to hit him with all their might, just to barely register any damage.
This absurd loop led to a massive drop in training efficiency.
In the end, Jay had to recruit even more people, spending extra time and effort before he finally met the activation conditions.
[Hanma Yujiro] (Red) Unlocked!
[Requirement Met: Withstand 10,000 Effective Attacks.]
[Ability Unlocked: Demon Back!]
[Demon Back – The muscles on your back form a terrifying, demonic visage, allowing you to unleash the body's full strength to its maximum potential.]
Jay flexed his back muscles slightly and immediately felt something different, as if his back had been imbued with a soul.
With just a single thought, his muscles shifted and wriggled at his command.
No... it was more than that.
His entire back had come alive!
As each muscle expanded and contracted, an intricate natural design emerged on his skin.
A pattern so detailed and fierce, it resembled the face of a demon!
Power!
The moment Demon Back was activated, Jay felt an unimaginable surge of strength bursting from within his body!