Chapter 75: Power Exceeds 500,000 – Mastering the Power of Lightning

Shakky silently watched the scene unfold before her, deeply shaken.

With her wealth of experience, she had long suspected Stussy's past based on certain details and abilities. In fact, she had privately warned Kuke about her concerns.

Now, it was clear that Kuke had known all along.

At that moment, Shakky was utterly astonished. The ability to bring even former enemies into the fold—what kind of charisma must one possess to achieve that?

Even Rocks, their former captain, could never manage such loyalty. His crew was full of traitors.

Now, Shakky understood it completely. Kuke's approach was on a different level.

"Even I felt tempted when I heard about the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. If I were younger, I'd have fought for such power no matter what," Shakky admitted to herself. She knew she could never be as magnanimous as Kuke.

The more she thought about it, the more she marveled. At the same time, a bittersweet feeling crept into her heart. She lamented not being born a few decades later.

"I used to think the world from decades ago was the most exciting, but now I see I was wrong," Shakky thought.

"At least I got to travel with them; that's more than enough," she sighed, content with the adventure she'd experienced.

"Shakky, the captain's spirit goes far beyond this," Gion said, walking up to her. "The Mythical Zoan Phoenix fruit that I possess, the Paramecia Ope-Ope Fruit that Belo-Betty has, and now the Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit—all of these top-tier Devil Fruits were given to us by Kuke."

Shakky's eyes widened in disbelief.

This wasn't just a one-time occurrence; it was the third time. Three top-tier Devil Fruits from each type, all given to the crew.

Such generosity—what kind of person could possess such grandeur?

Shakky took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.

"Is it because Kuke doesn't want to become a Devil Fruit user?" Shakky couldn't help but ask. Apart from that, she couldn't think of any other reason why someone would give away such rare and powerful fruits three times in a row.

"I asked Kuke the same thing," Gion replied. "He said that he might become a Devil Fruit user in the future. He's not against it."

Shakky felt as though lightning had struck her mind. It wasn't what she had guessed at all.

For a long time, she stood there, unable to regain her composure.

As everyone watched, Stussy held the Rumble-Rumble Fruit up to her lips and took a small bite.

Her smile grew even brighter.

"Wait, why aren't you disgusted? Didn't your Devil Fruit taste terrible?" Belo-Betty cried out, her mental state teetering.

She had been expecting Stussy to show the same miserable expression she had when she ate her own Ope-Ope Fruit and had her camera ready to capture the moment.

But instead, Stussy looked like she was enjoying a fine delicacy. It wasn't fair! Why had her Ope-Ope Fruit tasted so awful?

"Because this was given to me by Captain Kuke. It's the most delicious thing in the world," Stussy said sweetly, beaming with happiness.

With a content expression, she ate the entire Rumble-Rumble Fruit, leaving nothing behind.

Even though taking just one bite would have granted her the ability, she still ate the whole thing.

Gently, she wiped the juice from her lips, savoring the taste.

At that moment, Kuke stepped forward and gave her a light tap.

"Try using your Logia intangibility," he suggested, eager to see the results of the first Logia user on the crew.

Kuke's palm landed directly on Stussy's chest.

He immediately felt the sensation, and his eyes widened. "What? Did it not work? Is this not the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?"

"It's because I couldn't bear to use intangibility to avoid your touch," Stussy replied with a mischievous smile.

The onlookers gasped audibly, the shock on their faces exaggerated.

Kuke: "….."

Without another word, Kuke turned around, pretending nothing had happened.

"Why do I feel more and more like prey on this ship, despite being the captain?" he thought.

No, this had to change. He had to restore his authority. Thankfully, not everyone was as bold as Stussy and Betty. The others just pretended they hadn't seen anything and quickly urged Stussy to try out her new abilities.

"Try using your powers," someone suggested.

Stussy's body began to spark with lightning as she transformed into pure electricity. In a flash, she vanished and reappeared a hundred meters away, before disappearing again and returning to her original position.

Her lightning speed was so fast that many hadn't even registered her movement.

"Even with Observation Haki, it would be hard to track that," Shakky muttered, watching Stussy closely.

Moments ago, Shakky had been confident she could defeat Stussy. Now, she knew that was no longer the case.

This ability was reminiscent of the power of Admiral Kizaru, who could move at the speed of light. Lightning movement was just as extraordinary, a speed that defied normal logic.

"Thunder Lance!" Stussy called out, pointing her finger forward.

A bullet of lightning shot from her fingertip and struck the distant clouds, leaving a large hole in the white mass, through which sunlight poured down.

Once again, Stussy gathered power at her fingertips, this time summoning a massive beam of lightning several meters wide. The bolt ripped through the dense clouds, disintegrating a vast portion of the cloudscape.

The sheer power of the blast made even Gion take notice. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power had boosted Stussy's abilities to a whole new level. She may not yet realize how strong she had become, but Kuke knew.

He could see Stussy's combat power had skyrocketed.

Before, her strength had been around 50,000. Now, it had soared past 120,000. In one leap, her power had nearly doubled, a growth Kuke had never seen before.

It was the largest boost he had ever witnessed from a single Devil Fruit, surpassing even Gion's gains from the Phoenix Fruit.

"Logia-type fruits have the strongest initial boost. It's only natural," Kuke thought, having expected such a result.

The Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit was supposed to offer this kind of dramatic increase.

As a result, Kuke's own strength had also risen by nearly 70,000. For the first time, his total combat power surpassed 500,000.

In addition to this increase in power, Kuke had also gained a special ability.

Whenever a Zoan-type user joined the crew, Kuke's physique would increase.

For Paramecia fruits, the effects varied.

Hancock's Love-Love Fruit had enhanced Kuke's charm, while Lily's Mini-Mini Fruit had somehow increased his height.

Belo-Betty's Ope-Ope Fruit had given Kuke complete control over his body—muscles, nerves, internal organs—similar to the Life Return technique, which had now become a passive skill for him. "Life Return" was a top-tier technique, often considered the strongest hidden card for many powerful individuals. But for Kuke, it was now a passive ability, without the life-draining risks.

Nico Robin's Hana-Hana Fruit had inexplicably enhanced his agility, although the connection wasn't immediately obvious to him.

Now, with Stussy gaining the Logia-type Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Kuke had obtained the ability to manipulate lightning.

While he couldn't transform into lightning like Stussy, he could control and harness it similarly to how Big Mom or Kaido wielded elemental powers.

Kuke had now become a man who commanded the power of thunder.

This new ability would significantly enhance the power and versatility of his techniques.