Yasa submerged himself in the White White Sea, using the water's pressure to strengthen his body. He trained relentlessly, day and night, never resting in his pursuit of improvement.
Even with his current strength far surpassing his past capabilities, he never slacked off.
In the Pirate World, relying solely on Devil Fruit abilities wasn't enough. Only with a powerful physique and extraordinary stamina could one sustain the use of Devil Fruit powers without interruption.
Most Devil Fruits required physical prowess to unleash their full potential.
Moreover, a strong physique accelerated the development of Devil Fruit abilities.
When a Devil Fruit was consumed, its effects manifested immediately. However, those with robust bodies developed their abilities far more rapidly than those with weaker constitutions.
Luffy ate the Gum-Gum Fruit and could instantly stretch his body, but initially struggled to control it, often accidentally smacking himself. In contrast, Sabo consumed the Flame-Flame Fruit and immediately began using fire attacks against enemies. This demonstrated the principle clearly.
Thus, physical strength determined the effectiveness of most Devil Fruit abilities.
Splash...
Yasa emerged from the sea, shook off the water droplets, casually donned clothes stolen from villagers, and began his morning meal.
Yasa had spent a full year searching every corner of Birka, yet found not a single trace of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. This made him realize the fruit might not be on this island at all.
After breakfast, Yasa began recalling his memories of Enel's life and deeds.
In the Sea Circle Era 1514, after destroying Birka, Enel led his followers to conquer Apayado, drove out the former God Gan Fall, occupied Godland, and became the new God. He then ordered the God's Army to build the Ark Maxim.
The blueprints for the Ark Maxim were clearly taken from Birka Island. But Enel must have already obtained the lightning power he called "God" before destroying the island. How did he acquire the Rumble-Rumble Fruit?
Or rather, Enel had no real strength to speak of. He only possessed immature Observation Haki and notoriously poor physical combat skills. The villagers of Birka could have beaten him into a pulp if they attacked en masse. So how could he have destroyed the island?
From this, we can deduce that Enel must have obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit before destroying Birka and attacking God's Island Apayado.
If that's the case, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit couldn't possibly be on Angel Island or Apayado. It must be somewhere near Birka.
Yasa searched every corner of Birka Island, but found nothing.
From this, he could deduce that Enel must have obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit from somewhere else, perhaps even the White White Sea.
With this thought, Yasa's furrowed brows smoothed out. This was indeed a promising line of reasoning.
Devil Fruits are the sea's hidden treasures, randomly appearing in some corner of the ocean.
Following this logic, did it mean Sky Island itself didn't produce Devil Fruits? Had they been brought there by the Upward Current or by people who entered Sky Island?
This wasn't unreasonable. Throughout all of Sky Island, apart from Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit, only Gan Fall's mount—a large pink-winged bird—had consumed a Devil Fruit. It was a Zoan-type Horse-Horse Fruit, specifically the Pegasus Form.
Since Sky Island couldn't naturally produce Devil Fruits and there had only been these two examples so far, the likelihood that the fruits were brought up by the Upward Current from the Blue Sea was very high.
Having cleared his thoughts, Yasa's heart raced with excitement. Even deep breathing couldn't calm him down—he felt this was very likely true.
However, while Birka Island was small, the White White Sea was vast, far too large for Yasa to search thoroughly in a short time.
"Enel was often bullied by the villagers. Unable to endure it, he might one day build a boat from trees and leave Birka. Though the village had severed ties with Angel Island, every resident knew its location. In that case, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit must be between Angel Island and Birka Island!"
Yasa's mind cleared, his analysis accelerating.
"That's not certain! Another possibility is that the design plans for the Ark Maxim were open to all on the island except Enel. To reach his dreamland—the Infinite Land Moon—he'd surely sneak a look at them."
"That would violate Birka Island's laws. The villagers have long wanted to execute Enel but lacked justification. This unauthorized viewing of the Ark Maxim plans would provide the perfect pretext!"
"Birka Island's method of execution is called the Cloud Float Current. By placing Enel on it, he'd drift aimlessly, left to his own devices. By fortunate chance, he obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!"
After thorough consideration, these remained the only two plausible scenarios. If Enel had found the fruit near Birka's waters, Yasa would never have believed it.
Having thoroughly searched the waters around Birka, Yasa found not a single Devil Fruit—not even a sunken ship. Even the marine life in the area had long been devoured by Yasa, reduced to mere nutrients in his stomach.
"First, I'll ask someone in the village where they carry out the Cloud Float Current punishment. Then I'll search in that direction. If that doesn't work, I'll head straight for Angel Island."
With his plan set, Yasa couldn't wait a moment longer. He was already itching to eat that Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
Dressed properly, Yasa rushed toward the villagers' homes. Before long, he encountered a villager carrying fishing nets, preparing to go out to sea.
He stopped, tucked his long hair behind his ears, and put on what he thought was a friendly smile. "Excuse me... old man, where do they carry out the Cloud Float Current punishment on Birka Island? I'm quite curious..."
To his surprise, the villager ignored him completely, stepping around Yasa as he muttered:
"A wingless monster asking about the Cloud Float Current? Are you trying to test it yourself? What a fool."
Yasa, with his heightened senses from Observation Haki, couldn't possibly miss this mutter. His frozen smile vanished instantly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"So it's true," he thought. "Only by showing my strength and scaring people will they choose to communicate normally. In that case..."
He turned around, suddenly grabbing the old fisherman by the back of his neck. With a single motion, he lifted the man who weighed less than a hundred pounds off the ground.
"Don't want to talk? I've got ways to make you talk!" Yasa's lips curled into a sneer. He couldn't endure this impudent old man any longer. Dragging the man by his neck, he strode back to the beach.
"What do you think you're doing? You monster! Do you want to kill me? I'll report this to the village chief. Let me try the Cloud Float Current! Let go of me... ah!"
"Crack!"
"Shut up! Keep yapping and I'll slap you dead!"
Yasa's slap silenced the old fisherman. The man trembled under Yasa's cold, merciless gaze, now staring at him with cautious fear.
Back on the beach, Yasa casually tossed the old man onto the Island Cloud and said coldly:
"Tell me, where on the island was the Cloud Float Current executed?"