World Government. New Enies Lobby.
Rob Lucci, ever since the great battle with Pain and others, had returned to headquarters with the severely injured and dying Kaku, Jabra, and Nero.
It must be said that the life force of those trained by CP9 from a young age was indeed tenacious; they remarkably survived after suffering such severe injuries.
Kaku's broken nose could never be reattached or Rebirth. After recovering, Kaku made himself an iron mask that covered his face below the eyes and allowed him to breathe. He then began arduous Cultivation with a newfound determination, showing some progress after a month of training.
Jabra, on the other hand, had his severed hands fitted with a pair of steel claws, similar to Wolverine's retractable claws.
To adapt to the use of the iron claws and create new techniques, Jabra also diligently practiced in the time after his recovery, sparring with Kaku.
After Lucci returned to headquarters and reported to Akainu, he was depressed for a period. The severe injuries of his friends and the strength of his enemies made Lucci question his own power.
Fortunately, Nero's patient guidance and the timely recovery of Kaku from his severe injuries pulled Lucci out of his slump, reigniting his desire for revenge and prompting him to Cultivate diligently.
The World Government's higher-ups seemed to have forgotten about the existence of CP0, neither holding them accountable nor assigning new tasks, as if CP0 no longer existed.
All of this was within Lucci's expectations. Lucci and the others were not disheartened; they had already discussed it amongst themselves. After a period of Cultivation to strengthen their abilities, they would, under their personal names, seek trouble with the Akatsuki Organization to avenge the fallen CP0 members.
Time quickly passed as Lucci and the others diligently Cultivated. On this day, Lucci received a mysterious call and then took everyone out to sea. The World Government personnel did not pay attention to their specific destination.
Above the White-White Sea. Near Sky Island's Golden City, Shandora.
The great battle between Pain and Eneru was not yet over. Eneru, sealed by Pain within the cloud sphere, was not injured, but was unable to move due to the powerful gravity and the surrounding enclosed clouds.
At this moment, it was Human Path's turn to open a door inside the cloud sphere and attack Eneru. Eneru was utterly panicked to see the enemy appear from within the cloud sphere.
The continuous release of powerful techniques had left Eneru physically and mentally exhausted, and his stamina had severely declined. Eneru had not expected the enemy to appear unscathed within the cloud sphere and attack him after such high-intensity, high-density attacks from Raigo.
Although Mantra knew the enemy's attack trajectory, Eneru, unable to move, became a lamb to the slaughter.
Seeing Human Path about to touch Eneru's body, Eneru no longer cared about anything else. He used his last reserves of stamina to unleash a burst of violent lightning, and his entire body was covered in a layer of lightning armor, preventing Human Path from getting close.
Violent lightning shot out in all directions from within the cloud sphere. Finally, with a thunderous roar, the cloud sphere exploded from the inside out. Human Path, being too close, was instantly obliterated before he could open a door and hide in space, falling from mid-air into the clouds along with Eneru.
After falling into the clouds, Eneru struggled to stand with the help of his khakkhara, while Human Path's limbs were scattered on the ground.
Seeing this situation, Pain felt a surge of anger. Pain was not concerned about Human Path's 'death,' but rather whether the Door-Door Fruit would drift away from Human Path in this state.
Pain had no time to think. He quickly closed in on Eneru with several leaps, and Preta Path, under Pain's control, also attacked Eneru.
At this time, although Eneru had stood up, he was at the end of his rope, his entire body weak.
The overexertion of his power caused all of Eneru's abilities to slow down, and his body could no longer keep up with Mantra's predictions. Eneru had intended to use extreme speed to evade the enemy's attack, but this time he was truly a step too slow.
Preta Path appeared first above Eneru's head. Sealing Technique Absorption Seal directly unfolded and enveloped Eneru, making his attempt to use his abilities to retreat, which was already slowed by a second due to exhaustion, impossible as he was covered by the light screen.
Pain appeared right behind Preta Path in front of Eneru, using the black rods in his hand like kunai to stab Eneru.
Eneru struggled to block with his khakkhara, his movements completely unable to keep up with Mantra's predictions. After a few moves, Pain's black rod directly pierced his abdomen, causing Eneru to collapse to the ground, his body limp and powerless.
Pain was still not at ease. Black rods appeared one after another from his hand, pinning Eneru's limbs at crucial points to the clouds, making Eneru completely unable to move.
After doing all this, Pain quickly ran to Human Path's body to check if the Devil Fruit energy had dissipated. The final result made Pain breathe a sigh of relief.
The Devil Fruit energy within Human Path's body did not dissipate as it would after a living person's death; it remained obediently in Human Path's heart.
This discovery made Pain breathe a sigh of relief, but he also couldn't help but wonder, "Is there a difference in the carriers of Devil Fruits between inanimate objects and living beings?"
The energy not dissipating was a good thing. Pain no longer dwelled on this question; dealing with Eneru's problem was the most important task at hand.
To avoid any accidents, Pain did not have Preta Path remove Sealing Technique Absorption Seal. Although Eneru was pinned to the clouds by the black rods, Pain was not certain that Sea Stone rods condensed from Chakra would be effective.
Eneru's power was indeed formidable. To subdue Eneru, Pain had expended two-thirds of his Chakra. Even without considering his current body, his Chakra reserves in his previous life were astonishingly vast.
If the Tailed Beast's Chakra reserves ranked first, then Pain's would definitely be second. Yet, even with such formidable Chakra, Pain had expended two-thirds of it, which speaks volumes about Eneru's strength.
After confirming that Human Path's Devil Fruit energy had not dissipated, Pain slowly walked to Eneru. Although Human Path was now dismembered, that was not a problem.
Pain only needed to use Eneru's body to perform Naraka Path to solve the problem.
After Pain pinned him to the clouds, Eneru knew it was over. This time, he was truly knocked off his pedestal; there would be no more luck like two years ago, where he could survive defeat.
Eneru opened his tired eyes and looked at the enemy standing before him: eerie pupils, an indifferent expression. This was indeed the gaze reserved for the dead.
"To be able to defeat this god..."
"It shows that you are indeed very powerful..."
"But a god is immortal and eternal; you cannot kill me!"
"Yehahaha..." Eneru finished speaking and laughed wildly.
Eneru did not know that Pain intended to strip him of his abilities while killing him. He still harbored a small illusion that after being killed, his body's instinct would use 'electrotherapy' to stimulate his heart and revive him.
But it was clear that Eneru's plan failed this time. Pain would not give Eneru any chance, nor would Pain waste any words with Eneru.
Pain's left hand again produced a black rod, and his right hand was aimed at Eneru. In Eneru's horrified eyes, the black rod in Pain's left hand pierced Eneru's heart, and his right hand absorbed the Devil Fruit energy.
The powerful Eneru did not even have time to let out a scream before Pain ended his frog-in-the-well life.
Eneru's body instinctively tried to stimulate his heart with 'electrotherapy,' but he couldn't release it.
With Preta Path's Sealing Technique Absorption Seal combined with Pain's Sea Stone rods, Eneru's idea completely failed...