When the system was activated three years ago, the starter pack contained three rewards: the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Big Eater, and Innate Divine Strength.
Initially, Seven thought,
The strongest reward should be the Rumble-Rumble Fruit; after all, it is a standout among Logia Devil Fruits, a top-tier existence.
It wasn't until his recent successive clashes with Giant King Harald and Loki that Seven finally realized the true value of Innate Divine Strength.
[Innate Divine Strength: Your strength is a bit immense]
No matter who you encounter, you are a level above them.
This is clearly a conceptual-level passive ability.
The giant thunder hand behind him moved as easily as his own arm, as if it were a part of Seven's body.
Seven raised one hand high, and the giant hand behind him, gripping the handle of Iron Thunder, followed suit, raising it high like a divine manifestation.
[Lightning Squirrel, come with me!]
Iron Thunder was utterly dazed; he never imagined this Little White Hair could transform lightning into a giant hand and lift him up so effortlessly.
[Put me down quickly!]
[I won't!]
There was no reason to let go of a treasure once it was in hand; that didn't align with the principles Seven always upheld. If he let go rashly, wouldn't he be betraying his own heart?
Seven was a man whose actions matched his words; he would never make a choice that went against his heart.
Iron Thunder had no choice but to struggle, transforming back into a Lightning Squirrel over ten meters tall, stammering for a long time.
[I... I cannot leave Elbaf. My duty is to guard this Devil Fruit.]
Damn it, Seven knew it would be like this.
It took a lot of effort to invite Mihawk to form the pirate crew, and the same was true later when inviting Fujitora, Kuma, and Ginny on board.
Golden Lion was even more of a hassle.
Now, Iron Thunder's trial had begun.
[Then what if I take it with me?]
The giant squirrel shook its head repeatedly.
[No, no, this is Elbaf's national treasure. Only an Elbafian can consume it.]
[If you act recklessly, I'll ignore you.]
Before successfully tricking someone onto his ship, Seven was extremely patient. Hearing these words—
He immediately thought of a way to have the best of both worlds: he could take Iron Thunder away without wasting this Devil Fruit known as a national treasure.
He would continue to trick Loki into joining the crew.
In this way, he could barely achieve his goal of taking everything: Iron Thunder would be his, and so would Loki... [Fine, I understand.]
Seven floated in mid-air and rubbed the Lightning Squirrel's round belly a couple of times.
The fleshy sensation from his palms made Seven beam with joy; it would surely be very comfortable to sleep on in the future. Unfortunately, the Lightning Squirrel was too tall and could only sleep on the deck.
[I'll come see you again tomorrow.]
Watching Seven disappear, Iron Thunder breathed a long sigh of relief. The reason he hadn't taken the initiative to attack earlier was precisely because he sensed the presence of musou isshin.
That was a divine weapon even stronger than himself.
A guy who could make musou isshin follow him naturally wouldn't be too bad. Rather than being pummeled by the other party, it was better to honestly play dumb.
Who would have thought that Little White Hair could communicate with them!
What a terrifying guy.
In the past, he could use the excuse that the other person couldn't lift him, but now that excuse had failed.
But if he followed Little White Hair... the guy could play with lightning and so could he. There was a natural sense of compatibility, especially since the guy possessed his good friend musou isshin.
At least the name of the divine weapon wouldn't be buried because of it.
Then... what about this fruit? Iron Thunder sat by the treasure chest, lost in thought.
On the other side, Seven met up with his crew members.
"Everyone, I just found a sparring partner. In a few days, I'll bring that guy over, and we'll train here for a while."
For a cynical, rebellious kid like Loki, one couldn't use normal methods to win him over, especially since Loki belonged to the warlike Giant Race.
Then he would use another method:
Developing real feelings through combat.
If one day didn't work, then a month; if a month didn't work, then three months. There would eventually be a day when real feelings were forged through battle.
Kuma and Ginny's combat power couldn't match Loki's, so having Seven and Mihawk as Loki's opponents should be most appropriate.
Regardless, there wasn't anything particularly urgent to do in the New World during this time. Compared to a Loki with at least Emperor-level combat potential,
Searching for pure gold could wait a day or two.
Currently, Kaido was lying low on Onigashima, biding his time and using both overt and covert schemes to take over Wano Country, while Big Mom was busy creating people and things in Totto Land.
The little Flamingo in the North Blue could continue to wait.
As for the dragon-dragon fruit in Vegapunk's hands on Punk Hazard, Seven had already notified Old Vegapunk to keep it.
Golden Lion Shiki held an unlit cigar in his mouth: "Who is it? To receive such high praise from you."
Once upon a time, Golden Lion had followed Rocks to visit Elbaf more than once.
The only guy in all of Elbaf who seemed worthy of Beelzebul's recognition was Giant King Harald; everyone else was simply unworthy.
"Senior, you should know him."
"The Giant King's son, Loki—the big fellow who covers his eyes with Supreme Grade Bandages."
Golden Lion suddenly understood.
"So it's him. He possesses the bloodline of the Ancient Giant Race... he's a little fellow with quite a temper. Back then, Rocks even gave him a beating."
"Gave him a beating?" Seven asked knowingly, providing emotional value to Golden Lion.
"Yeah." Golden Lion grinned.
"He insisted on joining the Rocks Pirates, but Rocks only wanted to invite Harald on board, so he gave him a beating."
"Is that kid quite strong now?"
The power of the Ancient Giant Race bloodline was vividly demonstrated in Giant King Harald, and Loki had also inherited this formidable bloodline.
But exactly how strong he had become, Golden Lion didn't have a clear concept for the moment.
Seven spoke after a brief comparison.
"He should be stronger than Mihawk; as for comparing him to you, Senior, it's hard to say."
Golden Lion shouted exasperatedly: "Just say it directly—is he your match or not?"
Seven spread his hands.
"I only sparred with Loki for three strikes. The quality of the weapon he held was too poor; it was shattered by my three strikes."
Loki's strength lay in his Ancient Giant Race bloodline, his consumption of Elbaf's legendary devil fruit, and Iron Thunder, who had eaten a Mythical Zoan.
The trinity made him extremely powerful overall.
Currently, the latter two conditions were not yet met. Especially since there was an 80% chance Iron Thunder would be tricked away by Seven, Loki's strength would take a slight hit.
However, after consuming the legendary fruit, Loki would still become the most powerful guy in Elbaf.
Between Iron Thunder and that fruit, Seven chose to follow his inner collector's habit: collecting all little fellows who could discharge electricity.
The Discharging Duck was too young; Seven estimated it was a mutated species recently improved by the Fart King, Andigo.
Thundercloud Zeus... when he retook Inazuma, the Big Mom Pirates would most likely go to support the Beasts Pirates. At that time, he would deal with Big Mom as well.
To avoid frequent harassment of various kinds in the future.
"Hmph, I want to see just how far that little fellow from back then has grown."
Golden Lion was determined to prove himself as the Perfect Lion.
"Don't you guys try to snatch him from me, especially you, Captain—you're not allowed to use your Captain's privilege."
Seven shrugged: "Naturally not."
But if the opponent made the first move and locked onto a target, then it wouldn't be up to you guys.