On Giant Beast Island—
An uninhabited, dangerous land populated by a large number of colossal, savage creatures.
This was the place Mio had chosen for the Black Crow Pirates to reside and train for the next year.
At this moment, the ship was docked at a remote coastline. Most of the crew, including Erica, Hei Yan, and others, were scattered across the island, immersed in intense training. Though each member trained hard, someone was always assigned daily to take care of Mashi, who required constant attention.
On the island, Erica was engaged in sharpening her swordsmanship and Armament Haki. After her previous clash with Aokiji, she realized her weakness and committed herself fully to mastering Armament Haki.
Roar—
A massive mammoth thundered across the ground toward her. Its hulking frame made the very earth tremble, and its enormous tusks glinted menacingly as it charged directly at her.
Calmly, Erica raised her twin swords into a combat stance. With focused intent, her blades shimmered as Armament Haki wrapped tightly around them. Then, in a sudden burst of speed, she lunged forward.
"Dual Sword Style—Silver Brilliance!"
Puff—
A brilliant flash of silver cut through the air. The next moment, Erica stood behind the mammoth, sheathing her blades with a smooth motion.
Clang.
As her swords clicked into place, the behemoth collapsed with a thunderous crash. Twin gashes ran across its massive body, blood spewing from both sides as its legs buckled and broke.
Erica looked up toward the distant horizon—toward Impel Down. Determination surged within her, releasing a powerful aura.
A burst of pure will swept through the forest, shaking trees and tearing leaves from branches—Conqueror's Haki.
Giant Beast Island was vast.
On another side of the island, Hei Yan was immersed in training his scaled Haki, building it alongside Armament Haki and his already exceptional physical prowess. With his combination of abilities, he was poised to achieve greatness in close-quarters combat.
Like Erica, Warwick was also focused on refining his Armament Haki and pushing the limits of his body. But unlike the others, Warwick was not training on land.
Instead, deep beneath the ocean surface, he was using the crushing pressure of the sea—assisted by Hanba—to train and strengthen his body further.
Meanwhile, Hanba was not idle either. He was locked in near-constant battle against sea kings. Gigantic sea kings.
But in the deep, dark sea, there was no shortage of opponents. No matter how many he defeated, there were always more lurking in the depths.
Back on land, Lilith followed a different path.
Her primary focus was Observation Haki, which perfectly complemented her Devil Fruit powers. For her, the stronger her Observation Haki, the more deadly her abilities became. Armament Haki remained secondary.
As for little Robin—
He was on the ship, reading a book peacefully while caring for Mashi.
While Mio's crew trained under dangerous conditions, back in Impel Down, chaos brewed beneath the calm.
Inside the surveillance room of the prison—
Magellan had just emerged from the bathroom. He stepped into the monitoring room and glanced at the giant screen. "Anything unusual?" he asked the prison guard.
"Report: No, sir. Level Six is still calm," the guard responded promptly.
"Good. Keep watching," Magellan nodded, then suddenly clutched his stomach with a groan. Without another word, he turned and rushed back toward the bathroom. "Inform me immediately if anything changes!"
"Yes, sir," the prison guard called back, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
They were long used to their superior's… unfortunate side effects. Still, the daily routine left them helpless and occasionally resentful.
That fruit ability…
So powerful, yet so utterly embarrassing.
Shaking his head, the guard picked up a nearby newspaper, glancing back at the surveillance screen every now and then to pass the time.
In the lowest level—Level Six: Eternal Hell.
Inside Douglas Bullett's cell—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fists clashed in controlled violence. The sound was muffled, calculated—Bullett was suppressing the force of his strikes to avoid attracting attention.
Inside the cell, Mio stood panting, fists wrapped in glimmering Armament Haki. He launched punch after punch toward Bullett, who casually dodged with the tilt of his head, countering with a heavy fist of his own.
Crack!
Their fists collided directly.
"Your Haki is too weak," Bullett said flatly. "For someone like me, the only way to strengthen Armament Haki is through a stronger body. If your body is lacking, there's a limit to how much your Haki can grow."
He paused, drawing back his arm.
"In the coming days, I'll be focusing on building your physical strength."
Without waiting for a response, Bullett struck forward. His Haki-imbued punch slammed into Mio's gut, launching him back with brutal force.
Thud!
Mio groaned, grinning as he clutched his stomach and got back to his feet. "Alright… again."
Bullett didn't waste words.
The brutal sparring resumed. Fists flew. Blood spilled. Haki clashed.
For nearly two hours, they exchanged blows in silence, the cell echoing with the sounds of impact and heavy breathing.
Eventually, Bullett lowered his fists and exhaled. "That's enough. My strength is nearly spent. Go find the next instructor."
Mio nodded, turned, and exited the cell.
Outside, Millet the Den Den Mushi activated a cloaking barrier over the room, concealing the training that had just taken place.
Mio walked further down the dark corridor toward another locked cell.
This time, it belonged to a man who had never appeared in the original story—but Mio could sense it clearly: the sheer pressure radiating from within spoke of monstrous power. An old veteran.
And old, powerful veterans… made the best teachers.
They had battle-hardened experience, and their insights were priceless.
Each inhabitant of Level Six possessed Armament Haki. While the basic methods to train it were similar, each had developed their own unique philosophy and style. Some emphasized aggression. Others, patience and timing.
As such, every mentor had a different approach for Mio.
And Armament Haki wasn't all he trained in.
Observation Haki, too, was part of his regime.
Among all, Redfield—Red Earl Zephyr—had the most bizarre training method.
It required the simultaneous use of three senses.
First, close your eyes—no vision. Then, rely solely on Observation Haki to perceive the enemy's movements. Add to that, intuition to predict the trajectory, and listening carefully for subtle sound cues to evade.
While sparring with the Red Earl, Mio was pummeled from start to finish.
The entirety of Level Six had essentially split into two factions:
One group focused entirely on strengthening Mio's Armament Haki.
The other pushed him to develop Observation Haki to its peak.
And amid this brutal daily cycle, Mio had only four hours of rest each day.