"Yahahahaha! This is the power of lightning!"
Floating in the air, Enel felt as if he had merged with the lightning itself.
Every bolt was part of his body. He could command this lightning as he would his own limbs.
'But why did I suddenly possess this miraculous power? Could it be... that the gods of the sky island had finally chosen me?'
"Boss... Boss, hel-"
From within the ruins, the few surviving sky bandits who had weathered the electric storm called out to Enel for help.
Unfortunately, they received not a shred of his attention.
"I have obtained divine power. You are of no more use to me."
Turning away without a hint of attachment, Enel ignored his former crewmates as if they didn't exist.
Soon after, several life energies faded away, buried under the heavy island clouds.
For Enel, who grew up in Birka ostracized for lacking wings, callousness was second nature.
Only through such detachment had he managed to survive and grow in that violent, primitive environment.
And now, with power rivaling that of a god, Enel's first thought was to test this power against the 'strong ones' of his homeland, to determine his place in the sky island's hierarchy.
"This is truly... something to look forward to! Yahahahaha!"
Taking a deep breath, Enel rose into the air, about to transform into lightning and shoot into the clouds above.
However... a streak of ink-black sword light silently curved through the air, sweeping past his neck.
It cleanly severed his head, which tumbled to the ground.
"Huh?"
Enel's head, lying on the island cloud, rolled its eyes toward the direction the sword light had come from.
A girl, gripping a long sword in both hands, was panting heavily. Her face was flushed, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"It really is a Logia! Sakura-nee wasn't lying!"
Kuina laughed loudly as she charged at Enel.
Because his head was severed and he was still in shock, Enel observed Kuina's movements through his Mantra.
At the same time, the thought that his true self hadn't been harmed surfaced in his consciousness. His head on the ground dissolved into a small bolt of lightning and merged back into his body.
"Marvelous! This is divine power! The power to make one immortal!"
Gazing obsessively at the lightning crackling between his hands, Enel spread his arms and laughed hysterically.
"A god? Immortal?"
Kuina sheathed her sword, assuming an iaijutsu stance. "What a coincidence. I've wanted to cut down a god for a long time now!"
The next instant, sword light tinged with gray, deathly mist appeared in the firmament like a crescent moon. It effortlessly sliced through the island cloud and tore Enel's body in two.
"Hahahaha, useless! How could a mortal's puny blade harm a god?"
Enel, now cut in half, wore a ferocious grin. Chains of lightning linked across the smooth cross-section of his body, pulling it back together.
Simultaneously, he spread his fingers, grasping at dancing sparks in the void, about to hurl them at Kuina.
"Tch, this guy is really arrogant~"
Leviathan, comfortably nestled in Sakura's arms, spared a glance at Enel and clicked her tongue disdainfully.
Just a petty thief who'd just gotten his hands on a Logia. Leviathan had fought against a Logia Admiral, and even he wasn't this cocky.
"Indeed. Let's capture him later and give him some proper training."
Sakura's smile was malicious, her gaze sweeping over the fiercely battling Enel with dangerous intent.
"You want him to join us?"
Tiger, hearing this, was somewhat surprised.
Sakura nodded. "Yes. Despite acting like a pompous fool who just got lucky, the guy's actual abilities aren't bad."
The future Enel, relying solely on an ancient, incomplete blueprint, had overseen the entire construction of the Ark Maxim, proving his exceptional knowledge and practical skills as a shipwright.
Coincidentally, Leviathan also lacked an excellent shipwright for her daily maintenance and weapons/equipment upgrades.
Enel, possessing decent combat prowess and remarkable shipbuilding talent, was a good candidate.
"Interesting. Then I'll have to test this guy out myself later!"
Provoked by Sakura's praise, Tiger's interest was piqued.
The two of them focused their expectant gazes on the battlefield, staring so intently that even Enel, flashing about as lightning, felt goosebumps.
"Damn it, here they come again!"
Enel, supporting himself with one hand on the ground, flipped backward several times to create distance from Kuina. He crouched on a large boulder, hugging his arms and rubbing them.
It felt as if he was being watched by ravenous beasts filled with malice, a prickling sensation on his back. Enel simply couldn't ignore such scrutiny.
"El Thor!"
With a swing of his right arm, lightning spewing with myriad sparks of light howled towards the spectators on the Waver.
Even though Enel had just consumed the fruit, the initial voltage granted by the ability was as high as thirty million volts.
Boom!
An indescribable roar suddenly erupted in the silent air above the sky island.
Amidst the flashing lightning, Sakura, sitting on the Waver, smiled mockingly.
She simply raised a finger and gave it a light flick.
Without even using Chakra, just instinctively manipulating electrons through collision ionization, she deflected the terrifying lightning bolt aimed at the Waver.
In that moment of stunned disbelief, the thirty-million-volt El Thor struck its 'target'.
'?'
A massive sky fish leaping from the White-White Sea widened its small, confused eyes.
Then, the lightning pierced through its body, leaving a deep, charred cavity.
"Hmm, perfectly cooked. Not bad at all."
Sakura lightly sniffed the aroma of grilled fish in the air, casting a challenging look at Enel in the distance.
"Damn you!" Enel immediately saw red, veins bulging on his forehead.
Raising both arms high, he mobilized every bit of electrical power within his body to the maximum.
Ferocious lightning gathered between his arms, taking the rough shape of a dragon's head. The electric light roared as it reared up.
"Sixty Million Volts: Thunder Beast!"
The dragon-shaped high-voltage current surged forth.
A figure stood before this deadly arc of electricity.
"Heh, foolish mortal. Perish with your ignorance under divine punishment!"
Seeing Kuina's action, Enel laughed scornfully.
However, the girl, gripping her twin swords tightly, evenly covered the blades' surfaces with flowing Chakra. Under the nature transformation Kuina had mastered, it transformed into dazzling, towering lightning.
Clang!
The fine, lingering hum of the clashing blades spread lightly, heralding the onset of destruction.
[Two-Sword Style: Iaijutsu: Lightning Bolt!]
The delayed roar of the blades cutting through the air erupted. The entire White-White Sea writhed violently, churning up white waves.
Then, Enel saw it. His Thunder Beast, which should have incinerated everything, was split cleanly in two along its midline by the twin swords surging upstream.
The lightning had been cut!!!
"Impossible!" Enel roared in disbelief and fury.
The muscles on his face twitched. His eyebrows shot up, eyes wide with shock, mouth agape.
'That was lightning! How could anyone possibly cut it with a sword?'
"Nothing's impossible. As a swordsman, you just have to trust your blade!"
In an instant, as the fierce light dissipated, Kuina, stroking her sword, arrived before Enel.
"You..."
Enel's Mantra sensed the direction of Kuina's slash, but her speed was simply too fast. It was too late to dodge.
The moment the flying slash lit up, Enel closed his eyes.
'It's fine. This is divine power. I am immortal!'
"Two-Sword Style: Death: Utpala!"
Thud!