Chapter 255: Ralph vs. Enel
Ralph never expected that his casual remarks about the moon and space pirates would make Enel want to seize him.
Even more unexpected was that Lufia would get jealous over this.
Watching Lufia launch herself like a cannonball onto the Ark Maxim, charging straight at Enel, he felt a surge of delight.
She was jealous.
Lufia was jealous.
This feeling was even more satisfying than defeating Enel.
However, Enel was no pushover.
He knew his lightning was useless against this straw-hat-wearing woman, but he had other methods.
"Gold Electroplating!"
The moment Lufia landed on the ark's deck, Enel's golden staff struck heavily against the nearby golden wall.
A powerful electric current instantly melted the gold, and under Enel's control, the golden liquid flowed like a living creature!
Before Lufia could react, the scalding golden liquid had already coiled around her!
"Huh?"
Lufia looked down to see her entire body enveloped in the golden fluid.
"What is this?"
The next moment, the gold solidified.
Lufia was completely sealed inside a massive golden sphere, with only her head exposed.
"Mmmph! Let me go!"
She struggled, but the golden sphere remained unmoved.
Enel kicked out, sending the golden sphere rolling off the ark and plummeting downward.
"Lufia!"
Ralph's expression changed as he shot into the sky using Geppo, catching the large golden sphere mid-air.
Holding the sphere in his arms, he was just about to figure out how to free Lufia when—
"Boom!"
A thick bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking him squarely!
A flash of white light, sparks flying everywhere.
The next moment—
"Thud!"
The golden sphere crashed heavily to the ground, creating a large crater.
Meanwhile, Ralph was brought onto the ark by Enel's lightning.
Then Enel was stunned by the device surrounding Ralph.
It was a metal he had never seen before.
A cage made of several metal bars, seemingly crude in construction, but Enel stood outside it, examining the structure with astonishment.
"Is this metal from the Blue Sea?"
Enel murmured to himself, tapping the bars with his golden staff.
"It conducts electricity less effectively than gold, yet it perfectly guided my lightning, preventing my attack from harming you. Is it because of its shape?"
Ralph looked at Enel's puzzled face.
Just as Ralph was about to mock him and explain what electromagnetic shielding and Faraday cages were, Enel struck first.
"You're clever, knowledgeable, but that's all!
No matter the reason, it's useless in the face of absolute power!"
Lightning erupted once more, fiercer than before, directly striking the iron cage!
The cage instantly melted into a pool of molten iron!
Ralph: "..."
Well, he had to admit, it really wasn't very effective against absolute power.
Enel retracted his golden staff, a condescending smile reappearing on his face:
"From that strange cage, I can see you also have some understanding of lightning."
"Someone as talented and capable as you is naturally meant to be a servant of God."
Upon hearing the word "servant," Ralph immediately pulled out Munch-Munch from his chest.
Munch-Munch was still dozing off, looking bewildered when dragged out.
Hearing Ralph's call, Munch-Munch blinked, then opened its mouth and swallowed itself whole.
The next moment, the Famous Blade Taotie appeared in Ralph's hand.
"Someone like you..."
Ralph tightened his grip on the sword hilt, Armament Haki covering the blade.
"Damn it all!"
He swung the blade!
Enel had witnessed Zoro's swordsmanship before and knew there was something unusual about these Blue Sea dwellers' blades, so he dared not take the strike head-on.
He raised his golden staff, intending to block the slash—
"Clang!"
The golden staff snapped in two!
Enel's pupils contracted sharply as he swiftly retreated, pushing both hands forward to unleash a powerful thunderbolt!
Yet Ralph neither dodged nor evaded, instead swinging his blade to meet the light—
A flash of steel, and the thunderbolt was cleaved apart!
No, not cleaved apart!
It was devoured by that sword!
Shock once again appeared in Enel's eyes.
That sword... could swallow lightning?
Ralph stood holding his blade, watching Enel's stunned expression as a mocking smile curled on his lips:
"An all-knowing god? An omnipotent god? Don't make me laugh."
He pointed his sword forward with overwhelming presence:
"Admit it, you're no different from the people of this Skypiea. In fact, you're even worse than them."
"Shut up!"
"They constantly learn and improve because of their own weaknesses," Ralph completely ignored his command, his voice growing louder, "While you, blinded by your own power, call yourself a god, yet have no idea what this world truly looks like!"
"I told you to shut up!"
"Above the Blue Sea, monsters roam everywhere, and the strong are as numerous as clouds!!"
Ralph's piercing words delivered the final blow, "You can only pretend to be a god here in Skypiea!"
"You're lying—!"
Enel's eyes turned red.
He transformed into lightning and lunged at Ralph!
The two clashed on the ark!
Enel used Mantra to predict Ralph's moves, constantly transforming into lightning to evade while releasing thunderbolts.
Ralph's Observation Haki was no slouch either, always sensing the direction of the thunderbolts in advance and using Munch-Munch to devour the lightning.
Blade flashes and lightning intertwined, leaving the ark's deck in complete disarray.
Meanwhile, the ark rose higher and higher.
Below, Zoro and Sanji finally arrived.
"It's all because you ran off!"
Sanji cursed as he ran, "If you hadn't gotten lost, we would've been here long ago!"
"I didn't get lost!"
Zoro retorted, "The path was just hard to find!"
The two ran to where the golden ball had fallen and saw the massive golden sphere embedded in the ground, with only Lufia's head sticking out.
"Lufia!"
Sanji rushed over, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!"
Lufia shouted, "But this ball is so annoying—I can't use my strength and can't get out!"
Zoro stepped forward and drew his sword.
With one slash, the golden ball split in two, and Lufia jumped out.
"Thanks, Zoro!"
She stretched her limbs, then looked up at the ark high in the sky.
"Ralph's up there!"
She tried to bounce up, but after a few jumps, she realized the distance was too great—she couldn't reach it.
Sanji's eyes lit up:
"I can take Miss Lufia up! I've already learned Sky Walk!"
"What about me?"
Zoro asked.
Sanji didn't even look back:
"Who cares about you?"
A vein bulged on Zoro's forehead:
"You curly-browed..."
He glanced around, his gaze settling on two intertwined, tower-thick sky-reaching vines not far away, stretching high into the sky.
A smirk curled on Zoro's lips.
The right answer was right before his eyes.
"Stupid cook..."
He strode toward the vines, "Trying to threaten me? Let's see who climbs faster!!"
With that, he used both hands and feet, sometimes even his swords, to scramble wildly up the vines.
Sanji rolled his eyes, then hoisted Lufia onto his back. With rapid steps, he executed Geppo and soared into the sky.
The ark rose higher and higher, the cloud layers growing thicker.
Zoro climbed steadily along the vines, eventually breaking through a layer of white clouds.
Emerging from the clouds, his vision suddenly opened up.
At the top of the vines lay an ancient ruin—crumbling golden pillars, moss-covered golden steps, and...
A massive Golden Bell.
Zoro froze for a moment.
Is this... Dola's Golden Bell?