Chapter 48: Lightning’s Wrath

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was the first Logia-type fruit Dan had attempted to absorb. In the fruit's consciousness space, the enemy manifested as an elemental monster.

Without the use of Haki or other abilities, such an enemy was practically invincible.

However, the same applied to Dan. He also gained the same power as his opponent, but when stronger lightning met weaker lightning, the enemy instantly absorbed his electricity.

He quickly exited the consciousness space.

His head and body still tingled with pain.

He opened his hand, and blue electric arcs flickered in his palm. Even without fully absorbing the fruit, he could use a portion of its power. However, his current electrical output was no stronger than that of a Mink. It was just weak static electricity.

After obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Dan immediately left Birka.

He purchased a considerable amount of special equipment like Dials and Waver. Once the ship left Birka, it descended from the sky back to the Blue Sea. He had no immediate plans to visit Angel Island or the Golden City of Shandora.

The gold there wouldn't disappear, and his ship wasn't suitable for transporting such a massive amount of gold. Even after Enel used the gold to build the Ark Maxim, a massive golden ship, the Golden City still had plenty of gold left. While Dan's Heavenly Cloud could handle the weight, carrying it would still be inconvenient.

Moreover, although Shiki hadn't yet left the Rocks Pirates to strike out on his own, the basic framework of the Golden Lion Pirates already existed, and his crew was mostly assembled.

While the chances of encountering Shiki in the vast skies were almost zero, sometimes coincidences were unbelievable. If they did meet, with Mari, Yuriko, and the other women on board, Dan wouldn't be able to protect all that gold from Shiki's attack.

Dan's current strength still fell short of these legendary figures. This gap was mainly in Haki mastery. Even though Dan's Devil Fruit abilities had reached the awakened level, it was still difficult to match them.

Figures like Shiki, Roger, and Whitebeard were already close to their peak. Roger, for instance, was 38 this year, at the height of his physical prowess. By the next year, he and the Marines would defeat the Rocks Pirates at God Valley.

If Dan could obtain a space-related Devil Fruit in the future, things would become much more convenient.

This year, Roger had just reached Lodestar Island, the nominal endpoint of the Grand Line. According to the original timeline, nine years later, after Oden joined Roger's crew, they would visit Skypiea. At that time, the Golden City would still be intact.

After returning to the Blue Sea, Enel's mother's condition worsened.

Although the oxygen levels in the Blue Sea were higher, the atmospheric pressure was also stronger, which put a strain on her. Combined with her already poor health, even baby Enel could adapt to the environment, but she, an adult, felt a heavy pressure on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

However, the increased oxygen levels were actually beneficial to her condition. Once she adapted to the Blue Sea's atmospheric pressure, her situation might improve.

Obtaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit made this voyage worthwhile. Not to mention the 200 million berries and the special Dials from Skypiea. Some of these Dials had strategic-level applications.

For example, the Impact Dial and Reject Dial could absorb slashes and impacts, then release them. They could not only defend against enemy attacks but also counterattack, effectively serving as infinite firepower weapons.

Of course, Dials of the same type varied in quality. For instance, Wind Dials came in different grades, such as Double Wind Dials, Giant Wind Dials, and Jet Dials. The effects varied depending on the quality.

Aside from combat Dials, there were also Flash Dials and Flavor Dials, which could be used as flash grenades, tear gas, or even poison gas.

These Dials could even be used as strategic weapons, far surpassing the power of most weapons currently circulating in the seas. The only drawback was that Impact Dials and Reject Dials had limits to the attacks they could absorb, and they couldn't infuse Haki when releasing the stored energy.

This meant these Dials were of little use against true powerhouses.

...

Meanwhile, in the New World, the Rocks Pirates had received news of the Nightlight Pirates' capture.

Originally, after the Nightlight Pirates killed the men sent by Rocks, their life cards had burned out, alerting them to the incident.

The person responsible for this matter was a pirate Dan didn't know. After all, not everyone warranted sending a top-tier executive like Whitebeard to recruit them.

The captain of the Nightlight Pirates was a Logia user and one of the most prominent rookies to reach Sabaody Archipelago this year. However, even so, he didn't warrant the same treatment as Kaido.

Nevertheless, the person tasked with recruiting the Nightlight Pirates was still a notable pirate. An era was vast, and aside from the famous pirates who made history, there were many powerful individuals lost to time.

Figures like Rocks and Whitebeard stood at the pinnacle of the era, but they weren't the only noteworthy powerful individuals in the world.

"Captain, we initially thought the Nightlight Pirates had dealt with Jett and his men, but now it seems that might not be the case," a pirate on a ship said, holding a newspaper.

"Highly Anticipated Supernova—Nightlight Pirates Captured Shortly After Entering the New World."

As one of this year's Supernovas, Harlow had been under the watch of various factions since entering the New World. Although these rookies were still weak, those who managed to establish themselves in the New World often became extraordinary powerhouses.

This was why Rocks had sent people to recruit these Supernovas.

"It seems likely that Jett and his men were also dealt with by that bounty hunter," someone said.

After Jett's life card burned out, they had immediately set out. However, halfway through their journey, they received news of the Nightlight Pirates' capture.

"Captain Jake, what should we do now?" a crew member asked. "Should we go after that bounty hunter?"

"Isn't it obvious? Of course we should," the tall figure at the ship's bow said, crumpling the newspaper in his hand.