"Whoosh!"
Zoro spun midair, his three swords coated in Armament Haki. Like a raging whirlwind, he slashed fiercely toward Enel, who stood waiting.
"Three-Sword Style: Tornado!"
"What is this? That Armament Haki the monster spoke of?" Enel's sharp instincts warned him—those blades could hurt him.
"Hmph, useless!"
With a single hand, Enel gripped his golden staff. Lightning crackled violently as he thrust it forward.
"Lightning Rod: Trident!"
Crack!
The staff transformed into a gleaming trident, intercepting the weakest point of Zoro's Tornado slash. With one precise strike, he shattered its momentum completely.
"Tch. That was top-tier Observation Haki," Zoro muttered, narrowly dodging the follow-up thrust. His bandana slid from his arm to his head, eyes sharpening.
"Looks like normal attacks won't work on you. Guess I'll have to finish this quickly."
"Ignorant Blue Sea dweller," Enel sneered. "Do you think you're like that monster?" He held back his true power, testing Zoro's limits. So far, the swordsman was nothing special.
With disdain, Enel's body flashed into lightning. "One move is enough to end you."
Crackle!
In a streak of silver-white bolts, Enel appeared behind Zoro, his trident aimed for the swordsman's spine.
"Three-Sword Style: Thunder Sever!"
Zoro had already predicted the movement. With a swift twist, two blades swung behind him.
Clang!
Yubashiri and Sandai Kitetsu crossed in an X, blocking the trident.
"Do you think your Observation Haki can surpass mine, the foresight of a god?" Enel mocked, his hand surging with power. "Two Hundred Million Volts: Discharge!"
Blue-white lightning blazed through the trident into Zoro's swords, and then into Zoro himself.
"Ahhh!" Zoro roared, his body trembling uncontrollably under the violent surge. Smoke curled from his hands as his body convulsed like roasted flesh.
"Fall, Blue Sea fool. This is the price of challenging a god." Enel smirked, watching him collapse.
"The first one… finished." Enel turned, already locking onto his next target. "A woman walking alone. Perfect."
Whoosh!
But he stopped suddenly, frowning. A blade was planted in the ground where he had just stood.
"Cough, cough… my bad." Zoro staggered upright, wiping ash from his face. His grip tightened around Sandai Kitetsu. "Guess I let you think I was down. How embarrassing."
He raised Wado Ichimonji between his teeth, shifted Yubashiri in his right hand, and his eyes blazed with resolve.
"One life, thirty-six vexations. Two lives, seventy-two vexations. Three lives… one hundred and eight vexations."
Enel raised an eyebrow, amused. "Blue Sea man, what nonsense are you chanting?"
Zoro took a heavy step, unleashing all three swords at once.
"Three-Sword Style: One Hundred and Eight Calamity Phoenix!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three sharp waves of blue slashes carved through the air, merging into a phoenix-shaped arc of energy that roared forward, sealing off Enel's escape routes.
"Interesting." Enel chuckled, tapping one of the taiko drums on his back. "Thirty Million Volts: Thunderbird!"
Crackle!
A lightning bird screeched forth, colliding with the phoenix slash midair. The phoenix shattered under the thunderbird's might, and the remaining lightning beast dove at Zoro.
"Damn it!" Zoro leapt aside, barely evading as the thunderbird struck the ground.
Boom!
The impact exploded into a massive crater, dust and stone flying.
"So much destructive power…" Zoro muttered, eyes narrowing.
"Troublesome indeed," Enel's voice echoed behind him.
Zoro's eyes widened. "Damn it, I dropped my Observation Haki for a moment!"
Enel's hand clamped onto his shoulder, a cruel grin spreading. "This time, you won't rise again. One Billion Volts: Discharge!"
Lightning surged violently, engulfing Zoro in a storm of blinding light. His body convulsed, his grip trembling… yet the three swords never fell.
When the lightning finally faded, Zoro stood there smoking, body charred and steaming, but still on his feet. His furious eyes glared at the ground, his swords planted firmly for support.
"Heh," Enel scoffed, unimpressed. "Even after fainting, you dare defy me? How arrogant."
He jabbed his trident toward Zoro's chest.
Clang!
To his shock, Zoro's body moved on instinct. Both swords swung upward, coated in Armament Haki, slicing the trident into three pieces.
"You…" Enel's eyes burned with rage. "You dare destroy a god's weapon? Death sentence!"
He gripped the broken staff, reforming it into a golden spear, thrusting mercilessly at Zoro's heart—
"Cough."
A faint sound stopped him.
Enel froze, his spear tip trembling just two fingers from Zoro's chest. Slowly, he turned.
There sat Shirogai Yamikuro on a nearby stone, watching with a calm smile.
"He destroyed this god's weapon!" Enel snarled.
"Oh, reforge it," Shirogai said lazily. "For someone with the Goro Goro no Mi, that's hardly difficult."
"..."
Face dark, Enel re-melted the broken pieces into a golden staff once more.
"This is the first one," Enel muttered coldly, glaring at Shirogai. "Remember your promise."
"Of course," Shirogai replied smoothly.
Crackle!
Enel's body dissolved into lightning, vanishing into the sky.
Shirogai's gaze fell on Zoro's unconscious, battered form. A faint smile curved his lips. "Perhaps after fighting Enel, you'll be willing to train inside the [Dark Confinement Room] for a while."
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