On a nameless deserted island in the New World, the Totto Land and the Ark Maxim were docked at the coast.
In the center of the island, Raynor stood facing Linlin, Jace, and Shakuyaku.
Suddenly, a salty sea breeze brushed past them, and the atmosphere became somewhat subtle.
"Captain, are you really sure you want to test our strength this way?" Jace played with a small lightning麒麟 (Qilin) in his hand, smiling teasingly.
The three of them were the strongest members of the crew aside from Raynor himself.
He possessed the highly destructive Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Shakuyaku, the Soul Queen, commanded several powerful Soul Homies. And Linlin, though lacking a Devil Fruit, was a monster whose physical prowess surpassed even theirs.
Now Raynor wanted to challenge all three of them at once. In Jace's eyes, Raynor had no chance of winning.
"Raynor, there are three of us. And you're my man; I can't bear to bully you."
Shakuyaku playfully refused with her words, but her body honestly betrayed her. Several Soul Homies were summoned, transforming into loyal guards hovering around her.
At the first sign of danger, they would attack the enemy immediately.
It had to be said that Shakuyaku's talent was immense.
In eight years, she had developed the Soul-Soul Fruit to a profound level, condensing five Soul Homies: Fire Homie, Thunder Homie, Wind Homie, Ice Homie, and Earth Homie.
Shakuyaku knew Raynor was strong, but she didn't know how strong.
She was confident in her own strength now. Added to that were the monstrous Linlin and Jace—she didn't believe Raynor could withstand them.
"Big Bro, maybe reconsider?" Linlin also tried to dissuade him.
"Start. Let me see how much you've grown over these years," Raynor commanded in his capacity as Captain.
In the entire crew, only these three posed a threat to him. Testing their strength was also a way to test his own.
"Then I'll go first!!"
Shakuyaku, holding a long sword, was the first to attack. With a thought, the Fire Homie immediately flew over, attaching itself to the blade, igniting it in raging flames.
She swung the sword, and a flaming flying slash, dozens of meters long, roared out, shooting toward Raynor.
As the fiery slash passed, the ground cracked, and the forest ignited, blazing into a fierce inferno.
"Good!!"
Raynor laughed loudly. He didn't dodge or evade. Instead, he grabbed the incoming aerial slash with his bare hand. The flames wrapped around the slash burned his palm continuously but failed to breach his defense or cause any harm.
Bang.
With a slight exertion of force, Raynor crushed the slash. The flames exploded in his hand, dissipating into countless sparks.
"Soru!!"
Seizing this opening, Linlin charged in. "Big Bro, you're too confident!!"
Linlin, looking somewhat heroic, laughed heartily.
"Ikoku Sovereignty!!!"
A fierce slash erupted from Linlin's long sword.
This was a derivative technique Linlin created based on the giants' Elbaf Spear. Although less powerful than the original, its release speed was much faster.
Both were slash attacks, but this Armament Haki-infused Ikoku Sovereignty far surpassed Shakuyaku's flame slash in power.
"Linlin, you've improved a lot these years, but this move alone isn't enough!!"
Raynor laughed. He stomped his right foot hard, and the giant sword planted in the ground suddenly flew up.
Catching the giant sword, Raynor swung his arm, creating afterimages. In an instant, hundreds of flying slashes roared out.
The Ikoku Sovereignty was destroyed in mid-air, and the remaining dozens of slashes flew toward Linlin.
"Captain, don't forget about me!!!"
Jace's laughter rang out in the air. "Thunder Fall!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bolts of lightning as thick as bowls crashed down violently, attacking Raynor while simultaneously destroying all the flying slashes heading for Linlin.
"Jace, how about you take a look at this??" Raynor grinned.
"Thunder Spear!!!"
The sound of thunder suddenly erupted from Raynor's body. Bolts of lightning cascaded around him as a long spear formed in his hand, compressed from high-density lightning.
Seeing this, everyone's pupils constricted, and their expressions changed drastically. Linlin and Shakuyaku stopped their advance.
"Impossible!!!"
"Captain, why can you use the power of lightning?!"
Jace almost shouted the question.
He could use lightning because of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Shakuyaku could use it because of the Thunder Homie.
But Raynor... Jace couldn't figure it out.
The corner of Raynor's mouth lifted. The reason he could use lightning power was naturally because he had used 100 Fortune Points to share Jace's Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability.
As the Logia fruit with the strongest destructive power, he naturally wouldn't let it slip by.
Since it was a shared ability, there were no side effects.
Moreover, with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit ability in his hands, he could develop it to unprecedented heights.
"Do you talk this much nonsense when fighting others too??"
Raynor's expression turned cold as he hurled the Thunder Spear at Jace.
"Jace, watch out!!!" Linlin warned.
Feeling the terrifying compressed lightning power on the spear, Jace swallowed subconsciously.
"Lightning Net, Imprison!!!!"
He spread his arms, and countless bolts of lightning formed a giant net, blocking the path of the Thunder Spear and suppressing it firmly.
However, the power carried by the spear made Jace's defense increasingly strenuous.
"Now it's your turn!" Raynor withdrew his gaze and looked at Shakuyaku and Linlin.
"Hundred Blade Slash!!"
Raynor unleashed hundreds of flying slashes at Shakuyaku.
Unlike Linlin's monstrous physique, Shakuyaku's strength lay in complex and varied attacks that were hard to defend against, but her own defense was much weaker.
Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Shakuyaku's forehead. Such a barrage of slashes could not be underestimated.
"Little Ice!" The Ice Homie hovering above her head flew down, opening its mouth to spew a blast of freezing air. The surrounding temperature plummeted. As the cold air swept through, it froze all of Raynor's slashes, which then fell to the ground and shattered.
Rumble...Rumble...
Just then, the ground beneath Raynor cracked open. Two massive stone walls rose up and slammed together instantly.
"Earth Homie? Unfortunately, too slow."
"Soru!!"
Bang—
The stone walls collided and collapsed with a loud crash, sending rubble rolling.
Raynor's figure had already flashed out of the attack range.
That was the ability of the Earth Homie. On the ground, it had a natural advantage.
Shakuyaku used Geppo (Moonwalk) to fly into the air. "Little Earth, Rockfall!!"
Entering a serious state, Shakuyaku's demeanor changed completely.
Understanding her intent, the Earth Homie mobilized its power.
Massive boulders materialized. Carrying immense force, the falling rocks, controlled by the Earth Homie, rained down like a storm, completely sealing off Raynor's escape routes.
"Shakuyaku, I'm still down here!!" Linlin put her hands on her hips, shouting in dissatisfaction.
"Hahahaha... don't worry, Linlin. A few rocks won't kill you."
"Thunder: Paper Cranes!!"
Raynor smiled faintly and waved his hand. Countless small paper cranes formed from lightning flew out to meet the massive rocks.
Bang—Bang—
Upon collision, massive explosions erupted in mid-air. Lightning spread like wildfire, crushing every single rock into dust which then rained down onto the ground.
Any debris that came close to Raynor was instantly pulverized by the lightning coiling around his body.
"I'm getting serious now!!!"
"Elbaf Spear!!!"
Linlin charged from the flank, unleashing the giants' most powerful killing move.
A terrifying slash, a hundred meters in size, roared out. Not only that, but Linlin had also infused it with high-density Armament Haki.
The slash tore through the sky, ripping the air apart with a sonic boom like a cannon blast, twisting the very space around it.
"Holy crap... isn't Linlin playing a little too rough??"
Having broken free from his predicament, Jace flew over to Shakuyaku, his face grim.
"Don't just stand there! We attack too!!"
Shakuyaku recalled the Earth Homie. Her four other Homies began circling above her head, as if gathering immense power.
Seeing this, Jace said no more. He leapt into the air, wrapping himself in lightning until his entire body turned silver-white, shining brilliantly.
A terrifying power began to emanate from within him.
Facing Linlin's Elbaf Spear, Raynor's expression turned serious for the first time.
He had to admit, this move posed a threat.
Linlin's physical constitution rivaled his own. Even if her Armament Haki was slightly lacking compared to his, the sheer power behind this strike could not be underestimated.
"Elbaf Spear!!!"
Raynor decided to counter with the exact same move. He concentrated a massive amount of Armament Haki onto his blade.
With a swing of his sword, powerful Haki erupted like a volcanic explosion.
BOOM—BOOM—
The two attacks collided in mid-air, generating a violent shockwave. The powerful energy blast swept out in all directions, destroying the surrounding forest and tearing the earth asunder.
Everything within a radius of several hundred meters was ground to dust.
Hajrudin and the others, sensing the danger, quickly fled the area, barely escaping the impact.
Even so, they were left shaken.
That clash was simply too terrifying.
If they had been the ones facing it, they definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand it.
"Thunder Pillars!"
Raynor didn't give Linlin any respite. With a wave of his hand, before she could even react...
Four thick pillars of lightning appeared around her, nailing themselves into the ground.
"Not good!!"
Although Linlin didn't know what they were, her Observation Haki screamed a frantic warning, making her anxious.
At that moment, the pillars released electricity simultaneously, connecting directly to Linlin's body. Furthermore, the lightning was infused with Raynor's Armament Haki.
"Aaaah!!"
The pain wracked Linlin's body, causing her to wail.
"Break!!!"
Linlin roared, her Armament Haki forming a shockwave that shattered the lightning pillars instantly.
Breaking free, Linlin's face was solemn, her breathing ragged.
"Flame Pillar: Thunder God!!"
Just then, Shakuyaku sped past Linlin, shielding her. The Fire Homie and Thunder Homie erupted simultaneously.
Scorching flames and destructive lightning intertwined, forming a terrifying pillar of energy dozens of meters wide. Shakuyaku panted heavily; this move had consumed a significant amount of her strength.
"Go!!!"
"Come on then!!!"
Fighting until now, Raynor felt no fatigue whatsoever. Instead, he grew bolder with every exchange!
He had never fought so freely and exhilaratingly before.
"Divine Lightning Flash!!!"
Raynor roared back. Endless lightning surged around him, eventually compressing in front of his chest into a super-high-density ball of lightning.
"Go!!!"
BOOM—
The Divine Lightning Flash burst forth at a speed that even Observation Haki struggled to track, instantly meeting the incoming pillar of fire and lightning in mid-air.
The opposing attack held for only a few breaths before the Divine Lightning Flash annihilated it with overwhelming force, continuing on unabated toward the distant forest.
Because the power of this move was too great, Raynor had deliberately altered its trajectory upon release.
While blocking their attack, he ensured it wouldn't harm Shakuyaku.
BOOM!
The Divine Lightning Flash destroyed the entire forest in its path with unstoppable momentum, leaving a gorge dozens of meters deep in the ground.
Finally, it pierced through the entire island and struck the ocean, raising a tsunami hundreds of meters high and killing countless Sea Kings instantly.
Gulp.
Shakuyaku was momentarily stunned. In the next second, she cursed loudly.
"Raynor, you bastard! Are you trying to kill me so you can find another woman?!!"
Raynor: "..."
"Relax, I know what I'm doing."
Raynor gave Shakuyaku a reassuring look.
"Can you guys continue??"
Seeing Shakuyaku still panting and the shock not yet faded from her face, Raynor asked with concern.
"Yes, of course!!"
Linlin and Shakuyaku spoke in unison.
"Captain, me too!!"
Jace flew to the two women's side, hovering in the air.
"Use your strongest move. Otherwise, you have zero chance of winning today!!"
The three exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Before this, they wouldn't have dared to combine their strongest attacks against Raynor.
But after witnessing Raynor's true power, they realized just how terrifyingly strong he was.
"Big Bro, watch out!!"
"Captain, be careful!!"
As soon as the words fell, Linlin and the other two separated, surrounding Raynor in a triangle formation.
Each occupied a corner.
Raynor glanced at them calmly, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
Since they agreed all three would attack, he naturally wouldn't dodge. Otherwise, there would be no point.
Above Shakuyaku's head, the Fire, Wind, Thunder, and Ice Homies circled continuously.
Different powers poured into her long sword simultaneously. Soon, the blade in her hand began to hum and tremble, as if unable to withstand the terrifying energy, looking ready to snap at any moment.
In another corner, Jace took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, his pupils had turned completely silver-white.
Countless thick bolts of lightning guarded him. Anything nearby would be instantly pulverized.
Jace spread his crossed arms, and a colossal lightning Qilin (Kirin) materialized.
Jace, his face pale, continued to pour power into it. This was the strongest move he could currently unleash.
Compared to their flashy techniques, Linlin's was much simpler and cruder.
Raising her long sword high, she poured all her physical strength and Armament Haki into it without reservation.
The long sword in her hand hummed violently, struggling to bear the load. Bear in mind, this wasn't an ordinary sword, but a Meito (Fine Grade Sword).
Even so, it seemed overwhelmed, giving off the feeling it was about to break.
"This level of power isn't bad."
Sensing the three powerful forces around him, Raynor nodded with satisfaction.
Especially Linlin. If his judgment was correct, Linlin's current strength had reached the level of a Marine Admiral.
Of course, a baseline Marine Admiral.
Why baseline?
Based on the original story's power scaling, the strongest showing was by Admiral Akainu (Sakazuki). Linlin clearly still had a gap to close before reaching him.
But compared to the later Admiral Ryokugyu (Aramaki), Linlin was likely on par.
As for Shakuyaku and Jace, their strength should be slightly above quasi-Admiral level, just a step away from true Admiral strength.
Overall, the training results were excellent. Raynor was very satisfied.
"Big Bro, here it comes!!" Linlin shouted loudly.
"Judgment Blade!!!!"
An attack carrying all of Linlin's power shot out. The atmosphere exploded directly. An energy beam, several times more powerful than her previous attack, rushed toward Raynor with devastating force.
"I'm coming too!!!"
"400 Million Volts: Thunder Beast Power!!!"
ROAR—
The restless Thunder Qilin pawed the ground, its blood-red eyes locked on Raynor.
Controlled by Jace, the giant beast let out a sky-shaking roar and charged, carrying the immense force of lightning toward Raynor.
"Four Imperial: Blade Storm!!!"
Shakuyaku's attack followed close behind. A slash mixed with five attributes—Fire, Thunder, Wind, Ice, and Armament Haki—looked absolutely terrifying.