Skypiea, God's Island.
Thunder God Palace.
Inside the luxurious dining hall, with its ten-meter-high ceiling, an ornate table was laden with dazzling dishes and fine wine.
Crystal-clear juice in silver goblets, sizzling roast meat on cloud platters, fresh scallops stewed in savory broth—delicacies of every kind filled the table.
But to Seven, these foods, treated as priceless treasures, were barely half as good as what he could make himself.
Still, they were undeniably delicious.
After successfully awakening Armament Haki, he deserved to give himself a whole half-day off, slow down, and indulge in a little luxury.
Seven lifted his silver goblet and took a small sip, his gaze sweeping over Shani, who stood quietly at his side with her eyes lowered.
"Sit down and eat with me."
"Yes, Lord Thunder God."
Shani gathered her skirt and stepped forward to pull out a chair, her movements gentle but tinged with nervousness.
Their endless small talk was punctuated by the soft clink of goblets. Shani occasionally shared amusing stories about life on Skypiea, while Seven told her about what he had seen on the sea.
Since becoming Skypiea's god, he had never taken such time to chew carefully and savor his food.
Dinner lasted a full two and a half hours. The relaxed atmosphere flowed like the clouds drifting through the dining hall, making them forget the passage of time.
The plates were cleared, and the table was restored to order.
Shani raised her head. Fragments of light from the cloud-crystal chandelier reflected in her clear eyes. "Lord Thunder God, could I... learn swordsmanship from you?"
"Swordsmanship?" Seven set down his silver goblet. "What made you want to learn that?"
Shani's voice was a little clearer than before. "I want to get stronger... I want to protect Skypiea like you do."
Seven rubbed his brow. I'm no Great Swordsman, but I am a swordsman. I should be able to teach her without leading her astray.
Protect Skypiea? Looks like Gan Fall's propaganda campaign worked. Kizaru had successfully been made out to be the evil villain trying to invade Skypiea.
The one who drove away evil villain Kizaru—Thunder God Beelzebul—had naturally become Skypiea's guardian deity.
"Go back and get some rest. Come with Shalou tomorrow morning."
"Thank you."
If Shani wanted to learn anything other than swordsmanship, Seven really couldn't teach her. The only thing he had to offer, Conqueror's Haki Infusion, required her to awaken Conqueror's Haki first.
He had only just begun learning Armament Haki. He couldn't teach that either.
As for developing Devil Fruit abilities? Forget it.
Seven's development of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was still at a basic stage. He couldn't even generate magnetism with electricity.
Sitting in his dining chair, Seven watched the differently colored sparks dancing at his fingertips as he tried to create a magnetic field with electric current.
Electricity and magnetism were inseparable.
Electricity always produced magnetism, and magnetism always produced electricity.
That statement wasn't entirely correct. Only moving electric charges or a changing electric field could produce a magnetic field. Stationary electric charges had no magnetic field around them.
As for generating electricity with magnetism—
Magnetic particles had to move fast enough for their kinetic energy to overcome the electrons' inertia and set them in motion, thereby producing an electric current.
In short, if Seven wanted to generate a magnetic field with electricity, he needed to set the electric charges in motion.
That was relatively simple.
The reason he wanted to generate magnetism with electricity was that the Super Electromagnetic Cannon listed for sale on the Trading Platform had inspired him.
[Super Electromagnetic Cannon: 20,000 points. The sparks dancing at your fingertips are my eternal, unchanging faith. Seller's note: Long live the Super Electromagnetic Cannon!]
Who didn't love Railgun?
If he developed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit to a certain degree, Seven could reproduce the Super Electromagnetic Cannon. He wouldn't even need to flip a coin.
Well, flipping a coin was the whole point.
Generating magnetism with electricity and then firing a Super Electromagnetic Cannon was one of Seven's ideas for developing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Besides, once he mastered electromagnetism, he might even be able to receive electromagnetic waves and brain waves, greatly enhancing his Observation Haki.
Wouldn't that give him telepathy?
Also, the speed of light and the speed of electromagnetic waves were the same. Light itself was a kind of electromagnetic wave.
These were subtle ways to develop the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. For something bigger and stronger, Seven currently had only Thunder Welcome and Thunder God Form in mind.
Thunder Welcome was Enel's ultimate move in the anime. It was one of the few attacks in the Pirate World capable of destroying an entire island in one strike, making it a devastating move on par with an Ancient Weapon.
If he ever faced another major battle like the Summit War, Seven could simply hurl out a Thunder Welcome.
Whether it actually blew anything up was another matter. Its intimidation factor would be off the charts.
Thunder God Form was the direction Seven had chosen for developing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, modeled after Susanoo. For now, it existed only as an idea.
As for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's higher-level Fruit Awakening, Seven hadn't the slightest idea how to achieve it. Still, he figured the system shop would probably sell Fruit Awakening.
50,000 points? 100,000 points?
Those prices were far beyond his reach for now.
Putting aside his lofty ambitions, Seven flashed to the bedroom beneath the dome of Thunder God Palace and fell asleep beneath a sky full of stars.
In a courtyard west of Thunder God Palace's main hall, two chattering voices broke the night's silence.
"Big sis, I can't sleep."
On the white bed, Shani hugged her knees, making her ample curves press into a different shape.
Shalou, her short-haired sister, ignored her younger sister's unfairly curvaceous figure and glanced down at her own flat chest.
"Then don't sleep."
The next day, dawn broke over the White Sea.
Thunder God Palace, Martial Arts Arena.
Dressed in black training clothes and holding a wooden sword, Seven casually swung it, unleashing a Flying Slash. Then he fixed his calm gaze on Shani and Shalou.
"The essence of swordsmanship lies in intent and momentum, not brute strength."
"Of course, if you're strong enough, you can always make up for it with sheer force."
"Use the method I just taught you, and swing your swords ten thousand... three thousand times every day from now on."
The sisters were both dressed in black training clothes, but each had a distinct charm. Shani was curvaceous, with an irresistible magnetism that drew every gaze, while Shalou had a youthful yet stubborn air of valor.
"Yes, Lord Thunder God."
Teaching the sisters swordsmanship was nothing more than a whim to Seven, a way to pass the time.
He didn't care how much they learned, nor did he expect the two young women to become top fighters. It was just a bit of variety in his otherwise monotonous training.
On the other side of the Martial Arts Arena.
Thirty Thunder Cloud Guards stood in neat formation, like pines. Clad in silver armor and armed with long spears fitted with Slash Shells, they waited in formation to be inspected by Lord Thunder God.
Seven flashed to a spot in front of the Thunder Cloud Guards and casually pulled a piece of black cloth from his system inventory, tying it over his eyes.
"From today on, attack me with the weapons in your hands. I won't fight back."
"Yes, Lord Thunder God!"
The thirty voices rang out in unison, making the air tremble faintly.
After more than three months of working together, Seven had already won the Thunder Cloud Guards over with his overwhelming strength. Now they regarded him with absolute reverence and obeyed his every command.
After awakening Armament Haki,
Seven turned his attention to Observation Haki. He chose the most direct and simplest way to explore it: getting beaten up.
The black cloth over his eyes cut off his vision. Seven deliberately shut down his ability to predict movements with electromagnetic waves and emptied his mind completely, relying only on his body to sense everything around him.
The wind's path, the quiver of the air, the breathing and heartbeats of the thirty Thunder Cloud Guards—all gradually came into focus in his awareness.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The sharp slashes released by the Slash Shells landed on Seven one after another. The crisp ring of metal on metal echoed through the Martial Arts Arena.
Those attacks were powerful enough to split cloudstone, yet when they struck his Iron Balloon body, they failed to leave even a white mark. Only the dull sound of impact remained.
The Thunder Cloud Guards all paused, their hands tightening around their weapons as their eyes filled with disbelief.
"Keep going."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Every attack he dodged helped Seven hone his senses, making him increasingly sensitive to the auras around him.
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