Bab 69: Multiple Devil Fruit Powers, Golden Lion Shiki’s Domain!
The Marines, having suffered defeat in Cocoyashi Village, returned to their base carrying Captain Nezumi's body. The base's deputy commander was stunned to see his superior dead and quickly asked for details.
"You said the one who killed Captain Nezumi was named Sanders?" After hearing the Marine's report, the deputy commander narrowed his eyes, feeling the name was vaguely familiar. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he began searching through his desk. After a moment, he pulled out a wanted poster and asked, "Is this the person?"
"Yes, that's him! He snapped Captain Nezumi's neck in one move," the Marine confirmed, looking at the photo and the enormous bounty beneath it—2,439,000,000 Berries. He was speechless.
"The hell?! Sanders, here in the East Blue?" The deputy was shaken. This was a notorious pirate, capable of defeating Marine Admirals! He immediately contacted Marine Headquarters, truthfully reporting everything. He didn't dare exaggerate; if Sanders found out, not even the base would be safe.
Headquarters responded quickly, telling him not to act rashly. They appointed him as the new base commander, promoting him from lieutenant commander to captain to replace Captain Nezumi. Without lifting a finger, he had become the branch's highest-ranking officer.
High above in the sky, a ship swayed as it floated in the clouds.
"Captain, are you really okay with letting Nami steer the ship?" Robin held onto the ship's side and asked Sanders.
"She's doing fine. It's a bit shaky, but she'll get better with practice," Sanders replied casually, reclining on his chair, rocking with the swaying Thunder God Boat.
"Alright!" Robin smiled helplessly.
It had been three days since Nami joined the crew. During this time, she had managed to gain basic control over the Thunder God Ship using her Rumble-Rumble Fruit powers. After a while, the ship steadied, and Nami emerged from the helm onto the deck, looking exhausted.
"Captain, why are we flying so high? Can't we just drift along the sea?" Nami asked, glancing downward and shivering slightly.
"We're looking for someone. Once we find them, you can choose whether to sail in the sea or fly in the sky." Sanders said calmly.
He was determined to obtain the abilities of the Float-Float Fruit wielded by the Golden Lion. While Issho's Gravity Fruit could also make large objects float, it required continuous effort. The Float-Float Fruit, on the other hand, allowed objects to remain airborne permanently, unless the user was defeated or incapacitated.
"Who would be this high up?" Nami asked in confusion.
"The Golden Lion Shiki, captain of the Flying Pirates. He was a legendary pirate, along with the Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard Newgate." Sanders explained, "He ate the Float-Float Fruit, which lets him make entire islands float in the sky."
"Whole islands floating in the sky?!" Nami's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Are you planning to recruit him, Captain?" Robin asked, curious. "Such a legendary pirate wouldn't submit easily, would he?"
"Of course not," Sanders said. "I'm interested in his Float-Float Fruit abilities."
Robin glanced at Nami, who had recently eaten the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. She hesitated, then asked, "Captain, if Nami has already eaten a Devil Fruit, how… would it work?"
Issho's ears perked up, and his expression grew serious.
They had wanted to ask earlier but refrained, fearing that Sanders' secret might get out with the Cocoyasi Village residents nearby.
"What's going on? Is there something wrong with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit I ate?" Nami asked, puzzled.
"Devil Fruits, as rare treasures of the sea, are unique and never appear in duplicate. But now, Captain, you're a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user, and Nami, you are one too," Robin explained to Nami.
"Huh?"
"Captain, there's no issue with the Devil Fruit I ate, right?" Nami asked, now feeling a bit worried.
Sanders chuckled and reassured her, "No problem. You ate an authentic Devil Fruit; it's perfectly fine."
Looking at the three of them with a serious expression, he said, "I have never consumed a Devil Fruit myself. I only possess the abilities of one. And…" He picked up a cup from the table, making a surprising statement. "I don't just have one Devil Fruit power!"
With a thought, Sanders activated the power of the Moa Moa no Mi. Under their astonished gazes, the cup in his hand instantly expanded fivefold.
"The cup grew! That's amazing!" Nami exclaimed, mouth open in amazement. "Could you do that with gold too?" Her first thought, unfamiliar as she was with Devil Fruits, was of making precious gold pieces larger, making each one count as several.
Robin and Issho's expressions completely changed, looking at Sanders in shock. Everyone knows that no one can consume a second Devil Fruit, and having a second ability is believed to be impossible. Yet, here was Sanders displaying a second power! Expanding the cup wasn't from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit at all!
"Truly surprising, Captain!" Issho wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, deeply impressed.
Robin was frozen in shock, her understanding shaken. Having two users of the same ability was already extraordinary. But for someone to possess multiple Devil Fruit abilities—how was that even possible? And just how strong was a captain who wielded such power?
"No need to be so shocked, Robin!" Sanders said. "The world is vast, and there's no end to its mysteries. The World Government is even researching artificial Devil Fruits. Animal and Paramecia types can already be artificially created."
Sharing some hidden knowledge about artificial Devil Fruits, he continued, "Vegapunk has been able to create artificial Zoan-type fruits using lineage factors. Even Momonosuke ate one of Vegapunk's creations. For Paramecia abilities, artificial powers are produced using 'Green Blood' derived from lineage factors."
"Has the World Government advanced this much? Artificial Devil Fruits—they're beyond imagination," Robin said seriously.
"My abilities have nothing to do with the World Government—they're more of a special skill. This time, I'm seeking out Golden Lion's Float-Float Fruit for that unique ability," he added. "It's nothing to hide, especially now that I'm no longer weak. Even if the whole world knew about my uniqueness, what could they do?"
Once he obtained the Float-Float Fruit's power, no one could touch him. His island wouldn't just stay put in one place, and even if Imu had extremely powerful long-range attacks, they still wouldn't be able to reach him!
"I'll use a floating island as our headquarters. The Sky Island we currently have is too small, with not enough land." Sanders went on, imagining the future.
"A kingdom in the sky? That's beyond imagination!" Robin and Issho were soon convinced by the idea that Sanders could possess multiple Devil Fruit powers. As astonishing as it was, it only benefited them, after all. The stronger Sanders became, the more advantageous it was for the Thunder God Pirates.
After drifting in the skies for over half a month, Sanders finally spotted Golden Lion's island.
"Wow! There really is an island floating in the sky!" Nami exclaimed in amazement, staring at the massive island suspended in the air. Seeing this astonishing sight firsthand was beyond words.
"Finally found it," Sanders sighed in relief. If they hadn't found it soon, their supplies would have been completely used up, and they'd have to find an island below to restock. Sanders quickly took control of the Thunder God, steering it rapidly toward Golden Lion's island.
"So, this is Golden Lion's island?" Robin asked, sitting on the edge of the ship. The Thunder God floated above the island, revealing endless forests below, with even an ocean in the distance. Lowering their altitude slightly, Sanders and the others could see huge creatures fighting in the forest, with countless animal skeletons scattered nearby.
"What's with these animals? Not only are they huge and have unique powers, but they're also all viciously aggressive, fighting to the death at first sight!" Robin muttered, watching the continuous battles among the creatures.
"This island is special. It grows a plant called 'SIQ,' which makes animals extremely aggressive and able to develop unique abilities based on their environment—like breathing fire or shooting lightning," Sanders explained.
"SIQ? There's such a plant in the world? That's amazing," Robin remarked in surprise.
Even with all her knowledge, she had never heard of such a plant before. Nami, too, was wide-eyed with fascination, watching the animals fighting below. Coming from East Blue and without extensive sailing experience, she was curious about everything.
"Over the years, Golden Lion has been hiding here to research 'SIQ,' aiming to create more brutal, powerful animals with unique abilities. His plan is to unleash them onto the seas to destroy the world, all as revenge against the World Government and the Marines," Sanders explained.
"Destroy the world?" Robin was shocked. She'd seen the ferocity of these animals in battle below; not even one of them could be resisted by ordinary villages. If a large number of these evolved creatures were released across islands, they would wreak havoc on countless inhabitants.
"Just another power-hungry maniac bent on world destruction," Issho commented, gripping his cane sword tightly. Nothing angered him more than harming civilians, and Golden Lion's plans would bring death to countless innocents.
"Are there actually people living here?" Robin suddenly noticed a village down below.
"They aren't attacked by these beasts?" she asked.
"There's a type of tree here that gives off a scent the animals don't like, which keeps them away. Look, you can see a ring of them surrounding the village," Sanders pointed out.
"Incredible," Nami said. "But isn't that tree's scent toxic? I heard that inhaling it for too long causes illness, making green spots appear on the body, which stiffens wherever they grow."
"Eventually, when the body is covered in spots, they die. The only cure for this disease is SIQ," Sanders continued.
The island residents weren't exactly ordinary humans; they had wings on their arms and could actually fly. In a way, they seemed even more like Sky People than the real Sky Islanders, whose wings were only decorative and served no functional purpose.
"Golden Lion must be controlling the island's entire SIQ supply if he's researching it, right?" Robin asked.
"Of course, every bit of SIQ is being collected by Golden Lion for his experiments, with only a very small amount not under his control," Sanders replied calmly.
"So, the islanders wouldn't have much access to a cure and could die without treatment?" Nami added. "That's right. Compared to his ambitions, Golden Lion doesn't care about the lives of these people," Sanders said.
Nami was reminded of Arlong, who had cruelly ruled over her village, and couldn't help but feel sympathy for these islanders, suffering as they lived under oppression.
While Sanders and the others observed the island, a surveillance Den Den Mushi placed by Golden Lion noticed them. "There's a ship flying over the island!" a Golden Lion subordinate exclaimed in the monitoring room.
"A flying ship? Could it be Boss Shiki?"
"Impossible. The flag on that ship isn't from the Flying Pirates. Go report to Boss Shiki immediately!"
Soon enough, Golden Lion learned of the flying ship that had entered his domain. He glanced at the pirate flag flying on the Thunder God and narrowed his eyes.
"Well, now, that's an interesting visitor!"
Clearly, even after hiding for over a decade, Golden Lion wasn't entirely unaware of the world's happenings.
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T/N:
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