Not long after, Mansherry, Perona, and the others groggily woke up one by one.
When Mansherry finally saw the absolute, miserable state Enel was in, the sweet little dwarf princess almost cursed out loud. His injuries were far more catastrophic than anyone had imagined.
Bardock had been absolutely right not to move him from the crater. Enel hadn't just suffered multiple severe bone fractures across his entire body; his very skull was violently cracked, and he was suffering from massive internal bleeding. Even without Bardock landing that devastating second punch, Enel had practically stepped with one foot through the gates of hell.
Seeing this, Bardock couldn't help but draw a mental comparison to Monkey D. Luffy. The Nika Fruit truly was the absolute, undisputed king of taking a beating. Luffy could take a direct, ACoC-infused Thunder Bagua straight to the face from 'Teacher Kaido' and simply bounce back to full health shortly after.
After a series of exhaustive, meticulous healing treatments from Mansherry, Enel was finally pulled back from death's door and completely restored to peak physical condition.
'Mansherry truly is the absolute MVP. Recruiting her was undeniably the smartest decision I've ever made,' Bardock thought, letting out a heavy sigh of relief.
Later that evening, Robin approached Bardock in private.
"Bardock, there is something important I need to tell you," Robin said, her tone serious. "I believe Kid awakened his Supreme King's Haki today."
Robin had noticed the anomaly during the climax of the duel. Under the crushing, apocalyptic pressure of Bardock's roar, Kid had violently awakened his own latent Conqueror's Haki in a desperate bid to resist. However, his newly awakened willpower ultimately couldn't withstand the full, concentrated brunt of Bardock's aura, and he had passed out along with the rest of the crew.
"Yeah, it's fine. I'm not surprised. He's always possessed that kind of potential," Bardock replied nonchalantly.
Kid awakening his Conqueror's Haki right now made perfect sense. It was very similar to how Bardock had fully awakened his own: triggered by the intense, life-or-death stimulation of an overwhelmingly powerful Conqueror's Haki clashing against his spirit.
"Alright. Now, let's talk about your duel with Enel," Robin pressed, her brow furrowing slightly. "Why did you suddenly lose control of your emotions back there? Is it something we should be worried about?"
Robin's direct question plunged Bardock into a heavy silence. He wasn't entirely certain himself, but he had a strong, deeply unsettling hypothesis.
He was edging dangerously close to his Devil Fruit Awakening. While fully transformed into his Great Ape state, the innate, primal will of the Mythical Zoan fruit was beginning to actively influence his baseline emotions.
"When Enel deliberately pulled that utterly humiliating, disrespectful stunt... I felt an incredibly bizarre, completely uncontrollable surge of sheer rage. I couldn't suppress it at all. If I'm not mistaken, it's the innate will of the Devil Fruit affecting my mind," Bardock finally explained.
Awakening a Zoan Devil Fruit was notoriously dangerous; the animal's primal, savage will could completely consume the user's consciousness, turning them into a mindless beast. Until Bardock was absolutely, mentally prepared to dominate that will, he had no intention of attempting an Awakening. It seemed he would have to strictly limit his usage of the Monkey King form moving forward to avoid accidental assimilation.
"Then you absolutely must be careful," Robin warned softly, a trace of genuine worry in her eyes. "If your mental state completely collapses and you lose control... none of us on this ship have the power to stop you."
Robin didn't have any concrete solutions to offer. The global understanding of Devil Fruits—especially Mythical Zoans—was still filled with far too many blank spots.
"Don't worry. I know what to do," Bardock reassured her with a confident smile.
On the other side of the ship, Enel was sitting alone, feeling deeply discouraged.
Ironically, he had executed his tactical objective absolutely perfectly. To infuriate Bardock, he had deliberately performed that shameless, humiliating stunt. It had worked flawlessly; Bardock's blinding rage had completely shattered the Captain's impenetrable Observation Haki.
What followed were the most exhilarating few seconds of Enel's entire life. He had mercilessly beaten Bardock like a drum! Although the others later informed him that he hadn't inflicted a single drop of actual physical damage through the 'Indestructible Vajra Body', just being able to land hits on that monster was incredibly satisfying!
Enel knew Bardock possessed the 'Golden Fiery Eyes', but he had absolutely no idea those eyes could perfectly track the absolute, literal speed of lightning. Furthermore, that terrifying, demonic crimson glow clearly indicated Bardock had entered a highly abnormal, catastrophic state.
"Sigh... Bardock got even stronger again!" Enel groaned, summarizing his thousand complex thoughts into one heavy, frustrated sigh.
However, Enel quickly slapped his cheeks, forcing himself to focus. He wasn't a quitter. He would absolutely never give up until he won!
With all matters settled and the crew fully recovered, the white-waxed galleon officially set sail once more.
When Bardock was finally standing alone near the helm, Kid hesitantly approached him. The redhead excitedly, yet somewhat awkwardly, described the bizarre phenomenon that had erupted within his chest when he faced Bardock's roar—a surging, explosive sensation of absolute willpower that he hadn't been able to replicate since waking up.
"Captain... was that feeling... the Supreme King's Haki?" Kid asked, looking up at Bardock.
Kid had only learned about the existence of the three forms of Haki after joining the crew a month ago: Armament Haki for offense and defense, Observation Haki for perception, and Conqueror's Haki for overwhelming spiritual domination.
"That's right. It was Conqueror's Haki," Bardock confirmed with absolute certainty, not hiding a thing. "It's a legendary power that only one in several million people possesses. It's universally known as the disposition of a King. Eustass Kid, you possess the qualities of a King!"
A fierce burst of pride and joy lit up Kid's face, but it quickly morphed into a frustrated scowl. "But... I haven't been able to find that feeling again no matter how hard I try! Captain, how exactly do I master it?!"