Chapter 38: Rumble-Rumble Fruit (Part 2)
"So, you all saw the Devil Fruit up there the whole time and just watched me digging like an idiot?" Eric was a bit annoyed. He had just played construction worker for nothing while everyone else stood around laughing.
As a great educator, Chiron understood the rebellious reaction and comforted him. Eric , no longer a child and mentally in his **s, quickly let it go. After all, he had assumed from the start that the Devil Fruit would be buried beneath the Island Cloud. It was a good lesson to stop relying on assumptions going forward.
Holding the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in his hands, the group gathered around him.
"So this is a Devil Fruit. The patterns and shape are definitely different from normal fruit," Da Vinci observed. "Let me keep some—I want to study it." With her achievements in botany, she was eager to analyze its components.
"Of course." Since just one bite was effective, Eric sliced the fruit in half before eating. "This half still contains the Devil Fruit's power." He bit into the other half. "Ugh~ It tastes horrible. Just… indescribably bad."
Eric had never eaten literal crap, so he couldn't compare, but it was the closest thing.
"Akame, want to try it too?" He offered the bitten half to her.
With her foodie instincts and curiosity for new things, Akame took a small bite. Her eyes filled with tears as she clutched her mouth, looking utterly pitiful.
"So, Captain, how do you feel now?" Da Vinci asked the question on everyone's mind.
Eric raised a clenched fist, now wrapped in blue lightning. "So tingly! There's actual electricity!"
"Whoa!" Da Vinci's eyes sparkled. "Can I dissect you?"
"Absolutely not!" Eric roared, using all his strength to reject her. "It's not just tingling—it's psychological! I've become lightning! Hahaha!"
At that moment, Eric was like a child with a new toy, playing with the lightning between his hands. He declared, "With this power, I can slice through stars!" A classic case of late-stage chuunibyou.
"Slicing stars requires a lot of stamina. If that's your goal, you'll need to step up your physical training."
"Huh?"
"You also need more knowledge to use your powers scientifically. Your current understanding isn't enough—you'll have to undergo another round of hellish studying."
"Huh?!"
Now he had a PE teacher and a physics teacher both preparing training plans.
"W-Wait! I only have one body! I can't split myself in two for lessons!" Eric 's face went pale as he tried to stop their schemes.
"Don't worry, we'll coordinate your schedule to avoid overlapping science subjects—so you don't vomit from repeating too much," Da Vinci said something truly terrifying.
"Nooooo!!" Eric 's scream echoed through the forest.
He took a quick look at his updated stats:
[Physique: 3.5 stars]
[Martial Arts: 1.5 stars]
[Swordsmanship: 3.5 stars]
[Marksmanship: 1.5 stars]
[Armament Haki: 1.5 stars]
[Observation Haki: 1 star]
[Devil Fruit: 2 stars]
[Overall Combat Power: 5 stars]
As expected of one of the strongest Logia Fruits, it boosted his power quickly—his total combat level had jumped two stars.
"So, our goal is achieved. Should we head back?"
"Let's stay here two more days, check out the tech level, and buy some Dials in Bikka before we return."
"Excuse me, where can we buy Dials here? And who invented the more advanced tech?" Eric asked a local Sky Islander.
"Oh, Blue Sea people, huh? Haven't seen you guys in ages. That street's east side is full of Dial shops. As for inventions, just one guy—some weirdo named Enel—keeps building all kinds of nonsense. Talks about 'going to the Endless Vearth' or something. He lives in that tall house farthest from here," the local said, pointing to Enel's place.
"…Thanks," Eric nodded. So Enel really did design the Ark Maxim himself—no wonder it was so flashy.
He had considered trying to get the schematics for the Ark, but gave up on that idea. Since he'd already taken Enel's Devil Fruit, he'd spare his life.
'I've saved the entire population of Bikka again. I truly am a kind and merciful god,' Eric started fantasizing.
"Hmm… zoning out again—thinking dirty thoughts?" teased Da Vinci, ever the shameless big sister figure.
"…Yeah, I was thinking about your perfect body," Eric countered, tossing the ball back at her.
"Oh? Were you imagining this part? Or this one? Or maybe… here?" Da Vinci said as she slowly ran her hands over herself.
"Hahaha, don't tease the captain too much. His head's about to explode," Chiron intervened. Eric 's face was as red as a boiled crab, steam practically rising from his head like he'd eaten the Heat-Heat Fruit.
"Hmph. Captain Little Brother still needs more training~"
They completed their Dial shopping: 3 of each common type like Tone Dials, Impact Dials, Water Dials, Cloud Dials, and Jet Dials. For rarer ones like Slash Dials and Explosion Dials not found in Skypiea, they bought 5 each. Total: 5,378,000 Extols—about 537,800 Berries. Sounded expensive, but actually manageable.
While Eric was tallying up the numbers, Akame tugged at his shirt. "What is it?"
"Food. What now?" The foodie was already hungry.
"I already sent Chiron and Da Vinci to get ingredients. We're having a big feast tonight!"
Akame's eyes sparkled, and she started drooling.
"Cheers!" Everyone raised their glasses to celebrate Eric achieving his first major goal.
"Da Vinci-chan, what did you buy?"
"A Waver. I'm planning to take it apart to see how the mechanical controls work."
"Need help?"
"No, but please place one of each Dial in my lab so I can dissect them and study their inner workings."
"OK, my perfect scientist."
Four days later, the crew returned to Upper Yard.
"You're back," Cricket greeted them as he walked up. He had spent those days understanding and resolving the conflict between the two peoples.
"We're back! Uncle! How's it going?" Eric ran up and hugged him—then zapped him with a jolt of electricity.
"So tingly!" Cricket's short yellow hair spiked up, though it wasn't long enough to make an afro.
"So, you ate the Devil Fruit?" Despite his stubborn nature, Cricket wasn't stupid. With his sailing experience, he recognized it immediately.
"Yup. Got exactly what I wanted. Uncle, is there any Devil Fruit you'd want to eat?"
"Me? No way. I'm not turning into a hammer."
"Oh. So… what's the situation with the Shandians and the Sky Islanders?"
"Hm? Oh… the conflict's over. They're coexisting peacefully now."
Peacefully coexisting… Peace…
"Huh?!" Everyone was stunned.
"Yeah, I showed them the illustrations I brought, shared Gan Fall's intentions, cleared up old misunderstandings, and explained my background. That war demon Wyper broke into tears and hugged me. Now they're working hard on building Island Cloud platforms to move the Golden Bell back to Shandora."
Eric stood frozen. His original plan was to become their shared enemy (like, "I destroyed the world but also created it") and make them unite in a common front. But now… 'Is the system handing me a freebie?'
[What's wrong? Don't want it?]
'I do!!' Eric instantly replied. Money is money—there's no shame in getting paid.
(END CHAPTER)
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