Meteor

As a modern man, a blue-collar worker, being physically present while mentally absent was a skill honed by the grind.

Simply put: once familiar with the work, the body would operate the machinery while the mind took flight.

This habit allowed Gray to endure long and monotonous shifts.

However, this active mind hit a wall when it came to meditation.

Within a single minute, his entire body felt like it had ADHD; he felt itchy here and there, itching to move, and he couldn't visualize a single thing in his mind.

"Snap!" Diamante noticed Gray's state and struck his back with the scabbard at his waist. "Calm down!"

"Hiss—that hurts!" Diamante didn't hold back at all, and Gray felt like his back was probably already bruised.

"Hmph! If you can't even endure this little bit of pain, the enemy certainly won't hold back during a real fight!" Diamante let out a cold snort. His words were harsh, but they were the truth.

The truth is a sharp blade!

Honesty is the most painful thing!

Gray had nothing to say and could only force himself to calm down and enter a meditative state again.

Snap!

"Again!"

Snap.

For an hour, Gray felt like he had been getting beaten for at least thirty minutes; there wasn't a single patch of good skin left on his back, only swollen, black-and-blue welts.

"Alright, stop there!" These words sounded like music to his ears, and Gray looked at Diamante through gritted teeth.

It wasn't that Gray hated him, but the pain in his back made him wince.

Gray: "What is it?"

"It's noon, time to eat!" Diamante turned and walked toward the next room. "Eat plenty of meat; you'll recover faster."

"Also, go find Trebol later; he has some medicinal ointment for recovery."

"Got it!"

Diamante: "You can handle the rest of the meditation training on your own."

"Don't slack off. I'll be checking up on you later. If you don't pass—"

The drawn-out tone made Gray realize the consequences: "I know! I know!"

"I won't be lazy when it comes to skills that make me stronger."

"See that you don't!"

"Whew—that stings like hell!" After returning to his bedroom with the ointment, he put it into a large wooden barrel and soaked in it to soothe the pain in his back.

As soon as Gray stepped into the barrel, the pain in his back flared up intensely.

It felt like applying menthol to a fresh wound. It wasn't just painful—it carried a hint of coolness that felt surprisingly comfortable.

Painful yet pleasurable!

However, despite the agony, the effect was truly remarkable.

After eating the meat of a Sea King for lunch and soaking in the medicinal bath, Gray could clearly see from the reflection in the glass door that the swelling on his back was subsiding and the bruises were fading.

"Whew—I know you're doing this for my own good, but... I'm still going to beat you up one day!"

"Not for any other reason, just because I'm a petty person!" Feeling the pain in his body, Gray knew this was the first time, but it certainly wouldn't be the last.

He would have to get used to the pain for his future training!

Half an hour later, Gray finished his medicinal bath and sat on a small stool in the courtyard, radiating a lazy aura.

After slacking off for a while, Gray forced his drowsy brain to reboot: "Alright—let's start training again, shall we?"

"For a stationary target, I have to hit the bullseye every time from thirty meters!" His arm had recovered thanks to the medicinal bath, and Gray resumed his dart-throwing practice.

Whoosh... Thwack!

After an hour of training, Gray noticed something odd: "Wait! Why am I thinking that I must rely solely on my arm to ensure I hit the target?"

"Isn't my Devil Fruit ability... also a part of my own power?"

"The power of rotation doesn't just increase the speed and force of the dart. During the spin, I can use air resistance to alter the flight path, giving the dart a much higher chance of hitting the target."

"Furthermore, I can make the dart return to me after hitting the target!" The reason he thought of this was that while his mind had wandered during training, he had been thinking about beauties, specifically Esdeath.

Thinking of her reminded him of her Three Beasts and the rotating axe Teigu one of them possessed.

Action followed thought!

He threw a stone shard again, activating his ability along the direction of the spin to make it rotate faster, strengthening the final impact. During the rotation, he focused entirely on the effect of air resistance, adjusting the spin speed to guide the shard into the target.

Thwack!

The stone shard collided and rebounded, its force significantly reduced. Gray had to ensure that with the remaining kinetic energy, the shard would rotate back into his hand.

He reached out with his right hand and caught the shard!

Thump!

Gray: .!!!

Alright! The idea was good, and the move was cool, but the stone was still a hundred thousand and eighty thousand miles away from his hand.

The flying stone directly hit Shark Chili, who was sleeping nearby. The crisp, loud sound told us it was a good head.

"Chirp!" The bewildered Shark Chili was startled awake and looked at Gray in confusion.

For some reason, a sentence instantly popped into Gray's mind: Being confused doesn't hurt the brain, the force is just right!

Although a mischievous thought crossed his mind, Gray put on a straight face and guiltily fooled Shark Chili: "It's nothing! You must have been having a nightmare!"

"You go back to sleep, I'll keep watch for you. Trust me~ we're partners!" Gray gave a thumbs-up, his confident and firm gaze leaving the not-so-bright Shark Chili utterly confused.

"Chirp~" Unable to figure it out, Shark Chili stopped thinking about it. With a puzzled mind, it coiled its head back into its serpentine body.

The young Shark Chili didn't know that for a modern person, friends are indeed to be protected from harm, but it didn't say that you couldn't trick them!

When there's no danger, friends are the most dangerous synonym.

"Phew~ I got away with it!" Gray let out a sigh of relief in his heart, thinking guiltily: It's already stupid, is it too bad to tease it like this?

Does my conscience allow it?

Eh! No, do I even have a conscience? He touched his chest, which was plain and unruffled.

Oh~ I'm a man, I don't have a conscience!

Then it's fine! Once he figured it out, Gray put the matter of fooling aside and refocused his mind on training.

Whoosh~ Bang!

He didn't catch it.

"Again!"

Whoosh~ Bang!

Thump!

"Chirp!"

"Ahaha! I didn't do it on purpose."

"Chirp!" Shark Chili glared at Gray indignantly and retreated to the farthest corner, unwilling to deal with the bad guy Gray.

"Haha! Don't worry, I won't hit you this time!" After several practice attempts, Gray had a feel for it.

"This time, I will succeed." The stone left his hand, and his fruit ability made it spin even faster.

Bang!

The colliding stone bounced back. As it approached Gray, the rotational force was completely nullified by his ability, and he caught the stone steadily.

"Finally succeeded!"

"This move~ shall be called Meteor!" After giving his first move a resounding name, Gray struck while the iron was hot and continued training to become more familiar with it.

Whoosh.

Bang!

The sounds of stones colliding echoed, and Gray, like he had found a new toy, threw himself into training with fiery enthusiasm.