Chapter 40: Preparing to Relocate

The moment Ron mentioned the Devil Fruit’s name, several crew members reacted in surprise.

"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit? You mean the power to control lightning?"

"That’s right."

Someone immediately explained.

"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is an extremely rare and powerful Logia Devil Fruit. It grants its user complete control over lightning."

"They can unleash devastating electrical attacks, and their body becomes as fast and elusive as lightning itself."

"A Logia..."

Another pirate sighed enviously.

"Those things are ridiculously rare. Finding one is almost entirely a matter of luck."

"In the entire world, there are only so many Logia Fruits. Every single one is priceless."

"Whoever gets one is incredibly fortunate."

"Idiot."

An older crew member rolled his eyes.

"If Vice Captain Ron brought it up, then he must know where it is."

Everyone paused.

The veteran sailor continued confidently.

"Vice Captain Ron is the smartest person on this ship."

"He wouldn’t mention something unless he already had information about it."

"You’re right!"

Another pirate slapped his forehead.

"How did I not think of that?"

"If Vice Captain Ron mentioned the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, then we’re probably not far from finding it."

The crowd immediately nodded in agreement.

Excitement spread throughout the room.

After all, a Logia Devil Fruit like the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was a treasure every pirate dreamed of obtaining.

If they could get their hands on it, their overall strength would increase tremendously.

Marco’s eyes brightened as well.

If they truly found such a powerful Devil Fruit, it would be a massive boost for the Whitebeard Pirates.

More importantly—

For Whitebeard himself, it was practically the ideal choice.

" Ron, I knew you’d have a solution."

Ace looked at Ron with obvious admiration.

Ever since they met, Ron’s image in Ace’s mind had grown larger and larger.

At this point, it almost felt like there wasn’t a single problem Ron couldn’t solve.

Meanwhile, Whitebeard himself had become interested.

Although the Rumble-Rumble Fruit sounded appealing, he had never heard any concrete information about it.

"Brat."

Whitebeard looked at Ron.

"You know where the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is?"

Ron smiled.

"Of course."

"And you’ve actually been there before."

Whitebeard blinked.

"I have?"

He thought carefully.

But no matter how hard he searched his memory, he couldn’t recall encountering such a place.

Seeing his confusion, Ron finally revealed the answer.

"Sky Island."

"Sky Island..."

Whitebeard repeated the words thoughtfully.

After a moment, he looked upward.

The name had clearly triggered an old memory.

"Gurararara..."

"That’s true."

"I visited Sky Island once many years ago."

Then he shook his head.

"But I never found any Rumble-Rumble Fruit."

"Nor did I meet anyone with such a power."

Ron merely smiled.

Of course they hadn’t.

If Whitebeard had met Enel back then, something would have been seriously wrong with the timeline.

Enel had only arrived on Sky Island later and remained there afterward.

Naturally, Whitebeard would never have encountered him during his earlier visit.

"The user arrived afterward."

Ron explained.

"So there was no chance for you to meet him."

Everyone immediately leaned forward with curiosity.

Ron then began recounting the legends surrounding the City of Gold connected to Jaya.

"The user’s name is Enel."

"He calls himself a god."

"And he’s currently ruling all of Sky Island."

The crew exchanged surprised looks.

A self-proclaimed god?

That sounded ridiculous.

Ron continued.

Then he shifted the topic toward recent events.

"The theft of the Heavenly Tribute."

"The exposure of our multiple Devil Fruit users."

"All of it has put us directly in the world’s spotlight."

His expression grew serious.

"Ordinarily, that wouldn’t matter."

"But if every major force decides to target us simultaneously..."

"Even the Whitebeard Pirates would face enormous pressure."

The room became quiet.

Everyone understood what he meant.

The Marines.

The World Government.

The Four Emperors.

Numerous powerful organizations would inevitably become interested.

Then Ron revealed the proposal he had been building toward.

"I have an idea."

His eyes swept across the room.

"Let’s move our entire base to Sky Island."

The room instantly erupted.

"Move the whole base?"

"To Sky Island?!"

Ron nodded.

"The location is perfect."

"It possesses a natural strategic advantage."

"Even the Marines would need considerable time and effort to reach it."

"That gives us plenty of time to grow stronger and accumulate wealth."

His voice became increasingly passionate.

"Once we have enough resources..."

"Every member of the Whitebeard Pirates could potentially obtain the power of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit (Gura Gura no Mi)."

The room froze.

Ron continued.

"And not just that."

"We could create even more Users with Two Devil Fruit Powers."

"Perhaps even Three-Devil-Fruit Users."

His words crashed over the crew like a tidal wave.

The vision he described was so ambitious that it sounded almost impossible.

Yet somehow—

When Ron said it, it felt achievable.

The room gradually filled with excitement.

One after another, the crew members voiced their support.

The atmosphere became electrifying.

Jozu was the first to stand.

"Hahaha!"

He pounded his chest confidently.

"A rookie who can’t even use Haki dares call himself a god?"

"Let me go teach him a lesson!"

As he spoke, he began throwing punches in the air.

Boom!

Boom!

Each strike produced explosive shockwaves.

The Tremor-Tremor Fruit’s power remained tightly concentrated around his fists.

Yet the destructive force had increased dramatically.

It was obvious that Jozu had spent a great deal of time developing his new abilities.

Whitebeard watched with satisfaction.

"Gurararara!"

"Jozu!"

"You’ve improved considerably."

His eyes showed clear approval.

"The Tremor-Tremor Fruit possesses endless possibilities."

"The strongest path is creating techniques that suit yourself."

Jozu grinned proudly.

Then Whitebeard turned toward Ron.

A broad smile spread across his face.

"Gurararara!"

"Ron, we’ll do it your way."

He slammed a fist against the armrest.

"We’re heading to Sky Island!"

The hall immediately erupted in cheers.

The Whitebeard Pirates had made their decision.

Their next destination—

Sky Island.

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