The fight begins!
Gon bent his knees, coiled like a spring, and launched himself forward—fist aimed directly at Li Mu's face!
Li Mu stood still, calm and composed. Just as Gon's punch was about to land, he tilted his head and stepped aside effortlessly.
"The sharp increase in aura perception allows me to sense the precise trajectory of Gon's attack," Li Mu analyzed,
"and the boost in agility from the serum gives me enough time to evade with ease."
His physical upgrades were showing immediate effect. Every move now felt lighter, more refined.
Seeing Li Mu easily avoid his strike, Gon realized this wasn't the same friend he sparred with last week. Without hesitation, he dashed to the side and picked up his trusty fishing rod from the ground.
"Li Mu! Let me show you how much I've improved with my rod training!"
With a practiced motion, Gon flicked his wrist—the rod cracked through the air, the hook aiming straight for Li Mu's collar.
"Got him!" Gon's eyes lit up as the hook drew near—but just as it was about to make contact, Li Mu vanished. The hook cut through empty air.
Only a shimmering trail of frost and a patch of cracked ice remained.
"Tsk… still too slow."
Li Mu reformed a few feet away, observing the snapped thread on his collar with a hint of frustration.
"It takes me about 0.6 seconds to enter elemental form. If I could react in 0.5 seconds or less, I could have avoided even the contact with my collar."
In truth, for someone who had only just consumed a Logia-type Devil Fruit, his reaction speed was incredible. Even in the One Piece world, Logia users needed months of training to achieve seamless elementization. For Li Mu, this was nearly instantaneous.
"Li Mu… what kind of ability is that?! I've never seen you use it before!"
Gon was stunned. His fishing hook technique had become precise through daily practice, but he had never seen someone completely disappear like that.
"This is a power I acquired recently. That's why I asked you to spar—I needed a live test subject."
He smiled and raised his hand. A small snowflake spiraled from his fingertip.
"My body can now become ice. I've become what they call a 'Frozen Human'."
"That's so cool!" Gon's eyes sparkled with awe.
"It is powerful, yeah. But I only wanted to test it briefly. I won't rely on it for the rest of the fight. Let's continue—without powers."
Truth be told, with the Frozen Fruit's abilities, Li Mu could easily overwhelm Gon a hundred times over. It would hardly be a fair fight.
"Man, your power's crazy. You turned into ice and dodged me like a ghost!"
Gon grinned, rubbing the back of his head. He knew he couldn't win, but that didn't mean he'd give up.
Even without Devil Fruit powers, Li Mu—who had just consumed the Super Soldier Serum and experienced an extreme physical upgrade—was no longer someone Gon could handle evenly.
Boom!
A simple three-layered punch from Li Mu sent Gon flying five meters, skidding across the grass.
"Oww…!" Gon groaned, clutching his abdomen.
"That really hurt…"
Li Mu rushed over with a guilty look and helped Gon sit up.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to hit that hard. I thought I was holding back…"
He had only used a fraction of his strength—he hadn't expected it to be so overwhelming.
"Your growth is insane. I lost to you before, yeah… but this time, I didn't even stand a chance."
Gon grinned wide despite the pain. He was genuinely happy for Li Mu.
"If your strength keeps climbing like this, I know you'll defeat Master Morad for sure. Once you do that, you'll fulfill Aunt Mito's condition—and we can head out together to take the Hunter Exam!"
Gon's excitement was contagious. His eyes gleamed with determination.
"Yeah. I'm confident I can beat Morad now. But Gon…"
Li Mu looked at him seriously.
"You need to make sure you catch the Big King Fish before the ship arrives. That's your ticket to the trial."
He knew from the original timeline that Gon would catch the fish in the final moments—but with his presence, anything could shift. After all, catching the King Fish relied on more than just skill. There was always an element of chance.
If Gon failed because of his interference—Li Mu decided he'd step in and help.
"Don't worry, Li Mu. I'll definitely catch it!"
Gon raised a fist, confidence radiating from him.