"Oh? An ability user from the Blue Sea who actually dodged that last move?"
Enel clutched Conis's neck, turning his head to look down disdainfully at Luffy's incoming fist.
He smirked. "Pathetic. You think you can hit a God?"
Enel tilted his head slightly, and the rubbery punch whooshed past him harmlessly.
"Let her go!" Luffy shouted, stretching his arms back and hurling them forward with fury. "Gum-Gum Gatling!"
"Hmph, you think that can touch me?" Enel sneered.
But to his shock—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A storm of fists slammed into him. Enel's smirk twisted into disbelief as the blows connected, sending him crashing into the ruins below.
"Pfft… you can actually touch me?" he muttered before the rubble buried him completely.
"Cough… cough…"
Conis collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
Aisa rushed from her hiding place and supported her. "Conis! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Let's get out of here!"
They hurried away as thunder rolled above them.
Suddenly—
Boom!
The ruins erupted, lightning bursting forth as Enel rose into the air in a blinding flash of silver-white electricity.
"To touch this God's true body… it seems you're no ordinary mortal."
Hovering midair, Enel's cold eyes focused on Luffy. "Pray to your God, for you've angered me."
Luffy looked up, glaring back with fire in his eyes. "God? What right do you have to call yourself that!"
"Right?" Enel chuckled darkly and vanished in a streak of lightning.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Luffy, his hand gripping the boy's head. "Because I can take your life with ease. Twenty Million Volt Discharge!"
Zzzzzzt!
Electricity surged violently through Luffy's body as he screamed in pain.
Conis turned back in horror. "Luffy!!!"
Enel laughed maniacally. "Yeah hahahaha! That's it! Only screams and fear suit a God's domain!"
The lightning faded… and what Enel saw left him speechless.
"What!?"
Luffy stood there, unharmed, rubbing his eyes. "My eyes hurt so much!"
"You… how are you unharmed!?" Enel stammered.
"You ambushed me with a bright flash! That's cheating, you jerk!" Luffy yelled. "Gum-Gum Rocket!"
Bang!
His fist connected with Enel's chin, launching the self-proclaimed God skyward.
"You think you can destroy Conis's home? Destroy the whole Sky Island!?" Luffy shouted, following up with another barrage. "Gum-Gum Gatling!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The relentless punches rained down, battering Enel midair until his composure shattered.
How could this be?
How could a God be beaten down by a man from the Blue Sea?
For the first time, doubt filled Enel's heart.
Boom!
Luffy's final strike hurled him upward, his body spinning. From above, Enel spotted another figure watching from the trees—a man with dark eyes and a faint smile.
That man was Shirogai, leaning against a tall tree trunk.
"Watching a God's show from there?" Enel growled. "This God is the strongest in the world!"
Enel's body sparked violently as he struck one of the golden drums on his back. "Thirty Million Volt Thor!"
A colossal thunderbird burst forth from the storm clouds, shrieking as it dove at Luffy.
Enel struck another drum, shouting, "Thirty Million Volt Thunder Beast!"
A massive wolf of lightning emerged beside the thunderbird, charging straight toward Luffy.
Luffy's eyes widened. "The lightning turned into a bird and a wolf!?"
Boom!
The two beasts collided with Luffy, engulfing the area in blinding light and deafening thunder.
Enel landed gracefully, sneering. "This time, you won't stand up."
But then—
A voice echoed from within the lightning storm. "What are all these things!?"
Enel's eyes widened as Luffy jumped out, completely unharmed. "Gum-Gum Axe!"
Enel barely avoided it, turning into lightning once more.
Bang!
Luffy's attack struck the cloud-ground, splitting it open.
Conis and Aisa gasped in disbelief from afar.
"Luffy can ignore Enel's divine power?" Conis whispered.
Shirogai chuckled quietly beneath the tree. "Gods, huh… Thunder God, Sun God…"
His arm twisted and morphed, reshaping into a gleaming submachine gun. A faint green mask with a haunting smile formed on his face.
"Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan—Nika Model. The Sun God, a warrior of freedom…" Shirogai murmured, then smirked. "Then what am I? Human-Human Fruit, Mythical Zoan—Mask Model. A Demon's parody of laughter?"
He tilted his head back and laughed softly.
Meanwhile, Enel stood atop a ruined wall, glaring at Luffy. "Blue Sea pirate boy, what's your name?"
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy," the Straw Hat replied with pride. "A pirate, and a Rubber Man who ate the Rubber Fruit!"
"Rubber?" Enel frowned. "What's that?"
"There are no rubber trees in the sky, huh?" Luffy said, grinning. "Rubber is rubber, idiot!"
Enel's eye twitched.
And somewhere in the distance, Shirogai smiled faintly—watching two forces of nature clash under the endless lightning.
___
Happy New month