Layer upon layer of white clouds rose and fell like a vast ocean or like undulating mountain ridges stretching for miles.
Above the clouds, brilliant, multicolored lights shimmered, blooming into beautiful cloud glows.
This was undoubtedly the place closest to the sun, where all kinds of fantastical beauty could fully reveal themselves.
Kojin took out the Devil Fruit detector, which was about the size of an orange. A green light flickered on its surface.
He sped through the cloudy sea, heading straight ahead.
He didn't encounter a single person above the boundless White Sea. About two hours later, he landed on a white island.
Along the shore stood winged people... Angels. The women were gentle and beautiful, and the men were handsome and mild. They all gazed at him curiously.
Kojin paid them no mind. Taking a single step forward, he vanished from sight.
His reason for coming to the Sky Island was straightforward: to find the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
"There are three places where the chances are highest," He muttered. "Angel Island, Birka Island, and the divine island... Upper Yard."
His figure flickered rapidly across Angel Island, unconcerned with stamina consumption.
Unfortunately, he found nothing.
Two days later, he left Angel Island and entered the divine land known as Upper Yard.
The island wasn't large, only about half the size of Jaya Island.
As he walked across the island, Kojin soon saw the ancient ruins buried by time and the winding beanstalks stretching upwards into the distance.
He climbed to the top of the vines and spotted the golden bell.
On his way down, he also spotted the Poneglyph inscribed with words left by Gol D. Roger.
Sadly, however, there was still no trace of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit here; the detector's light remained green.
At last, he asked for directions to Birka Island and arrived there the same day.
By then, five days had passed since Kojin had reached the Sky Island.
It was then that a thought crossed his mind.
"Compared to other locations, the Sky Island would make a far more concealed base. But, at the same time, you'd need an ark capable of flight to connect with the seas below."
This reminded him of Shiki, who lived on floating islands and used his Devil Fruit ability to create countless islands suspended high in the sky.
While on Birka Island, Kojin did not encounter Enel.
He didn't particularly care either way as compared to anything else; it was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit that he truly wanted.
On the afternoon of the seventh day, the detector in Kojin's hand suddenly flashed red, causing a smile to finally appear on his face.
Moments later, he was holding a blue, pineapple-like fruit with strange lightning patterns etched on its surface.
There was no doubt: this was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
It lay quietly in his palm like a flawless work of art.
After staring at it for a while, Kojin didn't hesitate. He lifted it and took a bite.
Ka-cha!
An indescribably bizarre taste exploded across his taste buds in an instant. Even someone accustomed to pain could see his expression twist.
The next second, he forced himself to swallow the pulp.
"Sure, one bite is enough," He growled.
"But..."
Opening his mouth wide, his distorted expression turned almost ferocious.
"If I can't endure even this little suffering, how could I ever deserve great power?!"
He took several large bites in succession, swallowing the entire fruit, and finally let out a long breath.
The strange taste gradually faded. Only two or three breaths later, Kojin could clearly feel a change in his body.
Zzz...!
Blue arcs of lightning suddenly crackled around him. In that instant, a vast quantity of information flooded into his mind, fusing with his soul and becoming pure instinct.
At the same time, the Seastone gloves on his fists fell away.
They had taken effect almost instantly, sapping his strength. He carefully picked them up and tucked them into his clothes.
"A Logia Devil Fruit… the Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
A smile spread across Kojin's face.
He suddenly brought his hands together, clapping his palms once before clasping them. He twisted his fingers lightly, then slowly stretched them apart.
Zzz... Zzz... Zzz!
Electricity crackled as blue arcs burst forth and danced between his hands.
Then he bent his knees and jumped lightly upwards, actually sitting cross-legged in mid-air. Thunderlight flickered around his body, radiating an explosive, chilling aura.
Flight!
This ability had become second nature to him. He extended a finger and suddenly pointed forward.
BOOM!
A deafening clap of thunder exploded as a thick pillar of lightning roared out, instantly striking a giant tree over a thousand meters away and reducing it to a pile of charred remains.
Kojin slowly closed his eyes as arcs of electricity travelled across his body.
Immediately afterwards, within a radius of a thousand meters, tiny sparks of electricity began flashing everywhere. Almost instinctively, every movement in the surrounding area flowed into his consciousness.
"So this is the innate sensing ability of the Goro Goro no Mi?" Kojin murmured as a smile appeared on his face.
This was probably a special field produced by the lightning itself. Within the range where lightning was generated, one could sense everything in the surrounding environment.
While not as sharp as Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), it was still an excellent auxiliary method.
If Observation Haki were awakened and combined with this field, one could map out an entire island, or even a wider area, in one's mind and see everything with perfect clarity.
"A truly powerful ability. One that can be slowly developed over time." Kojin chuckled softly.
In the few minutes since eating the fruit, he had realized that he now possessed several new skills.
For example, he could release lightning attacks of varying voltage and intensity, adjusted to his own strength.
.He can also create a massive field through which he can perceive the state of all matter within it.
He can elementalizes and transform into lightning, moving at extreme speed.
"Time to head back."
Kojin sat cross-legged in mid-air, stretched lazily, and smiled faintly.
Crackle...!
The next second, a flash of lightning flickered, and his figure vanished from the spot.
Travelling through the clouds as lightning was an indescribably strange sensation. He was unbelievably fast, scarcely inferior to light itself, and at the same time he could feel the constantly fluctuating electromagnetic waves in the void.
He could drive the normally calm positive and negative charges within the clouds into chaos with a single thought, forming massive bolts of lightning and brewing storms of unimaginable scale.
This meant that he could create colossal tempests over the sea itself.
"Logia abilities really are powerful... winning right from the starting line. And if you dare to dream big and keep developing them... Then their power will be beyond imagination." Kojin sighed in admiration.
His figure moved rapidly, and, under the effect of the lightning field, he could clearly perceive everything around him.
On that same day, a bolt of lightning struck the highest point of Marineford, and Kojin appeared, his body wrapped in blue electric arcs.
The sight made Douglas Bullet and the others, who were in the middle of training, turn around in shock.
They saw Kojin hovering cross-legged in midair, with lightning crackling around him. He was tilting his head slightly and propping his chin up with his right hand as he looked at them with a faint smile.
At that moment, Kojin suddenly understood why Enel always went barefoot.
Because...
He practically didn't need shoes at all.
After all, he wasn't touching the ground anymore.
(End of Chapter)
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