[New Skill: Ancient Language Mastery]
(Description: You can now read and understand the Poneglyphs.)
[Observation Haki has been promoted!]
"Promoted?!" Aiden was stunned.
Wasn't his Observation Haki already at the [Peak] level? How could it go even higher?
A second later, he realized the truth.
Above the Peak level, there was a hidden rank marked as [???].
The moment he understood that, an indescribable and mysterious sense of perception washed over his mind.
Hum!
The world inside his mind suddenly went quiet. No, it wasn't quiet.
The sound of cloud waves striking the shore in the distance, the low whispers of the professors, the rustling of wind through the leaves, and even the tiny movements of earthworms beneath the soil were still there, clearer than ever.
But they were no longer just noise.
If [Peak] Observation Haki allowed him to "hear" the voices of all things in the world, then at this moment, he could "see" the will behind those sounds.
He could "see" the small tree in the distance, newly planted, radiating a joyful "will" as it took root in its new soil.
He could "see" the warm "will" coming from Olvia, a mix of motherly love and peace.
He could "see" the "will" coming from Robin, bright as sunlight, filled with curiosity and kindness toward the world.
The voices of all things were no longer messy noise.
They had become a harmonious "melody."
Even the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, which he had failed to find despite scanning the area several times before, now became clearly "audible" to him.
"So... it's here."
Aiden slowly opened his eyes and smiled knowingly.
He had finally found it.
He opened his personal status panel, and as expected, the display had been updated.
[Haki]: Observation Haki (Beyond-Level)
He turned and looked at Smoker, who was watching him with a confused expression.
"Wait for me here a moment," Aiden said.
"Hey, didn't you just say we were going to talk about heading back?" Smoker frowned, unable to understand what Aiden was doing now.
Aiden did not answer.
He simply waved a hand.
His body flickered, turning into a blurred afterimage as he vanished alone into the depths of the jungle leading toward Giant Jack.
"That guy..." Smoker let out an annoyed grunt.
A few minutes later.
Aiden stood alone beside the massive beanstalk that stretched into the clouds.
He did not climb it.
Instead, he walked toward the base of its roots, which rose like hills. This was the oldest land in Upper Yard, covered in moss and slick stones.
"I see..." Aiden understood now.
The fruit had been hidden here the entire time, perfectly concealed by the life force of the beanstalk and the Endless Vearth itself, vast as the ocean.
It was buried at the very bottom, which explained why Enel would be able to find it in the future.
Aiden thrust his arm into the root of the beanstalk, which was as hard as steel, as easily as if he were sinking his hand into tofu.
A moment later, he pulled his arm back out.
In his hand was a golden, apple-shaped fruit.
Its skin was covered in spiral patterns that looked like frozen lightning.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Now that he actually held it in his hand, Aiden fell silent for a long time.
This was a major choice.
As a transmigrator, he understood the terrifying value of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit better than anyone.
Even though Enel was eventually defeated by a Luffy who did not even know how to use Gears yet, that was only because Enel had appeared too early in the story.
The Rumble-Rumble Fruit itself was undoubtedly one of the top Logia Fruits, perhaps even the strongest.
Once he ate it, his already overwhelming speed, destructive power, and perception would reach an entirely new level.
His strength would surge in an instant.
But the price would be just as great.
Once he ate it, he would become a hammer cursed by the sea, just like every other Devil Fruit user.
He would lose the freedom to swim forever, and he would gain a fatal weakness: Sea Prism Stone.
His current path, refining his body, Haki, and swordsmanship, was the king's path.
Too many great monsters had already proven that this road alone could lead to the very top.
Did he really need to place those shackles on himself just for a shortcut?
Doubt flickered in Aiden's eyes.
However...
He could not help thinking of the final twelve from the manga in his previous life.
Aside from a very few exceptions, almost all of them were monsters who had pushed both their Devil Fruits and their Haki to the absolute limit.
Haki was the ticket to entering the top tier, but a top-class Devil Fruit was also a trump card that could decide a battle.
More importantly...
Aiden looked down at the fruit in his hand, like solidified lightning.
A powerful fruit also chose its user.
The fact that he had been able to find it was a sign in itself.
If heaven handed you a gift and you refused to take it, you would only regret it later.
Aiden's gaze turned completely resolute.
He no longer hesitated.
He calmly put the Rumble-Rumble Fruit into his mouth and took a huge bite, his expression unchanged.
"Ugh..."
A revolting taste, like a leaking battery mixed with a sour, rotten rag, exploded across his tongue.
Even with Aiden's willpower, he almost threw up on the spot.
He forced down the urge to gag and swallowed it.
He even made himself finish the entire fruit.
Even though one bite was enough, he did not want to risk affecting a future Awakening just because he had left part of it unfinished.
A second later.
The sky changed.
The White-White Sea, which had been clear and calm only moments earlier, turned dark in seconds.
With Aiden at the center, the clouds above began to spin rapidly, forming a massive storm eye that covered the entire sky.
RUMBLE!!!
Countless bright blue bolts of electricity burst from the dark clouds.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed as though the world itself were ending.
The pressure was so terrifying that the professors and Shandians in the distance dropped to their knees in fear.
He did not need an instruction manual.
The moment he ate the fruit, he instinctively understood how to control this power.
An extremely violent energy surged wildly through Aiden's body.
Then, his [Beyond-Level] Observation Haki combined perfectly with the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Aiden's vision changed.
It was like a third-person camera in a game zooming all the way out.
His consciousness seemed to leave his body and rise instantly to the highest point of the clouds ten thousand meters above.
Like a god, he looked down coldly over the entire land.
He saw the whole Sky Island.
All of Upper Yard was no longer just earth and trees to him.
It had become a precise blueprint made of countless energy lines.
The unique bioelectric field of every living being was as clear as sparks in the dark.
"No wonder Enel became so arrogant and believed he was a true god."
"This feeling of controlling everything and looking down on all living things... it's far too easy to lose yourself in it."
At the same time, a pure current of lightning began to flow slowly through Aiden's body.
That energy constantly nourished every cell and muscle fiber within him.
Aiden could clearly feel that, over time, his physical strength, reflexes, and even his recovery speed would grow stronger and stronger under that steady nourishment.
He drew his consciousness back from the sky and slowly opened his eyes.
Deep within his pupils, a spark of pure blue electricity flashed.
He raised a hand toward a vast empty stretch of cloud sea in the distance.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A massive pillar of lightning, thick enough to blot out the sky, descended soundlessly from above with apocalyptic force.
In that instant, the distant cloud sea was pierced and vaporized by the pillar of lightning.
A gigantic hole, thousands of meters wide, appeared in the clouds and remained open for a long time.