Savi and Enel, under Bullet's "hellish" supervision and Roy's Gravity Domain, underwent brutal physical and Haki training.
Savi's Giant Ape form is also steadily improving in strength and defense.
Despite his constant complaints, under immense pressure and with Roy's guidance, Enel's Observation Haki range and sensory acuity improved significantly.
Pea, however, remained focused on his Little Garden.
To cultivate more plants containing life energy, and to attempt to develop plant seeds with aggressive or special auxiliary properties.
For example, thorny vines that can instantly entangle and bind, or flowers that can explode to produce paralyzing pollen.
Roy himself wasn't idle either; he directly pulled the Gravity Domain to the limit that everyone could withstand.
While training everyone, they also familiarized themselves with and consolidated their surging mental strength, and began to try to develop the fruit's abilities more deeply.
At the center of the Gravity Domain, Roy floated with his eyes closed.
The immense spiritual power spread out like an invisible spider web, meticulously sensing everything around it, every flow of energy.
He was no longer satisfied with simply manipulating macroscopic objects or altering gravitational sources to apply gravitational fields.
The spiritual energy is explored inward, beginning to 'understand' and 'define' the more essential level of the " Telekinesis-Telekinesis Fruit ".
'Nen' refers to one's mental energy, enhanced by the power of a Devil Fruit, taking on a tangible form and using one's thoughts to interfere with the surrounding world.
Could he then directly issue commands within the area covered by his Telekinesis, thereby altering the rules therein?
Without hesitation, Roy locked onto an area in front of him and issued a 'command' directly using his mental power.
Instantly, the air in this area seemed to freeze. Roy picked up a pebble and tossed it into the air.
In Roy's observation, the rapidly moving stones slowed down drastically after entering that area, as if they were stuck in quagmire, and eventually hovered eerily in mid-air!
This scene gave Roy a jolt; it seemed he was on the right track.
Based on his own ideas, he forcibly defined the 'state of motion' of this area as almost absolutely still!
This wasn't Roy using his mental power to stop the stone, but rather he using his 'thought' to override the physical rules of that area, forcibly 'preventing' objects within it from moving.
Maintaining this "suspended airspace" consumes a huge amount of mental energy, and its area is extremely small, but the effect is visually stunning!
Roy's gaze fell on an ordinary tree branch on the ground.
With a thought, mental power, like an invisible forging hammer, forcibly infuses the concept of "sharpness" into it.
A cold glint suddenly flashed across the surface of the withered yellow branch.
With a slight thought, the branch shot out and easily pierced through the heavy wooden target in the distance!
He temporarily altered the properties of the substance, giving it the concept of "sharpness" that it shouldn't have had.
Of course, this bestowal was temporary; as his mental energy withdrew, the tree branch quickly returned to its original state.
It even broke apart piece by piece because it was subjected to a "concept" that exceeded its own limits. But this undoubtedly proves the ability of "thought" to interfere with the properties of matter.
The boldest attempt is about to begin.
Roy's gaze locked onto a gust of wind from Bullet's casual punch, and he opened his palm along its path, his mind forming a shield. "Counter!"
An invisible barrier instantly formed, not a direct confrontation, but a fundamental distortion of the rules.
The violent fist wind, upon touching the barrier, was as if it had struck an absolutely smooth and impenetrable mirror. Its direction of travel was forcibly reversed, and it blasted back towards Bullet himself with undiminished power!
A flicker of surprise crossed Bullet's eyes as he deflected the returning force of the punch with a single blow. Roy, on the other hand, paled and swayed slightly.
The backlash from forcibly changing the rules was far greater than ever before; the force of Bullet's punch almost drained half of his mental energy.
This also made Roy clearly realize that this seemingly omnipotent ability of " Words Become Law " actually has great limitations.
Forcibly distorting the core rules can easily cause a backlash of power, harming oneself.
However, its potential is undeniable.
In a crucial moment, a single phrase like "Here, Haki is ineffective" (if it can be done) or "This strike will surely hit" is enough to instantly turn the tide of battle!
Roy landed slowly, took a deep breath, and calmed his turbulent mental energy. His eyes were filled with anticipation for this power.
These attempts were extremely limited in scope and consumed enormous resources, but they clearly showed Roy the direction for the next stage of fruit development—'distorting reality with thoughts,' allowing his 'ideas' to directly define the rules.
After several days of intensive training and skill development, Roy decided to slow down for the time being.
Overdrawing his mental energy is not a wise move; he needs to reflect on and digest his recent gains.
Night falls,
The campfire crackled in the center of the camp, illuminating the tired yet content faces of the group.
Pea, combined with newly cultivated "full-boosting mushrooms" and grilled fish, surprisingly created a fragrant dinner that could quickly restore energy.
Just as Roy took a bite of the Pea- flavored "full-feeding mushroom," the Den Den Mushi in his arms suddenly rang urgently.
"Bru bru bru... bru bru bru..."
The unusual ringtone stopped everyone in their tracks, and all eyes turned to Roy —it was a dedicated Den Den Mushi for emergency communication with Tom's Workers.
Roy quickly took out the Den Den Mushi and pressed the answer button, "Hello, Mr. Tom?"
" Roy, things aren't looking good."
"Several groups of unfamiliar faces arrived at Water 7 today. Although they were disguised as merchants and tourists, I could tell at a glance that they were CP agents. There were also two disguised Marine warship docked at the pier."
"It seems the World Government has already suspected this place."
Roy's face instantly darkened.
Roy pondered for a moment, then calmly replied to the Den Den Mushi:
" Mr. Tom, please continue with normal construction and do not show any abnormalities. We will handle things here and will not allow the Navy to interfere with the shipbuilding progress."
"Hahaha! You're all real men! Then I'll leave it to you!"
"I will expedite the process and get the new ship launched as soon as possible!"
After hanging up the phone, Roy glanced around at his friends.
Everyone heard that.
"The Navy and CP have extended their reach to Water 7, and the construction of the new ship is at a critical stage; there can be no mistakes."
"However, if we all return to Water 7 now, we'll make too large a target, which could easily trigger a conflict and expose Mr. Tom."
Roy nodded.
" Stella's concerns are not unfounded, so we shouldn't go back. The best course of action now is to create some trouble for the Navy and divert their attention from Water 7."
Roy stood up, a cold smile curving his lips, the campfire casting a long shadow of him.
"I've decided to 'visit' several important naval bases along the Grand Line."
"Since they have so much free time and energy to search for us, let's give them something worthwhile to do!"