A familiar, biting frustration gnawed at Ray.
Since arriving in this chaotic world, it was always speed.
When he was still adapting, he'd faced Momousagi, who specialized in it.
After he'd grown stronger, he met Tokikake, who could literally merge with the earth to move at impossible velocities.
And now, he had to fight a man who was lightning.
'My own speed isn't a joke,' he reflected, 'so why do I keep running into these freaks?'
In a straight brawl, he was confident he'd crush them.
But they never gave him a straight brawl.
At least Tokikake had the decency to fight head-on... at first.
The moment he started losing, he'd just play dirty, sinking into the ground to escape.
Ray shook his head.
When he fully synchronized with his power, he'd show them all what true god-like speed felt like.
For now, Enel was just a stepping stone—a tool to help him reach that next level.
The question was how to hit him.
He couldn't keep trading injuries, hoping to land a lucky blow.
...
Then, a plan clicked into place.
A gamble, but a calculated one.
He didn't just tap into his power; he detonated it.
A terrifying azure aura erupted from him, the sheer force shattering the ground and vaporizing nearby trees.
Across the gap, Enel's smugness faltered as a bead of cold sweat tracing its way down his temple.
Even a "god" could feel fear.
But that wasn't enough.
Ray channeled Haki into his legs, strengthening the already powerful muscles.
The final step: partial demonization.
While holding onto his rationality, he pushed his Demonic Power to its absolute limit.
His eyes turn crimson.
'This is it,' he thought. 'My absolute fastest.'
He didn't run.
He became a blur, a comet of blue energy aimed straight at the still-processing Enel, Poison Claw in his left hand, Tokijin in his right.
Just as the claw was about to taste the divine flesh, Enel reacted, dissolving into lightning and retreating.
A cold laugh echoed in between.
'Too slow. You can't hit me. You'll just be worn down...'
His triumphant thought was cut short.
A terrifying sword slash was already in his path.
"Impossible!" Enel snarled internally. "I was retreating!"
He wasn't just fast; he could think at that speed.
He poured more energy into his lightning form, decisively accelerating his retreat to his intended landing spot.
He materialized, feet touching the solid cloud...
Only for the ground beneath him to erupt.
"Azure Dragon Break!"
An azure dragon, seething with Demonic Power and Haki, engulfed him.
Enel's scream was primal, a sound of pure agony as he felt his very life force being torn away.
He'd been played.
It was a three-part trap.
Ray's Haki hadn't just predicted an escape route; it had predicted the escape route.
The initial, terrifying charge wasn't meant to hit—it was meant to herd.
It forced Enel onto the precise path where Ray had already launched his other two attacks: a sword slash to the midpoint and the Azure Dragon Break, hidden, waiting at the landing zone.
A human reflex.
A god's arrogance.
Enel had dodged the first two strikes and let his guard down, never imagining the third attack was already waiting underground.
Before Enel could even process the pain, Ray was on him, accelerating into the azure maelstrom.
"A mere frog in a well," Ray's voice cut through the dragon's roar, "daring to pass divine judgment on me?"
He raised Tokijin, the blade cloaked in an ominous fusion of Haki and Demonic Power.
One clean strike.
Enel's body, bisected at the waist, plummeted from the sky.
Ray sensed it—the "god's" lifeforce was extinguished.
The entire battle, from start to finish, had taken less time than it took the Going Merry to drift two kilometers.
Ray landed softly on the deck and sat in a corner.
Nami, Sanji, and Usopp just stared at him.
The battle was over..... just like that.
To kill the god of Sky Island and return as if he'd just finished a light spar... it was awe-inspiring.
And utterly terrifying.
Without a word, they slowly proceeded toward the cloud sea near the skull's right eye.
...
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew had found their own troubles.
Robin, having bypassed the Swamp Trial, had arrived at the ruins, only to be blocked by the Divine Soldier Leader—a bulky man whose very mass spoke of formidable defense.
Zoro, true to form, was hopelessly lost and had ended up in a different area entirely.
He now faced a large dog and another man wielding a long sword, Ohm.
Just as they squared off, Wyper, the leader of the Shandia warriors, arrived, creating a tense triangular standoff.
And the captain? Luffy, distracted by insects and tree branches, had wandered off from Robin.
After scratching his head for a good long time, he reached a conclusion.
"South is the warm direction," he declared. "So I'll go this way."
He promptly ventured deeper into the forest, where he was now staring, deep in thought, at a giant snake over twenty meters wide.
...
Back on the Merry, Ray's keen senses mapped out the chaos.
His crew was scattered to the four winds.
"A handful, all of them," he sighed, shaking his head. "Chouchou will have his work cut out for him."
...
For now, Chouchou was occupied, carefully observing the battle between Chopper and Priest Gedatsu.
The "Swamp Trial" was aptly named; the entire area was covered in clouds with the sticky, sucking properties of a bog.
Gedatsu was a brawler, relying on physical combat and the occasional cheap shot from his Dials—Cloud Dials on his feet to levitate, Impact Dials on his elbows to boost his punches.
But this wasn't the same reindeer who'd joined the crew.
Ray's "demonic training"—a polite term for the regular, character-building beatings—had forged him into something more.
His combat ability was leagues beyond what it should have been.
He flowed through his forms, a strange and effective hybrid of brawling and... well... boxing.
"I'll knock you out~" he yelled, all fear forgotten.
He used Jump Point to vault over Gedatsu, then shifted in mid-air.
"Heavy Point! Fierce Tiger!"
He crashed down with all his enhanced weight, colliding with Gedatsu's heavy punch.
Gedatsu's block buckled under the immense pressure.
Chopper seized the opening.
"Arm Point - Cherry Blossom Snowstorm!"
His two small, hard hooves became a blur, a frantic drumbeat against Gedatsu's chest that shattered ribs.
Ray's 'gifts'—small, controlled infusions of Demonic Power—had done more than train him; they had changed him.
His power was evolving.
"Final blow!" Chopper yelled.
"Jump Point - Reindeer Face Kick!"
His enhanced leg strength kicked Gedatsu square in the face as he was still reeling.
The blow shattered the priest's nasal bone and skull.
As he fell, Gedatsu might have even thanked Chopper.
At least now, he didn't have to try to roll his eyes back.
They were staying that way.
Permanently.
With Gedatsu down, the path to the ruins was clearing.
---------
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