178 Chapter 178: Nimbus's Abilities

"What are you doing, Captain?" Asked Trenza curiously as she cleaned her forehead and third eye with sterilized, boiled water by dipping a rag in it, whipping the blood and whatnot off.

"Now that I've finally got a clear head, it's time to learn more about my new pal, Nimbus. I like having control over my own abilities, which means learning what Nimbus can and can't do; if it can only fly, then this thing is useless, as I can already do that." Replied Diddy lightly while hanging upside down on a tree as he looked at Nimbus, which was floating right before his face.

"Clear mind? What are you talking about?" Asked Trenza curiously with a raised eyebrow as she gave Diddy a weird look, though he simply ignored her, causing her to huff in annoyance before looking away.

Gazing at Nimbus floating before me, I had no idea what to expect of its capabilities; I mean, devil fruits exist, for all I know, this cloud could turn back time; granted, I'd bet my life it can't. Since I didn't know what Nimbus could do, I started to think about everything clouds could do and went from there.

'Clouds can conduct electricity; they are formless, practically weightless, and can never be destroyed; what else? They can apparently enter a person's body.' Mused Diddy with a slight frown as he gazed at Nimbus before grabbing it with his hand, which defeated the concept of a cloud being formless.

Starting with lightning, I used a little bit of electricity and sent it into Nimbus, causing lightning to arc throughout its body; giving it my best shot, I pointed Nimbus at a random tree in the distance, intending to launch the little bit of lightning I had put into the cloud, and after some concentrating, I managed to succeed in doing so. Launching the bolt of lightning towards the tree, instead of a small lightning bolt, there was a large, thick lightning bolt, which turned the entire tree into charcoal, shocking Trenza as she leaped in fear.

"What was that? Enemy attack?" Questioned Trenza cautiously as she unholstered her pistols and gazed at her surroundings, only to spot a burnt tree, causing her to warily gaze at the sky.

"Enel didn't do that, I did." Said Diddy lightly with widened eyes as he hopped off the branch and landed on the ground before approaching the burnt tree.

"Eh, you did, Captain? Why did you do that? Was there actually an enemy attack?" Asked Trenza lightly, following after Diddy while holstering her pistols, standing beside him as the two gazed at the tree.

"I didn't mean to do that; I only meant to destroy a branch." Muttered Diddy with a slight frown as he tapped on the tree before glancing at Nimbus in his hand, causing him to smirk slightly.

"You intended to destroy a single branch, but you ended up burning the entire tree. I'm starting to doubt Freyja's claim that you train your lightning abilities every day, Captain." Remarked Trenza skeptically with a raised eyebrow as she walked around the tree before eyeing Diddy, who clicked his tongue before throwing Nimbus at her, which behaved just like a cloud and went right through her.

"Tsk, I had used my electricity through Nimbus, and I had only used a little bit, just enough to burn a branch, and maybe a little bit more; however, it definitely wasn't enough to burn an entire tree." Stated Diddy lightly as he outstretched his hand toward Nimbus, causing it to fly right back to him, passing back through Trenza along the way.

"If that's true, your cloud can strengthen your lightning? That's awesome! I want something to strengthen my pistol." Said Trenza with slightly widened eyes as she approached Diddy and inspected Nimbus, floating right on the palm of his hand.

"You've already got Sunaipu, a supposed cursed pistol, first; learn how to draw the full strength out of that before asking for something stronger." Remarked Diddy as he glanced at Trenza, causing her to lightly pout before sighing and nodding.

"Yeah, you're right, Captain. If Sunaipu is really a cursed weapon, there is probably something unique about it that makes it much stronger compared to the average pistol." Said Trenza with a nod as she grabbed Sunaipu from her holster and intently looked at it before firing at an insect far off into the distance, clipping just its wings.

"Woah, I've always been a great Marksman, but I haven't always been that good, have I?" Added Trenza quietly in shock as she looked down at Sunaipu before placing her hand atop her third eye.

Raising my eyebrow at Trenza's excellent shot, I glanced at her before shrugging my arms and walking away. I was going to continue testing Nimbus for a bit before heading back to the ruins, which was only about ten meters away since Trenza and I were on the edge of the forest.

'Tsk, stupid! Tornadoes and hurricanes! Hehe, maybe Nimbus is much stronger than I'm led to believe.' Thought Diddy with a wicked smile as he gazed at Nimbus in his hand, which sparked with lightning that arched around its body while he headed slightly deeper into the forest.

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Holding Nimbus in my hand, I gazed at my surroundings, which were destroyed and filled with burnt trees, before nodding my head in satisfaction; having had my fill of testing for right now, I had Nimbus return into my body as I turned around and headed out of the forest.

'That was quite productive; not only did I learn that Nimbus can strengthen my lightning, but I can also morph its shape! Though I'm rather inept regarding the latter, the former, on the other hand is really easy to do since I don't even have to think about it.' Pondered Diddy with a thoughtful nod as he exited from the forest, only to see Trenaz in the distance looking at herself in the reflection of the lake.

"Hehe, I'm quite glad we came here; experiencing that pain was well worth the reward." Muttered Diddy with a feral grin as he licked his lips in excitement, his words causing Trenza to nervously look at him.

"H-hey, Captain; c-can I ask you something?" Asked Trenza lightly as she stood up while dusting her clothes off before approaching Diddy, who just folded his arms.

"I'm in a great mood, so ask away; I'll gladly answer this stupid question you're about to ask." Replied Diddy with a slight smirk as he looked at Trenza, who blankly stared at him.

"Stupid? How do you even know it's going to be stupid? Wait, let me guess, your instincts, Captain?" Asked Trenza in confusion, only to sport the driest expression ever as she eyed Diddy, who nodded, causing her to sigh while shaking her head.

"Haa, whatever; anyways, I-I was going to ask if you think I looked uglier? You're the only one I know who'll give me an honest response besides Janet, and well, she's not here, so, d-do you think I should wear a bandana or something?" Added Trenza nervously as she awkwardly fidgeted while refusing to make eye contact with Diddy, which saved her from seeing the bored look on his face.

"Hmph, see, I told you it was a stupid question; I don't really care what you look like, Trenza; all that matters to me is your strength. If you're strong, I don't care if you look like a literal walking ass." Remarked Diddy with a huff as he rolled his eyes before walking forward while shaking his head, passing Trenza, who stopped him by grabbing his hand.

"I-I'm being serious Captain; i-if you had to give me an honest answer, d-do I look uglier?" Asked Trenza seriously in nervousness as she gazed into Diddy's beastly eyes, watching as his eyes scanned her body.

"No, you're not uglier, Trenza; if anything, you're better looking now. As I've said before, the only thing good about you appearance-wise was your eyes; now, instead of only having two, I've got three to look at. That sounds like an improvement to me unless you can't do simple math, but you're not Freyja, so you probably can." Replied Diddy with furrowed brows as he looked at Trenza's three eyes before yanking his arm back and turning around, walking toward the city.

"W-Well, that helped. I-I think." Muttered Trenza with a light blush as she turned around and looked at herself in the lake, only to see a massive crocodile.

"C-C-CAPTAIN!!" Yelled Trenza in fear as she ran towards him while the crocodile emerged from the river and chased after her.

Grumbling under my breath, I summoned Nimbus from my body and held it in my hand before charging it a decent amount of lightning; turning around, I eyed the giant crocodile chasing Trenza before launching possibly the biggest lightning bolt I've ever created, well, excluding when I transform into sulong.

The crocodile didn't even have a chance to react before it was blasted with the massive lightning bolt, which fried its entire body, causing it to slump dead on the ground while steam emerged from its mouth.

"Heh, I am a little hungry; that deer didn't fill me up." Muttered Diddy with a grin as he smelled the air, inhaling the delectable scent wafting from the cooked corpse.

"T-Thanks, Captain." Said Trenza while lying on the ground, only to see Diddy walk right past her and head towards the crocodile before he cut a chunk of its body out.

"Yeap, thoroughly cooked." Remarked Diddy with a smirk as he took a bite, the steaming meat sinking right into his razor-sharp teeth.