Enel's mind wasn't just reeling; it was shattered.
He hung in the sky, wide-eyed, a copper taste filling his mouth.
Blood.
He couldn't comprehend it.
How had this... this mortal... struck him? Him? A god?
Ever since obtaining his powers, he'd never suffered so much as a scratch, let alone been forced to spit his own blood.
The sharp, unfamiliar sting of pain from his lower abdomen was a humiliating anchor to reality.
Down on the Going Merry, Nami and Usopp were beaming, their expressions looks so proud you'd think they'd thrown the punch themselves.
As long as Ray was nearby, their fear evaporated!
They hadn't quite processed that the man Ray had just sent flying was the legendary, terrifying god of Skypiea.
Their bubble of blissful ignorance burst when Sanji vaulted onto the deck, carrying the charred forms of Gan Fall and Pierre.
The duo finally tore their eyes from the sky.
The sight of the former "god," smoking and blackened, sent a chill straight down their spines.
"He's... he's charred black," Nami whispered, horrified. "Can he even survive that?"
"And that was just an ordinary move from Ray's enemy."
"Didn't Conis say the god of Sky Island can invoke divine punishment at will?"
"I suddenly feel like Ray is in danger."
"Eeek~"
After a beat of terrified analysis, the realization hit them.
The man fighting Ray was that god.
"We're done for," Usopp muttered, sinking to the deck. "The three of us weaklings are facing a god."
A swift kick from Sanji sent him tumbling.
"You're the weakling moss-head-in-training. Don't lump me and the lovely Nami-swan in with you!"
"No, no, he's right!" Nami scrambled, grabbing Sanji's arm.
"We're definitely weaklings! Sanji, protect me!"
She didn't deny it for a second.
Their opponent was a god.
A little cowardice now, Ray would surely understand later, right?
Sanji immediately puffed out his chest, radiating righteous determination.
"Don't worry, Nami-san! To protect you, I wouldn't mind if Usopp died!"
Usopp (╬￣皿￣): "Hey~"
Ray heard the chatter from the ship but had no time for it.
His focus was locked on the sky.
"Get farther away!" he barked.
That was all the warning they needed.
Nami immediately started shouting orders, getting Sanji and Usopp to man the oars and row the Going Merry away from the battlefield.
Ray wanted them gone for a simple reason: in his eyes, this Enel was dangerously unpredictable.
Part of him, the pragmatic part, screamed to cut Enel down while he was still stunned.
But the warrior's code he lived by stayed his hand.
A moment's hesitation.
It was all Enel needed.
The god rose, his expression chillingly stabilized.
"I see," Enel mused, wiping blood from his lip. "The one with the weakest presence... you are the strongest of these Blue Sea mortals. White-haired one, how did you touch my lightning form?"
Ray offered no reply.
The god's fighting spirit had returned.
This needed to end.
Quickly.
With a surge of Demonic Power, Ray vanished, reappearing before Enel in a phantom-like flicker.
Enel was startled.
The speed was inhuman.
But his own reaction was just as fast.
The moment Ray's "Poison Claw" swiped, Enel dissolved into pure lightning, reforming at Ray's flank.
"Raihou."
In an instant, Enel's arm transformed into a pillar of blinding lightning that blasted from Ray's side.
Ray's Observation Haki screamed a warning before the attack even launched.
He crouched, the attack searing the air above him, and spun, driving a Haki-infused kick straight into Enel's chest.
Once again, he sent the "god" flying, coughing up more blood.
Ray glanced at the spot behind him, where the Raihou had struck.
As far as he could see, the earth was obliterated, trees vaporized.
The attack had carved a terrifying scar in the ground, two meters wide, stretching all the way to the White-White Sea.
'With that kind of power,' he thought grimly, 'only Luffy would survive it.'
Any lingering hope he'd had that this Enel was the one from his memories vanished.
That wasn't just a shock; it was an execution.
That single bolt would have reduced Zoro to charcoal, Haki defense or not.
Enel stood up again.
"To think you could dodge my 50 million volt electrocution... Is this the Observation Haki you spoke of yesterday?"
Ray wasn't surprised Enel knew the term; he'd probably overheard it during the earlier fights.
'Fifty million volts,' Ray processed.
He put aside the science of his old world; it didn't matter.
What mattered was that this Enel, at this voltage, was a lethal threat to every single Straw Hat.
He couldn't gamble on the absurd "plot armor" he remembered from the stories.
That Luffy, the one without even Gear Second, couldn't theoretically even touch this man.
If Enel just kept his distance, Luffy would lose.
Decisively.
Enel's threat level was approaching Tokikake's.
It might even be worse—the guy's speed was just too fast.
Ray's expression hardened.
He took a single, deep breath, his resolve solidifying.
He would have to eliminate Enel.
Personally.
...
Meanwhile, miles away, Robin led her group to the ruins.
Chouchou trotted ahead, Luffy and Zoro trailing behind.
A man stood before them, his hair fanned out like spider legs, his eyes rolled completely back into his head.
He was... 'looking' at them? The first impression was intimidating.
Luffy and Zoro slowly slipped the dog leashes from their necks, already preparing to rock-paper-scissors for the fight.
Then, one of the divine soldiers beside the man spoke up.
"Gedatsu-sama, you can't see the enemy with your eyes rolled back like that."
Gedatsu blinked, his eyes rolling back down with a wet pop.
"Oops, I forgot again..."
In an instant, the intimidating aura evaporated.
Luffy immediately lost all interest.
"Zoro, you take him."
"Who'd want to fight a fool?" Zoro grumbled.
Chouchou huffed, clearly looking down on him too.
Robin merely sighed. "I'm in a hurry to search the ruins. I'll go on ahead. This is all yours."
Only one person remained: the adorable ship's doctor, Lord Chopper.
Seeing Chopper hesitate, Luffy and Zoro gave him an encouraging look.
"Chopper, we believe in you," they said in unison.
Buoyed by their trust, Chopper's fear transformed into motivation.
He declared he would handle it and that they should press on. L
uffy and Zoro nodded, trusting Chopper's strength, and followed Robin into the ruins.
Chouchou glanced at the two departing backs, then at the rope in its mouth, and sighed.
He spat the rope out.
'Master's orders,' the dog thought, 'were to stop Luffy and Zoro from getting lost. But protecting comrades is the top priority.'
And right now, his little brother Chopper looked like he needed a guardian.
...
Ray, for his part, wasn't worried about Luffy's group.
As long as Enel didn't interfere, Sky Island was a backyard garden for them.
Besides, he had his own problems.
Enel had changed tactics.
The moment he realized Ray could hit him, the close-quarters fight was over.
Now, he kept his distance, a frustrating kiter, discharging catastrophic bolts of lightning from afar.
Whenever Ray surged forward, Enel simply dissolved into lightning and reappeared a hundred meters away.
His speed was insane.
It wasn't true light speed, but it was faster than anything Ray could physically catch.
'His physicals are his weakness,' Ray reasoned, parrying another thunderbolt with a blade of condensed Haki.
'When he actually launches an attack, his movements are slow. Telegraphed.'
The strategy was clear.
He just had to weather the storm and seize the split-second opening when Enel committed to a close-range strike.
'The only problem,' Ray thought, dodging a blinding pillar of electricity, 'is how do I get close?'
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