"Incredible, Enel! I never expected you to actually develop a new technique so quickly."
Enel, standing among the Marine soldiers on the deck, scratched his head sheepishly, though his eyes shone with excitement and fervor.
Today marked Enel's fifth day aboard the ship.
Finally, building upon the Rokushiki, Enel had developed a new move.
He named it the Lightning Shigan!
Now, all that was needed was Raleigh's approval, which would signify the completion of the task Raleigh had assigned to Enel.
Raleigh had long since heard Enel's voice and lazily descended from the second floor.
After yawning, he asked, "Are you ready, Enel?"
Enel's resolute face was filled with unwavering confidence as he nodded firmly.
"Raleigh-sama, please guide me."
Then, Enel assumed the Lightning Shigan stance, aiming at Raleigh who stood in place.
"Shigan: Heavenly Thunder Flash!"
With a fierce shout, Enel suddenly vanished from everyone's sight, leaving behind only a few crackling electric currents where he had been.
"My God, has Enel learned Soru too?"
"No wonder Commander Raleigh personally recruited this monster. It makes sense that he'd have such strength."
"But even though Enel is strong, he's no match for the Commander."
The Marine soldiers on deck murmured among themselves.
From their unanimous remarks, it was clear they didn't believe Enel could win this battle.
This was the trust the soldiers had developed in Raleigh through numerous battles.
'He's already learned Soru this quickly? Truly a monstrous talent,' Raleigh thought.
Though Raleigh praised Enel's astounding talent internally, the expression on his face was identical to Borsalino's back then—completely nonchalant while speaking words that should imply fear.
Crackle~ Crackle crackle~
Electric currents had already appeared around Raleigh, causing a slight numbness to spread through his body.
"I'm coming, Raleigh-sama."
Enel appeared directly in front of Raleigh, a finger gleaming with dazzling light aimed at Raleigh's chest.
"Try its power!"
The Lightning Shigan struck Raleigh's chest, sparks flying from the impact.
Enel seemed to have anticipated this outcome.
Though his attack proved ineffective against Raleigh's defense, a smile appeared on his face.
"Raleigh-sama, this move is called Lightning Shigan not simply because I added electricity to my finger, but because it possesses the speed of thunder itself."
Before Raleigh could respond, Enel's figure vanished from sight again.
Simultaneously, Enel's figure appeared behind Raleigh, as well as on both his left and right sides. All three figures unleashed the sparkling Lightning Shigan.
An ordinary person facing such a situation would likely have been defeated already.
Enel's three figures weren't mere illusions—although one was an afterimage, the other two were Enel's true body and a lightning clone.
Given Enel's strength, even a Shigan executed by his clone would be quite painful if it struck.
Facing Enel's lethal move, Raleigh merely smirked contemptuously.
Back in the East Blue, he had undergone similar training with Momonga many times, so Enel's deceptive tactics couldn't fool Raleigh, who was extremely familiar with this combat style.
Raleigh instantly maximized his Devil Fruit ability and Observation Haki, analyzing in the blink of an eye that the middle one was the fake.
Raleigh allowed the first illusion's attack to pass through him, then raised his right hand high, coating it with Armament Haki.
Facing the second lightning clone, Raleigh showed no mercy.
His iron fist, imbued with Conqueror's Haki, pierced through the air like lightning, erupting with a violent roar.
"Fist Bone: Star Hammer."
Dodging the clone on the left, Raleigh threw a heavy punch. The punch carried immense force, striking squarely into the clone's abdomen.
The clone's back bulged abruptly, partially turning into its elemental form.
After being sent flying by Raleigh's powerful blow, Enel's lightning clone could only lie on the deck, slowly dissipating into sparks.
Don't forget, Raleigh has another move!
With that, the final figure on Raleigh's right side was revealed to be Enel's true body.
Now dropping all pretense, Enel unleashed his full lightning power, electrifying the entire deck.
Without a word, Gion leaped outside the battlefield between Raleigh and Enel.
Gripping her sword, Konpira, tightly, she seemed ready to intervene at any moment to prevent the two from getting carried away and accidentally injuring the surrounding Marine spectators.
"Alright, all of you, look at how quickly Enel moves. How long have you been learning Rokushiki ? and yet none of you have mastered even half of them?"
Gion's words struck a nerve with the Marine soldiers on the deck.
To be honest, every soldier on this ship was far from mediocre in talent, but Enel was simply an anomaly.
Aiming at the final clone, Raleigh suddenly threw a punch. His fist, gleaming with a steely black sheen, clashed with Enel's Shigan.
"You've fallen for it, Raleigh-sama. The real body is here."
As Raleigh exchanged blows with the lightning clone, the true Enel abruptly emerged from behind it.
"This is the real killing move, Raleigh-sama."
The Lightning Shigan pierced effortlessly into Raleigh's chest, yet Enel's expression shifted strangely.
Instead of delight, Enel now wore a look of confusion.
The reason was simple: Enel realized the Raleigh before him was not the real one either.
"When?"
Recalling the cold smirk on Raleigh's lips before their clash, Enel understood.
It turned out that he wasn't the only one who knew how to use clones—Raleigh know how to.
"Let's end this here, Enel."
Raleigh's deep, charismatic voice echoed across the deck. A breeze swept by, and his figure appeared right in front of Enel.
"To be frank, your idea truly astonishes me. If you were facing an opponent with weaker Observation Haki than yours, they might never discover your true form until the very end."
"However, what dissatisfies me is your underutilization of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's potential."
"In my vision, combining Shigan with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit shouldn't yield such mediocre results. This is how it should truly manifest."
Raleigh didn't possess the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, so he utilized his Storm storm fruit ability instead.
He concentrated massive amounts of wind onto four fingers, then thrust them rapidly against a wooden stake on the deck.
Boom!
As the explosive sound echoed across the deck, the stake made of extremely hard Ironwood shattered from the center.
The movement was so swift that Enel's eyes couldn't even track Raleigh's figure.
"This is what I expect from you."