Kuke looked at his hands.
A strange black energy seeped from his palms.
Like dark smoke, it spread into the sky.
He casually slapped the deck.
Ignoring any stamina consumption.
The swirling darkness instantly expanded, covering every inch of the sea within sight.
His first ti using the ability.
And already, its range far exceeded what Blackbeard had once shown—swallowing an entire village.
In this world, except for a few rule-based abilities, most powers relied on stamina.
The stronger the stamina, the more devastating the ability.
"Not bad."
Kuke retracted the darkness.
After eating the Dark-Dark Fruit.
His combat power had increased by around 100,000.
Not too much, not too little.
For soone like Kuke, it rely ant gaining additional attack thods.
"Who wants to be my test subject? I need to experint with plundering abilities."
Kuke scanned the Devil Fruit users on his ship.
"I'll do it!"
"I'll go first!"
"Don't push aside!"
Charlotte Linlin was especially excited.
Using her sheer strength, she shoved aside all competition and stood before Kuke, staring at him eagerly.
"You're unnecessary. Using the Soul-Soul Fruit for an experint is too much of a waste."
Kuke ignored the increasingly pitiful-looking Linlin.
He glanced at the others.
Since it was his first attempt, he couldn't guarantee success.
After so thought, Kuke chose… Ulti.
"Captain, do I need to take off my clothes?"
Ulti blinked.
Kuke: "..."
…
A few hours later.
Kuke held an ordinary fruit in his hand.
After infusing it with the stolen Devil Fruit factor, the fruit quickly transford—
Becoming a Devil Fruit.
It was the sa Zoan Ancient-type ability that Ulti had previously possessed.
As for Ulti herself.
She had died and been revived.
But she was no longer a Devil Fruit user.
"It actually works?"
Everyone stared in stunned silence at the Devil Fruit in Kuke's hand.
After comparing it with the Devil Fruit encyclopedia.
It was confird—
This was indeed Ulti's previous ability.
Success.
Kuke had successfully developed the power to extract Devil Fruits from other users with the Dark-Dark Fruit.
"You should all start thinking about which abilities you want from the sea."
Kuke looked at his crew.
Except for a few, like Gion, who already had incredibly powerful abilities, most of the crew showed imnse interest and imdiately began discussing among themselves.
Reiju did not join the conversation.
Instead, she simply smiled.
Watching it all unfold in silence.
Her long-held awe and admiration surged again.
She couldn't believe it.
What kind of monstrous pirate crew had she joined?
"Reiju, there's a Devil Fruit in this world that suits you perfectly. Would you like to beco a Devil Fruit user?"
Kuke approached the daydreaming Reiju.
She turned.
Her eyes t his, close enough to touch.
Her lips parted slightly.
She said nothing.
Instead, she stared at Kuke in disbelief.
Her heart pounded with emotion.
She nodded heavily.
"Captain, I would."
"Don't be so overwheld. You're my crew mber, after all."
Kuke patted Reiju's shoulder.
Leaving her standing there in a daze.
Her mind blank, her gaze unfocused.
anwhile, the rest of the crew continued their playful antics.
Shakky and Gion approached Kuke at the bow of the Radiant Eclipse.
"First, we'll gather so Devil Fruits in the first half of the Grand Line, then head to the New World, and finally, we'll go to the Marines."
Kuke outlined the upcoming route for the Sun and Moon Pirates.
The first half of the Grand Line had fewer pirates.
Fewer powerful figures.
But that didn't an there weren't valuable Devil Fruits to be taken.
Since they were already here, there was no need to head to the New World first only to return later.
And their final destination—Marine Headquarters.
That would mark another official war with the World Governnt.
"Akainu is about to beco Fleet Admiral, right?"
Kuke thought of Akainu.
Behind him, Shakky nodded.
"Recently, the only focus of the sea has been Akainu and Aokiji's battle. With Akainu's victory, it's only a matter of ti before he officially takes the position. Within the next few months, he will beco the Fleet Admiral."
"How slow."
Kuke had expected that after Sengoku's death, Akainu would take over quickly.
Yet it took ten years.
"Does this have sothing to do with us?"
Gion speculated.
"Captain, should we prepare a gift for Akainu?"
Shakky asked.
"It's well known that the Marines are currently recruiting worldwide, searching for hidden powerhouses. Do we need to interfere?"
"No need. Let the Marines recruit. The stronger, the better."
Kuke had no intention of stopping them.
In terms of sheer influence, the Marines were still far more extensive.
If not for their reach across the sea, it would be difficult to locate Fujitora and his Gravity-Gravity Fruit—one of the strongest abilities.
"As for the gift…"
Kuke smirked.
"Our arrival will be the best gift."
He hadn't forgotten.
Ten years ago, he had planned to prepare a 'gift' for the new Fleet Admiral, Akainu.
Now.
Ten years later.
It was still not too late.
…
The seas raged.
Akainu's na once again shook the world.
Especially in the first half of the Grand Line—
Akainu had beco the sole legend.
Across the Grand Line and the Four Seas.
Many people knew only of Akainu.
The other great powers of the world were all overshadowed.
Many pirates laughed bitterly.
"What era of great pirates?"
"This is the era of Marine Admiral Akainu."
With the news that Akainu was about to beco Fleet Admiral.
His reputation in the Marines had reached its peak.
Unmatched by any other figure in Marine history.
The commotion far exceeded that of Sengoku's rise to Fleet Admiral.
In the first half of the Grand Line, pirates were trembling.
So went into hiding.
Others fled.
No one dared to challenge the Marines at this mont.
Except for one person.
In a remote sea.
A bizarre sight appeared.
Dozens of massive islands floated high in the sky.
Floating islands.
Like a paradise in the heavens.
This was the secret base of a legendary figure—
Golden Lion.
"That brat Akainu dares to be this arrogant now?"
Golden Lion sat on his floating island, going through the latest reports on the sea.
"Whitebeard, that washed-up fool… What kind of 'Four Emperors' are these? Just a bunch of useless trash, letting a re Marine run rampant like this."
Golden Lion sneered at the so-called Four Emperors of the New World.
He had only learned about them in recent years.
For over a decade, he had remained hidden here.
He knew little of the outside world, focusing entirely on creating his army of monstrous beasts.
For his grand ambitions.
Only recently had he started paying attention to global events.
And what he saw disgusted him.
The current era.
It was pathetic.
So he mocked the pirates of today as a bunch of weaklings.
"When I was around, the Marines didn't dare act like this!"
Golden Lion's face was full of arrogant disdain.
"Whitebeard's old and useless. Kaido was never that strong to begin with. And Red-Hair? Just a brat from Roger's crew."
Golden Lion scoffed, ridiculing each of the Three Emperors he knew.
Then, he turned his attention to the unfamiliar one.
"The so-called Sun and Moon Pirates? That Kuke guy? Never even heard of him when I ruled the seas. If he vanished for years, he's probably the weakest of the Four Emperors."
"Just wait. When I return, these Four Emperors, the Marines, all of them are trash! This era will be mine!
"The Golden Lion's era!"
His arrogant laughter echoed across the sky.
At the sa ti.
A ship entered the surrounding sea.
The Radiant Eclipse.
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DONT FORGET POWER STONE
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up 50 chapters at patreon/Emik01.
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