"No smoking in the training room."
Luoyu smiled faintly.
The next instant, his dormant Conqueror's Haki erupted like a tidal wave.
The floor beneath him cracked violently as a black storm of invisible pressure surged outward—crashing directly toward Smoker, Hina, Ain, and the others.
Simultaneously, the crimson display embedded within the training room—now seamlessly integrated with the ship's interior—lit up.
Gravity Level: 3x.
With a soft hum, triple gravity activated.
The feeling was immediate—like being crushed beneath a mountain. Every breath became a burden. Every heartbeat felt like it might collapse the chest from the inside.
But that was just the beginning.
Luoyu had just learned that the system-modified Tenfold Gravity Chamber didn't just multiply gravity.
It amplified his Haki.
His Conqueror's Haki, rather than spreading wildly, was now channeled through the chamber—focused, condensed, and unleashed with terrifying precision.
Within that enclosed room, it felt like being buried under a mountain... while a divine presence screamed in your ears.
The first to suffer was the body.
Everyone inside fell like rag dolls, slammed flat into the floor with a thunderous boom.
The specially-reinforced warship deck creaked, splintered, and fractured like shattered glass under their weight.
Every breath was agony. Every joint screamed. Even Smoker's cigar and Hina's cigarette were both bitten clean in half.
If their tongues hadn't dodged at the last second, they might've bitten clean through.
Even the toughened veterans like Smoker and Hina couldn't move. Let alone Koby and Helmeppo.
Every inch of their flesh was screaming under pressure, while wave after wave of pure Conqueror's Haki assaulted their minds, like a divine chant echoing through their skulls.
Luoyu described it best:"Like being pinned under Five Finger Mountain, with Tang Sanzang chanting scriptures in your ear."
And then, as the crimson digits on the display ticked higher…
The gravity increased again.
The air grew heavier. The training room groaned. The flooring beneath their bodies started to cave, forming faint human-shaped depressions.
Bones creaked under pressure, joints cracked like dry branches.The sounds echoed on the deathly silent deck like a chorus of impending doom.
Outside the room, Crocodile, Spandam, and the rest froze in horror.
This... was supposed to be the shortcut to Haki awakening?
It looked more like an execution site.
Their instincts screamed at them:If Luoyu applied even a little more pressure… every one of those five people would be crushed into paste.
"I-I can't take this anymore!"
Spandam's eyes rolled back. His legs went soft and he fainted on the spot.
If not for Jabura catching him, he would've collapsed foaming at the mouth.
It was fortunate that the warship carrying the others had sailed away to a safe distance.
Thanks to Luoyu's precise Haki control, almost all of the pressure was funneled inward, toward the chamber. Only a thin aura leaked outward.
Had he not done this—
The entire warship would've been littered with unconscious soldiers.
Even so, the oppressive pressure in the air outside made everyone's chest feel tight, like a giant invisible hand was squeezing their hearts.
And yet, despite the discomfort—
Everyone was watching Luoyu.
From CP9 to Crocodile's crew—
They all wanted to know: What would happen next?
Would the gamble succeed?
Would Luoyu really awaken Haki for those five?
And most of all...
Was this still Conqueror's Haki?
How could something this terrifying exist?!
"Still not working?"
Luoyu raised an eyebrow and took another swig of his rough liquor.
He gave a lazy chuckle.
"Looks like you're still one step away from death. Let's hope you can survive the final push."
Everyone's scalp went numb.
Was… was he really going to kill them for the sake of awakening Haki?
"BZZZZT!"
The gravity chamber's display flickered violently.
In an instant, gravity surged from 3x to 5x.
The five trapped inside—
Crack! BOOM!
—were instantly smashed through the deck beneath them.
Five distinct howls of pain rang out.
Outside, Crocodile and Jabura's eyes bulged wide. Their pupils shrank.
It worked.
It actually worked!
One after another, faint traces of Armament Haki surged from within the five bodies like mist escaping a shattered dam.
At first, it was barely visible—a dark haze wrapping around their limbs.
But in that moment, it reduced the crushing force on their bodies, allowing them to endure.
Luoyu saw this, exhaled lightly, and instantly withdrew both his Conqueror's Haki and the 5x gravity.
He had succeeded.
The system hadn't lied.
The combination of near-death pressure and the modified gravity chamber really could catalyze Haki awakening.
He'd been skeptical before.
But now?
System products are indeed divine.
As the pressure lifted, Ain and the others jolted awake from their half-conscious states.
Soaked in sweat, their limbs trembling and weak, clothes clinging to their bodies—they barely noticed.
Because all their attention was locked on the strange energy that still clung to their skin like smoke.
Ain looked down, dazed.
Then—
"I... awakened it?"
"I just remember being pinned down… my skull felt like it was splitting…"
"And then this strange power exploded from inside me. It was… smooth?!"
"So this… this is Haki?"
She whispered in awe.
Smoker, Hina, Koby, and Helmeppo all looked equally stunned.
They, too, stared at the faint veil of Haki coating their bodies.
The whole process was a blur.
All they remembered was:
Pressure. Screaming. Collapse. And then… Haki.
Oddly enough—
It felt... kind of good.
They never imagined Haki awakening could be so… silky.
Back outside, Mr. 1 was the first to break the stunned silence.
"Boss Crocodile… didn't you say awakening Haki was incredibly hard?"
"Then how come these guys did it in, what, two or three minutes?"
"If that's the case, I want to be crushed into the floor too! I want my silky smooth awakening!"
Crocodile and CP9 all turned deep purple with fury.
His words… felt weirdly inappropriate, but damn if they weren't accurate.
Seeing how quickly those five awakened their Haki—
Who wouldn't want to get slammed into the floor?
Even someone as proud as Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords—
Was secretly tempted to raise his hand and say:"Me too."