Under ordinary circumstances, the guards and priests scattering across the battlefield would have triggered Enel's wrath, and his ability would have unleashed divine punishment.
But right now, he had no time to deal with them.
The sudden surge of power just now forced him to transform into pure electricity to evade attacks.
Yet, as soon as he reformed his body, the black, patterned blade appeared in front of him.
Slash!
Hawkeye swung his sword vertically, then lifted it back above his head.
A vertical slash cut across Enel's body, leaving a deep gash that flickered with blue lightning.
"The power of thunder!"
Hawkeye's expression was grave as he wrapped his blade in Armament Haki, then struck diagonally with ferocity.
Enel raised a barrier to dodge the strike, thinking he could avoid it with elemental transformation, but this time, his Observation Haki screamed warnings.
If he tried to transform now, the blade would slice him clean in two.
Boom!
A thunderclap erupted. Lightning flashed violently, and Hawkeye swiftly retracted his blade, leaping back.
Below Enel, a charred crater had formed, arcs of electricity flickering within, before converging to reform his body.
"You've angered a god! Divine punishment shall befall you!"
Standing in the crater, Enel's eyes fixed sharply on Hawkeye.
Having eaten the Goro Goro no Mi and mastered the power of nature, he no longer felt the mortal threat that had frightened him moments ago.
That deadly threat had first sparked fear in him, followed by rage.
"Divine Punishment!"
Enel glared at Hawkeye, raising his arm, which transformed entirely into lightning. Streams of electricity extended toward Hawkeye.
Night, the black blade, was long but light in Hawkeye's hands.
He slashed through the incoming lightning with the Armament-wrapped blade, then charged forward toward the electrified Enel.
Before Hawkeye could reach him, Enel transformed into a flash of electricity, relocating in an instant.
Hawkeye swung a green slash, forcing Enel to maintain his elemental state, but once dodging the flying slash, Hawkeye was immediately before him, raising his blade high and slashing downward.
Thud!
A low drumbeat resounded, followed by the crackle of electricity and chirping of thunderbirds.
From the right shoulder drum on Enel's back, a blue thunderbird erupted, meeting Hawkeye's downward strike head-on.
Hawkeye stepped aside mid-air, evading the thunderbird and brushing past Enel.
Enel clenched his teeth and glared sideways at him, as a diagonal cut appeared across his chest.
So close… just a hair's breadth!
Enel countered, throwing a bolt of lightning without caring about the result, transforming into pure electricity to create distance from Hawkeye.
Hawkeye countered with a slice, shattering Enel's lightning cluster, then turned to face him at a distance.
Thud, thud, thud!
The drums sounded repeatedly.
Thunderbirds and thunder beasts emerged from the drums on Enel's back, charging at Hawkeye.
On the small ship, Don, having had Robin conjure a beach chair with her powers and now lying on it, observed the scene.
"This guy… has no guts."
Don rubbed his chin and glanced at Issho.
"Maybe he hasn't experienced this kind of fight… or he's never faced an opponent at Hawkeye's level."
Issho, observing the ongoing battle through his Observation Haki, replied thoughtfully, "But he's using his powers very well."
"Can Hawkeye win?"
Robin, standing behind Don, watched intently, curious.
Both Don and Issho turned to her with unusual expressions.
"With Enel's abilities… if he decides to flee, Hawkeye might not stop him. But for Hawkeye to defeat him?"
Don shook his head slightly.
Honestly, a swordsman is at a disadvantage against a natural Logia, especially one like the Goro Goro no Mi.
Enel's aptitude was high, and his Devil Fruit mastery profound, yet he lacked experience in battles of this scale.
And now, his opponent was the pinnacle swordsman of this world.
Currently, Hawkeye wasn't even taking him seriously. Or perhaps he was simply testing Enel out of curiosity.
Robin finally understood after Don's explanation: none of the three on the ship, including Hawkeye, were fighting seriously.
"60 million volts… Thunder Dragon!"
Enel's eyes widened as he slammed both hands on the drum behind him.
A furious surge of lightning shot forth, forming a roaring thunder dragon that barreled toward Hawkeye.
Hawkeye's eyes locked onto the incoming dragon as he leapt to meet it, sword in hand.
The Armament-wrapped blade clashed with the thunder dragon head-on.
The dragon was cut apart instantly, scattering into electricity, as Hawkeye flashed past.
Night's black blade now rested at Enel's neck.
Hawkeye frowned, clearly not yet satisfied.
He could sense Enel's advanced mastery of his powers, but also that Enel's combat experience was extremely limited.
Enel lacked the courage—or desire—for a life-or-death fight.
He could feel that if he transformed fully into lightning, even for a moment, his neck would be instantly severed.
His eyes fixed on the sword-wielding man.
Where had this guy come from?
"You're too weak."
Hawkeye looked at Enel twice and abandoned the idea of finishing him with a single strike.
Don likely had another purpose.
Enel's abilities were precious, with immense growth potential.
But for now, Hawkeye could only tease him.
Hawkeye's blade trembled, slamming a tremendous force against Enel's face, sending him flying into the previously cleaved stone of the divine throne.
Hawkeye retracted his sword and returned to the ship where Don waited.
Enel's face throbbed in pain from the collision, staring at Hawkeye's back.
"Bastard… how dare you…" he muttered, electricity flickering across his body.
Hawkeye didn't turn back, leaping onto the ship.
"Not satisfied yet?"
Seeing Hawkeye stop, Don guessed his intentions.
"His weaknesses are too many. Exploit one, and he'll lose."
Hawkeye shook his head.
Don glanced at Issho.
Boom!
Enel transformed again into a massive lightning sphere, arriving before the small ship in an instant.
Issho gripped his sword as the sphere plunged, colliding with the ground ahead of the ship.
END OF CHAPTER
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