"You guys good? You don't have to join me in training here," Kong said, glancing over at Enel and Zed, who were clearly struggling just to stay on their feet.
But it was Beru he kept a closer eye on. Kong knew he was holding back—refusing to let his body adapt to the gravity. If Beru adapted now, it would only be in a way that let him survive, not in a way that forced him to grow stronger.
"Like hell I'll let bug-brain get stronger than me," Enel growled through clenched teeth, dragging one foot forward in defiance, just to get ahead of Beru.
But Beru wasn't about to be outdone. Fueled by irritation, he stepped in front of Enel, cutting him off without hesitation.
"What's your problem? You trying to start something?" Enel snapped, his rage building with every second.
"Shut up, long ears," Beru shot back, his tone sharp and hostile. "Just know your place—behind me. Don't get in my way."
Kong ignored the bickering, not even sparing them a glance. His attention was on Zed now, who stood quietly for a moment, clearly thinking it over. Then, with a tired sigh, he shook his head and turned back toward the ship. He wouldn't be joining them.
But while Zed returned, Ain and Binz chose differently. Without hesitation, they stepped forward, each determined to grow stronger—willing to face the crushing gravity head-on.
Kong ignored the others, his focus shifting to the grass beneath his feet. It looked like any normal patch of grass—just smaller, more compact. The same went for the trees, which barely reached the height of a one-story house if you ignored the roof.
Under such overwhelming gravity, the plant life here had clearly adapted, growing shorter and denser to withstand the pressure.
"I just thought of something," Kong muttered, struggling slightly as he reached down and yanked a clump of grass from the ground.
With it in hand, he walked off the island and returned to the ship. Once aboard, he let go of the grass—and it dropped like a cannonball. It slammed into the deck with an audible thud, cracking the air with force. Of course, the ship remained unharmed—its high-quality wood was more than tough enough to handle it.
"I thought the grass would be some kind of super sharp grass," Kong said, clearly disappointed. "Like, the whole island covered in blades or something… what a letdown."
"It's about a thousand times heavier than normal gravity," Zed said calmly, stepping closer to study the grass. "I'm guessing this is the work of a Devil Fruit."
Kong glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow with interest. The idea hadn't crossed his mind, but it made sense… but how could a devil fruit power last long enough for life to adapt and evolve to it?
"Damn… then whoever did this has to be powerful," Kong said, eyes narrowing slightly. "But if we can train under a thousand times gravity… well, let's see if we can live here like it's normal."
With that, he jumped back onto the island—only to be immediately slammed into the ground as the crushing gravity took hold once more, forcing him flat with a grunt.
"Roar!" A thunderous roar echoed from deep within the island.
Everyone looked up just in time to see a massive tiger leap out from behind a bush, landing hard in front of them.
Its body was thick with muscle, clearly shaped by the island's intense gravity. Its sharp eyes scanned the group for a moment—then, with a guttural growl, it charged straight at them.
"I got it!" Kong shouted with a laugh, launching himself off the ground despite the crushing gravity. He rocketed toward the tiger, clashing with it head-on.
Even under the immense weight—gravity so intense it made the very blood in his veins feel heavier, forcing his heart to beat harder just to keep it flowing—Kong still wasn't weak. Not even close.
He met the beast's charge without hesitation. Muscles straining, veins bulging, he collided with the tiger in a raw test of strength. For a moment, it seemed like they were evenly matched, locked in a fierce struggle of power and pressure.
But they weren't equals. Not truly. Kong was holding back; this was a battle of no devil fruits or Haki, using the fight as a way to push himself even further. Sure, moments ago he had struggled to stand—but that was before the adrenaline kicked in, before his blood started pounding and his will ignited.
Now, he was moving—adapting—and fighting. But the question now was, How long could he keep this up?
How long could his heart keep up before reaching its limit? Kong didn't know—and he didn't care. He ignored the warning signs, the strain, the weight pressing down on every cell in his body.
This was a pure fistfight—him against the tiger's relentless claw strikes. But the tiger wasn't some weak beast. Its body was a fortress—skin thick and dense, almost bulletproof. It tanked Kong's punches without flinching, shaking them off as if they were raindrops.
One careless swipe from the creature carried the force to one-shot a battleship. And yet, here Kong stood, pushing forward against the impossible weight and the overwhelming power before him.
Off this island, thais tiger would be more terrifying than a Sea King. If it had Haki—and could bypass Katakuri's future sight—it could defeat him outright. That was the level of power this beast held. And if Katakuri dared to face it here, on this island under such crushing gravity? He'd be brought down in under a minute.
A few hours later
"What's wrong?" Kong asked with a wide grin, watching as the tiger finally began to retreat. It had realized Kong was getting faster. Each movement was sharper than the last, his body adapting more and more to the overwhelming gravity. The beast hesitated, clearly wanting to flee.
But Kong didn't give it the chance. He kept pressuring it, kept fighting, forcing it to keep going. By nightfall, it was clear. The tiger was no longer a challenge for Kong—too weak to offer him anything more. That's when Kong finally released a sliver of his Conqueror's Haki for the first time.
The moment it hit, the beast froze. The battle was over. The tiger, now subdued, was tamed. From that point on, Kong had it assist Enel and the others with their training.
As for Kong, he ventured deeper into the forest, where the air grew denser and the wilds even more hostile. There, he found not only more ferocious beasts but also killer plants—twisted flora that had evolved under the crushing weight of the island's gravity.
After taming a few of the stronger creatures, he set his sights on something else—the hardest thing the island had to offer. A massive stone boulder, jagged and immovable, stood before him. Without using Haki, without relying on anything but raw power, he began to punch it.
April 27
For hours on end, Kong didn't stop. His fists crashed into the stone over and over, the sound echoing through the forest like thunder.
His heart, once struggling to keep up under the pressure, had adapted. It no longer needed to work as hard to pump blood through his body.
Even his internal organs had grown stronger, reinforced through constant strain. Every part of him was evolving.
This was the power of training under gravity a 1,000 times heavier than normal. But don't forget his 100x cheat, it allowed him to do something that would have needed days, in record time, even faster than Beru with his devil fruit… although Beru couldn't control how he adapted, and he was going up and above to suppress his devil fruit.
But Kong wasn't the only one who refused to slow down in his training. Enel was pushing himself just as hard, determined not to let Beru outshine him. He wasn't going to be left in anyone's shadow—especially not Beru's.
Even though Beru wasn't using his Devil Fruit to adapt, his body was still changing. His muscles, his organs—everything inside him was strengthening at a rapid pace under the extreme gravity. That natural growth was enough to put pressure on anyone trying to keep up.
So Enel had to get creative. Drawing from one of the many insane ideas Kong had planted in his head, Enel focused on the electrical signals in his brain. It was the only idea from Kong's nonsense that he'd actually managed to pull off.
By tapping into those signals, he gained control over the speed and flow of his brain's communication with his body. With effort and skill, he was now able to send commands through his nervous system far faster than before.
But what if he could go even further—what if he could create his own signals, and tell his blood, heart, and other organs how they should work?
That's exactly what Enel had been doing. He was creating electrical signals within his brain and firing them off deliberately, targeting specific parts of his body. With each signal, he forced his muscles to contract at incredible speeds, far beyond what normal training could accomplish.
In doing so, he was simulating years' worth of training in a fraction of the time. His body was constantly in motion on a microscopic level—tensing, flexing, and working. All of it was happening under the immense pressure of 1,000x gravity.
The result? His growth was terrifying. So was Beru. Their progress was so rapid, so unnatural, that it crushed the motivation of Ain and Binz. Watching the two monsters evolve before their eyes made their own efforts feel almost pointless.
And yet, despite that crushing gap, they still trained—because they knew they were going to face the World Government soon. They didn't want to be cannon fodder.
So, they trained. Kong took things even further by creating clones of himself, each one tasked with training under the same brutal gravity. He pushed himself to the limit—physically, mentally, and creatively.
He even started developing named attacks. Coming up with a proper theme for them was more trouble than he expected, but once he landed on one, he stuck with it.
And so, a few days passed on the gravity-drenched island. An island that Kong proudly declared as his.
He envisioned more than just a home—he saw a sanctuary. A place where every member of his crew would one day walk normally, unaffected by the crushing weight.
It would be the perfect base. A place where they could rest and relax while the outside world struggled to reach them—an impenetrable haven where their enemies would try their best to win… and fail.