A little while earlier, the pirate Straw Hat Luffy… had been inside the body of a giant serpent known as the "Master of the Sky."
He'd been eaten in the forest—or rather, swallowed whole and taken down into its stomach.
Luffy himself hadn't realized what had happened. Convinced he'd somehow wandered into a strange cave without noticing, he'd been punching and smashing at everything in sight, trying to break his way out.
Naturally, the serpent couldn't possibly endure someone rampaging like that inside its body. Even as it fought through the pain, it writhed and thrashed, twisting in agony.
And after a long, complicated chain of events, the serpent took Enel's lightning and collapsed. Once it stopped moving, Luffy's "exploration" became a lot easier…
He finally reached the mouth. The impact of one of his punches forced its jaws open, and he managed to get outside.
And what he saw there… was his comrades—along with the other warriors—being utterly trampled by a single man.
And now, the present.
From Enel's perspective, the sudden appearance of someone who hadn't been caught in his Mantra until that moment was unpleasant in itself—another step that pulled him farther away from his own Prediction.
But he immediately reconsidered. Even if one small fry had survived, it changed nothing.
The instant Luffy's blood boiled at the sight of Zoro and the others being beaten down, he stretched out his arm and launched himself forward. Enel took one look, realized he was a Paramecia type, and fired a lightning blast at once to erase him.
Luffy was in midair. He didn't even have time to dodge—he took the hit head-on.
Just like the Shandia warriors, and the Sky Knight Gan Fall, who had been overwhelmed and brought down by that same crushing power… Luffy, too, seemed like he'd been swallowed by it.
And if he'd been an ordinary man, that is exactly how it would have ended—helpless, with no way out.
If he hadn't been Monkey D. Luffy.
If he hadn't been a "Rubber Man" who'd eaten the Gum-Gum Fruit.
"…I can't believe it… Who in the world is he…!?"
"He sent Enel flying… with a punch…?"
Gan Fall, the Sky Knight, and Wyper, the Shandia warrior… couldn't understand what they were seeing.
Up until a moment ago, Enel hadn't shown the slightest sign of being harmed—whether they tried iron spears, flames from their Burn Bazookas, or blades that could even cut through steel. And yet now, right in front of them, Enel had been punched away and was rolling across the ground.
The two of them—and Enel himself as he tumbled—couldn't grasp the reason, because they were people of Sky Island.
The first to realize it were Nami and Robin.
"Right… Luffy's a 'Rubber Man'…"
"It looks like lightning doesn't work on him."
"…Rubber Man? What's that?"
"Ah—right… There's no rubber on Sky Island, so nobody knows…"
At Aisa's puzzled question, Leona stiffened.
She was originally from Sky Island too, but she'd lived in the Blue Sea long enough to learn about substances that didn't exist up here. Now she understood why the Sky Island group was so confused.
"What is… 'rubber'?"
"…If you ask what it is, that's… kind of hard to explain."
"It's one of the materials that exists in the Blue Sea. From what I've heard, it doesn't exist on Sky Island… It's like that—something with strong elasticity, something that stretches and contracts easily. And one of its properties is that it's an insulator."
"An insulator…?"
"In other words, rubber… doesn't conduct electricity at all. And Luffy… is a 'Rubber Man.' His whole body has the properties of rubber."
"Then… does that mean Enel's attacks don't work on him at all!?"
"More than that, it seems like it's even piercing the Logia's ability to disperse physical blows… It completely nullifies his lightning power."
"…So in other words, that man is—Enel's…"
"Yes. In terms of abilities, it's the worst possible matchup… You could say he's his natural enemy."
'So something like that exists in the Blue Sea…'
Enel had been listening to their conversation—the combination of his Mantra and his lightning ability made it effortless. He understood now why the man in front of him could land a punch, and why none of Enel's attacks had gotten through.
Even so, he didn't panic.
He rose slowly, faced Luffy as he drew back his fist again, and steadied his breathing.
'No problem. Lightning isn't only about making you go numb… If it won't work, then I'll fight another way.'
That wasn't bravado. It wasn't a bluff.
Enel's greatest strengths were, of course, his powerful electric shocks and the physical immunity granted by his Logia body. But he had more than just those two cards.
With Mantra to read an opponent's movements, and the speed of lightning—far too fast for the naked eye to track—Enel could strike with precision that felt impossible to answer.
And with an electric shock, he refined the metal rod in his hand, shaping it into a blade, then slashed at Luffy—because slashing attacks were Luffy's weakness. The spear was also packed with intense electrical heat, something Luffy couldn't nullify.
Once Enel understood Luffy's body and its weaknesses, he attacked with methods that actually worked. But Luffy didn't just stand there and take it.
"Gum-Gum… Octopus Fireworks!!"
Spinning violently up and down, left and right, he threw punches and kicks in every direction at once.
It should have been useless against Enel's Mantra. The first time, Enel had simply swatted every strike away. But this time, for some reason, Enel couldn't avoid it—and he took several hits cleanly.
"Why?! I hit him!"
"…Just now, Captain… he had his eyes closed."
"Huh? Why—? Oh… right. He fired it without aiming at anything from the start. If that's the case… it's basically luck, but Luffy himself doesn't know what he's trying to hit…"
"So even Enel, who can hear Luffy's 'voice,' can't tell…"
By turning the nature of his Mantra against him, Luffy pinned Enel's movements—then drove in a brutal follow-up.
"I won't miss again! Gum-Gum… Rotating Rifle!!"
He twisted his arm, added a fierce spin, and drove his fist straight into Enel.
The blow sent Enel whirling as he flew, then slammed him into a corner of the Shandora Ruins.
The impact was strong enough to knock his consciousness out for several seconds… and even so, Enel still forced himself back to his feet.
He was unsteady, swaying—but his fighting spirit hadn't faded.
"As expected… that actually worked… And now that I think about it, it's already been three hours…"
As he muttered, Enel swept his gaze across the area.
Standing were Enel himself, and Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Robin, Aisa, and Leona. Gan Fall had gone down once and was effectively out—so even then, it was seven.
And two more were about to arrive.
Even if you dismissed them as people who had fled the battle once already…
"So my Prediction was wrong after all… Damn you Blue Sea monkeys."
Whether Luffy heard that mutter or not, he thrust his fist toward Enel again—
And Enel suddenly fled.
He didn't turn his back, but he sprang away, leaping lightly as he increased the distance again and again.
"!? Hey! Wait! Don't run!"
Luffy chased after him.
And among those watching… more than one of us felt something off about Enel's movement.
'He's running…? Then why isn't he escaping at lightning speed? That looks almost like…'
"…! Don't chase him, Straw Hat! It's a trap!"
Wyper's shout came the instant he realized—but he was a step too late.
Luffy chased Enel with reckless, freewheeling leaps, cutting through the air in every direction. His punches and kicks kept coming within a hair of landing, only to be dodged at the last possible moment, feeding his frustration.
And because of that… he failed to notice his body growing heavier by the second.
"Ghh—?! Wha—?! What is this… I can't move?!"
By the time he realized it, it was already too late.
Luffy froze in midair, stuck in the posture of throwing a punch at Enel.
He barely moved—couldn't move—and he didn't even fall.
"What is that?! Luffy just… stopped—! Wait, is that another lightning power?!"
"That is…"
Nami stared in shock, and Gan Fall—who had experienced it himself—caught his breath.
But the one who named it was Wyper, who had already broken through it once before.
"'String Cloud'…! The same as Shura's 'Ordeal'…! He set the trap in this short time…?!"
So thin it couldn't be seen. So light you wouldn't notice even if you brushed it.
But bundled together, it became a tough cord strong enough to bind a grown man until he couldn't move.
That was String Cloud—and while Enel fled, he'd spread it everywhere. Luffy had gotten tangled in it, and now he was immobilized.
"This is bad—Luffy… if he stays like that…"
"Tch… I'll cut him free!"
The moment Zoro understood the trick, he bolted forward with his swords, desperate to free Luffy before Enel could skewer him—
But Enel didn't move to approach Luffy himself.
He casually raised his right hand toward the sky.
"Lightning Bolt (Sango)."
He fired a lightning strike of tremendous power upward.
While everyone stood there, unable to grasp his intent, Enel alone sprang away from the area—leaving the motionless Luffy behind.
Shandora had, over the long years, been swallowed by Island Cloud, the entire city buried and hidden. Only part of its upper surface showed itself above God's Island.
The Island Cloud overhead was like a ceiling over the world.
Enel's lightning pierced straight through it, shattering the ground of the cloud itself—and in the next instant, a massive volume of water came pouring down through the breach, along with rubble that looked like the shattered remains of ruins.
"Water?!"
"No—wait, that cloud… is that… a Swamp Cloud?!"
"It is. And it's directly above us," Enel said calmly. "Gedatsu happened to set up the Ordeal area today. His trial is the Swamp. Those are Swamp Clouds spread across the whole area. The more you struggle, the deeper you're dragged in… but that's hardly important now. In your condition, you won't be resisting either way."
"…! Damn it—Luffy!"
"U-UGH—WHOOOAAA—!! Glugglugglug…?!"
With the ceiling—'the bottom,' from the Swamp's side—broken open, the Swamp Cloud spilled out in a flood, raining down on Luffy's head along with countless chunks of rubble.
And as if it had been planned to the last detail, the spot Enel had lured Luffy to was lower than the surrounding ground—either a depression, or simply sunken.
Devil Fruit users lose their strength when submerged in water. Drowning inside the overflowing Swamp Cloud, Luffy's power drained away—and with debris pressing down on him from all sides, he sank, helpless.
Zoro rushed in to help, but the instant his foot stepped into the waterlogged area—
"Ugh—GAAAAAAH?!"
"Zoro?!"
Enel's electricity, sent through the Swamp Cloud itself, surged into Zoro and dropped him to the ground.
"Once that rubber man is gone, there will be no one left who can stand in my way… This will be my era. Honestly—what a needless inconvenience," Enel murmured. "But since I'm here, I may as well clean up properly before I depart for the Limitless Vearth."
As he spoke, Enel turned his hand toward… where Nami and Aisa were.
"You—going after women and children…!"
"Such trifles mean nothing to a god," Enel replied. "I make no distinctions."
"Run, Aisa!"
"A… ah…?!"
Wyper shouted, but Aisa's legs locked up. She stood frozen in place.
Enel fired a blast at her. Instinctively, Nami grabbed Aisa and pulled her close, turning her own body into a shield—
But the searing, piercing shock never came.
"NNGAAAAAAH!!"
Instead, the scream that echoed was… Leona's—the girl Aisa revered as her foster sister, the one she'd only just reunited with.
Startled, they whipped around.
Behind Nami, Leona stood with both arms spread, planted like a wall—taking the lightning in her own body to protect them.
"You…!"
"Leona?!"
"Haa… haa… Run, Aisa! I'll… I'll handle him somehow—ngh?!"
Another bolt came as she spoke, and again Leona didn't dodge—she took it head-on.
Nami and Aisa, sheltered behind her, could only stare in horror. Aisa forced the words out through shaking breath.
"…N-No way! Even Luffy—someone lightning doesn't work on—he couldn't stop him! You're already… you're swaying…!"
"This is… fine… I'm fine!" Leona snapped, forcing brightness into her voice as the shocks tore through her. "I'm probably the toughest one here anyway… agh…!"
To make sure neither Aisa nor Nami got hit even by accident, Leona transformed into her Beast Form—a massive lion—expanding herself into a living shield.
"Hm… so it isn't pure bravado," Enel mused. "Impressive toughness. Then shall we test it? Let's see… how much you can endure."
"Picking on kids…" Wyper snarled. "Sick bastard…"
"Knock it off, you lightning freak!!"
Zoro attacked from the side with his sword drawn, and Wyper fired his Burn Bazooka from an angle that wouldn't hit Zoro. But Zoro's strike was easily blocked with a staff, and Wyper's blast was stopped just as casually—with lightning.
And in the meantime, Leona kept taking hit after hit after hit, forcing herself to endure—
Until, at last, her body reached its limit.
Her transformation broke. Her Beast Form collapsed, and she reverted to her original girl's body—then crumpled to the ground.
Aisa ran to her at once.
Leona's body still carried the lingering remnants of Enel's electricity, but Aisa didn't care that her hands went numb. She clung to her foster sister and looked up at Enel, begging with her eyes: please, stop.
Knowing it was futile, Nami stepped forward anyway—Robin with her—trying to protect the two girls.
Enel merely laughed through his nose, looking at the four of them as if they were a pathetic joke.
"For a child, you fought well," he said, mocking. "I'll reward you… and put you at ease. 'God's (El)'…"
Lightning gathered in his hand. He compressed an enormous amount of energy into a glowing sphere.
Ignoring Zoro and Wyper as they shouted for everyone to run—screaming that it was impossible—
"'Judgment (Thor)!!'"
He hurled the sphere at Leona and the other three.
DOOOOOM!!!
But what spread before them wasn't the vision Enel expected—a lightning strike that would pierce through Shandora and beyond.
Instead, right where Aisa and the others were—or just before them—the lightning burst and vanished.
As if it had slammed into something unseen, been dammed up, and dispersed.
A heartbeat later, Enel used his Mantra and understood what it was.
He let out a long, weary sigh.
"One irritation after another… Do you want to be killed all at once?" His gaze sharpened. "You, especially, should know better. You already withdrew from the game once."
As the dust kicked up by the shockwave began to clear…
Sue stood there, paper wings spread wide, as if she had just drifted down from the sky.
In her hand, she held a Japanese umbrella—opened as though to shield Leona and the others from Enel.
"Mom… my…"
"I'm sorry, Leona," Sue said softly. "I'm sorry I was late."
She closed the umbrella and crouched, lifting Leona carefully into her arms. Her hand moved over Leona's hair in a gentle stroke—soothing, comforting, as if trying to ease the pain away.
Almost at the same time, a step behind her, Lupus came down too—more like she jumped from above than floated.
And she wasn't alone.
As she landed, she was carrying another woman in her arms.
"Wyper… thank goodness you're—well, not exactly fine. And—Aisa?! What are you doing here?!"
"Huh?! Raki?!"
Two familiar faces stared at each other in shock.
Raki's surprise was especially sharp. Aisa wasn't even a warrior yet—she shouldn't have been anywhere near a place this dangerous.
Leaving them to their confusion for the moment, Sue beckoned the maid who had just arrived.
"Lupus. Take care of her."
"Yes, Lady."
Lupus's usual light tone was gone. She answered with a serious expression, took Leona gently from Sue's arms, and cradled her with care. Then she pulled a medical kit from her pocket and began emergency treatment.
With her back to them, shielding the others from the enemy, Sue held her Japanese umbrella like a sword—its pointed tip leveled straight at Enel.
"Hey. You…" she said, voice low. "Don't think you're going to die easy."
To be continued...