Rumble-Rumble Fruit

The wind of the Cloud Sea howled past Rock's back, tugging at his clothes and stretching his figure into a racing black blur.

His footsteps beat out a hurried rhythm between the Cloud Grass and white soil. Every landing was light yet powerful, as though the wind guided him and fate pursued him.

The shadows of the jungle gradually deepened. Layers upon layers of cloud tree branches and leaves obscured the sky, leaving only scattered starlight to spill through the gaps and flicker as Rock darted past.

His breathing was slightly hurried, but he had no intention of stopping.

Kai's words still echoed in his ears—

"Sometimes strange-looking fruits fall down..."

"Sometimes corpses drifting up from the lower world appear."

"Recently, the village chief has heard inexplicable thunder several times."

Inexplicable thunder.

Strange-looking fruit.

Unknown objects drifting upward.

Those clues rapidly came together in Rock's mind. His heart beat rhythmically in his chest, growing louder and louder.

It was not fear, but a trembling anticipation.

Rock suddenly sped up, and patches of Cloud Grass flattened behind him like waves of rice crushed by the wind.

At last, he reached the fork where the "thunder" had been heard.

Rock stopped, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.

Observation Haki instantly spread out, like surging tides sweeping outward from beneath his feet, mapping every tree, stretch of terrain, gust of wind, and hidden creature in his mind.

Something seemed to be ahead...

And that "static" was even stronger than before, as if it could tear through the air at any moment.

Rock opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade.

He gripped his short blade and cautiously entered the darkest depths of the forest, following his senses.

He pushed aside branches rustling wildly in the wind, and his view suddenly opened up.

The next instant, his pupils contracted sharply.

Ahead, a protruding red stone stood amid the trees. Atop it lay an exceptionally dazzling yellow fruit.

It lay there quietly, yet seemed to occupy his entire field of vision.

The fruit was pear-shaped, its surface covered in winding, twisted lightning patterns.

Lightning-shaped spikes extended from its shell, as though they could split the air at any moment.

Even from more than ten meters away, Rock could feel the faint current emanating from within it, rising and falling like a heartbeat.

At that same moment, Rock's heart gave a violent boom, and he froze.

With just one glance, he recognized it. This was the embodiment of lightning.

—Logia: Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

As a veteran reader of Pirate King in his previous life, there was no way he could mistake it.

This was one of the most terrifying and tyrannical powers among the Logia fruits.

The true "embodiment of thunder."

Once mastered, it was power capable of easily destroying an entire island.

His breath involuntarily caught. Everything before him felt too unreal, yet was undeniably real.

But Rock was not blinded by joy. His instincts—

No, his Observation Haki was screaming madly!

Danger... was right beneath his feet!

Rock reacted instantly, leaping backward at full speed!

Boom—!!!

The cloud ground seemed to be torn apart from within by immense force, exploding into an exaggerated fissure. Shattered cloudstone and white soil were hurled into the air by the blast and scattered in every direction.

The surrounding leaves were swept into spinning clusters by the shockwave, dancing chaotically as if torn apart by a gale.

The next second, a colossal creature roared as it burst out of the fissure!

A heavy shadow blotted out the sky, its body churning the thick clouds into endless turbulence.

Hiss—!!

A gigantic shrimp, dark crimson all over as if clad in metal armor, broke through the ground. Every movement carried enough force to shake the clouds.

Its massive claws clicked together in the air, sharp and piercing like blades striking each other.

Its dark green compound eyes stared fixedly at Rock, filled with the savage violence of a born predator.

Rock instantly understood what it was.

—White Sea Express Shrimp!

It lived in the upper White-White Sea, a terrifying beast renowned for its speed, ramming power, and hard shell.

They could skim across the surface of the Cloud Sea at unbelievable speeds. It would not be an exaggeration to say one charge could destroy half a village.

Express Shrimp had caused trouble before after falling from above the White-White Sea, and hunting one usually required the elite warriors of all Birka Village to surround and kill it together.

But now—

It had appeared alone.

And... it was staring at him.

Worse still—

As the ground shook violently, the dazzling Rumble-Rumble Fruit rolled off the stone and became lodged in the gap between the Express Shrimp's breastplate and outer shell!

The yellow fruit was clamped by the dark crimson armor, half exposed. It trembled slightly with the monster's roar, yet showed no sign of falling.

It was as though nature had maliciously "protected" it.

Rock stared at the fruit, the treasure that could change his fate, trapped in the gap of the monster's shell.

His expression instantly turned cold.

"...That won't do."

He slowly raised his short blade horizontally. His breathing instantly became steady and even, and he regained the calm of a warrior, like a black panther poised to strike.

Facing a monster of this level alone, he should have turned around and run.

That was common sense, and the survival wisdom of every Sky Islander.

But the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was right before his eyes.

With only one more step, the distance between him and "god" came down to a single choice.

Rock took a deep breath and lowered his center of gravity.

"I'm not letting this opportunity slip away."

The next instant, the Cloud Grass beneath his feet exploded with a bang, and a black shadow shot forward!

He moved so fast that even the air was cut by a piercing whistle.

The Express Shrimp let out a shrill hiss as its massive claws snapped shut!

Crack—!!!

The air was sliced apart as if cleaved by blades, forming two visible tears. Killing intent surged toward him from all directions.

Rock darted about at high speed without retreating in the slightest!

Man and beast collided like thunder in this Sky Island jungle!

The view slowly rose, passing over the swaying crowns of cloud trees and gradually moving away from the center of the battle.

From deep within the jungle came the Express Shrimp's mad, savage impacts—

The sharp cracks of trees snapping and the thunderous roar of cloud soil being hurled aside intertwined into chaos.

The sounds continued for several minutes before suddenly—

Boom—!!!

A blinding bolt of lightning, enough to illuminate the entire Cloud Sea, descended from the sky and blasted the forest with crackling electric light.

Beneath the thunder, every sound instantly fell silent.

As the smoke and dust dispersed, a figure slowly emerged from the depths of the forest.

Rock slowly stepped out of the black smoke, leaving footprints with every step. The remaining Cloud Grass beneath his feet was lightly split by electric currents.

Fine arcs of electricity coiled around his entire body. Golden-blue lightning danced across his skin, as though celebrating its new master.

His eyes were no longer merely dark; a faint glow of lightning shone within them.

Behind him lay the towering corpse of an Express Shrimp. Its shell was charred black and cracked, with currents still crackling through the fissures.

Rock stopped and raised both hands.

Lightning gathered, boiled, and surged in his palms, charging through his veins as if alive. Every pulse brought new strength.

He took a deep breath, feeling the surging, violent thunderous power within him.

A confident smile slowly curled across his lips.

"Looks like..."

Rock murmured softly, his voice carrying a sharpness it had never possessed before.

"I've gotten my ticket into the world of the strong too..."

Electric light burst from his fingertips, illuminating his resolute and excited face.