The Power of Thunder

The bonfire in Birka Village suddenly blazed bright beneath the lightning that tore across the sky. The flames leaped up as if startled awake, then were forced to sway from side to side beneath the sudden pressure of the wind, scattering sparks everywhere.

That bolt of lightning, as though it had fallen from the heavens, instantly turned the village's lively evening feast into a tense state of readiness.

The women hurriedly gathered up the roasted meat and cloudfruit, their faces filled with panic;

The children clung together in fright, their cries rising one after another;

The men seized their spears and cloud shields, watching the distance warily, thinking some giant beast had burst through the clouds.

The bonfire feast was forced to end, and the entire village descended into chaotic noise.

Yet amid that clamor, one figure remained especially quiet.

Leaning on a cloudwood staff, the old village chief slowly but firmly made his way toward the village entrance.

His hunched body stretched long beneath the firelight. Every step seemed to tread upon the wind, yet he stood as steady as a stake driven into the earth.

He saw the person standing at the village entrance.

Kai stood perfectly still, his whole body taut, his eyes fixed on the direction where the lightning had vanished.

The old village chief stopped beside him and sighed softly. "Kai, are you worried about that child?"

His hoarse yet steady voice was as gentle as a breeze dispersing clouds and mist.

Kai's shoulders visibly trembled, but he said nothing.

In the darkness, his clenched fists shook faintly.

It was not fear, but the complicated emotions of a father and a warrior intertwined—worry, pride, and the helplessness of being unable to intervene.

The old village chief raised his head. The cloudiness in his eyes, weathered by countless years, was lit by the firelight and flashed with a sharpness that could not be ignored.

"Don't worry," he said slowly. "That child is stronger than all of us."

He looked toward the distant forest, his gaze profound.

"And—" He paused.

"You and I both know that this child's path could never be trapped within our little village."

Kai remained silent.

The old village chief chuckled, his smile aged yet filled with comfort.

"When you see the way he looks beyond the mountains, toward the Cloud Sea, you should understand—"

"The sky here was never his destination."

"It is only the beginning of his future."

Kai's Adam's apple bobbed lightly. He seemed to have countless things to say, yet did not know where to begin.

Just then, an urgent sound of something cutting through the air came from the distance!

A black shadow shot out from the cloud forest at an unbelievable speed. It was so fast that it dragged a long wave of white mist across the Cloud Grass, like a flash tearing through the night.

Kai instantly tensed. He became alert like a wild beast, planting his feet on the ground and ready to rush forward and intercept it at any moment.

But in the next second, he saw the figure clearly.

A trace of genuine surprise and relief finally appeared on his usually cold, taciturn face.

"...Rock?"

The speeding black shadow tore through the thick mist and entered the range illuminated by the firelight.

It was Rock.

He carried the scent of the forest all over his body, with faint dust on his face and tiny arcs of lightning flickering between his black hair.

Even more impossible to ignore was the unfamiliar yet awe-inspiring aura seemingly coiling around him, like the electric pressure in the air before a thunderstorm arrived.

When he saw the village chief and Kai, he broke into a grin, as familiar and enthusiastic as ever. "Grandpa Village Chief! Father! I'm back!"

The instant the old village chief looked up and saw him, he froze slightly.

Though he was already advanced in years, he was extremely sensitive to auras.

The moment Rock stepped into the firelight, he clearly sensed that it was as if lightning itself was breathing within the child's body.

Just like the omen of "Divine Descent" that the elders had passed down through word of mouth.

His grip on his staff tightened involuntarily. Shock and confusion flashed through his eyes before slowly turning into reverence.

Kai did not have such complicated thoughts.

In his eyes, Rock was the child he had raised with his own hands, the boy he had trained every day, accompanied, and watched grow up.

He rushed forward and, almost instinctively, grabbed Rock by the shoulders. His hands quickly checked along Rock's arms, chest, and back. After confirming that he was not injured—

He finally gave Rock's shoulder a heavy pat.

His voice remained deep, but he could no longer conceal the excitement he had suppressed for so long.

"It's good that you're back."

Rock's smile widened, as if after experiencing an adventure only he understood, he had finally brought his heart home.

But there was now a trace of sharpness in that smile.

The confidence of a strong man.

The radiance of a future journey.

After returning to the village, Rock immediately pulled Kai into the house and told him everything about how he had obtained the power of the Devil Fruit.

At first, Kai frowned with an expression that said, "Did you hit your head or something?" He even reached out, ready to drag Rock to the village healer.

Until Rock turned into lightning right in front of him.

In that instant, electric light illuminated the room, and thunder echoed beneath the roof.

Kai stood frozen, his mouth wide open in a huge O. For a long time, he could not say a complete sentence.

Over the next two years, Rock frantically developed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power. Drawing on all kinds of inspiration from the anime, cultivation stories, and fantasy novels he had seen in his previous life, he built a training system of his own.

—He tempered his body with lightning, making his physique ever stronger.

—He used electric currents to stimulate himself, accelerating his muscles' reaction speed.

—He enhanced his Observation Haki with electromagnetic waves, like an "electromagnetic radar," making his perception as precise as a god overlooking the earth.

So long as he wished it, even the slightest movement across half of Sky Island could not escape his senses.

A child secretly stealing fruit flesh, hunters discussing who would stand watch tomorrow night, even the sounds of arguments from other distant villages—all of it was crystal clear.

He also gradually grasped a little of the rudiments of Armament Haki through constant trial and error, using lightning to stimulate his skin and muscles and make them "harden."

He had embarked on a path to strength entirely his own.

Once he felt the time was right, Rock displayed his abilities in the center of the village.

When he opened his palm, a genuine bolt of lightning blossomed in the sky, its brilliance even greater than the thunderbolt that had struck the forest that day.

The entire village collapsed to the ground in terror, believing Rock to be a god descended into the world. They all fell to their knees in worship.

If Kai had not shouted to stop them and the old village chief had not hurriedly explained, Rock's doorstep would probably have been piled with offerings by the next day.

Even so, the villagers still regarded his power as a "gift from the gods" and considered him "the guardian of Birka Village."

Rock was not stingy, either.

Over those two years, he often used weak electric currents to clear the villagers' meridians and strengthen their constitutions.

He used electricity to stimulate their muscles, strengthen their hearts, and stabilize their blood flow.

As a result, the entire village's physical strength increased dramatically.

White-Winged Cloud Beasts that had once required more than a dozen adult hunters to defeat could now be easily taken down by just three to five young men.

Hunting became much easier, and food became more abundant.

The villagers' awe and respect for Rock gradually changed from "godlike fear" into "familial trust."

Two years later, at night.

Moonlight spilled across the cloudwood rooftops, and the village had already fallen quiet.

Kai brought Rock to the village chief's room.

The old village chief was sorting through ancient cloud shell records. Hearing footsteps, he looked up in slight confusion.

"Kai? Rock? What is it at this late hour?"

Kai opened his mouth, but did not know how to begin.

Rock got straight to the point. "Grandpa Village Chief, actually, the Kingdom of God truly exists."

"Smack!"

The staff fell to the floor.