"Run, everyone! Ocho Fleur!"
Robin's hands moved with precision, her expression firm as she faced Enel, who stood arrogantly atop a tree. His eyes looked down with disdain, as if she were nothing more than an insect beneath him.
Swish, swish…
Dozens of arms sprouted from behind him, wrapping around his neck, arms, and legs, twisting his body violently backward.
Crack!
With a sharp twist, Enel's body contorted unnaturally.
"Go now!" Robin shouted, her gaze still locked on him.
It looked as if she had finished him, but her eyes remained wary. She floated back slightly, her guard high.
"But what about you?!"
Behind her, Conis, clad in wax armor and gripping a wax cannon, pulled along the small Shandian girl, Aisa, who had run here against all sense. Conis's voice trembled as she called out, panic clear on her face.
Robin didn't waver, her tone firm but hurried.
"Leave quickly, don't worry about me. I'll handle this."
But she had no plan, no way to win. She was only buying time, gambling her life to delay Enel's advance.
Conis clenched her teeth, eyes flashing with sorrow, then tugged Aisa along. "Haso!" she called, forcing the girl to run with her toward the ruins.
On Sky Island, "Haso" was a farewell, a prayer for peace.
Sizzle!
"What a brutal move."
A crackling roar of thunder filled the air as Enel's body dissolved into pure lightning. In a flash, the limbs constraining him vanished, and his form restored without a trace of damage.
His lips curved, eyes narrowing at Robin. "Those strange arms… you're a Devil Fruit user too? Just like that monster."
He cast his gaze toward the unconscious McKinley lying at the base of the cliff.
"You're stronger than I expected. To defeat my chief officer with such powers, impressive for a woman. Was it with those arms?"
Robin's eyes narrowed slightly. "God of Sky Island, do you intend to avenge him?"
Enel threw his head back and laughed, his voice booming like thunder.
"Yehahahaha! That fool? He isn't worthy of God's grace."
His grin turned sharp, cold.
"My true goal isn't them. My target is you—the ones from the Blue Sea. The rest are nothing more than pawns."
Robin's frown deepened. She could sense it, the retaliation. Enel couldn't face Shirogai directly, so he chose the next cruelest path, tearing down his companions.
"You dare question God's will?" Enel's patience snapped. He raised his golden staff toward her, eyes flashing with arrogance.
"You don't need to know more. God has no interest in clever women. Twenty Million Volt, Discharge!"
Buzz!
Bolts of lightning screamed across the forest.
Robin's scream was drowned out as electricity surged through her body. Without Armament Haki, she was defenseless. The blast hurled her backward, her body twitching before collapsing, unconscious.
"That was easy," Enel sneered, grinning wickedly at her motionless form. "This is divine power. The gap between gods and mortals. The second one falls."
"Got it, got it."
A calm voice echoed beside Robin.
Enel's eyes darkened. There, squatting beside her, was Shirogai Yamikuro, carefully feeding Robin a healing mushroom, as if this were nothing more than a casual chore.
"You dare treat this God as a tool to toughen your crew?" Enel growled, his voice heavy with fury. He had already seen through Shirogai's game.
Shirogai only smirked faintly, his eyes cool and unbothered. "God, go and finish your divine mission. There are still five more waiting."
Enel clicked his tongue, annoyed at the nonchalance. Without another word, his body flashed into lightning, vanishing deep into the forest.
…
Meanwhile, the Going Merry drifted along the sea of clouds.
"Seriously, everyone else is off adventuring, and I'm stuck here guarding the Merry," Usopp muttered, hammer in hand as he repaired a broken section of the ship. His voice was heavy with complaint.
"Isn't that because you're the only one who knows how to repair a ship?" Nami countered, not looking up as she flipped through documents about Jaya, searching for any trace of Gold City.
Gan Fall, standing nearby with his injuries still fresh, stroked his beard and looked at her book with admiration.
"There are truly many books below the Blue Sea. On Sky Island, very few remain preserved."
He was here as their temporary bodyguard until they met up with the Shandians again.
The entrance to God's Island was close, where the Wax World lay waiting.
"Miss Nami, careful!"
Sanji stepped out of the kitchen, a tray of drinks in hand, when his eyes caught something in the distance. His pupils shrank. In the same instant, he dropped the tray and lashed out with his right foot.
"Neck Shot!"
The sudden kick cracked against empty air above the deck railing.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Usopp blinked in confusion.
"Sanji, who are you fighting?" Nami demanded.
But before they could blink, a crackle of lightning split the air. A tall, shirtless figure materialized, drums upon his back, golden staff in hand.
Enel.
"Another Blue Sea rat who knows Mantra?" he mused, his gaze sliding to Sanji. "But you haven't grasped true power yet. Kicks like those won't reach God."
He ignored Sanji, his cold eyes turning to Gan Fall.
"Yehahahaha! It has been six years, hasn't it? Former Old God, Gan Fall."
Gan Fall's face turned grim, his teeth clenched. "Enel!"
Sanji's foot had only hit an illusion. The lightning dispersed, leaving nothing.
"Damn it! Elementalization!" Sanji growled, flames of determination sparking in his eyes. "Loin Shot!"
He launched another kick, striking through Enel's lightning form. But again, no damage. Only a numbing sting crawled up his leg.
"Neck Shot, Chest Shot, Leg Shot, Shoulder Tenderloin Shot!"
Move after move, Sanji unleashed a storm of kicks. His strikes carried all the fury of a man defending his nakama.
But without Armament Haki, none of them landed.
"You're far too noisy."
Enel extended a finger toward him, his voice dripping arrogance.
"Silence, Blue Sea insect. Twenty Million Volt, Discharge!"
Crack!
"Damn it, why can't I use Armament Haki?!" Sanji roared, refusing to move. Behind him stood Nami and Usopp, terrified and defenseless. He wouldn't back down.
Lightning swallowed him whole.
"Ahhhh!"
His body convulsed violently before crashing onto the deck, smoke rising from his charred clothes.
"Sanji!!!"
Nami and Usopp rushed to his side despite their terror. Nami pressed her ear to his chest, relief washing over her face.
"He's still alive!"
"That's good!" Usopp echoed, trembling but relieved.
Enel looked down, a sinister grin curling on his lips. "The third one falls. Still, that cook resisted longer than expected. His body endured God's Twenty Million Volt discharge and remained conscious… impressive."
As if to prove him wrong, Sanji's hand twitched.
"Cough… cough…"
His charred eyes opened weakly, glaring at Enel with unyielding resolve.
"You… said… what?"
Enel blinked in surprise, his grin widening. "Oh? You can still stand?"
____
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