Dragon's figure appeared.
Koala and Sabo straightened up when they sensed him, calling out to their commander.
He lifted a hand and waved. "No need to be so formal."
He took a few steps and stood beside them, watching the children training below. "So, future Chief of Staff, what do you think about the Revolutionary Army's future?"
He was grabbing at anything he could now. With those uneven bases and scattered fighters, he could do nothing at the moment. All he could do was gather more reliable seeds and train them as a safeguard. But the real problem still had no solution.
Sabo thought for a moment, then answered, "Start collecting evidence."
Dragon turned his head. "Oh?"
Sabo spoke with confidence. "This is why you've been off lately, right. We grew too fast and the people are all over the place. These kids are the preparation for what comes next. If something really happens, chaos will break out. If we lose control, we'll fall apart from within before the government even moves. So those kids are the fallback. When the time comes, clear out the parasites and let the next generation take over. It will hurt, but at least we won't collapse completely."
Dragon drifted into thought and nodded in agreement. "You are right."
Sabo continued, "You're worried the purge will make people lose faith, but there's no need. You don't understand how high your reputation is. If you gather solid evidence against the parasites, everyone will stand with you. As the guiding light of this world, your voice carries more weight than you realize."
Dragon froze for a moment. "Is that so..."
He looked at Sabo and smiled. "You really would make a fine Chief of Staff."
Sabo flushed with embarrassment but grinned proudly, elbowing Koala. "Did you hear that?"
* * *
East Blue, an unnamed island.
Thin trails of smoke drifted up from a small village. After a full day of work, people sat in groups along the fields, taking a break before going home to eat.
The elderly village chief looked at the green sprouts across the field. "Wonderful. It'll be a great harvest again this year."
A young man laughed. "Are you sure, chief?"
The old man snorted. "I've farmed here my whole life. I can tell the harvest with one look. You still doubt me?"
The young man asked, "Chief, did you ever leave the village when you were young?"
"Leave? Where?" the old man asked back.
"Out to sea!" the young man said with excitement. "The Marines, great treasure, even merfolk like the newspapers say! They all sound amazing. I want to see them someday."
The chief shook his head. "Nothing good comes from that. Rayya's eldest boy joined the Marines when he was young. They never even found his body. Only a letter came back. Pirates are the same as bandits. You also know that. Didn't Korai Town get attacked by bandits not long ago? Hundreds died. As for some great treasure and merfolk, or any of that nonsense, it's all made up to pass the time. There's no way things like that exist. I've lived more than sixty years and never seen anything like it."
The young man looked disappointed. "Oh... I see."
The village chief stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. "Don't think about useless things. Working hard is better than anything else. That's what matters. And stop reading those newspapers too. They're pointless and a waste of money."
He waved to the people resting nearby. "Let's go! Head home and start cooking!"
Across the Four Blues, places like this were everywhere. Progress and development seemed frozen. Many lived their entire lives in small villages like this, learning about the world only through a few scattered words in the newspapers. They treated anything unfamiliar as stories made up for entertainment by the writers.
They had nothing to do with those powerful figures who could destroy mountains with a wave of their hand. The Marines, pirates, the Revolutionary Army, the New World, the great treasure, the battles between different factions, who ruled the world… none of it had anything to do with them.
They were the majority of this world.
Ninety percent of the population were ordinary, unremarkable people.
* * *
New World, Punk Hazard, Dragon Locking Valley.
Enel led Rosinante and Law into the valley. "We're here."
This was the place where Sakazuki once crushed Kaido. It was the perfect training ground.
Law stared at the blackened magma-formed stone tablets in shock. "Dragon Locking Valley..."
Enel gave a small laugh. "Kaido, one of the Three Emperors, was suppressed here. We gathered plenty of azure dragon material from him right in this spot. Well, kid. Pretty impressive, right?"
Law glanced at him with disdain. "It wasn't you who did it. Why are you so proud? The smell of sulfur and the heat... this was Admiral Sakazuki's work."
Enel raised a brow. He would make the brat cry soon enough.
"Correct. Come on. Show me what you've learned."
He stood still and gave Law a wicked smile as he casually curled his finger in a taunt.
Law gritted his teeth. 'Damn lightning bastard…'
He drew the short blade at his waist with his right hand and held out his left toward the ground.
A translucent field burst out from between them and expanded.
"ROOM!"
The shimmering dome stretched out across a hundred meters.
With his arms crossed, Enel watched him perform, his smirk only grew more provoking.
Law scowled, flipped his left hand into a fist, pointed his index finger at Enel, then tugged.
The ground beneath Enel split into chunks, lifting him into the air. The earth slammed into him again and again, forming a massive sphere of packed earth around him.
Inside, Enel felt the pressure closing in and murmured, "What is this... isn't this Soter's ability?"
The sudden pull of weightlessness hit him.
The compressed stones around Enel shifted as Law swung his short blade. The former broke into several pieces and floated upward.
Enel strained his neck and shook his head from side to side. The stones pressing against his head burst apart. His floating head scanned the scattered pieces of his body flying everywhere.
"Cut into pieces. Interesting..."
Zzzt!
Lightning burst from every separated chunk, and his body reformed in an instant. He raised a finger and tapped repeatedly, firing streaks of lightning toward Law.
Law bent each bolt aside with his ability while rushing forward. But the lightning no longer thundered like before. The sound and shock had weakened several times over.
Enel frowned. 'Silence, huh…'
He glanced outside the circle at Rosinante, who awkwardly lifted both hands, helpless.
Within the circle, Law had already closed the distance.
Enel flicked his wrist. The golden bangles on his arm melted into a short golden rod as he thrust it toward Law's chest.
Law didn't dodge. The moment the rod touched him, he vanished.
He appeared behind Enel, gripping his short blade with one hand and aiming at Enel's heart.
"Scalpel!"
He tried to take his opponent's heart, but under Enel's powerful Observation Haki, his body reacted on its own even without conscious activation.
His chest turned into lightning, and Enel snapped back to awareness. He reached back and grabbed.
Swish!
Law vanished once more, reappearing far away.
Enel's chest crackled as lightning reformed into flesh. He looked at Law. "You swapped places with an object."
Teleportation… how convenient.
Law scoffed. "That's right."
He shifted his grip into a mid-stance and pointed the short blade at him. "Be careful."
"Injection Shot!"
He stabbed toward Enel.
A red mark appeared on Enel's forehead as if struck by a bullet, his head snapping back from the impact.
Swish!
Law appeared above Enel's tilted head.
He raised his right hand, thumb up and the other fingers folded, pressing it against the red spot.
"Counter Shock!"
Zzz!
High-voltage current rushed from his finger and swept through Enel's entire body.
Seeing Enel struck without turning into lightning, Law's lips curled upward. He succeeded.
Enel calmly watched Law's satisfied smile and suddenly spoke. "What are you grinning for?"
His arm flashed like an afterimage. His hand closed around Law's throat, tossing him out of the circle. Rosinante caught him as he flew out.
Law landed, staring at Enel in disbelief. "Impossible! You were in your physical body. You should be affected if lightning hits flesh."
Using electricity against a lightning Logia user sounded foolish. But Law had studied his target. He knew Enel's nature: he would take the attack head-on without elementizing, out of pride.
And if the body took a high-voltage shock, even briefly, it should cause paralysis. It might even disrupt his control over the fruit. Law hadn't expected much on that part...
But he never thought Enel wouldn't even flinch.
Enel let out a quiet laugh. Electricity flickered around his hand as the golden rod melted back into bangles, though a drop of gold fell from it.
Rosinante immediately grabbed Law and jumped up.
The molten gold hit the ground.
Zzzt!
Electricity washed visibly across the valley. Only Enel's control kept it from spreading farther.
As Rosinante landed with Law in tow, some parts of the ground still sparked.
Enel explained softly, "Your current isn't even enough to charge this."
The bangles on his wrist crackled with light, pulling the condensed golden drop back and merging it into the metal.
It wasn't some secret technology. Enel had trained his control, compressing lightning to the extreme and merging it with gold, keeping it from melting. Over time, every gram of gold on him carried immense electrical energy.
Law's so-called high-voltage shock... couldn't charge it for even a second. It was absorbed instantly.
Law grit his teeth at Enel, feeling like a fool. "Fine. You win."
Enel chuckled. "Kid, your ability development is impressive. Your only flaw is your body."
He still called him a kid, but Law was already a teenager. His learning speed was extraordinary, letting him develop the Op-Op Fruit quickly. But his body was just a normal human's, no monstrous talent behind it.
His physical limit was fixed. And the fruit consumed stamina.
Law clicked his tongue. "You think everyone is a monster? I'm probably the most normal one here. Most people in this world have bodies like mine."
Ninety percent of the population shared Law's physique. The limit was just over two meters at most. Not five or eight meters like those freaks with monstrous talent.
He hated it, but that was reality.
Enel's lips curved. "Your physical limits are there. But there are ways to push them higher. For example… using high-voltage currents to stimulate your muscles and cells."
Zzzt!
Lightning crackled around his hands as he gave Law a meaningful look.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!