The Sun and Moon Pirates had departed.
It had only taken a few minutes.
"Dad, what happened?" The crew members from the other ships hurried onto the main vessel, concern written all over their faces as they looked at Whitebeard and the others.
The sudden commotion earlier had terrified them.
"It's nothing," Whitebeard said, choosing to conceal the fact that his abilities had been taken. There was no need to worry his sons, and more importantly, revealing Kuke's secret so casually might not be a wise move.
"The era is truly about to change…"
Whitebeard watched as the Radiant Eclipse sailed away.
The moment Kuke started plundering the strongest Devil Fruits in the world, Whitebeard knew it was only a matter of time before the Sun and Moon Pirates would once again dominate the seas.
"Dad, we must ensure that no one outside learns of our… situation," Marco whispered to him.
If the world found out that Whitebeard had lost the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, countless ambitious pirates would surely come after them.
"I'm still Whitebeard." Even without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Whitebeard remained a force to be reckoned with.
"There's no need to worry. The other monsters won't escape this fate either." Whitebeard was certain that Kuke would not stop at just his powers—other powerful Devil Fruit users would be next.
No one in the world could stand against Kuke now.
"At his current strength… even the old me wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes," Whitebeard muttered, a trace of melancholy in his expression.
—
Aboard the Radiant Eclipse—
"That's it? It's over?"
Nami blinked her wide eyes in disbelief.
That was way too fast.
Was that really the legendary Whitebeard?
"Now do you believe what we've been telling you about what happened in the past?" Gion smiled at Nami.
Nami dumbly nodded.
After boarding the ship, the newcomers had been told the legends of the Sun and Moon Pirates by their senior crewmates.
But the tales sounded too outrageous.
Even more fantastical than fiction, making it hard for Nami and the others to believe they were real.
"I thought I was just joining the crew of one of the Four Emperors… Turns out, it's something far beyond that," Nami murmured in awe before her eyes sparkled. "Then, wouldn't my dream be ridiculously easy to achieve?"
She looked at Kuke, her gaze filled with excitement.
Meanwhile, Kuke placed three Devil Fruits on the table.
It was time to distribute them again.
This wasn't the first time.
During their journey across the first half of the Grand Line, they had acquired numerous Devil Fruits.
Among them were:
-Logia—Ice-Ice Fruit
-Logia—Sand-Sand Fruit
-Paramecia—Shadow-Shadow Fruit
-Paramecia—Slow-Slow Fruit
-Paramecia—Door-Door Fruit
-Paramecia—Swallow-Swallow Fruit
-Paramecia—Explosion-Explosion Fruit
Besides these high-value Devil Fruits, there were also some with relatively little use.
For example, the Paramecia—Swift-Slash Fruit and Paramecia—Imitation Fruit were hardly remarkable.
Previously, the Logia—Ice-Ice Fruit had been given to Shakky.
Now, Shakky was a dual-Devil Fruit user, possessing both the Mythical Zoan—Vampire Form and the Logia—Ice-Ice Fruit.
Before this, she had lacked powerful offensive abilities.
That was the only reason she hadn't yet reached the Admiral-level in combat.
But after obtaining the Ice-Ice Fruit—
Her combat strength had increased by over 100,000, reaching 361,425.
Over 360,000.
And that was only the initial boost. Given time to train and further develop her dual-Devil Fruit powers, she would become a full-fledged Emperor-level fighter with ease.
The Swallow-Swallow Fruit had been given to Lily, the female giant.
Previously, she had the Paramecia—Mini-Mini Fruit, which only allowed her to shrink, removing the disadvantages of a giant's large and cumbersome body. But the Mini-Mini Fruit didn't directly enhance her combat strength.
After obtaining the Swallow-Swallow Fruit, Lily entered a period of rapid growth.
Her giant physiology and enormous appetite allowed her to fully utilize the Swallow-Swallow Fruit's abilities.
Now, Lily was also a dual-Devil Fruit user—Mini-Mini Fruit + Swallow-Swallow Fruit.
Although the Swallow-Swallow Fruit didn't offer an instant power boost like a Mythical Zoan or Logia—
Its potential was immense.
In just two months, Lily had devoured countless special materials, gradually transforming her body—developing steel-like skin, rubber-like flexibility, bones as strong as tempered steel, razor-sharp fangs…
Her combat power had increased by over 20,000 and was approaching 70,000.
She now stood among the top-ranked subordinates below the Emperor level—on par with the stronger Warlords of the Sea.
As for the Paramecia—Explosion-Explosion Fruit…
It had gone to Baby-5.
When combined with her Paramecia—Weapon-Weapon Fruit, it made all of her weapon-based attacks explosive, drastically increasing their power.
Her combat strength had risen by over 10,000, now exceeding 30,000.
The Paramecia—Slow-Slow Fruit…
It allowed anything caught in its beam to move at an extremely slow speed for 30 seconds.
A time-based ability—
A rule-based power.
It had been given to Koala, who was originally a non-Devil Fruit user.
Koala's combat power itself hadn't increased significantly, and she wasn't suited for direct combat. But with her Stormcloud Mother and the Slow-Slow Fruit's rule-based ability, even high-level opponents would struggle against her.
The Paramecia—Door-Door Fruit…
Had been given to Makino.
Makino was physically weak, but with the Sun God protecting her and the Door-Door Fruit's spatial abilities, she was no longer just an ordinary person—she now had the power to protect herself.
The Paramecia—Shadow-Shadow Fruit had gone to Charlotte Amande.
The Shadow-Shadow Fruit required extensive development.
Its potential was enormous.
Amande's combat strength had increased by over 10,000, now reaching around 40,000.
Every time a powerful Devil Fruit was obtained—
The strength of the crew would surge.
Today, they had acquired three incredibly strong Devil Fruits.
-The Paramecia—Tremor-Tremor Fruit, the most destructive force among Paramecia abilities.
-The Mythical Zoan—Phoenix Form, offering the strongest regeneration in the sea.
-The Paramecia—Shining Fruit, providing a defense akin to diamond-hard resilience.
Each one was at the peak of its respective category.
Kuke picked up the Shining Fruit first.
"Ulti, this is for you," he said, looking at Ulti, who was still a non-Devil Fruit user.
Given her fighting style, the Paramecia—Shining Fruit was a perfect match.
If she could obtain the Paramecia—More-More Fruit in the future, with its hundredfold amplification ability—
Ulti could instantly become one of the strongest fighters in the crew.
"Captain, you finally remembered me~" Ulti cheered, leaping onto Kuke's back, swinging from his neck like a playful child.
Next, Kuke picked up the Mythical Zoan—Phoenix Form.
"Betty, this will be useful for you," he said, handing it to Belo Betty, who already possessed the Paramecia—Op-Op Fruit.
The Op-Op Fruit was immensely powerful—
But Betty had a weakness—limited stamina.
A Mythical Zoan could greatly enhance her overall endurance, and with the Phoenix's accelerated regeneration, she would no longer fear counterattacks when teleporting into enemy territory.
Phoenix Form + Op-Op Fruit.
Under the watchful eyes of the crew, Belo Betty ate the fruit.
Blue flames began to emerge from her body.
Kuke observed as her combat strength soared—
It quickly surpassed 300,000.
Soon, it reached 340,000, putting her on the verge of Emperor-level strength.
At 340,000, she already had the potential to defeat an Admiral in a one-on-one fight.
Lastly, the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
The most infamous Devil Fruit in the world.
And Kuke had just the right candidate for it—
"Gion, take it."
With the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, Gion would soon reach the absolute pinnacle of Emperor-level combat.
Paramecia—Tremor-Tremor Fruit + Mythical Zoan—Phoenix Form.
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DONT FORGET POWER STONE
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