One Piece : Rise of Thunder King

You can read the advance chapters here : patreon.com/Vigilante04

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"Hmm~"

The three of them woke up from a coma, their faces blank and confused.

"Where is this place?" Foxy asked, his eyes darting around as he took in the unfamiliar room and the two other figures near him.

At that moment, another voice rang out. "Who are you two?"

"Huh?" Both Foxy and the large man turned to look at the speaker. They froze in silence for a moment.

"Whoa! What kind of monster is this?" Foxy exclaimed dramatically, jumping to his feet with a look of shock.

The large man didn't react as much. He simply frowned, giving Absalom a quick glance before surveying the room with a dark expression.

"Have you all been knocked out and captured?" asked the big man, who seemed surprisingly calm despite the situation.

It was only then that Foxy and Absalom noticed how massive the man truly was.

"Ha... Marines? Did we get caught?" Foxy stammered, his nose dripping in panic.

"What's going on here?!" Absalom growled angrily. "There's no way they could capture me so easily!"

Without waiting, Absalom began to move carefully, suppressing the sound of his footsteps as he headed toward the door where light was spilling through.

"Huh?" As he moved, he noticed something strange—the two others in the dark room were staring at him intently, their eyes following his every move.

"Can they see me? How is that possible?" Absalom thought, frowning in disbelief. He stood still for a moment, then shook his head. "No, that's impossible!"

To test his theory, he started pacing back and forth. But no matter where he moved, their eyes kept tracking him.

"You... can you see me?" Absalom asked, his face pale with shock.

Foxy burst into laughter, wearing an incredulous expression. "Are you kidding me? We're not blind!"

"Impossible!" Absalom shouted in disbelief. "I ate the Clear-Clear Fruit! I can turn invisible!"

"You're a Clear-Clear Fruit user?" the large man said calmly. This was Don Accino, the Hot-Hot Fruit user.

Accino tried activating his own powers but quickly realized something was wrong. His expression darkened as he looked at the shackles on his wrists. "This... Are these Seastone cuffs?"

"Damn it! What's going on?!" Absalom roared. "I'm the Commander of the Zombie Generals under Master Gecko Moria!"

But no one answered their anger or questions.

Half an hour later, footsteps echoed from outside the door. Several figures entered the room.

"Is that... an angel?" Foxy muttered, his face blank with astonishment. He had seen reports about angels in the news, especially about their king.

"Angels? What are they up to?" Accino frowned before demanding, "Who are you people? Why did you capture us?"

The angels didn't respond. Silently, they approached, grabbed the prisoners, and started dragging them out.

"Let me go! I'm one of Master Gecko Moria's subordinates! A Warlord's crew member!" Absalom shouted, struggling violently. But the angels held him firmly, their grip unyielding. It was as if his resistance meant nothing to them.

Five minutes later, they were taken to another room and restrained in chairs. The angels left silently, closing the door behind them.

The room was bright due to the presence of some glowing lamp shells. Everyone could now see the room clearly, and what puzzled them the most was the abundance of fresh fruits scattered around.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Accino asked, starting to panic.

Click~

The door opened again, and a handsome man and a beautiful woman entered the room.

The three prisoners' eyes widened in shock. "Y-You... King Arthur?!"

Arthur glanced at them briefly before speaking to Nuoqi. "These three have important abilities. There must be no mistakes."

Nuoqi nodded, her expression serious. "Don't worry, Arthur. I'll make sure it's 100% successful."

"Alright, let's start with this one." Arthur's gaze landed on Absalom, who had been screaming the most.

Bang~

Arthur approached Absalom and, with a simple flick of his finger, the man fell silent. His face was filled with shock and unwillingness, but soon his eyes lost all light.

"What? Kill... kill us? What do you want? We surrender! We can surrender!" Accino and Foxy, both horrified, had no doubt about King Arthur's power. They knew exactly who he was—someone far beyond their league.

Once they saw Arthur's calm, effortless action that resulted in a person's death, any thoughts of escaping vanished. They realized they had no choice but to surrender, as resisting would only lead to their deaths. But unfortunately for them, Arthur wouldn't accept their surrender.

"Black Hole Traction!" Nuoqi, though reluctant, knew her place as Arthur's partner and did what was necessary.

Dark clouds swirled from her slender, pitch-black hands, surrounding Absalom.

After a moment, a relieved expression appeared on Nuoqi's face. "Release!"

Huh~

Arthur quickly grabbed the fruit that fell from the swirling black mist. He inspected it briefly and confirmed it was the same as the one in the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia—a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, the Clear-Clear Fruit.

Having secured the fruit, Arthur turned toward Foxy.

He was especially interested in Foxy, as his ability seemed to involve time, which Arthur considered a powerful and valuable ability. Arthur had his own plans for this fruit, but it wouldn't be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.

Bang~

As Foxy pleaded desperately for mercy, Arthur tapped his forehead lightly. The look in Foxy's eyes faded, and soon he fell unconscious.

At the same time, Nuoqi once again sent the fruit into the dark world.

"Black Hole Traction!"

She unleashed the technique once more, this time enveloping Foxy. After a short while, she released it again.

Another fruit fell from the black mist.

"This... this is... how is this possible?!" Accino, despite his large size, wasn't stupid. After seeing the process a second time, he finally understood what was happening.

"Ability deprivation?! No! This can't be real!" Accino struggled, trying desperately to escape.

He now realized that the other party was after his Devil Fruit power. Even if a person's ability is taken away, they can still survive. However, knowing this secret meant there was no chance for survival.

Bang~

There was another soft sound, and Accino's body froze, his movements halting completely.

Three minutes later, a red fruit with a strange pattern appeared in Arthur's hand.

This was the Hot-Hot Fruit, and it was incredibly powerful! Its maximum temperature could reach tens of thousands of degrees! At such a high temperature, not even seawater could touch it without being repelled.

Furthermore, if a person with strong physical skills were to eat the Hot-Hot Fruit, they would be nearly unstoppable. Even someone like Akainu, with his magma powers, would be no match for a powerful user of this fruit, who could rely on physical combat and elemental defense.

In fact, the temperature of Akainu's magma was only around 1,000 degrees. Even Aokiji, the Admiral of Ice, would be severely weakened by this fruit's powers. If someone like Irving ate this fruit and developed it to an Admiral level, Aokiji could be easily restrained.

Arthur looked at the Hot-Hot Fruit in his hand, wondering who should receive it. He thought it might be a little too close to him, since the fruit only enhanced one's ability to heat themselves.

"I'll give this fruit to Ariel or Andrew. They are the two deputy commanders and could make good use of it. As for Raphael, I think Owen from the Big Mom Pirates would benefit more from it. His fruit would complement this one well, and it would suit his leadership position!"

Having made his decision, Arthur packed the three freshly obtained Devil Fruits into a box and flew toward the Island of Gods.

If it were just the Clear-Clear Fruit and the Hot-Hot Fruit, Arthur wouldn't have bothered going back. He could have just sent one of his angel legionnaires to bring them to him.

Once the two deputy commanders of the Flame Legion were ready, they would decide who would eat the Hot-Hot Fruit. As for the Clear-Clear Fruit, it was already decided that Idria, the leader of the Shadow Stream Legion, would be the one to consume it.

However, Arthur had other plans for the Sluggish Fruit, so he decided to stay on the Island of Gods to deal with it later.

Only Arthur knew where the Devil Fruits on the Island of Gods were hidden. It wasn't a matter of not trusting his women, but the world was full of strange abilities. Arthur was confident that no one could steal his memories, but he couldn't say the same for his women.

This was why Arthur sought out powerful Devil Fruits for them and trained them together. They needed to grow strong enough to protect themselves. After all, while Arthur could only be in one place at a time, the safety of his loved ones came first.

A day later, Idria ate the Clear-Clear Fruit, and the Hot-Hot Fruit was sent to the New World. Arthur didn't pay much attention to who ate it, but he told Raphael not to consume it, as he would prepare something better for him.

On Rusukaina Island, Arthur resumed his training. As for the other fruit abilities, they were still being used for secret missions.

In the end, the Devil Fruits on Arthur's hunting list were all powerful and promising abilities, ones that could lead to great strength and potential.