Thunder God Altar, Rumble-Rumble Fruit

Redfield swiftly dodged Light Pen's lightning serpent, darted in close, and slashed at him.

Light Pen reacted quickly too. He raised his arm, and a massive flying slash shot out, driving Redfield back. At the same time, he rapidly struck the two drums with both hands.

"Thunder God Drums: Twin Dragon Strangling!"

Each drum released a thick bolt of lightning, just barely resembling a lightning dragon. They intertwined and crashed into Redfield in an instant!

Armament Haki Hardening.

Redfield held his Cane Sword horizontally to block. Both his wrists had just turned black, barely managing to cover his forearms. The color looked ready to fade at any moment; it seemed he still needed to make it more solid and master the technique better!

"How can this be? How can anyone withstand the Thunder God's divine punishment? Impossible!"

"Thunder God Drums: Judgment Thunder Penalty!"

Light Pen struck his two drums at lightning speed, sweat beading on his forehead. Both drums blazed with light, and their lightning merged into a pillar as thick as a barrel, surging toward Redfield to engulf him.

"Wind, Fire, Water, Thunder—None I Cannot Cut: Thunder Severance!"

Redfield gathered his strength and charged fearlessly at the pillar. In a flash, he sliced through it and appeared behind Light Pen.

Light Pen stared at his chest in disbelief. A sword wound slowly appeared, then blood sprayed everywhere, and he collapsed instantly.

On the other side, Fish-Man Tom uprooted a tree and wildly swung it at the guards. Shakky and Antonio finished off the enemies who had been dazed by Crocus, knocking them unconscious.

They were also busy collecting the rare Slash Dials and Thunder Dials. The Qilin Lion charged through the crowd, or grabbed people in its jaws and tossed them into the air. No one knew how many times it had been shocked or struck by slashes. Plenty of wounds had appeared on its body.

But it seemed not to feel a thing. Its defenses must have been impressive; those ordinary Slash Dials and Thunder Dials had failed to seriously injure it.

The Memory Seahorse got to enjoy a delicious meal too, while Wuzhu could only obediently fly overhead and watch. Brook hadn't joined the fight. He leisurely observed how his crewmates performed.

Being able to leave everything to his subordinates was pretty great. Ideally, they'd all be strong, but if he wasn't strong himself, he wouldn't be able to keep such powerful crewmates in line!

Shakky stripped the two drums from Light Pen, along with the two top-grade Slash Dials on his arms, which looked twice as large as the others.

Satisfied, she claimed the spoils. The crew had nearly finished off the guards, so they found someone from Birka Island to lead them to the place where the locals worshipped the Thunder God.

They didn't need to guess: it was obviously the place where lightning frequently flashed and thunder roared. Under Brook and the others' threats, they soon reached the foot of Birka Island's highest mountain.

Dark clouds hung over it year-round, and lightning constantly struck the mountain. There was even an altar at the summit, and Brook headed straight up.

The residents of Birka Island slowly came out of their homes. When they saw their fallen god, they hurried to carry him back to the village for treatment.

A huge altar stood before Brook and the others. Four tall metal Lightning Rods rose from its corners, blending an ancient atmosphere with advanced technology in a curious fusion.

As soon as Brook stepped onto the altar, he spotted the Devil Fruit on the offering table, its surface covered in lightning patterns. Even his heart, which no longer beat, trembled once more!

He quickly went up and picked up the alluring Devil Fruit. If he hadn't already eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit, Brook would have wanted nothing more than to eat this one: the strongest Logia, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, with top-tier attack and speed.

He wanted to eat it so badly!

Meanwhile, Fish-Man Tom was examining the murals inside the altar. He discovered depictions of otherworldly peoples, along with references to the Moon People, Fairy Vearth, the Blue Sea, and Sky Islands. Their connections were all so complicated.

According to the guide, legend had it that long ago, Moon People from Fairy Vearth had come here in search of energy, because the moon's own supply was nearly exhausted.

They had flown down from the Sky Islands and discovered Birka Island, a place where lightning struck all year round. They built devices here to collect lightning, returning every so often to gather the stored energy.

But later, something like a massive uprising had apparently broken out on the moon, and all contact had been lost. Gradually, the place came to be regarded as a divine site by the locals, who began worshipping there.

After who knew how many years, one day they discovered that the fruit on the altar had transformed into a golden holy fruit covered in lightning patterns. They thought the gods had descended once again.

They continued to worship the Thunder Holy Fruit. It never rotted and seemed to brim with divinity, making the residents even more certain that it was a miracle.

"Captain Brook, there really are blueprints for building a ship here!"

Fish-Man Tom had found some books, documents, and blueprints in a drawer that looked rather high-tech. They were for the ships the Moon People had flown down from the Sky Islands in, all powered by lightning!

"This is fantastic! We'll build a ship in the Sky Kingdom, then set off for the New World!"

Brook said excitedly. Everyone was eagerly looking forward to the ship's creation!

"Gold is the best conductor, so we'll build a Golden Ship! Hahaha!"

"That's amazing, Captain Brook! We'll be the most extravagant pirate crew in the world!"

"And that's not all, Captain. There's a device beneath this altar that stores lightning. If we add it to our ship, it'll be even more powerful!"

"Excellent. We must bring this island into our Sky Kingdom!"

Brook could hardly contain his excitement. Now he had to decide who would eat the Rumble-Rumble Fruit: Redfield or Shakky?

"Tom, this time you have to build the strongest ship in the world. Along with the Ancient Warship blueprints I gave you before, I'm leaving our future pirate ship in your hands!"

"I understand, Captain Brook. I'll build the strongest ship in the world!"

Fish-Man Tom was in tears, his heart full of passion. He could hardly wait to get to work, combining the strengths of the ship and the Ancient Warship to design a pirate ship that would usher in a new era!

"Redfield, do you want to eat this strongest Logia Devil Fruit, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"

Redfield's talent and ability far surpassed Shakky's, and his special Observation Haki was perfectly suited to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Shakky looked at Redfield enviously, her eyes full of longing. But she would follow the captain's arrangements. Besides, she could always find another Mythical Zoan later!

Redfield understood how Shakky felt, but Captain Brook had gone out of his way to ask him, so it was clear the captain wanted him to eat it.

He had always thought that Devil Fruit Users, who became helpless in the water, had a fatal weakness. But the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was different. He could turn into lightning and fly with ease.

"Captain Brook, you'll always be the person I admire most!"

Redfield knelt on one knee and accepted the strongest Logia, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, from Brook. With a resolute expression, he ate it!

Lightning crackled in every direction. Fighting back his nausea, Redfield ate the rest of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and felt the power coursing through his body!