Chapter 256: Ring the Golden Bell!
Zoro didn't have time to look closely before his gaze was drawn to the ark in the distance.
Around the ark, dense thunderclouds were gathering.
It was the effect created by the Milky Dials installed inside the ark.
At a visible speed, layer upon layer of white clouds converged, forming an enormous thundercloud that blotted out the sky.
The thundercloud's range was enough to envelop the entire Skypiea.
Immediately after, countless massive bolts of lightning descended from the sky!
Ten Thousand Thunderbolts!
Boom—!
They descended!
Those lightning strikes indiscriminately bombarded Upper Yard and Angel Island below.
The jungle was set ablaze, towns were destroyed, flames and lightning intertwined as if it were the apocalypse.
Fortunately, Wyper and Gan Fall had heeded Ralph's warning and organized the evacuation of the Shandians and Skypiea's original inhabitants to the edges of Skypiea.
Standing in the safe zone, they watched their homeland engulfed in lightning, their hearts filled with lingering fear.
Enel's Mantra sensed all of this.
But he didn't care.
While locked in fierce combat with Ralph, he laughed wildly:
"See? This is the power of a god! The power to spread despair, to bring despair to others!"
Ralph slashed through a bolt of lightning, his expression unchanged.
"Is that all?"
Enel's smile froze for a moment before turning even more ferocious:
"Nameless Blue Sea dweller, I admit you're strong. I can't kill you, but you can't kill me either."
A flicker of cruelty flashed in his eyes:
"But threatening someone's life isn't the only way to bring despair.
I can also threaten you with the lives of your companions."
Ralph's heart tightened.
"Humans always have weaknesses," Enel declared loudly, spreading his arms wide, "but gods do not. This is the difference between humans and gods!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze drifted downward.
There, Sanji was flying upward with Lufia on his back.
In the distance, Zoro was on the vines, contemplating how to reach the ark.
Enel's targets were them.
Or even all the companions on the island.
Ralph's pupils contracted sharply.
With Enel's lightning-speed transformation, taking the lives of the other Straw Hat Pirates would be as easy as taking candy!
He tightened his grip on his sword hilt, his mind racing.
Just then, that familiar voice echoed in his mind once more.
"With your current strength, you've already reached your limit."
Red-Eyed Ralph's voice carried a mocking tone: "If Enel is determined to evade, you can't even land a hit on him."
"Let me take over. I promise—I'll only kill Lufia."
Ralph's reply was just two words:
"Get lost."
The inner demon fell silent.
Enel continued to taunt.
A bolt of lightning shot out, and the golden structure of the Maxim began operating frantically.
Within the thundercloud, an enormous thundercloud mass gathered, growing larger and larger, pressing lower and lower, almost obscuring the entire sky.
"This is Raigo!"
Enel raised his head high, anticipating Ralph's submission, "When it descends, the entire Upper Yard will be blasted to pieces and fall from the sky! The entire White-White Sea will be destroyed because of it!"
He looked down at Ralph, his eyes filled with madness:
"Everyone except you and me on the ark will die! Feel despair!"
Ralph looked at him, then at the massive thundercloud mass.
He didn't attack Enel.
He knew Raigo was activated by Enel through the Ark Maxim, and for now, he could neither kill Enel nor dismantle such a massive ark.
As Red-Eyed Ralph had said, his strength was still limited.
But that didn't mean he would compromise.
The entire battlefield was under his control.
He took a deep breath and shouted back:
"Ring the bell!"
His voice pierced through the thunderstorm, echoing in all directions.
At the top of the vine, Zoro understood immediately and reached out to strike the Golden Bell—
A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking him!
Zoro shuddered and plummeted from the towering vine!
"Zoro!"
Sanji's expression changed as he saw this.
But no words were needed, no communication required.
In that moment, Sanji and Lufia formed an unparalleled rapport with Ralph.
Sanji kicked hard, and Lufia, clinging to his back, grabbed his leg and swung toward the Golden Bell!
Lufia stretched her body mid-air, her rubber arm extending to precisely grasp the top of the vine!
Meanwhile, Sanji stepped repeatedly in the air, accelerating his descent as he chased after Zoro's falling figure!
Enel was stunned.
He didn't even understand Ralph's intentions.
Stopping that green-haired swordsman earlier had already pushed him to his limits.
And now—
The Straw Hat Girl had landed beside the Golden Bell.
His lightning was useless against her.
He couldn't stop her.
Under Enel's dazed gaze, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Ralph's lips.
"Listen to this bell that has been passed down for four hundred years."
His voice was ordinary, yet it seemed to carry a certain magic:
"Your heart will find peace too."
Lufia swung her fist—
"Dong—!"
A melodious bell toll echoed.
The sound pierced through the thunderstorm, through the clouds, through everything, resonating across heaven and earth.
It spread across all of Skypiea, reaching the ears of the Shandians and Skypieans evacuating below.
They halted their steps, looking up at the sky, complex emotions welling in their eyes.
It continued downward, passing through the White-White Sea, through the White Sea, through the seven-thousand-meter-high sky—
Finally, it reached Jaya Island, ten thousand meters below.
Cricket was drinking in his small hut when he suddenly froze.
He looked up at the sky.
The bell toll clearly reached his ears.
"This is…"
His eyes moistened, "The Golden Bell... The Golden Bell is ringing!"
He rushed out of the hut, howling at the sky:
"Noland! You weren't lying! Shandora truly exists!!"
The bell toll reverberated.
Above Skypiea, Enel's gaze grew vacant.
The bell toll seemed to possess magic, piercing through all his defenses and striking directly at his soul.
Images flashed before his eyes—
As a child, he too was an ordinary Skypiean.
He too had looked up at the sky, gazed at the moon, and wondered what lay beyond.
Thump...
Ralph plopped down on the deck of the Ark Maxim, panting heavily.
Exhausted.
Hypnotizing a god was no easy task.
Enel's powerful Observation Haki, combined with the Goro Goro no Mi, made his brainwaves exceptionally resilient.
Attempting to control him directly with Hypnosis was simply impossible.
But the Golden Bell was different.
This bell, passed down for four hundred years, had witnessed countless histories and carried countless emotions.
Its sound was enough to shake anyone's soul.
Coupled with Ralph's long-planned psychological suggestion—
The effect was astonishing.
Enel's eyes were empty, his entire body standing there like a statue.
The God of Skypiea was now under his control.
Ralph looked at the Goro Goro no Mi, so close at hand, and a slight smile curled at the corner of his lips.
It was, for the most part, already in his grasp.
He collapsed onto the deck, gazing at the dissipating thunderclouds in the sky, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Below, Sanji caught Zoro and landed steadily.
Lufia slid down from the vines, bouncing excitedly:
"I did it! I rang the Golden Bell!"
At the edge of the distant clouds, Wyper and Gan Fall exchanged a glance, both wearing complex smiles.
The war was finally coming to an end.
A new era was about to begin.
And Ralph lay on the Ark Maxim, listening to the system's notification:
[Lufia rang the Golden Bell. Host's favorability increased by 2%. Current favorability: Best Friend Level 23%]
It was worth it!