Roy’s expression remained calm as he watched the chill rise in Bullet’s eyes, and he continued speaking in a low voice.
“You are strong now, but not strong enough.
This world is vast, and the seas are filled with monsters.
How far can a man go relying only on brute strength?”
“Right now, you are only a caged beast, reigning supreme in the army of this tiny kingdom.”
Roy’s words instantly darkened Bullet’s expression.
Though he did not want to admit it, he genuinely craved challenges and delighted in the process of becoming stronger.
Deep in his heart, he had long sensed an invisible shackle binding him.
Watching Bullet fall into thought, Roy extended the invitation once more.
“Join us, Bullet!
This country is too small.
With us, you will see a wider world and face stronger enemies.”
Roy’s voice carried temptation, while his psychic force spread subtly, stirring the restless ambition hidden within Bullet.
“Our goals are the same.
We both seek strength.
But the road I walk is far more interesting than wandering alone, isn’t it?
Only by leaving this island can you witness greater power, such as…
this.”
Roy raised his palm, coating it in Armament Haki, the black sheen hardening over his hand before he swung it lightly toward Bullet.
“At the very least, by staying with us, I can provide the challenges you need.”
Bullet remained silent, staring fixedly at Roy’s moving hand, his inner desire surging stronger.
The campfire crackled, and the atmosphere around them grew heavy.
Tesoro and the others did not dare breathe, all waiting for his answer.
Bullet’s right hand brushed over the medal on his chest.
After a long silence, he spoke in a stiff tone, though the killing intent from before had faded somewhat.
“You want me to betray my country and become a pirate with you, based on empty words alone!”
“Even if I seek power, I can find it myself.
Why should I join you?
What makes you worthy!”
“Troublesome.
Bullet’s heart is already wavering, but he still carries attachment to this country,” Roy thought inwardly.
Suddenly, Bullet’s eyes locked onto Roy, battle spirit boiling over.
He wanted to crush the Roy who had shaken his resolve, yet at the same time hoped Roy would give him a reason, an excuse to cast aside everything.
“Defeat me.
For example…
completely defeat me right here!”
“Sigh…
in the end, it still comes down to strength.”
Roy sighed.
After telling Tesoro and the others to stand back, Roy looked at Bullet, knowing words had reached their limit.
He inhaled slowly, and his Observation Haki spread outward.
“As you wish.”
The battle that followed shook the training grounds until dawn.
Bullet dragged his exhausted body back to the barracks.
His fight with Roy had ended without a clear victor.
Lying on his bed, Bullet stared blankly at the ceiling.
Roy’s words echoed repeatedly in his mind.
“This country is too small.”
“Bastard!”
Bullet slammed his fist into the wooden bedframe.
“That hateful Roy!”
In the camp behind the mountain, Tesoro sat bored, poking the campfire.
“Boss, it’s been three days.
Is that guy really not coming?”
“He will come.”
Roy sat cross-legged atop a huge boulder, psychic force swirling around him.
“How do you know?” Savi asked curiously.
How do I know?
Could I tell them I’ve read the original story?
Roy shot the two a grumpy glare after they interrupted his training.
“Hurry up and train.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the corner of Roy’s mouth curled upward.
“He’s here.”
A moment later, rustling came from the forest.
Bullet’s towering figure emerged at the edge of camp, still wearing his green military uniform, though the hostility in his gaze had softened.
“Here to train?”
“Let’s fight again.”
Bullet did not answer directly and walked to the center of the clearing.
In this battle, neither side used full strength.
Roy only used martial techniques to spar with Bullet, tempering his combat skills while helping Bullet sharpen his own.
Afterward, Bullet did not leave at once.
For the next few hours, he silently carried out brutal training nearby.
At dusk, Bullet prepared to leave.
Before stepping into the woods, he paused and asked without turning back,
“How long will you stay here?”
“Who knows,” Roy replied lightly.
Days passed like this.
Bullet occasionally came to the hidden camp behind the mountain to fight Roy, and after every battle, he would train alongside Roy and his crew.
Roy also taught Bullet the methods of cultivating Haki.
It had to be said, Bullet’s talent was terrifying.
After Roy used psychic force twice to help him feel the flow of Haki, Bullet successfully awakened and channeled it, then began refining it on his own.
Roy did not slack off either.
While tempering his Armament Haki, he continued developing his own abilities so Tesoro and the others could grow faster.
Roy especially focused his development on manipulating gravity.
Originally, the root of his power was the immense psychic force brought by transmigration, which had allowed him to awaken Observation Haki unusually early.
Though he could sense the emotions of others, he had initially been unable to interfere with them.
After eating the Nen-Nen Fruit, that psychic force strengthened again and could even manifest physically.
Its first application had been controlling surrounding objects.
Unlike the Float-Float Fruit of the Golden Lion, which grants levitation to objects touched and allows complete control over them…
Roy’s Nen-Nen Fruit was more direct.
He could manipulate all objects within the scope of his Observation Haki, and could materialize psychic force into barriers against attacks or condense it into invisible shockwaves.
But this power had limits.
The larger the range, the greater the number of objects controlled, and the finer the precision required, the more severe the strain on stamina and spirit.
The Nen-Nen Fruit consumed psychic force relentlessly.
Roy had once intended to use the Float-Float Fruit as a template for development, but discovered he could not imitate its principles.
After realizing that, he understood if he wished to stand upon this sea crowded with monsters, he needed to dig far deeper into this power.
“The essence of gravity is the curvature of space caused by mass…
perhaps psychic force can imitate, or even influence, that curvature.”
Roy sank into thought.
He began compressing psychic force to extremes, attempting to perceive and influence not only objects themselves, but the invisible field surrounding them.
It was an absurdly difficult process.
At first, he could only alter by the slightest margin the falling path of a single leaf.
But he did not lose heart.
He fully unleashed Observation Haki and combined it with psychic force, carefully sensing every subtle link between matter and space.
“No…
it isn’t pushing.”
“It’s imposing.”
“No…
changing attraction itself.”
A flash of enlightenment struck him.
He tried using psychic force to construct a temporary reverse gravitational source beneath a target, or to strengthen the gravitational pull between the object and the earth itself.
Sweat poured down his face from the rapid expenditure of psychic power.
Again and again he failed.
Again and again he adjusted.
Then finally…
A stone before him suddenly plunged downward.
Crack!
Fine fractures spread through the ground.
“I succeeded!”
Roy shouted excitedly.
Though rough and horribly exhausting, the direction was correct.
Gravity manipulation.
A completely new path had opened.
And once the idea was born, Roy’s thoughts expanded even further.
If he could increase gravity, could he reduce it?
Could he crush enemies under overwhelming pressure?
Could he distort trajectories in battle?
Could he create localized gravitational domains?
Even perhaps one day mimic the terrifying force of a miniature black hole?
The more he thought, the brighter his eyes became.
Nearby, Bullet, who had silently watched much of the process, narrowed his eyes.
He had seen monstrous physical power before.
He had seen Haki.
But this strange force Roy wielded was unlike anything in the army.
It stirred his blood.
This was the wider world Roy had spoken of.
This was power beyond a mere soldier.
Bullet clenched his fist.
For the first time, the thought of leaving this country no longer seemed betrayal.
It felt like destiny.
Roy sensed the change in Bullet’s heart but said nothing.
Some things did not need persuasion anymore.
They only needed a final push.
And Roy knew…
That day was not far away.