This kid is a tough one.
At this moment, on the deck of the passenger ship, everyone who witnessed Yamiru narrowly escaping the shark's sharp teeth, climbing onto the ship in record time, and then bouncing around energetically after eating a mysterious bean, had formed a single concept in their minds.
Therefore, when Yamiru jumped up and angrily approached the couple, the onlookers hesitated to step forward.
The Earth is not lacking in stories of strange and superhuman feats.
Many of the passengers aboard this ship were seasoned travelers, so their experiences were somewhat more varied. For example, among the crowd, there was a teacher who had recently passed by a place called "Fire Mountain" and heard about a fearsome figure known as the Ox-King, who could crush a two-meter-tall man with a single finger. The teacher had been thinking of including the tale in a textbook, so that overzealous young students wouldn't fall prey to this mountain lord's clutches.
Compared to that, the boy who had just boarded the ship wasn't beyond comprehension, so the onlookers were still able to accept him.
\---
"What do you want?" The man from the couple stepped back, then moved forward to block his girlfriend, though there was nowhere else to retreat to with the railing behind him.
"I was just chased by a shark in the sea, burp\~" Yamiru, who had originally been glaring at the man, unexpectedly let out a loud burp, which instantly ruined the tension. He felt awkward and annoyed, thinking to himself: "This magic bean's effect on my stomach is too strong. One bean is enough to fill me up for days!" He continued, still trying to hold onto his previous attitude, "I was being chased by a shark, didn't you hear me burp\~? Didn't you blow a whistle too?"
"I... I didn't know\..." The man, still intimidated by Yamiru's presence, but unwilling to back down, retorted, "Any normal person would have been eaten by the shark already!"
"Who are you calling a freak?!" Yamiru pretended to be angry.
He suddenly jumped to the railing beside the man, steadying himself. He thought, "This could get embarrassing if I fall off…"
Yamiru reached out and grabbed the man's collar. The onlookers saw his slim arms, not understanding where the strength came from as he lifted the large adult man off the ground, making his feet dangle in the air.
"I didn't call you a freak, don't slander me!" The man panicked. "How does this unlucky kid have such crazy strength?!"
He tried to grab Yamiru's hand, but he couldn't budge it.
Yamiru froze at the man's words, realizing something felt off. Why was he acting so impulsively?
Standing on the railing, holding the man in the air, he noticed the pitiful look on the woman's face and glanced around at the onlookers. Sure enough, everyone seemed to have a faint fear of him, as if they were looking at some kind of monster. Yamiru wasn't used to being stared at like this, as it clashed with his usual low-profile, cultured personality.
He thought about it carefully. It seemed to be because his body was overflowing with adrenaline right now…
The death race with the shark had kept Yamiru's body in a constantly excited state, with blood pumping into his limbs and torso, making it difficult for his mind to stay calm.
No wonder even Son Goku, after transforming into a Super Saiyan, lost his cool and turned into a rage-filled old man... Yamiru thought with a smile. Of course, Goku's situation was more complicated than just a sudden increase in strength.
After a brief self-reflection, he concluded that, while it was important to summarize things, he still needed to teach this guy a lesson.
The next moment, the man felt himself lifted into the air. Yamiru had single-handedly grabbed him and lifted him over the railing, placing him outside the ship, where the sea stretched below for about twenty meters, with the same shark swimming at their speed. The man's face turned pale, but then he heard Yamiru ask, "Answer me."
The man nodded frantically. Yamiru asked, "Where is this ship heading?"
'Was this really something I need to answer?' The man fumed, but upon seeing Yamiru's golden, intimidating eyes... he swallowed his anger and said, "Pa, Papaya Island!"
Papaya Island? Yamiru froze, almost losing his grip and dropping the man, but the man clung tightly to his wrist. Yamiru murmured, "The World's First Martial Arts Tournament?"
"Yeah, yeah! Many people on this ship are going to Papaya Island to watch the Martial Arts Tournament!" the man hastily replied.
Some of the onlookers chimed in, and others waved posters of the tournament.
"The old man... did he want me to disembark before lunch? Could it be that he's taking me to watch the World's First Martial Arts Tournament?" Yamiru thought, remembering how in many novels, elderly masters or mentors would take their disciples to watch expert duels to instill the spirit of martial arts and hard work...
Yamiru instinctively reached for his chin to think, but then realized he was still holding the heavy man. It felt troublesome, so he casually tossed the man back onto the ship's deck.
The woman rushed to help the man up.
"How much longer until we reach land?" Yamiru asked the couple, also addressing the nearby passengers and crew.
The passengers exchanged looks, no one answered, but an older sailor spoke in a deep voice, "To Papaya Island, it's about an hour and a half by sea."
"An hour and a half? That's a bit far…" Yamiru thought for a moment, grinning as he slapped his palms together. "Great! Let's go straight there!"
With that, he ran along the railing, his fingers sliding across his forehead as he mimicked a diving posture. "Excuse me, I'm off!"
With a leap, he dove off the ship, mimicking a diver's smooth entry into the water.
On the ship, everyone looked down, watching the boy's freefall. A small splash followed as he hit the water. A man with a wild hairstyle couldn't help but comment, "What a beautiful dive! Hmm… isn't this the delivery kid we saw in the South City the other day?" It turned out he was Mark's father, a former third-rate fighter and fitness coach, Marda.
Mark, a small boy, peered over the railing and looked down, his soft voice calling out, "Ah, the shark is chasing him again…"
Passengers sighed in amazement: "Swimming with sharks… what a weird guy!"
---
After entering the water, Yamiru quickly dove down a long distance.
"It feels easier to hold my breath now, and I can stay underwater longer…"
Underwater, the world became quiet again, and it felt as if his thoughts had cleared up.
His swimming posture had become more graceful and efficient, his eyes glowing gold, cheeks puffed out as he stored oxygen. He thought, "No, it's not just that. My strength has improved further!"
The shark was still behind, growing more frustrated. "This human kid was getting faster, and after coming down from the ship, it seemed like he wasn't tired at all! How strange."
Burp!
Yamiru suddenly burped underwater, swallowing a few mouthfuls of seawater, which made him gag and turn green in the face. He quickly kicked toward the surface.
"Cough, cough!"
He coughed so hard that his nose ran, and his eyes stung from the saltwater. Before he could catch his breath, the water stirred with the shark's movement, coming at him fast.
Without thinking, Yamiru ignored the discomfort in his throat and exploded into maximum swimming speed, sending huge waves behind him.
"Human adaptability is truly incredible…"
Yamiru no longer found it uncomfortable to be relentlessly chased by the shark. He had gradually become accustomed to this feeling of constantly pushing his potential under the threat of death.
In fact, he almost started enjoying it!
"Am I really a masochist, a madman at heart? Come to think of it, it was only after getting my skull crushed by Blue that I felt this overwhelming desire to become stronger... Damn, what a masochist I am. If I'm not beaten up, I don't know how to move forward…"
While Yamiru thought this to himself, a grin slowly forming on his face as his speed subtly increased.
Having eaten a Senzu bean on the ship earlier, he now had an abundance of energy.
"But who cares? I've already made my decision! Whatever happens in the future, I won't look back. Damn it, I'll just keep pushing forward! Anyway… this crazy experience of squeezing out my potential and improving myself... it's really not bad! I'm addicted!"
The shark was already chasing him with all its might, but it was struggling to keep up. It was a disgrace—sharks everywhere would be ashamed of it!
Yamiru, however, was immersed in this state of single-mindedly pushing his limits, not even noticing the elderly man flying ahead of him.
"Everyone has boundless potential, it's just buried under layers of dust, so they can't even recognize it themselves…"
The old man flew just above the water, watching the boy swimming furiously behind him. He suddenly remembered the words of someone from his past and recalled how, back then, he too had crossed the sea using only his physical strength.
"Since everyone has unlimited potential, did I have the same potential as that person back then?" The old man couldn't help but wonder. "Or was the dust covering me back then far thicker than his?"
As the old man flew, lost in thought, Yamiru continued to swim tirelessly, chasing after the old man's flying feet. Meanwhile, the shark, completely exhausted, was still desperately trying to catch up.
Over an hour later…
Yamiru was so tired he felt like he wanted to cut off his arms and legs. His back was screaming in pain.
"Why aren't we there yet?!" he shouted in his mind, glancing ahead through the splashing water. "I don't see any sign of Papaya Island! That old man must have been daydreaming! He's leading me the wrong way!!"
"Hmm? Why aren't we there yet?" The old man snapped back to his senses and finally realized something was off. He subtly adjusted his course, quickly sensing the nearby island with a dense aura, and made a slight adjustment. He planned to make another adjustment in a few minutes... and after a few such tweaks, he'd likely align himself with the path toward Papaya Island...
"You really were daydreaming, weren't you?!" Yamiru nearly transformed into a dolphin, leaping out of the water to bite the old man in frustration.
Another half hour passed, and just as Yamiru felt like he might sink, they finally reached the coast of Papaya Island.