"What's happening? Her arm suddenly got so big!" Vivi exclaimed, watching the scene in amazement.
"Nika? Is it rubber?" A connection sparked in Crocus's mind, but... the form seemed a little different from the images he'd seen.
"Not good!" Bonney thought, feeling the immense force transmitted through her fist.
Ryuuto casually swung his right hand, unleashing countless tendrils of black lightning. The giant rubber fist, unable to withstand the pressure, groaned with a sickening, grinding sound.
Bang!
With a deafening crash, Bonney was sent flying sideways.
"Captain..." Yuyu and Tots cried out, rushing over to help her up.
"You've got a little something, but not much," Ryuuto said softly, looking at Bonney as she landed. This was likely because Bonney had never seen the true Nika form.
Overall, the Power of Pondering was filled with possibilities.
"Bonney, instead of Nika, how about you witness my Thunder God Form!" Ryuuto shouted to her.
Ryuuto felt it was necessary to strengthen Bonney's combat capabilities.
"Thunder God?" Bonney's arm had already returned to its normal size. She stared intently at Ryuuto, her voice filled with doubt. From their brief clash, she knew she was no match for him.
"Watch closely!" Ryuuto said in a deep voice as a boundless torrent of lightning erupted from his body.
As Ryuuto's heart began to pound violently, the lightning that enveloped him contracted and condensed, streaks of purple emerging from within the storm.
"Thunder God!"
With a great roar, Ryuuto's hair began to float as if weightless, lifting into the air. The purple lightning coalesced, sketching out a majestic, towering figure.
Vmmm...
A stunning shockwave blasted out from Ryuuto's body, sweeping across the surroundings with a deafening boom before vanishing over the horizon.
In that instant, Ryuuto had transformed into the colossal body of a Thunder God.
This divine form had long, flowing hair, a bare torso, and a single ring hanging from each earlobe. Its face bore a resemblance to Ryuuto's, gazing upon the world with an air of detached indifference.
Ryuuto's eyes snapped open, and an overwhelming aura of intimidation instantly swept out.
"What terrifying power!" Vivi stared, dumbfounded. The colossal Thunder God form, dozens of meters tall, projected an aura of insurmountable might.
"This... This is Ryuuto's Thunder God Form!" Crocus stammered, his mind reeling.
Crackle!
Watching the world-destroying divine lightning arc through the air, punching holes in the atmosphere with a sharp hiss, Crocus could feel the annihilating power contained within it.
"So terrifying!" Bonney stared directly at Ryuuto, her mind withstanding the initial shockwave.
But Bonney refused to back down, forcibly searing the entire scene into her memory. She began to mutter to herself, "This is ridiculously strong. Just looking at this Thunder God's body, I can feel an inexplicable pressure crushing my mind. Who would dare to stand against such might?!"
Beside her, Yuyu and Tots had already been knocked unconscious by the powerful wave of intimidation.
This was the Thunder God... it came with its own overwhelming aura.
Foxy and Buggy had also rushed out of the auction house, now staring blankly at the giant, lightning-wreathed figure in the sky.
"That... That's Captain Ryuuto!" Buggy's mind went completely blank.
"As expected of my Captain Ryuuto! He's too powerful!" Foxy's initial shock quickly gave way to a faint smile.
The stronger Ryuuto was, the more at ease Foxy felt.
The others also ran out, gaping at the floating figure. From that day on, the image of that immense Thunder God form would be forever etched into their minds.
"Bonney! Remember this strike!" Ryuuto shouted, his voice booming from the Thunder God's body.
The sound pierced straight into Bonney's ears.
She watched as Ryuuto slowly drew Yukibashiri, the Thunder God's hand appearing to wield a massive blade of pure lightning.
"Conqueror's Thunder Kill!"
Ryuuto swung his blade down toward the coastline.
Instantly...
A violet blade of lightning nearly a hundred meters long descended with boundless power, crashing violently into the hardened earth.
BOOM!
The ground shook with a massive tremor... A powerful shockwave erupted from the impact, expanding like a tidal wave.
Bonney's mind was seared with the image of that single strike.
The powerful blast wave slammed into Vivi and Bonney, sending them flying.
When the dust settled... a massive trench several meters deep had been carved into the ground, a surface that even swords could not normally scratch.
It was the result of that one attack.
Everyone's vision was filled with the afterimage of that strike—its boundless, majestic power, its world-ending might.
"Too... too strong!" Foxy, Buggy, and the others muttered over and over.
"It seems that kid Ryuuto has really grown to a point I can barely recognize," Crocus said softly, his eyes narrowed as he watched Ryuuto.
As for Ryuuto, he had already dispelled the Thunder God form and was slowly descending to the ground.
"That felt alright! A bit draining, but within an acceptable range," Ryuuto thought to himself, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart. He had held back considerably with that attack; otherwise, the cost would have been much greater.
Vivi and Bonney were lying on the ground... their gazes fixed on Ryuuto.
Ryuuto took a few light steps, walked over, and helped Vivi to her feet. He then turned to Bonney and asked, "Did you remember that strike?"
Bonney's face still held a trace of the shock she'd just experienced.
"I... I remembered it!" she said, her eyes fixed on Ryuuto with a new gravity. If that attack had been aimed at her, she would have been utterly obliterated.
"The outside world is just too dangerous!" For some reason, Bonney suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia for her days in the church.
"Hahahaha, that's good!" Ryuuto's lips curved into a smile. "Bonney, this is my gift to you."
"A gift?" Bonney murmured, still sitting on the ground. Then, as if realizing something, her eyes widened as she stared at Ryuuto.
Bonney understood what he meant. Ryuuto wanted her to use her Distorted Future ability to transform into the Thunder God.
"Why is this man being so good to me?" Bonney couldn't help but study Ryuuto's face, as if trying to see the shadow of Kuma in him.
"Old man Crocus... give that famed sword to Bonney!" Ryuuto said, looking toward Crocus's waist. Hanging there was a sword with a pure black scabbard and a hilt tightly wrapped in deep red rayskin.
It was the Sandai Kitetsu.
Crocus had never once used the sword. As a ship's doctor, he was hardly a swordsman.
"Bonney, catch!" Crocus heard him and had no objections. He unhooked the Sandai Kitetsu and tossed it to her. The sword had only been entrusted to him by Ryuuto for safekeeping anyway.
"Ah..." Bonney was at a loss for words.
All she could do was passively catch the famed blade, her eyes locked on Ryuuto.