The sun dipped westward, and the sky was filled with sunset clouds, dyeing the entire heavens orange-red.
Sabaody Archipelago, Island 60.
Marine base, inside a gym.
The lingering glow of the setting sun spilled across the floor covered in thick steel plates.
Sephiroth stood bare-chested, his long silver hair draped over his shoulders. A high-purity Sea Stone shackle was locked around his left wrist, while his right hand held a massive barbell overhead.
He repeatedly lifted and lowered the barbell, training the muscles in his arms.
Six heavy steel weight plates, each one and a half meters in diameter and twenty centimeters thick, were mounted on either side of the barbell, bringing its total weight to thirty tons.
As Sephiroth breathed in and out rhythmically, sweat gradually emerged from his body and slid down the smooth lines of his muscles.
Because the Sea Stone shackle suppressed both his Devil Fruit abilities and his strength, his stamina rapidly drained during this intense workout, and his body gradually slipped into exhaustion.
After so many years of training, under his current conditions, Sephiroth had more or less fully tapped into his physical potential...
Every person's body had its limits. Once that threshold was reached, there was basically no further improvement to be had.
It had nothing to do with effort. The limit was there, and it could not be broken through with sweat and hard work alone...
Now, he somewhat understood why the Giants were called the strongest race. Their naturally powerful bodies allowed them to crush ninety-nine percent of the humans in this world even without training Haki...
Thus, for powerhouses like Sephiroth, who had forged their bodies to the peak, the only way to continue growing stronger was to focus on cultivating Haki, increasing its intensity and reserves.
Only then could