He tried extending his Haki beyond his fingertip.
The first time, it scattered the instant it left his body.
The second time, he barely managed to condense a three centimeter long air blade, but it flickered, unstable and faint.
On the third attempt, Bullet slowed down.
He did not rush to send the Haki outward. Instead, he let it compress to a high density inside his body first, then released it while applying precise control at the exact moment it left his finger.
Shff.
A pitch black blade of energy shot out from his fingertip, about five centimeters long, solid and sharp like a real knife.
Bullet held his breath and guided it slowly toward the water's surface.
When it was still one centimeter above the leaf, the ripples in its aura were already disturbing the surface, tiny waves spreading around the leaf.
No good. That would splash.
He pulled the blade back and thought again.
"Precision is not about brute strength."
Rayleigh reminded him from the side.
Bullet closed his eyes.
He recalled the feeling from yesterday's internal lining practice. The way Haki moved in thin threads through his body, those minute, delicate adjustments...
When he opened his eyes again, there was a change in them.
At his fingertip, Armament Haki no longer formed a blade.
Instead, it compressed into an almost invisible needle, barely one centimeter long, density pushed to the limit, black as ink.
That needle darted out and back in a blur.
The water did not even shiver.
But the leaf had already been sliced cleanly in two, the cut edge smooth as a mirror. Both halves still floated on the surface without sinking.
"Beautiful."
Rayleigh said it from the heart.
Bullet had succeeded, but he did not stop there.
He kept going, using the same method to slice the leaf into four pieces, then eight, then sixteen...
Until the leaf was nothing more than a scatter of fine fragments, still floating quietly on the water.
The second stage was done. It had taken thirty minutes.
Bullet could feel the fatigue now, not only in his body but deep in his mind. That kind of focus was draining.
Even so, his gaze remained steady.
"Third stage."
Rayleigh walked to the device.
"This time I will be increasing the gravity step by step."
"You will transform one arm into dragon form on my cue and hold it for three minutes."
He looked back at Bullet.
"I want to see how stable your power is when pushed into the extreme."
"Start."
Rayleigh pressed the controls.
The blue and green gems flared brighter and the red one began to glow as well.
The humming rose into a high, sharp whine.
Five times gravity.
Bullet's body dropped heavier toward the floor. Now he had to consciously fight just to remain standing.
He drew a deep breath and rallied his energy.
His right arm began to transform.
Black scales crept slowly from his shoulder to his fingertips, the process taking twice as long as usual.
The increased gravity pressed on every cell, turning the change of form into a kind of slow, grinding struggle.
By the time the dragonization was complete, sweat had already broken out across his forehead.
"Maintain it."
Rayleigh said.
Seconds ticked by.
Under five times gravity, holding the transformation burned through his energy at three times the normal rate. Bullet could feel his reserves draining rapidly.
Then it got worse.
The gravity kept climbing.
The red gem flared to full brilliance.
Eight times gravity.
Crack.
A crisp sound came from his knees. His right leg buckled and he dropped to one knee, using his dragonized right arm as a support pillar to keep from collapsing outright.
Tiny distortions flickered across the surface of the scales. That was the sign of an unstable form.
"Two minutes left."
Rayleigh's voice was calm and merciless.
Bullet clenched his jaw.
He forced every bit of his will into his right arm, locking the transformation in place.
The pressure bore down on him like a mountain. Every cell in his body screamed in protest.
The devouring core hammered against his chest, spinning madly as it tried to convert whatever energy it could still find.
But his internal stores were almost empty.
"One minute thirty."
Bloodshot veins spread through Bullet's eyes.
"One minute."
The gravity was still rising.
The device's hum climbed toward a shrill scream. All three gems flashed in a strained, unsteady pulse.
Tenfold gravity, just at the edge of the machine's limit.
Boom.
The world crushed down on him.
Bullet's body slammed flat onto the floor, his dragonized right arm punching deep grooves into the wooden boards.
But he did not cancel the transformation.
Under that insane pressure, he did the opposite.
He broke through.
The metallic shine on the dragon scales flared suddenly brighter.
The faint dark gold lines beneath the scales surged into view, spreading down his arm like a network of glowing circuits.
A stronger force welled up from the depths of his core to meet the gravity head on.
This was not simply holding on.
It was evolution.
Pushed to the limit, the enhancements he had gained from devouring metal were forced into full activation. In that instant, the hardness and resilience of his dragon scales jumped an entire tier.
"Last ten seconds. Nine... eight... seven..."
Rayleigh's voice had lost its usual lazy ease. Even he was shaken by what he was seeing.
"...three, two, one. Time."
He slapped the shutdown control.
The hum cut off.
Gravity snapped back to normal.
Bullet lay sprawled on the floor, panting raggedly, every muscle twitching.
His dragon arm slowly reverted to human flesh.
And in that moment of return, Rayleigh caught it.
On the skin of Bullet's right arm, those dark gold lines glowed clearly like branded marks, then slowly faded after a few seconds.
Silence filled the compartment.
It was a long time before Rayleigh finally spoke.
"What did you just do?"
Bullet propped himself up and sat down hard, his voice rough.
"I do not know."
"The pressure was too much. My body just... reacted."
Rayleigh moved in and crouched beside him, taking Bullet's right arm in both hands to examine it carefully.
The skin was intact, the muscles underneath undamaged.
But he could feel it.
The energy packed inside this arm was at least thirty percent denser than in the left.
"Gravity training forced out your potential."
Rayleigh said at last.
"Or rather... it forced your fruit's power to adapt and evolve."
He stood and looked over at the ancient device, thought flickering behind his eyes.
"Seems this training method works."
"Starting tomorrow, two hours of gravity training every day. We will slowly increase both duration and intensity."
Bullet nodded.
He was exhausted, but his eyes were bright.
He could feel it himself.
Those three minutes at the edge of collapse had given him gains on par with devouring an entire warship.
Not just in raw strength, but in control.
His command over his dragon form had just taken a clear step forward.
"Go rest."
Rayleigh said.
"That is enough for today."
Bullet used the wall to pull himself to his feet and slowly made his way out of the lowest deck.
When he stepped back onto the open deck, the sunlight stung his eyes and he squinted.
Shanks was practicing his swordsmanship. He froze mid swing when he saw Bullet's condition.
"Mister Bullet... what happened to you?"
"Training."
Bullet gave the short answer and walked toward his hammock.
Shanks watched his back, fingers tightening around his sword hilt.
He could feel it. Bullet had grown stronger again, at a speed he simply could not comprehend.
On the other side of the deck, Buggy peeked from behind some crates and muttered under his breath,
"Off to torture himself again... a monster is still a monster..."
Bullet dropped into his hammock and closed his eyes.
The fatigue rolled over him like a tide, but his mind remained razor clear.
He replayed every detail of the session in his head, especially the feeling at the moment of breakthrough.
Pressure.
The brink.
Then, the surge forward.
"Gravity training..."
He murmured to himself.
"Really is a fine thing."