Daily Life 2

"Armament Haki!" The many Donquixote Family officers in the training room exclaimed in their hearts.

"Fufufu... have you grown stronger again?" Doflamingo watched Gray, who was swinging his fists with abandon, and fell into deep thought.

This brat is really putting pressure on me! Even Doflamingo, before Gray had awakened Armament Haki, hadn't been able to gain much of an advantage when sparring with him in mid-air.

Gray's ever-increasing strength was putting him under immense pressure as well.

Now that Gray had just awakened Armament Haki, he would undoubtedly enter a period of explosive growth in the near future.

This made Doflamingo, who was currently stuck in a bottleneck with little room for improvement, feel that his position as the family's top combatant was in jeopardy.

Now that his Armament Haki has just awakened, once its intensity and density increase later on, will I still be able to suppress him in terms of raw power?

Lost in thought, the only thing Doflamingo felt fortunate about was that Gray did not possess Conqueror's Haki.

"No! The North Blue is still too peaceful; if I only train, my strength won't grow much."

"The New World... I must head there as soon as possible!" In the North Blue, there were no suitable opponents to allow his Armament Haki to grow rapidly.

Moreover, in a small place like the North Blue, the competition wasn't nearly as intense as in the New World, which limited the Donquixote Family's perspective.

They had no idea what the world of the strong was truly like, or what kind of conditions were required to foster a powerhouse.

Take the technique of projecting Haki that Tsuru had used last time; Doflamingo had pondered it for a long time without finding a clue.

Although he was a genius, he was a genius of the mind. He couldn't grasp enemy techniques through physical sensation like Luffy or Yamato.

Clang!

"Haa..." Calming his heavy breathing, Gray said to Diamante opposite him, "Let's end today's sparring here!"

"Fine!" Seeing that Diamante's Observation Haki was severely depleted, he had no choice but to stop.

If they continued to spar, he would have to use his full strength, and if they ended up damaging the ship while out on the vast ocean, they would be royally screwed.

Stopping the sparring, Gray's frequent use of his spatial abilities and his unrefined Armament Haki had drained his stamina rapidly.

Now that his stamina was nearly bottomed out, it was the perfect time for gravity training.

"Gravity Field: Rotation!"

Instantly, ten times the gravity enveloped Gray's body. In this environment, no matter what activity he engaged in, his already meager stamina would be consumed at an accelerated rate.

Running, lifting weights, and practicing basic fist techniques in this gravity-heavy environment drained his remaining energy completely.

This was the moment to test Gray's willpower—squeezing out every ounce of potential from his body and trying his best to maintain the operation of his ability, even when his body had no strength left to move.

Yet, every second he persisted, he became stronger than the second before. Accumulating these small gains would eventually lead him to become a powerhouse.

Gray had always known that as a lazy, ordinary person in his past life, he lacked the willpower of the strong. However, this kind of extreme training—the pain of squeezing out his body's potential—was the best way to temper his will.

Since he didn't have the willpower of the strong in his past life, the environment of the pirate world and the intense threats to his life would force him to develop a powerful will.

And willpower would be what allowed Gray to grow.

Whether it was Haki or anything else.

"Haa... finally, I've reached my limit!" Lying on the ground, unable to maintain his ability any longer, Gray panted heavily, trying his best to steady his ragged breathing.

After resting for a while and regaining a bit of strength, Gray returned to his room to wash up, then sat cross-legged on a yoga mat to perform his daily meditation.

Even though his abilities had been developed to such a degree, Gray never gave up on meditation. During meditation, he could not only relax and calm his mind but also use the time to give himself psychological suggestions.

For instance, he would suggest things like: the suffering endured during training was only to ensure he could act cool and look stylish in the future.

After undergoing intense tempering, he would suggest to himself that he must stand at the pinnacle of the world, making his convictions even purer.

In any case, whenever he felt insecure, he would give himself suggestions during meditation. If he repeated them enough in his heart, he could eventually trick himself into believing them.

Gray truly hadn't expected that he would have such a dramatic life, where he would end up eating the "big cakes" he drew for himself and gaslighting himself!

After completing an hour of meditation, the morning had passed, and it was time for lunch.

After eating lunch and replenishing his body's consumption, his physical state returned to its peak. Gray's afternoon training didn't require such a massive commotion.

Sitting in his exclusive chair, Gray began to soak his feet.

Of course, there was a specific method to this foot soak.

As a Devil Fruit user, the Seastone Factor was his greatest weakness in this world.

Knowing this weakness, how could Gray not engage in resistance training?

He submerged his feet into a basin of seawater up to his calves. This level provided the maximum suppression for Gray without completely incapacitating him.

In this state, his entire body—including his stamina and Devil Fruit ability—was suppressed by ninety-nine percent, leaving just enough for Gray to maintain the rotation of his gravity.

At this point, aside from maintaining his gravity ability, Gray had no extra stamina for any other activity.

The Seastone Factor suppressed the ability user, trapping the power within their body; it didn't seal the ability so that it couldn't be used at all.

Furthermore, when an ability user was suppressed, their physical stamina felt as if it were sealed away, with ninety-nine percent rendered unusable. This was the reason why ability users became powerless upon touching seawater.

Soaking his feet and feeling the weakness throughout his entire body, Gray slumped down completely in a "Ge You" slouch.

For a moment, a sense of leisurely pastoral peace filled his heart.

However, Gray knew this was an illusion.

In the world of One Piece, without the guarantee of strength, all beauty and everything else were but bubbles in a dream.

All this effort now is just to enjoy life better later!

Don't even think about slacking off, get moving! After painting this picture for himself, Gray could only use his brain to think while his body remained unable to move.

He considered Devil Fruit development, Haki training, and the design and convenience of new equipment.

Now that he possessed Armament Haki, he could begin to consider the upgrading and maintenance of his gear.

By the time Gray's Magnetic Field Rotation officially entered its current stage, the Sky Crystal Flying Wheel could no longer keep up with his pace; after just one intense battle, the Sky Crystal Flying Wheel had already been melted and damaged by the high heat.

He needed a more durable offensive weapon.

And this time, Gray would join the weapon-forging process himself.

With the high heat of Magnetic Field Rotation, he could melt any known ore in the One Piece world.

As long as it could be melted, the craftsmen would handle the rest.

The reason why the master craftsmen of this world could not forge Great Grade Swords was twofold.

First: the ore was too hard, and the backward technology of the islands could not melt it.

The second reason: high-quality ore was too difficult to find.

Who wouldn't want high-quality ore?

Impoverished craftsmen simply had no money to purchase good ore for practice, and coupled with transportation issues, professional craftsmen were severely limited.

With just these two bottlenecks, even those with the talent to become master craftsmen were forced to fade into obscurity.

Oden's father was able to forge Great Grade Swords only because he benefited from Wano Country's abundance of minerals, the convenience of dormant volcanoes, and the fact that he was the Shogun and lacked no funds, which allowed him to develop the ability to craft Great Grade Swords.

If those three conditions were absent, just try having Kozuki Sukiyaki do it.

Even if he possessed the most incredible forging heritage, a clever housewife could not cook without rice; he would be completely helpless.