Chapter 2: The God's Trial
The ruins of Upper Yard trembled as Enel's lightning arced across the sky. The self-proclaimed god floated above the devastation, his golden staff crackling with barely contained power. His usual smirk had vanished, replaced by something far more dangerous - the look of a predator who had just discovered another apex hunter in his territory.
Sam landed heavily on a broken pillar, his obsidian wing - five times his size - folding behind him with a sound like grinding stone. The golden knuckle braces covering his fists gleamed dully in the stormlight, ancient relics that had survived Skypiea's forgotten wars. His breathing came steady despite the battle, each exhale forming small clouds in the suddenly chilled air.
Luffy's crew scattered below, their weapons raised but their faces betraying their shock. They'd been fighting an untouchable god - until this stranger had landed a solid hit.
"Who the hell is that guy?" Usopp whispered, his slingshot trembling.
Zoro's fingers tightened around his sword hilts. "Someone who knows how to throw a punch."
Enel's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "You... how did you touch me?" The question carried more than curiosity - it held the first notes of genuine concern Sam had ever heard from the so-called god.
Sam rotated his shoulders, the massive wing shifting with him. "Your lightning means nothing to me," he said, his voice gravelly from disuse. "I've been burned by worse."
The air between them crackled, not with electricity but with something older, darker. The Straw Hats found themselves forgotten as the two warriors sized each other up - one who claimed divinity, and one who had been forged in its absence.
Luffy, ever the breaker of tension, cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey! You're pretty strong! Wanna help us beat this guy?"
Nami nearly strangled him. "Luffy! We don't even know who he is!"
Sam didn't acknowledge them. His world had narrowed to the golden-eyed man floating before him, to the storm gathering in the hollow of his ribs where rage had lived for years.
Enel's staff hummed as he raised it. "Let's see how you handle this, little demon." The words were barely out before lightning split the sky, a blinding spear aimed directly at Sam's heart.
The Straw Hats flinched away from the expected impact - only to see Sam still standing, his massive wing now extended like a shield, the obsidian surface smoking but unbroken.
"Impossible," Robin breathed.
Sanji's cigarette nearly fell from his lips. "He blocked Enel's lightning?"
Sam flexed his wing, shaking off the residual sparks. The movement sent cracks running through the stone beneath his feet. "Your turn," he growled, and launched himself at Enel with terrifying speed.
The battle that followed rewrote the Straw Hats' understanding of combat. Sam moved with a predator's grace, his wing serving as both weapon and shield, the golden knuckle braces leaving trails of light with every strike. Enel danced through the air, his usual arrogance replaced by focused intensity as he realized - perhaps for the first time - that he might actually lose.
"You're just a man," Enel spat as he dodged another crushing blow. "A man cannot kill a god."
Sam's wing swept out, carving through a stone pillar like paper. "Then why are you running?"
The taunt hit its mark. Enel's eyes flashed gold, his body dissolving into electricity before reforming behind Sam. "Divine Judgment!" he roared, and this time the lightning came not from the sky but from within, arcing outward in a deadly sphere.
Sam barely got his wing up in time. The impact sent him skidding backward, his boots carving trenches in the earth. When the smoke cleared, his wing was smoking, the edges visibly damaged.
Luffy's fists clenched. "Hey! That's cheating!"
Enel ignored him, his focus entirely on Sam. "You see? Your power has limits. Mine does not."
Sam straightened slowly, his breathing ragged but his eyes burning with undiminished fire. He flexed his damaged wing, wincing as obsidian flakes drifted to the ground. "Limits," he repeated, as if tasting the word. Then he did something unexpected - he smiled. "You're right."
With a roar that shook the ruins, Sam surged forward again - but this time, when Enel dissolved into lightning, Sam's wing didn't follow. Instead, his golden-clad fist shot out in a brutal uppercut that connected solidly with Enel's jaw the moment he rematerialized.
The crack of impact echoed across Upper Yard. Enel's eyes went wide with shock as he flew backward, crashing through three crumbling walls before coming to rest in a heap of rubble.
For a heartbeat, there was silence.
Then Chopper gasped. "H-how? He wasn't even looking!"
Zoro's eye gleamed with understanding. "He predicted where Enel would reappear."
Luffy whooped. "That was awesome!"
But the battle wasn't over. The rubble exploded outward as Enel rose, his face a mask of fury. Blood trickled from his lip - the first real injury any of them had seen him take. "You... you dare?" His voice shook with barely contained rage.
Sam braced himself, his damaged wing flaring despite the pain. "I dare."
What happened next would be etched into the memories of all who witnessed it. Enel called down his ultimate technique - Raigo, a storm of annihilation that darkened the sky. Sam stood his ground, his wing spreading to its full, terrifying span even as the edges continued to flake away.
Luffy appeared at Sam's side, his straw hat pulled low over his eyes. "Hey. Let's beat this guy together."
Sam glanced at the rubber man, then at the other Straw Hats gathering around him - Zoro with his swords drawn, Sanji lighting another cigarette, even Usopp trembling but standing firm. For the first time in his life, Sam wasn't alone in a fight.
He nodded once.
The final clash shook Skypiea to its foundations. Luffy's golden rifle met Enel's lightning at the same moment Sam's wing came down like a guillotine, the combined force sending shockwaves through the clouds. When the dust cleared, Enel lay motionless, his dream of godhood shattered along with his staff.
Sam collapsed to one knee, his wing finally giving out. The Straw Hats gathered around him, their expressions a mix of awe and gratitude.
Luffy extended a hand, his grin as bright as the sun breaking through the clouds. "So. Wanna join my crew?"
Sam looked at the offered hand, then at the faces surrounding him. For years, he'd measured strength in solitude. Now, for the first time, he considered another metric.
He reached up and grasped Luffy's hand. "Maybe."
The word hung in the air, heavy with promise. Somewhere in the distance, the wind carried the sound of wings - whether Gan Fall's or simply the echoes of a battle ended, none could say. But one thing was certain: the skies would never be the same.
**End of Chapter 2**