The battle dragged on for a full hour...
Finally, with a thunderous explosion that shook all of Shandora like the sky had cracked open, flames and lightning crashed down in front of the bonfire, taking the shape of two boys.
They were a sorry sight—bruised, bloodied, and gasping for air, like they might topple over with the slightest nudge. But despite looking like they'd fought to the brink of death, both wore wide, satisfied grins. Without a word, they staggered over to the roasted dinosaur meat and tore into it like ancient beasts.
The mountain-sized pile of meat vanished in minutes under their relentless appetites, replaced by two swollen bellies that looked ready to burst.
Then, they both let out long breaths, and before the eyes of anyone watching, their bulging stomachs quickly shrank back down, revealing toned abs and smooth skin. The scars covering their bodies faded away just as quickly.
These two were, of course, Yemu and Enel.
It had been five years since that day—since they narrowly escaped death at the hands of the Skypiea lord.
Five years can feel long or short, but for Yemu and Enel, they were nothing if not fulfilling.
After surviving their desperate encounter with the Master of the Sky, the two fully acknowledged each other and, from that day on, lived as brothers, hiding away deep within the forests of Upper Yard. There, they trained relentlessly, pushing themselves to grow stronger.
And their progress over these five years was nothing short of extraordinary.
It was all thanks to the training plan Yemu had designed.
He might not have known the plot inside and out, but he understood the world of One Piece well enough to know what truly mattered when it came to becoming strong.
At first, their focus had been on developing their Devil Fruit abilities, supplemented by basic physical training. After all, as six-year-olds, their top priority was survival, and tapping into their Devil Fruit powers was the fastest and most effective path forward.
But they never abandoned their physical training. While it lacked variety, it was rigorous and straightforward—push-ups, sit-ups, running, weighted exercises—all designed to push their bodies to the limit.
Whether it was the inherent strength of lifeforms in this world, the thin air and oxygen-poor environment high up in Skypiea, the physical enhancements brought on by Devil Fruits, or the sheer nutritional richness of the local food—especially the countless giant beasts roaming the sky island—all of it played a part.
After just two years, their strength underwent a complete transformation.
That same year, they returned to Shandora and, working together, finally defeated the Master of the Sky, taking control of the area for good.
With the power to defend themselves now secured, Yemu shifted their training focus.
From then on, it was all about strengthening the body.
Across the world of One Piece, a clear truth stood out: Devil Fruits alone didn't make someone truly powerful—raw physical strength did.
Whitebeard, Kaidou, Big Mom, Garp, the three admirals—every one of them was proof of this.
Even Haki relied on a strong body as its foundation.
After studying the concept and confirming that it could work, Yemu and Enel launched their new training initiative: the Sea Cloud Gravity Room and the Nirvana Training Plan.
The idea for the Sea Cloud Gravity Room came from the gravity chamber in the anime Dragon Ball.
Before this, they had already been pushing their bodies with basic training, which brought massive strength gains. But there were still imbalances—areas left untrained, muscles and cells not fully activated.
That's when Yemu remembered the gravity chamber from Dragon Ball. Of course, in the world of One Piece, they had no way of building something like that... at least not yet.
So, Yemu thought of something else—Seastone.
As everyone knows, there are three major weaknesses for Devil Fruit users in the world of pirates: Seawater, Seastone, and Haki. The first two can nullify a Devil Fruit user's powers and leave them completely drained.
In a way, that was very similar to the effect of a gravity chamber.
But Yemu obviously didn't have any Seastone. Maybe there was some on Skypiea, but after searching for a while, neither he nor Enel found any.
So he turned his attention to something else—the clouds of Skypiea.
Skypiea's clouds, like the ocean in the Blue Sea, contain a special substance similar to Seastone, capable of weakening Devil Fruit users. They're also highly malleable and can be shaped into various forms.
Unfortunately, in the era Yemu was in, the people of Skypiea hadn't yet developed any advanced uses for these Sea Clouds. Their understanding was still primitive, though they were quite proficient with Dials.
Yemu wasn't a scientist himself, so he needed to find someone who could help.
As luck would have it, he actually found the perfect person on Angel Island—Pagaya, the future father of Conis from the original story.
At the time, Pagaya was only in his twenties, newly married, but already known across Skypiea for his technical skill and innovation. He was a famous Waver mechanic with impressive hands-on ability.
After Yemu explained his concept and requirements, Pagaya quickly built a prototype of the Sea Cloud Gravity Chamber.
And he didn't stop there—Pagaya even improved the design. The chamber could adjust the density and mass of the Sea Cloud inside to vary the degree of suppression on their Devil Fruit abilities.
In the end, the Sea Cloud Gravity Chamber fully lived up to Yemu's expectations. With its help, their physical training entered a period of rapid progress. Since the chamber allowed for full-body conditioning, Yemu no longer had to worry about ending up with a bizarre physique like some of the powerhouse characters in One Piece—giant heads, thick necks, or unbalanced proportions.
The muscles trained in the Sea Cloud Gravity Chamber were beautifully defined, with proportions approaching the golden ratio.
Yemu was extremely satisfied. After all, strength might be temporary, but looking good? That lasts forever!
Impressed by Pagaya's talent, Yemu briefly considered trying to recruit him as the future scientist and shipwright for his pirate crew. But seeing how happy he was in Skypiea—newly married, and later, a doting father—Yemu dropped the idea completely.
Still, he gave Pagaya a project: to build a pirate ship for his future crew. To help with this, Yemu handed over some ancient technology he had copied from Shandora.
Of course, the tech was so advanced that mastering it would take time, but Yemu wasn't in a rush. His plan was to set sail at age sixteen—he still had five years to go.
Although there was no sign of the ship being finished anytime soon, the Sea Cloud Gravity Chamber alone was more than enough. It exponentially boosted their training results.
And aside from the Sea Cloud Gravity Chamber, Yemu had made another discovery—one that opened up the possibility of an unlimited future.
It was the ability he called Nirvana...