A flash of lightning streaked through the mountains behind Whole Cake Island. Monts later, a thunderous pillar of light shot into the sky, only to vanish as quickly as it had appeared, as if it had never existed.
In those sa mountains, where Ortoren and Katakuri were located, arcs of crackling electricity flickered through the air.
Ortoren sat cross-legged on the ground, occasional sparks dancing across the tips of his hair. The small box that had been beside him was now open—the Goro Goro no Mi inside had disappeared.
Sensing the thunderous power within him gradually settling, Ortoren slowly opened his eyes. His pupils, once black, had changed—perhaps a side effect of eating the Goro Goro no Mi. Now, they had turned a deep indigo, giving him a mysterious aura that slightly enhanced his overall presence.
"You said it wouldn't cause a big scene?" Ortoren complained as soon as he opened his mouth.
Sparks of electricity crackled from his lips as he spoke, making the scene oddly comical.
Not far away, Katakuri looked a bit surprised. "I really didn't expect that. That was quite the display. I guess there's a reason it's called the 'invincible' Goro Goro no Mi."
He had only caught a glimpse of the lightning flash before it vanished, but even that brief mont had revealed its terrifying power. If that bolt had struck aboard a ship or inside a building, it would've leveled everything around it!
Katakuri quickly followed up, curious. "So, how does it feel?"
"It feels..." Ortoren stretched his limbs, stood up, and jumped a few tis from side to side before scratching his head in confusion. "It doesn't feel all that different, actually."
"Try connecting with the lightning inside you. Becoming a Devil Fruit user feels... hmm... strange, I guess? It's like suddenly gaining a new organ, or unlocking an instinct you never knew you had. You've got to think about it—really dare to think. That's how you activate it, get used to it, and eventually master it," Katakuri advised him, speaking as a seasoned Devil Fruit user.
Ortoren gave a silent nod and closed his eyes again, focusing calmly and earnestly on the new power coursing through him.
Katakuri watched as Ortoren's body began to glow with a layer of lightning. His form twisted unnaturally at tis—movents impossible for any normal person. It was the unmistakable sign of his body undergoing elental transformation.
Still with his eyes closed, Ortoren raised one hand. Soon, crackling lightning gathered in his palm. With a loud bang, a lightning-charged shockwave shot out and slamd into a nearby tree.
It was as if the tree had been struck by a bolt from the heavens—it exploded instantly. Flas burst from the impact site, briefly flickering before dying out, leaving behind a charred, blackened trunk.
Opening his eyes, Ortoren looked down at his hand, then at the distant tree, clicking his tongue. "So that's how it works..."
The sensation really was just as Katakuri described—becoming a Devil Fruit user ca with a strange, mysterious power that was nothing short of extraordinary.
It's like how regular people imagine shooting terrifying heat rays from their eyes like a superhero. Of course, you can't actually do that—but if you're a Devil Fruit user, and your powers allow it, just imagining it while instinctively channeling the energy within you... you really can make it happen!
With that thought, lightning burst in Ortoren's eyes. Faint lightning-shaped markings appeared on the skin around his eye sockets. In the next instant, twin beams of concentrated lightning shot out from his eyes like heat rays, blasting straight toward the spot he was staring at—the already-damaged tree exploded into pieces!
Katakuri's eyes widened in surprise.
"You just ate the Goro Goro no Mi and already ca up with a usable attack technique?"
That's way too fast, isn't it?
Ortoren was just as thrilled. He scanned the area, eyes darting around for more targets. Rocks, dirt clumps—nothing was spared. They were all blasted to pieces by his lightning-infused laser beams.
After a few tests, Ortoren laughed out loud.
"Why so surprised? This kind of attack is the most basic—brute-force and completely unrefined! No technique involved at all!"
What he had done was extrely simple. First, he imagined it—sothing he could do easily with a familiar concept in mind. Then he drew on the seemingly endless lightning power inside him and focused it in his eyes. Thanks to the nature of the Goro Goro no Mi, this process was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, his eyes were fully charged.
No special technique was needed after that—just focus and release the energy stored around his eyes. That was it!
The whole process had basically zero technical complexity.
Now that he thought about it—Indestructible Body? He had one. Super strength? He was born with it! Super speed? He was a Goro Goro no Mi user now—teleportation shouldn't be an issue. Heat vision? Just did it. Flight? That's a basic Goro Goro no Mi ability. No problem!
Good grief, I'm basically a superhero now... okay, maybe that's a bit much, but calling myself a "prodigy" should be fine, right?
"Should I even say sothing extra-humble like, 'I don't eat beef—I eat Wagyu'?"
After shaking off those random thoughts and chatting with Katakuri a bit, Ortoren looked at him with anticipation.
"Alright, next… mind letting experience the standard perks of a Logia user?"
"Elentalization?" Katakuri smiled. "That's not just sothing for Logia users, you know…"
If soone else had said that, it might've co off as cocky or arrogant—but Katakuri was more than qualified to say it. His ability was exceptionally unique.
He was a Paracia-type user of the Mochi Mochi no Mi, but because of the fruit's unique properties, he could freely change the shape of his body—giving him abilities comparable to a Logia user's elental transformation.
That's why his Mochi Mochi no Mi was one of the rare few known as "special Paracia-type" Devil Fruits.
Sure enough, after his comnt, Katakuri's arm began to morph. A trident slowly erged, squeezing out from within his arm. The trident was clearly longer than the limb it ca from, yet it sohow fit. This was part of Katakuri's personal developnt of his ability—by treating his body like the storage space of a Logia-type like the Numa Numa no Mi, he had created a compartnt inside himself to store weapons and other items.
This is sothing the Goro Goro no Mi could never do—its limitations are inherent to the nature of the fruit itself.
Ortoren couldn't help but suspect that the reason Katakuri developed such an ability in the first place... was probably so he could store a massive stash of donuts inside his body and indulge in his favorite treat whenever he wanted.
Without a word, Katakuri raised his trident and lunged straight at Ortoren's chest!
The trident surged with ferocity, but it wasn't imbued with Haki, and Ortoren had no intention of dodging anyway.
With a sharp crack, the weapon pierced through Ortoren's chest—but instead of blood and flesh, arcs of lightning crackled around the entry point. That part of his body had already transford into pure lightning. This was elentalization. And because of it, Katakuri's attack had absolutely no effect on him!
But Katakuri didn't stop. He held the trident firm and looked at Ortoren.
"Try imagining how you're going to escape from this."
Ortoren nodded and took a deep breath, as if sensing sothing. A flash of lightning danced at his temple—then in that brief instant, his power activated.
Like a bolt of lightning tearing through space, Ortoren's figure blinked into the distance!
Instant movent!
Compared to his earlier laser-eye stunt, this ability was clearly far more advanced. When Ortoren's feet hit the ground, the speed was so intense that his body couldn't adjust to the sudden shift in balance. He staggered, nearly faceplanting.
Katakuri, however, nodded approvingly.
"Not bad. I figured you'd need at least a few tries to pull that off, but you nailed it on the first go. Seems like you're really compatible with the Goro Goro no Mi..."
Steadying himself, Ortoren grinned.
"You might not believe this, but long before I got the Goro Goro no Mi, I used to fantasize about having powers like this all the ti. I guess I already had a whole frawork in mind for how to develop it. So... maybe I've got a bit more experience than usual?"
"Imagination experience? Hahahaha..." Katakuri burst into laughter, poking fun at him.
"You're the one who said Devil Fruit powers rely on imagination to develop. Isn't that basically just... imagination?" Ortoren shot back.
As the prized son of Charlotte Linlin and a top-tier ability user himself, Katakuri's words carried weight.
Devil Fruit powers really were a mystery. Their developnt depended heavily on the user's own "imagination"—it was all about "I think this should work."
If you think an ability could be used a certain way and pursue that vision seriously... then yeah, you might just unlock sothing weird and incredible.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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