By evening, in the dense mountain forest, a band of mountain bandits was preparing a bonfire feast. The bandits carried various ingredients, bustling about the small stronghold.
A fat man with a full beard lay beside a pile of firewood, furiously cursing something. This guy was clearly the leader of this mountain stronghold.
Beside the bandit leader lay a massive, man-sized lumber axe, presumably his weapon. Such a large weapon would be difficult for an ordinary person to even lift, let alone wield. The fact that this fat man could use it showed his astonishing strength.
Before long, a shifty-eyed, small-statured man scurried over to the bandit leader and whispered something in his ear. The man seemed to have brought some very bad news, enraging the bandit leader. "Damn it, you bastard!"
He grabbed the lumber axe from the ground and slammed it back down.
Boom!
A loud bang echoed, and a large crater appeared in the ground. This guy had terrifying strength.
The bandits, seeing this, all shrank back, fearing they'd attract their leader's attention and get a beating.
"That was all supposed to be mine!"
"Hyena! I'll kill you, I'll definitely kill you!"
This Devil Fruit had originally belonged to the bandit leader. For some unknown reason, this fool hadn't eaten it immediately, but instead hid this incredibly valuable treasure, believing no one knew.
But how could a tiny mountain stronghold hold any secrets? Before long, news spread that the leader was hiding a treasure. It just showed that bandits in this kind of place were not only ignorant but also incredibly stupid.
Just as the bandit leader was about to vent further...
A shrill alarm sounded from the stronghold's gate. "Enemy attack!"
"Who dares to provoke me at a time like this?!" The bandit leader angrily grabbed his lumber axe and looked towards the stronghold gate.
Thud! With a loud crash, the stronghold gate flew inwards.
Seeing this, even the dumbest among them realized that a formidable opponent had arrived.
"Hyena, you actually dare to come back!"
"Argh! I'm going to kill you!"
The bandit leader's hysterical roar let everyone know who the newcomer was. The bandits immediately grabbed their weapons, wanting to surround and kill him to avenge their previous defeat.
"Spring Step!"
Bellamy pushed off the ground with both feet, his figure turning into an afterimage as he rapidly arrived behind the bandit leader.
The bandit leader's roar hadn't even ended when a pained scream resounded throughout the entire stronghold.
"Aaargh!!"
Followed by the sound of bones breaking.
Crack...
The bandits were startled, turning towards the source of the scream. They saw a familiar figure raising his foot and slowly stomping down on the bandit leader's face.
"Wait a minute, why is the boss lying on the ground?"
The bandit leader was now lying on his back, screaming in agony. The hand that had been holding the lumber axe had been broken at some point. Along with his two legs.
"What just happened?!"
"I didn't see anything?"
Along with their confusion, the sound of breaking bones rang out again.
"What good is brute strength if you can't even catch my shadow?"
This bandit leader had a lot of strength, but he was fat and slow, completely unaware that Bellamy had gotten behind him.
Bellamy lightly tapped his toe on the ground again, and the controlled elastic force launched his entire body forward.
An afterimage flashed, and the bandits instantly lost sight of him. The next second, a bandit cried out in pain and collapsed. He didn't even know he was about to die until the very end.
This speed, relying entirely on elastic force, was simply too fast. So fast that even Bellamy himself couldn't fully control it. When turning, changing direction, or stopping, he needed to exert a great deal of effort to control the elastic force in his body to prevent himself from going off course.
Bellamy understood that this was because he wasn't yet proficient with his Devil Fruit ability. Additionally, his physical fitness wasn't strong enough yet. But that was okay. After resolving this minor issue, he'd have plenty of time to train.
Just then, the remaining bandits finally reacted. "Everyone, run!"
Although these bandits were stupid, their survival instincts still kicked in, making their brains work overtime. At this moment, facing this monster, running together offered the best chance of escape.
So, everyone bolted towards the stronghold gate.
Seeing the bandits' reaction, Bellamy slowly narrowed his eyes. "Moving targets are better for training."
That's right, he was already treating these guys as targets for training his Devil Fruit ability. And he felt that these targets would be quite effective. The few emergency turns he'd just made had made his control over the elastic force in his body a bit more precise.
Shortly after acquiring a new ability, the rate of improvement was always particularly fast, especially since Bellamy had already determined the direction for his ability development early on.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, only two living people remained in this small mountain stronghold.
One was naturally Bellamy, and the other, surprisingly, was the shifty-eyed, small-statured man.
"Sir, I really know where the leader's treasure is hidden."
"Lead the way." Bellamy nodded indifferently.
So, the small man had survived by revealing this secret.
"Sir, my name is Eddy. After I give you the treasure, will you really let me go?" Eddy looked at Bellamy timidly, fearing he would get angry after hearing this question.
Bellamy didn't even bother to look him in the eye. "I have no interest in trash."
Although he was called trash, Eddy carefully analyzed Bellamy's tone and realized that he truly didn't have any interest in his life.
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm trash, I'm trash."
What was wrong with being trash? Eddy was so happy he almost jumped for joy. At this moment, if anyone dared to say he wasn't trash, he'd fight them.
With a wretched smile, Eddy expertly led Bellamy to the stronghold's treasure stash. It contained a large pile of difficult-to-dispose-of gold and silver jewelry, various gemstones, a dozen or so well-maintained firearms, and about three million Berries.
"Not bad. I didn't expect this bandit den to be so wealthy."
"Yes, sir. This is the collective wealth of all our bandits." Although he said that, in reality, only the bandit leader could use this treasure freely.
"In that case, help me carry it back."