Boom.
A deafening explosion erupted as terrifying force swept across the battlefield. Rows of mangroves snapped apart, their massive trunks splintering as the ground beneath them sank violently. Thunderbolts danced wildly within the thick black smoke, turning the scene into pure chaos.
"Did he succeed?"
The surrounding Marines stared intently at the center of the destruction, eyes locked on the slowly dispersing dust.
"How is that even possible…"
Several Marines widened their eyes, throats tightening as they swallowed nervously.
The ground had sunk deeply, riddled with countless cracks. Broken chunks of earth curled upward like shattered scales. At the very center of the crater, Ethan was bent forward, his head tilted slightly, veins bulging along his massive arm.
His right hand was firmly clamped around Enel's lightning-wreathed leg.
The sight alone was overwhelming.
That kick had come from the Marines' strongest Admiral.
And yet, it had been stopped.
Ethan slowly straightened his back, rage burning fiercely in his eyes. As his fury surged, his strength followed, rising explosively.
Enel's expression remained cold, his azure eyes showing little surprise.
After all, this was Hulk.
When it came to pure physical power, he feared no opponent. His only real weakness lay in his spirit.
Ethan's gaze grew increasingly dangerous. Feeling the violent thunderous energy tearing through his palm, he roared and swung his arm with brutal force, hurling Enel away.
A sonic boom ripped through the air.
Enel crashed violently into the ground, carving a ravaged gully across the earth before finally stopping at its far end. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Sizzle… crackle…"
Blue white lightning flickered as Enel slowly rose into the air. His gaze locked onto Ethan, grim and sharp. He wiped the blood from his lips, glancing at the crimson stain on his fingertips as the lightning around him grew increasingly violent.
Power surged.
The thunder filled sky began to twist unnaturally as countless stones were ripped from the ground and lifted into the air. A blinding silver bolt flashed, vanishing almost as quickly as it appeared.
"Five Hundred Million Volts, Lightning Fist."
The destructive force was overwhelming, capable of splitting the land and shattering mountains.
Ethan roared, his right fist coated in dense Armament Haki as he met the attack head-on.
"This is bad."
The others, already retreating, felt their expressions change drastically. They continued pulling back as a terrifying shockwave erupted outward.
An invisible force slammed into everyone, sending them flying uncontrollably as blood sprayed from their mouths.
The entire Sabaody Archipelago trembled.
The ground collapsed layer by layer as the epicenter sank further, forming a pit nearly a thousand meters wide.
Just the collision of two fists had erased an entire section of land.
As dust rolled through the air, Ethan stood with his feet buried deep in the ground, his face twisted with fury, two deep lines carved into his brow.
Opposite him, lightning crackled as Enel reformed, his expression equally grim.
Hulk combined with top tier Armament Haki.
He was far more difficult to kill than expected.
Whoosh.
A piercing sound tore through the air as a lightning spear condensed in Enel's right hand, radiating terrifying energy.
"Lightning God Spear."
The atmosphere rippled as the world dimmed for a brief instant. A flash of lightning followed, arriving almost instantly.
Ethan clenched his fists and walked forward.
When the lightning spear was only a decimeter away, he reached out.
Against all expectations, he caught it.
The next second, his entire body was forced backward, sliding violently across the ground. Raised hills shattered one after another until he finally came to a halt.
"That's all?"
Ethan tightened his grip, and with an unwilling crackle, the lightning spear dispersed.
Lightning surged across Enel's body as his eyes sharpened.
"Lightning God Mode."
Dark clouds spiraled overhead as thunder roared from every direction. At the center, Enel floated calmly as his body rapidly expanded.
In moments, a massive lightning entity formed, radiating immense pressure.
Crackling thunder echoed endlessly as world-shaking power poured forth.
At this moment, Enel resembled a god.
The entire world seemed to tremble around him.
Crackle.
Suddenly, Ethan doubled over, electricity tearing through his body as he retched violently.
Enel's eyes glowed as his foot slammed deep into Ethan's abdomen. The thousand meter pit expanded again, sand and debris erupting into the air before being pulverized by lightning.
Veins bulged on Ethan's forehead as he was blasted away like a streak of light, tearing through Area 13 after smashing across a long stretch of mangrove road.
Enel hovered above the ruined avenue, his god-like form drifting forward as lightning filled the surrounding space.
At the edge of the destruction, Ethan forced himself upright. Black smoke rose from his body as his scorched green skin regenerated at a visible pace.
That kind of blow hurt.
Badly.
The ground beneath him collapsed again as he looked up, watching Enel descend.
As Enel fell, a massive spiked club suddenly appeared in Ethan's hands, sharp and menacing, overflowing with explosive power as Armament Haki spread across it.
Enel's expression did not change.
When the club was only a decimeter above his head, the magnetic field around Enel shifted violently.
A repulsive force erupted outward, forming a lightning barrier that detonated like a shockwave.
The club and Ethan were blasted away instantly.
At the same time, the mangrove forest of Area 13 was completely erased.
Enel stood above the massive sinkhole, looking down coldly.
Behind him, hundreds of lightning spears formed in the sky, each stretching dozens of meters and coated in Armament Haki. They all pointed toward Ethan as he clawed his way out of the rubble.
With a simple wave of Enel's hand, the spears rained down.
Ethan roared, gripping his spiked club as he charged forward. He smashed through the barrage head-on, clearing a path while steadily closing the distance.
The sight was staggering.
Ethan was running through the air as if it were solid ground.
While Hulk's jumping power was terrifying, flight was never supposed to be his strength.
Yet the Ethan before Enel defied that limitation entirely.
He charged forward like a living war machine, club gleaming coldly as lightning spears shattered around him.
"You really do keep surprising me."
Enel's blue eyes widened slightly as he released waves of emotional and mental interference through his Observation Haki.
There was no effect.
He was not particularly surprised. Hulk clearly possessed extremely high resistance to mental interference.
He had only been testing it.
Violent lightning condensed in front of Enel, forming a massive halberd of pure electricity. He gripped it with his right hand, Armament Haki coating the weapon as he vanished in a flash.
He appeared before Ethan and swept the halberd sideways.
Ethan raised his club to block.
The impact sent him flying, his body streaking across the sky before crashing into the sea far beyond the Sabaody Archipelago. He bounced violently across the surface, each impact sending towering walls of water into the air.
Enel followed at extreme speed, thrusting forward.
The halberd transformed into a roaring lightning dragon stretching over a thousand meters. The surrounding seawater evaporated instantly.
Ethan swung his club horizontally.
A devastating shockwave exploded outward, forcing the sea surface to sink violently. Another massive waterfall erupted as water rushed back in.
Almost simultaneously, both threw a punch.
The explosion that followed was earth-shattering.
The abyss beneath the sea widened even further.
Boom. Boom.
The lightning halberd and the spiked club collided repeatedly, each impact tearing apart the sky and crushing the ocean below.
Ethan ran across the sea surface, pushing the battle farther and farther away from the Sabaody Archipelago.
"Master, should we act?"
Beneath a mangrove tree back on the archipelago, Lucien was still held in Stussy's arms. His amethyst eyes reflected the distant flashes of lightning as he watched the battle moving farther away.
The strength displayed by those two fellow transmigrators gave him a headache.
Taking them down would not be easy.
And judging by their current state, neither of them had fully revealed their true strength.
They were both extremely troublesome opponents.
However…
Lucien turned his gaze toward the other areas of the battlefield.