Two Years

Nyx finally understood how terrifying this island was. It was her first time here, too.

The New World was vast, but she had never seen an island where virtually every beast wielded Armament Haki.

A few wild beasts even wielded Observation Haki.

Some of them would be difficult for even her to handle.

The island itself was remarkably resilient, remaining unscathed despite the havoc wrought by so many wild beasts.

Surviving here, however, was easy for her.

With the power of the Night-Night Fruit, she could hide in shadows where the wild beasts had almost no chance of finding her.

Her only task was to protect Hades and Titan, rescuing them whenever they were in danger.

In practice, that meant Hades.

Unlike Titan, Hades lacked fearsome defenses. As long as Titan prepared a supply of wild beast carcasses in advance, he had an inexhaustible way to restore his stamina.

Titan could even recover energy by eating dirt.

As long as he did not provoke the island's Beast Kings, Titan would be fine.

Even if he did provoke one, his life would not be in danger. If he could not win, he could run.

As a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit User, Titan developed his powers whenever he took a beating, so his strength would naturally grow.

As the quality of Titan's Armament Haki improved, the Beast Kings' advantage over him gradually diminished. They no longer felt utterly impossible to fight.

To bring out Titan's potential, Nyx even made him provoke a Beast King every few days.

Sometimes she had him use Complete Beast Transformation, becoming Taotie to fight on raw instinct. It greatly helped him master his powers and work toward Awakening his Devil Fruit.

For Titan, that was when the real hell began.

The nature of the Gluttonous Beast Fruit meant Titan was bound to grow stronger faster than Hades.

But not much faster. The changes wrought on his body by devouring metals and other special materials were not limitless. Without new materials, it would do nothing more.

His bones were already exceptionally hard. Devouring wild beast bones brought only minor refinements.

Developing a Mythical Zoan required relentless combat and pressure pushed to the limit.

It took the two monsters, Hades and Titan, just two months to adapt to Rusukaina Island's harsh environment.

Hades grew steadily stronger, while Titan kept getting beaten up.

Hades gradually challenged wild beasts stronger than himself.

Titan had started at the highest difficulty.

Different people needed different training methods, and Hades had a plan of his own.

Titan needed intense pressure, and he could withstand it.

An interesting pattern emerged. At first, every encounter with a Beast King of Rusukaina Island ended with Titan getting thrashed and fleeing.

As his Haki grew stronger, and with his abundant stamina, Titan could just barely hold his own, though only for a while.

Hades's fighting blended power with technique. As he grew stronger, he defeated one formidable wild beast after another and learned from each one's strengths.

Throughout it all, Hades never stopped practicing Taijiquan.

The island's forty-eight harsh environments made it easier to feel nature's immense power and hear the breathing of all things.

Two years passed.

Boom!

Hades faced one of the island's strongest Beast Kings: the giant ape he had seen when he first arrived. His expression was calm.

The ape's Iron Fists, wreathed in Armament Haki, unleashed terrifying power. A monster like this had no need for precise control to achieve Haki Emission.

Thanks to their immense vitality, every Beast King had vast reserves of Haki. Even if they wasted some, they could easily bear the cost.

Merely being caught in the fluctuations of their Haki could leave someone gravely injured.

But Hades was no longer the person he had been two years ago.

His strength had undergone an astonishing transformation.

Even so, his physical toughness still could not match these giant beasts, whose bodies had been tempered by Haki for years.

His powerful Armament Haki could not close that gap, either.

Yet despite being outmatched in strength, Hades had mastered Internal Destruction and Inch Power, giving his attacks devastating force.

His refined Body Techniques were enough to let him face one of Rusukaina's strongest monsters.

He nimbly evaded the giant ape's furious attacks, each time skimming past the Haki it projected.

The farther the Haki extended, the weaker it became. Hades found just the right distance: his Armament Haki could easily withstand the ape's, without hampering his movement.

He had become more adept at Wandering Dragon. Rooted in Kami-e and Taijiquan's techniques for redirecting force, this Body Technique proved remarkably effective both on land and in the air.

They were old opponents by now, and Hades always slipped away from the ape's attacks like an eel.

Even so, Hades did not dare underestimate this giant beast, which had awakened Observation Haki.