Training

"You're leaving for that long?"

Tesla frowned at Hades's words.

He knew little about what was happening outside and did not want to ask why, but he was perceptive enough to know this was no good.

He turned and walked into the laboratory. A section of the wall opened, revealing a sealed safe inside.

He carried the safe over to Hades.

"I meant to give you this once the technology was ready. Since you're leaving, you can have it early."

Tesla's expression turned serious as he spoke. He slowly entered the code and opened the safe, revealing what it held.

Inside was a metal sphere the size of a fist, with a device resembling a timer on its surface.

"This is a Magnetic Storm Bomb, but the technology isn't ready yet. I can't make it any smaller, and its explosive power is only a third of what I envisioned."

"Be careful when you use it."

Tesla closed the safe again and handed it to Hades.

Hades was somewhat surprised that Tesla had already developed the Magnetic Storm Bomb, but he was not shocked.

For Tesla, the only things that ever limited his research were time and money.

"Then I'll see you."

Seeing Tesla once was enough for Hades.

The Magnetic Storm Bomb was an unexpected bonus.

Someone as talented as Tesla had to be kept under his control.

Hades already had ideas for obtaining the Magnet-Magnet Fruit and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. He believed Tesla could develop either Devil Fruit to its fullest potential—perhaps without limit.

But that was not what Hades wanted to see. Who knew what consequences it might bring?

It would be better to let his future children eat them. With Tesla to teach them, they would surely develop both Devil Fruits to an unimaginable degree.

Hades left the Research Base and returned to the Royal Palace.

For Hades, daily training was essential.

Whether it was strength or stamina, a powerful body was the foundation of any strong fighter, and building one took time.

Combat was merely one way to unleash potential.

Two black rings encircled each of his limbs. Forged from a special dark iron, they had one defining trait: weight. Each ring weighed a ton.

That meant Hades carried eight tons of weight on his body.

He could bear that pressure.

The ground inside his purpose-built Training Room was level. After each session, someone repaired whatever damage he had done to it.

"Burst Step!"

The ground beneath him cracked in an instant. Hades vanished and reappeared dozens of meters away.

He did not stop. He raced back and forth across the training ground, pushing his speed.

Dozens of Hades figures appeared across the field, afterimages left by how fast he moved.

The air currents created by his speed whipped into a hurricane inside the enclosed training ground.

The guards posted outside felt the disturbance and barely reacted. They were used to it.

He had only just begun. For His Highness, this was nothing more than a warm-up.

Everyone knew His Highness was a true monster.

Some veteran guards who had worked at the Royal Palace for decades even remembered what Jaeger had been like when he trained.

Jaeger had caused just as much commotion, but at the same age, he had been nowhere near as strong as Hades.

After all, the two had faced different pressures, and the time and intensity they devoted to training differed as well.

After an unknown length of time, Hades stopped abruptly and pressed a button on the wall. Ironwood pillars rose from the ground around him.

"Sheath Breaker!"

Hades thrust out his arms again and again, driving his fingers straight forward like swords breaking free of their sheaths.

His targets were the hard, resilient ironwood pillars. He changed which fingers he extended with each thrust, training every finger as much as possible.

Cracks spread across the ironwood under his relentless assault. Before long, his fingers punched through it.

After taking some time to adjust, Hades added Burst Step and began moving around the field again. This time, he used Sword Flash alongside it, targeting pillar after pillar.

He changed targets constantly, striking from different directions with different motions.

"Sword Flash!"

Hades spread his arms. His extended index and middle fingers became like the twin edges of a sword, their rapid movements generating tremendous cutting force.

Still using Burst Step, Hades slashed his finger-blades across the ironwood. Cracks scored the pillars, and those that could not withstand his strength broke into pieces.

If Burst Step and Sheath Breaker were Body Techniques Hades had created from Shave and Finger Pistol of the Six Powers, Sword Flash was the product of combining Finger Pistol with Swordsmanship.

Next came "Thunder Flash," which resembled Flying Finger Pistol, a derivative of Finger Pistol.

All ten fingers struck the air with nimble precision. Immense force gathered at Hades's fingertips, concentrating the air slashes he launched into single points. They shot out as fast as lasers, pierced the ironwood with ease, and carried terrifying cutting power.

From a distance, it looked as though Hades was firing beams of light from his fingers.

He kept at it for a long time. The entire field was a wreck, and every ironwood pillar was badly damaged.

Hades panted heavily. His limbs ached with exhaustion, and the pressure of the weights had only grown as he trained. It felt as though a mountain rested on his back.

That was exactly the effect he wanted. He leaped lightly, then stepped rapidly against the air as he descended, trying to hold himself at the same height.

It looked as if a rope suspended Hades in midair while his feet kept pumping.

At the same time, Hades kept trying to shed the weight of his body and the rings on his limbs, along with the resistance of the air.

That was impossible, of course, but Hades kept trying. He drew on Kami-e and techniques from a particular style of martial arts, working them into his own Body Techniques.

He had made progress. If he removed his weights, Hades could run through the air at incredible speed.

He called the technique "Sky Pursuit," a further development of Geppo.

But that was only the beginning. What Hades was truly training was his body and his ability to redirect force.

The Body Techniques of this world were steeped in violence. Their so-called techniques ultimately came down to explosive power: developing the body and learning to use blood, muscle, tendons, and bone.

With that in mind, Hades had drawn on the Bajiquan he had studied before to develop a set of Body Techniques all his own. Every movement carried fearsome force, destructive power, and explosiveness.

At the same time, Hades was pursuing another path in technique. He took the methods of redirecting force that he had learned through Taijiquan, combined them with Kami-e, and worked them into his Body Techniques.

Both "Sky Pursuit," developed from Geppo, and "Wandering Dragon," developed from Kami-e, used those methods of redirecting force.

Such techniques greatly helped him develop and control his body.

They reduced unnecessary stamina consumption in combat, let him use his body to its fullest, and meant he did not have to take an enemy's attacks head-on.

What he wanted was a balance of hardness and softness, with mind, body, and technique working as one.

Bajiquan would become his primary means of attack, with moves for claws, punches, and kicks.

Taijiquan, meanwhile, let him work the redirection of force into his Body Techniques. Hades was less concerned with using an opponent's strength against them.