The first half of the Grand Line, an unknown azure sea.
Morning mist draped over the ocean like a veil. The sunlight had yet to fully pierce the clouds, yet an unsettling restlessness already lingered in the air.
The Golden Merry sailed quietly through the waves. Its dark-gold hull, having absorbed vast amounts of gold, now emitted a restrained and solemn metallic sheen under the dim light.
Unaware of the new bounties that had shaken the world, the Straw Hat crew continued forward.
After the shocking battle at Banaro Island, Ronan understood clearly—
Though their current strength could be called monstrous among their peers, compared to Admirals and Emperors at the very top of the world, they still had a long way to go.
"Now that we hold the key to thunder… we can't afford to waste it."
Ronan stood at the center of the deck, bare-chested, his muscles carved like marble.
He glanced at Nami, who was loosening her wrists, and gave a slight nod.
Nami took a deep breath. The sea breeze lifted her orange hair, strands of electricity flickering at the tips like fireflies.
She had changed into light training clothes. Her fair arms and legs were faintly etched with silver patterns.
"Are you ready? This isn't a joke like before."
Her slender hand rested gently on the golden base of the main mast.
"Electro-Metallurgy: Magnetic Gravity Field—Construct!"
BOOM!!
With the release of her will, countless threads of condensed silver electricity surged downward along the mast.
The currents instantly activated the gold within the ship.
The air in the training zone visibly collapsed under the pressure of the magnetic field.
Sunlight entering the area bent unnaturally—cut, refracted, and reassembled by the force.
It turned into a dense, suffocating violet glow.
Within this field, even sound moved slowly, heavy and distorted.
"Current output… ten times gravity!"
Sweat formed on Nami's forehead.
For her, this wasn't just helping her crew—
It was the ultimate test of her control over the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
"THUD!!"
The moment the gravity field formed, three heavy impacts echoed across the deck.
Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were instantly crushed downward—
As if struck by mountains.
Every muscle, every drop of blood, even their bone marrow was dragged down by an invisible force.
"This feeling…"
Luffy lay face-down on the golden deck, one cheek pressed flat.
He tried to lift his arm—but even breathing felt like dragging a broken bellows.
"It's like… carrying a Sea King on my back…"
Zoro bent his knees, veins bulging like writhing snakes across his forehead.
Each step he took made the golden deck groan.
Sanji balanced on one leg, his face flushed red from restricted blood flow.
"Nami-san… your 'gentle embrace' is suffocatingly heavy…"
While the three struggled—
Ronan stepped into the field as well.
Under tenfold gravity, his Vajra inner energy surged like a roaring dragon.
His steps were heavy—but steady, each one carrying a mysterious rhythm.
"Luffy, your rubber body's insulation is your advantage—but here, it's your weakness."
A dangerous smile appeared on Ronan's face.
With a sudden motion, he thrust his long spear backward.
The spear tip—crafted from Adam wood and Seastone—gleamed coldly in the violet field.
"Hold it."
"Eh?! That's Seastone—!"
Luffy's eyes widened in horror, but under the crushing pressure, he couldn't move.
The moment his hand touched the Seastone—
His strength drained instantly.
His rubber body reverted completely to flesh and blood.
Under tenfold gravity—
He collapsed flat onto the deck, face pale as paper.
"Nami… start."
Ronan sat cross-legged at the center of the gravity field.
Nami's eyes sharpened.
Her golden staff traced a brilliant arc in the air.
"Thunder Tempering: Microcurrent Activation!"
"ZZZZT—!!!"
Countless hair-thin arcs of lightning burst forth, brighter than stars.
Instead of burning—
They transformed into millions of "electric needles," guided by the magnetic field—
Piercing through pores into their bodies.
The moment the current entered—
Luffy let out the most agonizing scream since setting sail.
It wasn't burning.
It was internal collapse—
Each current forced open dormant cells, injecting oxygen and Vajra energy violently through electric stimulation.
"AHH!! My bones… it feels like thousands of red-hot ants are eating me alive!"
Luffy clutched the Seastone spear, his skin turning an unnatural crimson, black impurities seeping out.
Ronan closed his eyes, his face twitching.
Lightning raged through his meridians.
Hidden pathways, once narrow but resilient, were forcefully widened by the thunder, roaring like war drums.
"Hold your dantian! Don't let your energy scatter!"
Ronan's voice rang out like a great bell in the thunder-filled purple domain.
"Imagine your body as raw iron!"
"This tenfold gravity is your anvil!"
"This lightning is the hammer of the gods!"
"Every pain is purifying your impurities!"
"Endure it! Hammer out every trace of weakness!!"
—
An hour passed in a flash.
The violet glow began to fade, but thunder still crackled above the Golden Merry.
At the center of the storm—
Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, and Ronan sat facing each other like statues.
Lightning bit at them like venomous snakes.
Ronan's consciousness sank inward.
He saw—
His Vajra energy, once flowing like molten gold through his meridians—
Now felt… hungry.
The lightning entering his body did not dissipate.
It was devoured.
Two opposing energies collided within his dantian—
Compressed—
Then began to spiral together like yin and yang.
And in that moment—
His once neutral Vajra energy…
Was dyed with a blinding silver glow.
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