'Monster-class' Arthur / Robin's Thoughts

During a fight, Arthur certainly wouldn't let Nami and Robin get caught up in it.

During a fight, Arthur certainly wouldn't let Nami and Robin get caught up in it.

Against weak enemies, Arthur could handle them easily without the two of them lifting a finger.

Against powerful enemies, Nami and Robin couldn't help him at all.

Just as in Alabasta and the current situation, it was inevitable that Arthur would have to part ways with Nami and Robin temporarily.

That was exactly why Arthur was worried. If Nami became a Devil Fruit user, what would happen if she and Robin both fell into the water while he was away?

After all, their ship was only a small-cabin sailboat.

That alone was enough to make Arthur abandon the idea of giving Nami the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

"Hummm—"

Arthur tossed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in his hand, just as he was preparing to leave God's Island, Upper Yard.

The Noble Phantasm within him, Rhongomyniad—the Holy Lance—suddenly let out a rumble.

The vibration felt as though it were reaching out to him of its own accord.

Arthur stopped and held out his hand, a surprised look on his face.

Golden light gathered and formed a silver-white lance.

Arthur could clearly feel the shaft trembling. It seemed to be saying something.

"Come out, Dong Stallion!"

With a thought, Arthur gripped the lance and lightly swept it through the air above him.

"Neigh—"

0

"Rumble!!"

The sound of thunder and lightning came from a rift in space, and the majestic form of the King's Horse galloped out.

"Are you the one contacting me?" Arthur planted the Holy Lance in the ground and reached out to stroke the King's Horse's head as he asked softly.

Though it was a question, his words were full of certainty.

"Neigh—" The King's Horse let out a cry and nuzzled Arthur's palm, but his lively, spirited eyes were fixed on the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in Arthur's other hand.

"You want to eat it?" Arthur noticed the King's Horse's gaze. Or rather, the King's Horse was one with him; he could sense and command the steed at any time.

Thanks to their understanding, which went far beyond telepathy, Arthur could ride the king's steed as he pleased, even without knowing anything about horsemanship.

"Neigh—"

The King's Horse shook his head, raised it, and cried out again.

Hearing him, Arthur's eyes lit up. "You mean the Holy Lance wants to eat it?"

"Neigh—"

Instead of answering, the King's Horse opened his mouth and took the Rumble-Rumble Fruit from Arthur's hand.

Without chewing it, he turned into a mass of light on the spot and flowed into the Holy Lance.

"Whoosh—"

Almost the instant the light returned, a pillar of lightning shot into the sky from God's Island, Upper Yard.

Chapter 52: 'Monster-class' Arthur

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

"Rumble...!!!"

Deep in the forest of God's Island, Upper Yard, blazing blue-white lightning flashed. Thunder Dragons surged like a roiling sea of clouds, ravaging everything.

The ground was bombarded, trees burned, and endless clouds of dust rose into the air.

The deafening rumble sent the beasts of the forest crawling to the ground, trembling as though they were facing a higher race.

Within the vast forest, the ground for hundreds of meters around had been completely leveled.

The ground was covered in devastation, with countless craters of every size.

Only the ground beneath Arthur's feet at the center remained intact.

At that moment, Arthur, dressed in a white knight's uniform, looked like a thunder god descended to earth. Lightning flashed around him, and the Holy Lance in his right hand was blue-white from end to end as he thrust it forward like a dragon.

Every time the lance's tip thrust forward, the brilliant light radiating from it reached its peak. It was as though he were holding a pillar of lightning, as tangible Thunder Dragons roared forth and furiously bombarded everything ahead.

Strong, unbelievably strong!

Every thrust was casual, yet the power of each attack was comparable to a full-force strike from Arthur when his Swordsmanship had been at rank B-.

A Thunder Dragon released with a casual thrust was equal to a full-force strike from an outstanding swordsman.

Although the Rumble-Rumble Fruit itself was a prime example of the greatest destructive power among Logia fruits, this was still far too terrifying.

After the King's Horse returned to the Holy Lance with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in his mouth, the Holy Lance released a pillar of lightning that shot into the sky.

Arthur hadn't rushed back. Instead, he had stayed on God's Island, Upper Yard, to investigate the abilities of the Holy Lance after it ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Arthur didn't know whether the King's Horse or the Holy Lance had eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

But neither possibility stopped Arthur from indirectly gaining the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's abilities.

In Arthur's eyes, the half-awakened Holy Lance had originally been an ordinary weapon that provided him with the King's Horse.

After eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, the Holy Lance, even in its half-awakened state, existed within Arthur's body like a pillar of lightning, serving as the vessel for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

More importantly, a lance was inherently a piercing weapon, making it an excellent match for lightning's piercing nature.

As a vessel, the Holy Lance combined with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's powers to become an unstoppable spear of judgment.

Moreover, as one of Arthur's three Noble Phantasms, the Holy Lance was like a part of his soul.

Even if the Holy Lance were discarded, Arthur could summon it back with a thought.

Thus, after the Holy Lance ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Arthur could freely draw on the lightning power it contained without even summoning it.

The Holy Lance was like another kind of lightning-attribute mana, existing within Arthur's body.

It was as though Arthur had turned the Rumble-Rumble Fruit into an armed crystal and placed it inside his body. Not only could he use it whenever he wanted, but he had also eliminated the Devil Fruit's weakness.

In particular, Arthur had discovered that the King's Horse, who existed within the Holy Lance as a conceptual life-form, shared the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power just as he did.

Not only had the steed's speed soared, but more importantly, he could turn into an element.

This directly enhanced the King's Horse's immortality. From now on, when Arthur was riding him, anyone hoping to kill the steed in front of him might as well be daydreaming.

A qualitative transformation!

Arthur had to admit that the Rumble-Rumble Fruit lived up to its reputation as the most versatile and practical of the Logia fruits.

Arthur's current strength had undergone a complete qualitative change from before.

"Name: Arthur Pendragon

"Name: Arthur Pendragon

Gender: Male

Height: 181 cm

Weight: 69 kg

Strength: C (B)

Endurance: C (B+)

Agility: C (A)

Mana: C+

Luck: 篍~~EX

Innate skills: Instinct (A), Mana Burst (A), Giant Beast Hunting (A), Charisma (D)

Skills: Observation Haki (A++), Armament Haki (C), Swordsmanship (A-), Spear Technique (B)

..."

These were Arthur's new attributes. The attributes in parentheses were his attributes after using the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's destructive power, electrotherapy, and speed had doubled Arthur's capabilities.

His skills were also just as he had guessed: his Observation Haki had soared in a single leap from its previous rank of C to A++.

This was already the pinnacle of Observation Haki. Unless it was combined with the Voice of All Things, it couldn't be improved any further.

Below rank EX, there was actually a +++ rank, but +++ was so powerful that it broke the rules and entered another dimension. Clearly, the power system of the sea couldn't reach that level yet.

Therefore, ++ was already the highest rank.

Roger's Voice of All Things and Queen Otohime's mind-reading ability were the only two that could compare with Arthur's.

Unfortunately, Roger's Voice of All Things wasn't the pinnacle of Observation Haki, but the pinnacle of Conqueror's Haki—Conqueror's Domain.

Conqueror's Domain was a domain-level ability. Under its influence, all things would pledge allegiance to the conqueror, who could communicate with everything in nature.

Queen Otohime's mind-reading ability allowed her to hear the thoughts of others. Although it was also top-tier Observation Haki, it couldn't compare with Arthur's.

As for Charlotte Katakuri, Arthur didn't take him seriously at all.

Instinct (A) could easily achieve Future Sight.

With a vast range, the ability to hear voices, and Future Sight, Arthur's Observation Haki possessed three effects. It could scarcely find a rival on the seas.

"Whoosh—"

Over the vast white sea, a brilliant blue-white light streaked across the sky like a beam.

At a speed invisible to the naked eye, it descended onto the beach.

The beam stopped just short of the ground, hovering with astonishing stability.

A magnificent steed crackling with blue-white arcs of electricity carried a handsome knight dressed in white, descending like a god.

The sight left Nami and Robin frozen in place, their expressions blank with astonishment.

"What? Don't you recognize me?!" Arthur asked with a faint smile, enjoying the two women's expressions.

At the same time, he marveled inwardly that the King's Horse's ability to fly, combined with the speed of lightning, made him the fastest means of transportation in the world.

Chapter 53: Robin's Thoughts

"Arthur... what exactly did you go off and do?" Nami asked in a daze.

Arthur hadn't been gone long, not even an hour, but the impression he gave now was worlds apart from before. His bearing seemed to have undergone a transformation.

And her impression was undoubtedly accurate.

Arthur had indeed transformed. It wasn't the improvement in his overall strength, but the pinnacle of Observation Haki that had given him a sense of confidence that he had everything under control.

With his safety in his own hands, Arthur had effectively bid farewell to danger.

Able to foresee every danger, he naturally had no worries left. Arthur, who had always been highly confident in his own strength, had officially risen to being proud and self-assured.

Even Arthur hadn't noticed that he had finally acquired the pride that brought him closer to a king.

He was casting aside the homebody personality from his previous life, and his mind was gradually becoming compatible with this body. This was the precursor to awakening an ability—

"Come on up. I'll take you to find what you want," Arthur said with a smile, reaching out both hands in response to Nami.

"Shandora..."

"The historical text!"

At his words, different emotions surfaced in Nami's and Robin's eyes, both full of excitement and anticipation.