Clearing his mind, Chrollo slapped his cheeks, ceasing to think about those messy, complicated matters. One's standing determines the level of information they can access.
And strength determines the mindset with which one can treat that information.
Only by standing at the same height as those powerhouses can one truly have the possibility of understanding these truths.
"I still need to increase my strength—" Chrollo stood up. "How did you dodge my sneak attack just now?!" Behind him, Nami's lioness mode activated!
"Just now?"
After Nami's reminder, Chrollo also realized this point. Looking surprised, he stroked his chin and analyzed, "Strange... could it be that my Observation Haki is about to awaken?"
He called up his attribute panel and looked. Sure enough...
In the attributes column, another line had appeared after Armament Haki:
[Observation Haki: 1 (F)]
Chrollo looked exhilarated. "Is it because of the continuous battles with strong opponents that my Observation Haki has been triggered?"
Golden Lion, Kizaru, Old Sand—encountering three powerhouses in succession. The high-intensity battles awakening Observation Haki was very likely!
"It might also be related to my 'En' being very powerful!"
Chrollo immediately activated his Observation Haki... and discovered:
His Observation Haki lacked the massive coverage range of his "En," which could easily span several kilometers. The range he could currently perceive was only less than a hundred meters.
However... within this one-hundred-meter range, in addition to inheriting "En's" ability to perceive the slightest movement of people and objects, he also possessed the ability of "Observation Haki"—the transcendence of the five senses!
The current "Observation Haki" could sense the emotions and thoughts of living beings within range, as well as predict the opponent's next move!
Currently, his beginner-level Observation Haki hadn't reached the level of foreseeing the future.
But...
...A super-strong Observation Haki that could foresee the future... he was about to possess it!
"Where did you guys leave off just now?"
"Robin-chan just suggested we head to the White Sea to find Skypiea, saying that one of the nine great Historical Poneglyphs might be buried there~" Nami repeated.
"No problem." Chrollo nodded affirmatively at Nami. "Robin's directions are correct. Our next destination is indeed Skypiea."
"You want to go find the Poneglyph first?" Curiosity flashed in Nami's eyes.
This didn't fit Chrollo's usual style. wasn't his primary goal always to hunt strong opponents to gain prestige?
"It's not just clues to the Poneglyphs hidden there..."
Chrollo sighed, a look of unprecedented anticipation and desire appearing in his eyes. "There is also something I truly need, a Devil Fruit that perfectly suits me... the Rumble-Rumble Fruit."
This was the core fruit ability Chrollo had selected for himself.
If the Float-Float Fruit was a weapon for group battles but didn't offer much help in one-on-one fights, then the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was both a weapon of mass destruction for group battles and a god for one-on-one duels!
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit, along with Akainu's Mag-Mag Fruit, Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, and Dragon's weather-controlling fruit, could be called the Four Great Disaster Fruits with the strongest offensive power.
It allowed the user to turn their body into lightning and control lightning.
It could use electricity to restart the user's own heart for resurrection.
It granted speed as fast as lightning, super-wide-range attacks, and the ability to fly.
It allowed the user to merge into metal for concealment and teleportation.
Under absolute high voltage, it could conduct electricity, release heat, and melt objects.
It could release lightning beasts and even transform the user into a Thunder God.
It even possessed terrifying attacks like "Raigo" (Thunder Greeting), capable of wiping out an entire country.
In Chrollo's view, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit was truly one of the abilities with no weaknesses, worthy of being called "invincible."
In the original plot, if Luffy hadn't had plot armor, he never could have defeated Enel, who possessed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Rubber being an insulator?
Don't joke!!
The heat released by the terrifying high voltage of 200 million volts alone would be enough to melt anything—under hundreds of millions of volts, no true insulator exists!
Luffy won because the fruit he possessed was Nika, not rubber, plus his absolute destiny as the protagonist.
However, the terrifying aspect of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit went far beyond that.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit also possessed a core ability, which was also its most heaven-defying ability—Mantra (Heart Net).
"Mantra" is a special application of Observation Haki. Combined with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's ability, it gained a terrifying effect of super-wide range and mind-reading.
It was the ultimate development of Observation Haki in the directions of "reconnaissance" and "prediction"...
This was exactly the ability Chrollo needed immensely!
Its terrifying range could cover an entire island, and reading minds could even reach the level of precognition.
In Chrollo's view, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit suited him perfectly.
Chrollo had a wide variety and large number of abilities, so there were inevitably times when he couldn't use them in time.
Therefore, what he needed most was the ability to predict his opponent's moves, allowing him to plan ahead which combination of abilities to use to strike his opponent hard.
Only by possessing Mantra could Chrollo, with his multiple abilities, truly become "Happy Superman."
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit also made up for his current lack of high-power offensive methods.
Moreover...
Fruits like Magma and Light that could let him be Happy Superman were in the hands of top-tier powerhouses. Stealing them was too difficult and unrealistic.
Only Rumble-Rumble...
Enel lacked the heart of a powerhouse; he was a typical example of someone too reliant on their fruit ability. He had developed the fruit to an extremely high level, but he himself—whether in stats or physical skills—was too weak...
A powerhouse with top-tier Observation Haki "Mantra" but no Armament Haki! Simply laughable!
So for Chrollo right now, it was the top-tier fruit with the lowest hunting difficulty and easiest to obtain!
Only by hunting him and acquiring the Rumble-Rumble Fruit would Chrollo possess a core ability of his own.
That way... even if other Troupe members weren't around for him to borrow abilities from, he would have the power to fight top-tier powerhouses!
But how should our group defeat Enel, who possesses the Mantra ability, and the priests of Skypiea...?
Chrollo calculated in his heart.
"Set off for Jaya. Target... Skypiea, ten thousand meters in the sky..."
"Hunt Enel and the Historical Poneglyph."
---
While the Black Whale flew toward Jaya, on the island of Jaya itself, in Mock Town.
Mock Town was an independent town located on the west side of Jaya. Because of its remote location, it was a gathering place for pirates with no government jurisdiction.
And at this moment, this small town had gathered several pirate crews capable of having an extremely profound impact on future history.
First was the Buggy Pirates. To get away from Chrollo, Buggy had fled Drum Island at full speed and landed in this town, preparing to gather supplies for the next leg of their journey.
Our Clown Emperor Buggy was currently hungry as a dog, panting heavily. "BOSS, we haven't eaten for three days... when will we see a town?"
Behind him, his underling Mohji was so hungry he couldn't even hallucinate anymore, following Buggy like a ghost.
"Soon... If we don't eat soon, the great Lord Buggy is going to starve to death—"
Just as their stomachs were growling, a chaotic, disorderly western town appeared in their vision ahead.
Buggy's eyes widened. "Great! We're saved—"
Then, sprinting at a hundred-meter dash speed, he pushed open the door of a tavern in Mock Town and sat at the bar.
"Boss—"
"Bring out the best food you have here!"
His shouting attracted the attention of other pirates in the tavern. "What are you looking at? Never seen the great Lord Buggy before—"
Just after shouting, Buggy sensed something wrong with the atmosphere around him. He scanned his surroundings, and the next second, astonishment climbed onto his face.
Sitting right next to him on the right side of the bar... black beard, thick body hair, missing teeth, a look of greed... Teach.
"What a coincidence~ Lord Buggy? Zehahaha, we meet again~" Teach's eyes were playful.
"Huh?!!" Scared, Buggy quickly turned his head away, however...
At the bar to his left, a shirtless man with a Whitebeard tattoo on his back, wearing a cowboy hat, was looking expressionlessly in his direction—or rather, looking at Teach behind him. The man—Whitebeard Pirates 2nd Division Commander—"Fire Fist" Ace.
And behind him, two unkind gazes were locked firmly in this direction simultaneously. A fat woman wearing a floral dress, and a strange man with a hairstyle like a propeller and thick chains wrapped around his body. Judging by the tattoo on his right arm... subordinates of the Donquixote Family—Doflamingo's men.
As for the Bellamy Pirates who were originally acting tough in this tavern, they were already shivering in the corner...
But that wasn't the end of it...
With a jingling sound as the door opened, a woman with pink hair, sunglasses on her head, and a curvaceous figure pushed the door open and entered, followed by several Marines...
The arrival—HQ Captain "Black Cage" Hina.
"..."
Buggy's legs began to tremble, cold sweat and snot flowing down together.
He just wanted to eat a meal. Was this...
...kicking a hornet's nest???