"I... I'm alive?" Ross trembled as he clambered to his feet, staring at the surrounding wreckage with a look of utter terror.
What had just happened?
He hadn't seen a thing. He'd only heard someone yell to get down, and then a tremendous force had sent him flying. If he hadn't mastered the basics of Iron Body, he'd be seriously injured right now. By the time he regained his senses, the dojo was in ruins.
"Bellamy! You really..."
Drake was in much better shape than Ross. Having been forewarned, he hadn't been injured, merely blown back by the shockwave. And from what he'd just witnessed, he'd already guessed the truth.
Although he didn't know how Bellamy had done it, he understood one thing: this guy had become even more terrifying.
Compared to the two of them, the women hadn't been so lucky. The shockwave had sent them flying hundreds of meters. If Bellamy's consciousness hadn't cleared for a split second, allowing him to redirect his punch slightly upwards, they would have been instantly pulverized.
And now, after three months of relentless, sleepless effort, Bellamy, having perfectly integrated the bicontinuous structure into his body, was finally fully awake.
"I think... I got a little carried away."
Looking at the burning remains of the building, Bellamy realized he shouldn't have been conducting such dangerous training in the dojo.
That's right, this move, which he'd named Shatter the Sky, was simply too dangerous. Even he thought so. Just the escaping wind from his punch had nearly wiped out his entire crew.
The most terrifying part of this technique wasn't the wind pressure, but the horrifying instantaneous acceleration of his fist as he threw the punch.
What made the mantis shrimp the fastest puncher in the world? It wasn't brute strength; a shrimp barely a dozen centimeters long couldn't have that much power. And it wasn't raw speed; in fact, mantis shrimp are fairly average in that regard.
It was their unique body structure. The bicontinuous structure allowed their chelae to accelerate faster than any other creature. This instantaneous acceleration generated a concentrated, devastating impact at the point of the fist.
If Bellamy had punched the wall with that attack, the entire wall would have been reduced to dust the instant his fist made contact. But immediately afterward, his fist would have exploded, unable to withstand such a tremendous force.
That's why Bellamy had chosen the name Shatter the Sky. His body was simply too weak, and he didn't know Armament Haki. He couldn't punch anything solid; he could only punch the air.
Bellamy never imagined he'd one day be held back by his own physical weakness, unable to unleash his full power.
Ever since transmigrating to the world of One Piece and realizing he was in the midst of a chaotic era, he'd felt like someone was holding a gun to his head. All he could think about was getting stronger, stronger, stronger.
I need more power!
This sense of urgency made him want to shatter the universe the very next second. Now, power far exceeding his own limits had finally arrived, and his body couldn't handle it.
"This is fucking bullshit."
He'd already been pushing himself to the absolute limit. Every day, aside from eating, sleeping, resting, and recovering from injuries, he had no entertainment, no relaxation – he was practically a machine. And yet, it still wasn't enough.
His physical prowess had become his biggest weakness.
"Haa." Bellamy exhaled heavily. If he wasn't working hard enough, then he'd just have to work even harder. He could refine his striking techniques while recovering from injuries. He could cut his six hours of sleep down to four. He could even squeeze in training while eating.
"This way, I should be able to speed up my physical training significantly."
Just as Bellamy was contemplating his next training regimen, several cries of alarm came from nearby.
"Help! Mani's fainted!"
"Mia, your shinbone's broken! Don't move!"
"My forehead's bleeding! Get me the medical kit!" Muret shouted, clutching her head.
The shockwave had injured them badly.
Seeing this, Bellamy felt a wave of awkwardness. He'd almost wiped out his own crew. He had no idea what to say.
"Well, at least it was a close call."
He'd only destroyed one floor of the building. He could just spend some money to rebuild it. But how was he going to explain this to them?
Hm, he could just say his ancestral madness had flared up.
Whether they believed him or not, he believed it.
When he gave this explanation, he was predictably met with a barrage of eye-rolls. But since Bellamy was now lucid and seemed to have made a significant leap in power, the cloud of gloom hanging over the pirate crew naturally dissipated.