Gravel Jaw came in fast.
Too fast.
Jasper barely had time to scream before a fist the size of a cannonball smashed straight through the metal shield he'd thrown up.
"GAH—!"
He flew backward, slamming into a tree hard enough to crack the trunk.
Theo took a sharp step forward.
"Captain—"
"Wait," Fushiguro said calmly.
Jasper slid down the bark, coughing.
Everything hurt.
His ribs screamed. His arms shook. His head rang.
Gravel Jaw rolled his neck, unimpressed.
"That all? I've seen better control from drunk shipwrights."
Jasper pushed himself up on shaky legs.
"O-Okay… rude."
Metal trembled around him—scraps, broken weapons, rusted plates—but they moved wildly, unevenly, like they couldn't decide whether to obey or run away.
Gravel Jaw stomped forward.
"Metal's heavy," he growled. "So why do you keep treating it like air?"
He swung again.
Jasper panicked and hurled everything at once.
A storm of steel exploded toward Gravel Jaw.
The man coated his arms in Armament Haki and plowed through it.
CRASH.
Metal shattered. Bent. Fell uselessly to the ground.
Gravel Jaw grabbed Jasper by the collar and lifted him effortlessly.
"Power without weight is nothing."
He reeled his fist back.
Theo's fingers tightened around his sword.
Jasper's mind raced.
I'm going to die.
No—
Captain wouldn't—
"Jasper," Fushiguro said, voice sharp now.
Not loud.
Sharp.
"Stop throwing. Start holding."
Jasper's eyes snapped toward him.
"H-Holding…?"
Gravel Jaw snarled and punched.
At the last second, Jasper clenched his teeth and pulled inward.
The metal didn't fly.
It slammed.
Every piece of nearby iron collapsed toward Gravel Jaw's arm like gravity had doubled.
The punch slowed.
Not stopped.
But slowed enough.
Jasper twisted, barely slipping free as the fist grazed his shoulder instead of his head.
He hit the ground hard, rolled, gasping.
But he was alive.
Theo exhaled quietly.
"…Good."
Gravel Jaw shook his arm, metal clattering off it.
"…Huh."
Jasper dragged himself upright, breathing hard.
"I— I think I get it," he said shakily. "I keep trying to move metal…"
He raised his hands again.
This time, the metal didn't float wildly.
It sank.
Pressed.
Compressed.
"…But metal wants to stay."
The ground around Gravel Jaw groaned.
Metal plates buried in the soil pulled tight, locking around his legs.
Gravel Jaw laughed.
"Better. Still sloppy."
He flexed—and shattered the bindings.
Then he lunged again.
Jasper yelped.
"WHY IS HE STILL COMING—"
Fushiguro moved.
Not to attack.
He stepped between them and caught Gravel Jaw's fist with one hand.
No flash.
No explosion.
Just a dead stop.
The jungle went silent.
Gravel Jaw's grin vanished.
Fushiguro looked at him with calm eyes.
"That's enough."
He twisted.
CRACK.
Gravel Jaw was hurled sideways, smashing through trees until he disappeared into the jungle with a distant thud.
Fushiguro shook his hand once.
"Too light."
Theo stared at the broken forest.
"…You're unfair."
Jasper dropped onto his back, staring at the sky.
"I saw my life flash before my eyes," he croaked. "It was very short and very embarrassing."
Fushiguro looked down at him.
"You lived."
Jasper turned his head.
"…Does that mean I passed?"
Fushiguro nodded.
"Barely."
Theo walked over and offered a hand.
Jasper took it gratefully.
"I hate this island," Jasper muttered.
Theo replied flatly, "The island hates you too. Mutual."
Fushiguro turned toward the deeper jungle.
"Good," he said. "Then we'll stay."
Jasper's soul tried to leave his body again.
"WE'RE STAYING?!"
Fushiguro smiled—that reckless, confident smile that always meant trouble.
"Until this place can't hurt you anymore."
Lightning flashed above Ruluka Isle.
Somewhere deep within the jungle, something else woke up.
And for the first time since they landed—
The island smiled back.