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Chapter 199: Claiming the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, an Emperor's Crew is Forged
🕑 Added 2025-09-19 11:36:39 +0000 UTCChapter 199: Claiming the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, an Emperor's Crew is Forged
After giving the wolf a good scratch, Shane turned his attention to the items on the ground.
Kizaru's severed arm was what it was—undoubtedly valuable, but the one-year cooldown on sacrificing Admiral-level items hadn't passed yet. He'd have to put it on ice for now. His main focus was on Enel.
"Well, isn't this convenient..." Shane muttered to himself, pulling a scroll from his inventory.
[Single-Use Devil Fruit Extraction Scroll]
[Description: Within a short time after a Devil Fruit user's death, this can extract the "Devil's Essence" from their corpse. Placing the essence into any normal fruit will transform it into the corresponding Devil Fruit.]
He had acquired this item from the last shop refresh, thinking it would be a while before he'd have a chance to use it. He never expected an opportunity to present itself just a few days later. Enel had practically gift-wrapped it for him.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit was, without a doubt, one of the most valuable and stylish Logia fruits in existence. Who wouldn't be tempted? Shane certainly was. He immediately unfurled the scroll and, following the instructions, used the extraction technique on Enel's body.
VWOOM!
A blinding flash of lightning erupted from the corpse, coalescing in the air into a throbbing, violet-blue core. So this is a Devil's Essence? The origin of Devil Fruits was still a mystery. Shane studied it curiously for a moment before pulling out a Sunflower Serpent Fruit, a common fruit in Dressrosa he'd just swiped from Bonney's pocket.
As he brought the two items together, the Sunflower Serpent Fruit's skin began to shift, turning a brilliant gold and sprouting sharp, lightning-bolt-shaped patterns. In just a few seconds... a brand-new Rumble-Rumble Fruit was born, resting in the palm of his hand.
"Perfect," Shane nodded with satisfaction, giving it a little toss. This was the fourth Logia fruit he'd obtained. From Flame, to Snow, to Sand, and now Rumble... plus Smoker's Smoke-Smoke Fruit... his crew was about to have five Logia users. He was practically a collector at this point.
But... who should get the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?
Shane glanced at Gin. The silver wolf immediately looked away. He already had a natural talent for manipulating lightning and had always been disdainful of external powers like Devil Fruits. Besides, he thought, if I become a hammer, how am I supposed to swim back up the next time you kick me into the sea?
"Not interested?" Shane stroked his chin thoughtfully. None of the other crew members seemed like a good fit, and as for himself... he wasn't really interested either.
Back when he first entered the Grand Line, he had considered eating a Mythical Zoan fruit that would complement his hand-to-hand combat style. But now... his strength was already in the top tier of the world. He didn't really need the boost from a Devil Fruit. The drawbacks were too significant. Setting aside the weakness to Sea-Prism Stone, just becoming unable to swim was unacceptable. It would be a waste of his underwater combat skills, which were so great that even Jinbe would have to look up to him. Today's victory was a perfect example. If he hadn't caught Kizaru off guard and dragged him into the sea, he never would have defeated him in a single day, let alone inflicted such heavy damage. In underwater combat, Shane considered himself the undisputed best in the world.
So, he'd just hold onto it for now. Maybe when he expanded his forces further...
As he was thinking, he didn't notice that the katana on his back, Masamune, began to vibrate faintly, as if it were yearning for the Rumble-Rumble Fruit...
The next day.
Marine Headquarters, Marineford.
At the crack of dawn, the top brass of the Marines had already assembled in the main conference room. After a full day and night of news spreading like wildfire, everyone at Marineford knew about the devastating defeat in the New World.
It was a disgrace. An unacceptable, humiliating defeat. The atmosphere in the vast conference room was heavy and oppressive, like a storm cloud about to burst. Most of the attendees were Rear Admirals and above, all of them grim-faced and silent, the room thick with cigar smoke.
To make matters worse, it was rumored that the Holy Land was furious about the unauthorized operation. Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Admiral Kizaru, the commander of the operation, had both been summoned to Mary Geoise to be reprimanded.
"Everyone!" Commodore Brannew stood at attention in front of a whiteboard, his voice sharp, drawing all eyes to him. "Now that we're all here, let's get straight to it. The topic of today's meeting is the revision of the bounties for Shane and the Curtain Call Pirates!"
Brannew snapped his fingers, and his aide placed a Projection Transponder Snail on the table. The snail listlessly projected an image onto the whiteboard—a video feed.
It showed Garp descending from the sky, his fist meeting Shane's in a cataclysmic clash that shattered the entire ice plain. As the chaos subsided, the footage showed the elite Marine forces, battered and beaten, helping each other limp back to their warships. Some looked dejected, others gritted their teeth in frustration, and many glanced back with fear in their eyes. The final shot lingered on Kizaru, a lone, tattered figure, his right arm missing, staring blankly up at the sky.
"..." The room remained silent, the sound of cigars being puffed on growing louder. Many of the officers' gazes were fixed on Kizaru's broken form, their expressions complex.
"This is live footage we obtained from the World Economic Journal. That cunning old bird Morgans actually risked his life to film on the front lines. Quite surprising..." Brannew sighed. "From your reactions, I can see you're all aware of the other matter. The Holy Land has ordered us to cease all hostilities with the Curtain Call Pirates for the time being. What their ultimate plan is, we cannot and should not guess."
"But regardless, we, the Marines, will never abandon our pursuit of justice, nor will we lower our guard against these vicious criminals!" Brannew took a deep breath. "In this battle, Admiral Kizaru was severely wounded and lost an arm. Warlord Enel was killed in action. Vice Admirals Momonga, Dalmatian, and several other high-ranking officers were incapacitated. The fleet suffered heavy losses. The Curtain Call Pirates, on the other hand, sustained only minor injuries. This was not just a defeat. It was an unmitigated disaster! And what does this disaster tell us?!"
Brannew slammed his hand on the table, his pained voice echoing through the silent room. "It tells us that Admiral Kizaru's severed arm, that every single sunken warship, is screaming at us that in the two short months since entering the New World, the Curtain Call Pirates have grown into a force to be reckoned with! They are not the same crew they were before!"
Click!
The projection snail switched to a pre-arranged slideshow. First, the wanted posters of Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, and Shanks filled the screen. Then, images of King, Queen, Marco, Katakuri, and all the other top commanders flashed by.
"These are the current Four Emperors. You are all familiar with them. These Emperors not only possess terrifying strength themselves, but their crews are filled with powerful followers. They are known as 'Emperor Crews'!"
"And now, the Curtain Call Pirates, though still small in number, have officer quality that is, without a doubt, the foundation of a new Emperor Crew! Their captain, Shane, already possesses strength that puts him on par with the Four Emperors!"
"Under these circumstances, we must conduct a comprehensive re-evaluation and adjust their bounties to reflect their current threat level!"
Brannew gestured to his aide, who adjusted the snail again. In an instant, a row of brand-new wanted posters appeared on the whiteboard.
"First, you all need to be aware," Brannew said, pointing to the posters, "that since their time in Paradise, the Curtain Call Pirates have added new members, and their internal power structure has become much clearer. We can now divide them into three distinct tiers. Let's start with the lowest tier."
"Even in their lowest tier... as I said before, this is an elite crew. Their weakest members still have bounties approaching 200 million!"
"Take these three, for example!"
"'White Chase' Smoker, 'Winter's Fist' Nojiko, and 'Demon of Gluttony' Nami!"
The officers studied the three posters. They were calm when looking at Smoker and the blue-haired girl. But when their eyes fell on the orange-haired girl, many of them squinted, a cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads as they recalled certain... unsettling rumors.
"These three are in the lower tier of the crew's power structure, but all three are rare Logia users! This alone should tell you how formidable this crew's foundation is! In the Dressrosa battle, their wide-area abilities were used to perfection. Nojiko, with a technique remarkably similar to Admiral Aokiji's, froze the entire sea, immobilizing our fleet. She later went on to defeat a Vice Admiral single-handedly. Nami assisted her sister from the high ground, using a combination of ice and fire to rout all forces attempting to scale the rock wall. And Smoker, in addition to his Logia powers, is proficient in two forms of Haki. A well-rounded fighter. He was, as many of you know, one of Instructor Z's most promising students..."
"If you're just here to run a meeting, then run the meeting. Instructor Z has enough on his mind without you dragging his name into this," a veteran Vice Admiral grumbled.
"My apologies," Brannew said with a cough. "I was just making a point. No disrespect to Instructor Z was intended. Let's continue. Their new bounties are as follows—"
"'Winter's Fist' Nojiko, former bounty 200,000,000 Belly, is now raised to 330,000,000 Belly!"
"'White Chase' Smoker, former bounty 210,000,000 Belly, is now raised to 365,000,000 Belly!"
"'Demon of Gluttony' Nami, former bounty 160,000,000 Belly, is now raised to 228,000,000 Belly!"
When he got to Nami, Brannew hesitated. "Oh, and it should be noted that the white dog, which was previously given a symbolic 1,000 Belly bounty, has disappeared... It seems... In any case, its bounty has been removed. The crew has a new, cat-like pet. We won't be issuing a bounty for it. It seems... pointless..."
"Worse than an animal," a female Rear Admiral muttered. The others knew who she was talking about. A few of them nodded in agreement. To be cruel to one's enemies was one thing, but to repeatedly attack, and even eat, one's own companions... such horrifying acts were rare, even among pirates...
"The remaining members of the lowest tier have also shown significant improvement in this battle. We'll go through them quickly." Brannew pointed to the other posters.
"'Devil Child' Nico Robin, the last survivor of Ohara. Under the protection of the Curtain Call Pirates, she no longer hides in the shadows... After entering the New World, her proficiency with Haki has grown. Considering her special status and threat level, her bounty is raised from 260,000,000 to 300,000,000 Belly!"
"'Red Leg' Zeff, a veteran who has mostly retired to the galley. He seems more focused on his cooking than fighting. However, when a recently-promoted Vice Admiral attempted to approach their ship, he was easily repelled. His strength should not be underestimated. His bounty is set at 220,000,000 Belly!"
"'Silver Wolf of Thunder' Gin. When the crew first entered the Grand Line, we considered this wolf to be their second-greatest threat, after Shane himself. However, times have changed, and his power has been surpassed by the other crew members. His bounty is set at 300,000,000 Belly!"
Brannew took a sip of water, and his aide switched to the next slide. This time, there were only three wanted posters on the screen. On the left and right were two massively built men, and in the center was a young swordswoman with a high ponytail and a cold, determined gaze.
