Chapter 48: Attention from the Rocks Pirates
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was the first Logia-type Devil Fruit Ren had obtained.
Within the fruit's consciousness space, the enemy manifested by the fruit itself was an elemental monster.
Without the use of Haki or any other acquired abilities, such an enemy was impossible to defeat.
However, the reverse was also true. Ren possessed the same power as his opponent, but when stronger lightning encountered weaker lightning, the opponent would instantly absorb his electricity.
He quickly withdrew from the consciousness space.
His head and body were still tingling.
Opening his palm, blue arcs of electricity flickered within it. Even without fully assimilating the fruit, he could already use a portion of its abilities, though his current electrical power was not stronger than that of the Mink Tribe and could only be considered weak static electricity.
After obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Ren immediately left Birka.
He purchased many pieces of Sky Island–specific equipment, such as Sky Dials and Wavers.
Once the ship departed from Birka, it descended from the sky and returned to the Blue Sea.
For the time being, he had no intention of going to Angel Island or the City of Gold, Shandora.
Even if the gold was still there, it would not run away, and even if he went, his current ship would not be able to transport such an enormous quantity of gold.
It should be noted that after Enel forged the gold into the pure-gold Ark Maxim, a vast amount of gold still remained in Shandora. Even if Ama no Murakumo could bear the weight, transporting it would still be extremely inconvenient.
Moreover, although Golden Lion had not yet left the Rocks Pirates to operate independently at this time, the basic framework of the Flying Pirates already existed, and most of his crew had already been recruited.
Although the chance of encountering Golden Lion in the endless sky was nearly zero, sometimes things happened with unbelievable coincidence.
If he were to encounter Golden Lion, Ren, accompanied by Yuriko and a group of women, would likely be unable to protect such a massive amount of gold from his attack.
Ren's current strength still fell somewhat short compared to these legendary figures.
This gap lay in the mastery of Haki. Even if Ren's Devil Fruit ability had reached the awakening stage, it was still difficult to stand on equal footing with them.
Figures such as Golden Lion, Roger, and Whitebeard were already very close to their individual peaks in combat power.
Roger, for example, was already 38 years old this year, with all his physical capabilities at their peak.
The following year, he would join forces with the Marines to defeat the Rocks Pirates at God Valley.
If Ren could obtain a space-type Devil Fruit ability in the future, things would be far more convenient.
This year, Roger had just reached Lodestar Island, the nominal end of the Grand Line.
According to the original timeline, 9 years later, after Oden boarded Roger's ship, they would still travel to Sky Island.
At the very least, by that time, the City of Gold on Sky Island would still remain intact.
After returning to the Blue Sea, Enel's mother's complexion worsened.
Although the oxygen content of the Blue Sea was higher, the atmospheric pressure was also stronger, placing a significant burden on her body.
Combined with her already frail health, even though infant Enel could adapt to this environment, she, as an adult, felt an intense pressure in her chest, as if something heavy were weighing her down and making it difficult to breathe.
However, the increased oxygen in the air was actually beneficial to her condition.
As long as she slowly adapted to the atmospheric pressure of the Blue Sea, her health might gradually improve.
Having obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, this journey was far from unrewarding.
Not to mention the 200 million Berries and the various special Sky Island Dials.
Some Dials could even be described as having strategic value.
For example, Slash Dials and Impact Dials could absorb slashing attacks and impacts respectively, then release them afterward.
They could not only defend against enemy attacks to a certain extent, but also be used for counterattacks, essentially functioning as weapons with theoretically unlimited firepower.
Of course, Dials of the same type also had different grades, such as Wind Dials, which included variants like Twin Wind Dials, Giant Dials, and Jet Dials.
The effects of Dials of differing quality naturally varied as well.
In addition to combat-oriented Dials, there were also Flash Dials and Flavor Dials, which could be used as flashbangs, tear gas, or even poison gas.
These Dials could even be employed as strategic weapons, with power far exceeding that of most weapons currently circulating in the Grand Line.
The only drawback was that Slash Dials and Impact Dials had an upper limit to the amount of power they could absorb, and they could not apply Haki when releasing it.
This meant that such Dials were of limited use against true top-tier powerhouses.
Meanwhile, in the New World, Rocks and his crew had already received news of the Night Fire Pirates' imprisonment.
Originally, after the Night Fire Pirates killed the people sent to recruit them, those individuals' Vivre Cards had already burned to ash, and this had been known at the time.
The one responsible for this matter was a pirate unknown to Ren, as not every recruitment required Rocks to dispatch an executive of Whitebeard's caliber.
Although the captain of the Night Fire Pirates was a Logia-type user and one of the more eye-catching Supernovas to arrive at the Sabaody Archipelago this year, he still did not warrant the same treatment as Kaido.
Even so, the individual sent to recruit the Night Fire Pirates was still a great pirate.
An era is vast. Beyond those pirates who would later become famous in history, there were also many powerful figures lost to time.
Rocks, Whitebeard, and others merely stood at the very apex of the era. It did not mean that no other formidable powerhouses existed in the world.
"Captain, we originally thought it was the Night Fire Pirates who dealt with Dicas and his crew, but now it seems that may not be the case."
Aboard a pirate ship, several pirates were holding newspapers.
"The much-anticipated Supernovas—the Night Fire Pirates—imprisoned shortly after entering the New World."
As Supernovas of this year, Horo had been closely watched by many factions ever since entering the New World.
Although the strength of these newcomers was still weak at present, those Supernovas who had successfully established themselves in the New World over the years all possessed extraordinary power.
This was precisely why Rocks had sent people to recruit these Supernovas.
"It seems Dicas and his crew were also very likely dealt with by that Pirate Hunter," someone said.
They had set out immediately after the Vivre Cards of Dicas and his crew disappeared.
They did not expect to receive news of the Night Fire Pirates' imprisonment midway through their journey.
"Captain Jeka, what should we do now?" a crew member asked. "Should we go and pick a fight with that Pirate Hunter?"
"Is that even a question?" The tall figure standing at the bow of the ship crumpled the newspaper in his hand. "Of course."
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