Boom!
Thunder cracked across the sky of the ancient, storm-shrouded island, but the sound was drowned out by the thunder of fists on flesh. A series of explosions rocked the landscape, a chaotic symphony of raw power and furious roars.
The entire island served as a brutal training ground, split into three distinct battlefields. Two of the Beasts Pirates' All-Stars and four of the Flying Six were locked in ferocious combat with each other.
Queen, the Plague, clashed with Eneru. Who's-Who fought Ulti. Sasaki battled Page One.
A glint of dull, grey metal was visible on each of their wrists. They all wore Sea Stone shackles, nullifying their Devil Fruit abilities and forcing them to rely on nothing but brute strength, skill, and endurance. The fights were less earth-shattering than they might have been, but they were far more savage—a pure contest of will and physical might.
Ever since Kaido had solidified his control over Wano Country, he had brought his strongest subordinates to this desolate island for daily training. Their schedule was relentless and unforgiving.
Mornings were for shackled combat, forcing them to hone their bodies and basic Haki without the crutch of their Devil Fruit powers. After a brief period to eat and rest at noon, the afternoon saw their Sea Stone restraints removed, allowing them to unleash their full power against one another in all-out battles. The day always concluded in the evening with Kaido himself stepping in. He would give each of them a sound beating, then use his overpowering Conqueror's Haki to temper their spirits before carrying the exhausted group back to Wano to recover.
The resilience of Zoan Devil Fruit users was truly remarkable. On the first day, Jack and the others had been noticeably weakened by the Sea Stone's draining effect. By the second, they had already adapted, their movements growing stronger and more ferocious even while suppressed.
Eneru, however, had been the worst performer. This wasn't his fault; as a Logia user, he had relied almost exclusively on his untouchable Rumble-Rumble Fruit for years, leaving his physical combat skills severely underdeveloped. His opponent, the cyborg All-Star Queen, showed him no mercy. For days, Eneru was little more than a living punching bag.
Kaido had been initially concerned that the constant humiliation might shatter Eneru's pride. To his surprise, the opposite happened. After days of being relentlessly pummeled, Eneru became the most fanatical about the training and the one who progressed the fastest. His potential for growth was simply immense. During one particularly intense afternoon battle, a cornered and furious Eneru finally exploded, and in that moment of rage, he instinctively awakened his Armament Haki.
It was a harsh lesson, but an effective one: getting beaten is the best way to learn. Eneru's confidence, once shaken, now soared to new heights. He welcomed the daily beatings from Queen, seeing them as a necessary path to greater power. Of course, no one, not even the newly inspired Eneru, could yet withstand a direct hit from Kaido's Thunder Bagua.
To ensure the brutal daily regimen didn't cause permanent damage, Kaido had Dr. Hogback on standby. Every night, the doctor would provide specialized physical therapy and medicinal treatments, carefully mending their bodies so they would be ready for the next day's punishment.
The crew had no complaints. To them, this wasn't torture; it was a privilege. For men like Jack, who saw Kaido as a father figure, the chance to train directly under him every day was an honor they had never dared to imagine.
As the days turned into weeks, their enthusiasm and hard work paid off. The strength of all six fighters grew at an astonishing rate.
While they battled below, Kaido sat atop the island's highest peak, a monstrous, silent observer. He was deep in his own practice, diligently cultivating the "Greater and Lesser Heavenly Cycle Self-Rotation Method." He had not passed this technique on to Jack and the others as he had with King. It wasn't a matter of trust; it was simply that they didn't need it yet.
As Hogback had noted, everyone in this world had a physical limit. At nearly fifty years old, King had pushed his body to its absolute peak. Aside from awakening his Conqueror's Haki, he had little room left for physical growth. But these younger subordinates were different. Even Eneru, the oldest among them at thirty-seven, still possessed vast, untapped potential.
Kaido foresaw their paths to true power. Eneru's growth would only begin to slow once he mastered Ryuo, the advanced application of Armament Haki. For the Zoan users like Jack, the true milestone was achieving their Devil Fruit's Awakening.
Once those goals were met—King awakening his Conqueror's Haki, Eneru mastering Ryuo, and the others unlocking their Zoan Awakenings—the Beasts Pirates would command at least seven fighters at or above the level of a Marine Admiral. He considered Rob Lucci, whose ordinary Zoan Awakening allowed him to briefly clash with the "Sun God" Nika. An Ancient Zoan user's Awakening would surely be far more powerful, and none of his subordinates lacked talent. Combined with Queen's scientific weaponry, his crew would finally have the power to challenge the entire world. The Five Elders themselves had only demonstrated strength on par with a top-tier Vice Admiral during the Egghead Incident.
Still, Kaido knew it wasn't so simple. Awakening a Zoan fruit was an incredibly difficult feat. After all, even he had not yet managed to awaken the Azure Dragon Fruit.
But he had confidence, because he had been using his evenings for more than just beating on his crew. With Queen's assistance, he had begun deciphering the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon, Pluton. It was a monumental task, but with the knowledge from his past life and his understanding of this world's history, he was making progress.
Through the intricate designs of Pluton, he felt he was beginning to grasp the true essence of Devil Fruit power. Vegapunk was right: the power of Devil Fruits originated from the desires of humanity.
Looking closely, a peculiar pattern emerged. Most users possessed abilities that were perfectly suited to their nature or ambitions. The Beasts Pirates were all Zoan users. The Big Mom Pirates' powers were almost all related to food. His own Azure Dragon Fruit granted him control over fire, wind, and lightning, but notably, not ice. And his daughter, Yamato, who so desperately wished to oppose him, had eaten a Devil Fruit that gave her precisely that power.
The examples were endless. Law's Op-Op Fruit, which gave a surgeon the ultimate power over life and the body. Vegapunk's Brain-Brain Fruit, granting limitless storage for his knowledge. Blackbeard's Dark-Dark Fruit, fitting his all-consuming ambition. Robin's Hana Hana no Mi, perfect for an archaeologist seeking to uncover secrets.
One could say that these individuals' desires led them to find their perfect fruits. But Kaido began to believe the opposite was also true: the fruits themselves were drawn to those desires. It was a mutual attraction.
Why did a young Luffy eat the Gum-Gum Fruit? It could have been Red-Haired Shanks' carelessness. Or, perhaps, the fruit, which carried the will of Joy Boy, was actively attracted to the boy who would inherit that will. And Blackbeard? Perhaps the power of the Dark-Dark Fruit wasn't just to control gravity, but to manipulate that very attraction, allowing him to sever the bond between a user and their power and claim it for himself.
As Kaido connected the pieces, he realized that "desire," while a part of the answer, was too simple. It was too one-sided. Another, more profound word captured the true source of this impossible power.
Imagination.
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