"Don't!"
Just as Gan Fall was reminiscing about Roger, Don's voice cut through the air from the small ship being blasted by lightning above the clouds.
"You pull that move here, and you'll blow a hole straight through Skypiea."
Issho paused mid-action and turned toward him.
"You think this old man would drop a meteor here?"
His tone carried an edge of irritation.
"Don't treat me like some fool."
He drew his blade, Gambler's Flame, and unleashed a slash infused with crushing gravity.
The thick layer of clouds above them tore open, forming a gaping hole that quickly spread wider and wider. The thunderclouds dissipated in an instant—yet, despite their disappearance, the lightning bolts did not cease.
"This guy's Devil Fruit ability is special," Don explained. "He can channel natural lightning, but even without thunderclouds, he can still create and command it himself."
"So his mastery over his fruit is already at an extremely high level," Hawkeye said gravely.
Just imagining someone capable of summoning that scale of lightning on their own made it clear how deeply this power had been developed.
"But creating lightning from nothing must drain him heavily," Robin added softly.
To her, such attacks were beyond defense—but the three men on the ship could handle them with ease.
"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit of the Logia class… truly terrifying," Issho muttered, sheathing his sword. He had no intention of summoning a meteor now.
Don was right—doing so would devastate Skypiea's fragile ecosystem. The island might even vanish entirely.
Flame and lightning collided violently above the clouds, shaking the heavens with deafening explosions.
Don's Observation Haki stayed locked onto Enel, stationed on the island of Upper Yard. He was already thinking about what to do with him.
Even if he faced Enel alone, Don was confident he could win. But he couldn't just let the self-proclaimed god wander off to his "Fairy Vearth."
Besides, Enel's Ark Maxim was probably still under construction.
Killing him would be wasteful—after all, eliminating a Logia user like this one would be a shame.
As lightning fell around him, Don blocked each bolt effortlessly, fire roaring beneath the ship as it propelled them higher.
But knowing Enel's pride, he wouldn't yield easily.
Beating him once might not even work.
Don glanced at Issho. Recruiting him like they did Issho? Not likely.
After a moment of thought, Don shook his head.
Fine—if talk won't work, he'd just beat him until it did. Eventually, he'd listen.
Resolved, Don looked toward the island ahead—the only one with soil in the sky.
Centuries ago, it had been blasted upward from Jaya Island by a knock-up stream, and since then, the Skypieans and Shandians had fought endlessly over it.
Even when Enel appeared, the war hadn't stopped.
To the sky dwellers, an island with soil was sacred.
That's why Enel took it—and declared it God's Island, his divine domain.
At that very moment, Enel was in a foul mood.
A short while ago, his Mantra—his Observation Haki—had sensed someone from a great distance watching him. He could feel it distinctly, yet he couldn't locate the observer.
Irritated, he began to rain thunder down upon the rebels below, treating the slaughter as amusement.
But now, his Mantra detected something new
a ship, and several people aboard.
Enel immediately knew it was them—the ones who had dared to observe him.
Because that same unsettling gaze had returned.
"They're strong," he muttered, watching his bolts get sliced apart midair.
But his confidence didn't waver.
After all, he was God.
The one who wielded thunder—power that only a god should command.
To Enel, these intruders would make fine new servants.
After all, when his Ark Maxim was finished, he'd need soldiers to conquer the endless Vearth below.
His current priests were far too weak.
And if better ones had arrived, he saw no reason to hesitate.
With smug satisfaction, Enel watched the approaching ship through the thinning clouds. The lightning ceased. He wanted to see them.
The vessel descended toward Upper Yard. Enel lounged back in his throne, digging idly in his ear as his priests shouted at the newcomers.
"This is God Enel! Kneel before him or suffer divine punishment!"
Before Don could speak, Hawkeye moved.
"Shing!"
A flash of emerald light shot across the sky—his slash cleaved through the air and struck Enel's throne.
The so-called god was sliced clean in half.
Lightning crackled from the wound before his body reconnected, but the throne beneath him split apart, shattering with a crash.
In the next instant, Enel's form vanished in a burst of light.
He reappeared directly in front of Hawkeye, lightning flickering on his fingertips as he jabbed forward
Only for Hawkeye's Yoru to swing up, unleashing a hundred blinding strikes in an instant.
Enel's body burst apart into pure lightning again, reforming near the ship's bow.
A single bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
If he'd moved even a fraction slower, he would've been cut down.
That feeling—he hadn't known it since gaining his divine power.
This man was dangerous.
"Yehahaha! I am GOD!" Enel bellowed.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a crushing weight slammed him into the ground, cracking the stone beneath him.
It was Issho's gravity.
Enel's eyes widened before his body exploded into lightning again.
"Who's next?" Don asked casually, glancing at his two allies.
"I'll take him first," Hawkeye said coolly, leaping from the ship as Enel's form reconstituted before him.
The priests and soldiers around them scattered in terror.
What was happening?
Could these men be… other gods?
Their god—Enel—was being overwhelmed.
END OF CHAPTER
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