Oboro transformed into a streak of light and shot into the territory of Upper Yard at breakneck speed.
His incredibly fast movement caused a resounding boom to echo from beneath the dome of clouds, like the air itself was being torn apart.
The four priests, each guarding different sections of the island, spotted the intruder one after another.
"Is he heading to the shrine?"
Shura, one of the four priests in charge of the Ordeal of String, observed the direction of the dark figure's rapid flight, his expression changing slightly beneath his aviator goggles.
Immediately, he mounted his three-legged bird, Fuza, and soared into the sky, ready to intercept this disrespectful "criminal"!
He was dressed like a fighter pilot from the early 1900s, his thin mustache split into two distinctive points. The strange spear he wielded in his hand, the Heat Javelin, began to glow crimson as the Heat Dial within amplified its temperature to an astonishingly dangerous level.
Fire Spear, one of his signature techniques.
Simultaneously, the large bird beneath him, Fuza, opened its beak and aimed at the still-flying target. Its beak contained a Flame Dial, capable of spitting blazing fire.
"This is the domain of the gods... You are forbidden to trespass!" Shura barked coldly through his rat-whiskers, circling toward Oboro.
However, Oboro never spared the attacking priest a glance, treating him as nothing more than an insect.
He continued his flight, extending his right arm and aiming his palm at Shura, who was charging at him with his flaming spear raised. His fingers clenched, and with a thunderous bang, a deafening explosion erupted in the air. The space surrounding Shura and his mount was suddenly compressed and crushed by a devastating gust of pressurized air. Two lives were obliterated mid-flight, showering the ground below in a spray of blood and torn flesh.
With a whoosh, Oboro continued his charge, soaring toward the summit.
Below, in the forested depths of Upper Yard, the other three priests were tracking Oboro's trajectory, sprinting rapidly through the undergrowth... temporarily abandoning their respective "trial grounds" to join forces. They had originally planned to rely on Shura to force the intruder to the ground, then coordinate their attack... but they hadn't anticipated their aerial companion being annihilated in the first encounter.
Of the four priests, Shura was the only one capable of true aerial combat.
The figure in the sky was flying impossibly fast... they could barely track it with their eyes.
"Impossible!"
The three surviving priests barely had time to process their companion's instant death. When they saw the figure disappear into the mountaintop where God's Shrine stood, they knew... it was too late! Immediately, they spurred themselves forward, racing toward the hilltop through the cloud passages that connected different areas of Upper Yard like ethereal highways.
...
High above, on the shrine's golden rooftop,
Enel sat casually on the eaves, tossing a bright, crisp apple in his hand. His gaze drifted toward the drifting clouds below and the endless horizon beyond.
He sensed it...
a faint presence approaching.
His previously bored expression shifted to an amused smile. He caught the apple, took a deliberate bite, and began to chew thoughtfully.
Then, narrowing his piercing gray-blue eyes, he spotted a 'black dot' looming in the distance and heard the strange sound of air being violently displaced... He didn't move for now, wanting to observe what this intruder was truly capable of. Sky Island occasionally received visits from Blue Sea dwellers, some of whom proved unruly and defiant. Their fate... was always self-evident. From Enel's perspective, he considered the Blue Sea people nothing more than insects crawling below ten thousand meters... nothing special, and certainly nothing dangerous.
While they possessed some abilities, they were... pathetically weak.
However, when he witnessed his priest being instantly slain by this enemy, Enel broke into a genuinely intrigued grin, casually tossing away his half-eaten apple.
Honestly, since becoming Sky Island's new god, he'd found life rather tedious... Even the occasional challengers, like the cowardly Shandians, were nothing more than annoying fleas in his eyes, hardly presenting a threat, let alone entertainment. After achieving godhood, this invincible existence with no worthy rivals had grown quite monotonous. So lately, even when "sinners" appeared, he wouldn't immediately bring down divine punishment. Instead, he'd playfully toy with them first, then slowly torture them to death.
It provided a little "spice" to his otherwise dull existence.
"Not weak."
These two words constituted Enel's assessment of the intruder approaching him.
Perhaps... this person could provide entertainment for an extended period.
Just as this thought crystallized in his mind, a surging wave of energy rolled toward him the next second.
The massive shrine building creaked ominously under the pressure.
Suddenly, faint arcs of electricity appeared reflexively around Enel, and his expression shifted to genuine surprise.
Above him, a gentleman in an immaculate suit and tie, stepping casually through the air as if descending an invisible staircase, appeared to be strolling down from the heavens themselves.
This was the true appearance of the intruder.
...
A white bandana covered platinum blond hair, exaggerated earlobes stretched down to his chest and weighted with diamond-shaped gold earrings... Four large drums adorned with three tomoe each were mounted on his back via a golden ring.
And a long staff forged from smelted gold rested casually across his shoulder.
Enel.
The self-proclaimed God of Skypiea.
Oboro held down the brim of his hat with one hand, looking down to meet Enel's upward gaze.
A knowing smile played at the corner of his mouth.
The character Enel was quite popular in the original manga... As a user of a Logia-type Devil Fruit, the level and true strength of his Goro Goro no Mi had always been a hot topic among readers. However, no matter how much they debated, it was meaningless... Oda had already provided a clear answer: in the New World, his bounty would be at least 500 million berries. And since Oda had answered this question relatively early in the series... many power systems, such as Haki, were still underdeveloped at the time.
Therefore, Oboro had always believed that Enel's true strength, based purely on his potential bounty, would easily reach at least 1 billion berries.
It was almost comparable to the top officers of the Four Emperors' crews. Jack the Drought's bounty stood right at the 1 billion mark. As the pinnacle of Logia-type Devil Fruits, with its devastating lightning attribute, Enel naturally possessed the capability to reach that level, practically approaching the threshold of a "Vice Emperor."
Of course, this referred to Enel's upper potential limit, not his current state.
With just one analytical glance, Oboro could see exactly how underdeveloped Enel, sitting on the roof below, truly was.
"He's completely reliant on his Devil Fruit power... His physical conditioning is adequate, but considering Grand Line standards as a baseline, it's significantly lacking. Aside from the fact that rubber naturally insulates against lightning, it's no wonder he was ultimately defeated by Luffy," Oboro mused silently.
"Hey... who gave you permission to look at me like that?"
"Do you know... who I am?"
Suddenly, before Oboro's body had even descended to the level of the shrine's eaves, his peripheral vision was illuminated by a crackling ball of blue-white electrical energy. Then, Enel's characteristically languid voice resonated directly in his ears. Moving at the speed of lightning itself, Enel had draped an arm over Oboro's shoulder with casual familiarity, asking, "Are you looking for me?"
"It's indeed incredibly fast... almost impossible to track with normal human reflexes... but that's merely due to physiological limitations," Oboro commented with an amused smile.
It was the first time anyone had approached him so casually, and he found it rather entertaining.
Facing Enel's question directly, he responded, "Of course I know you... the god of this place, Enel."
"Yahahahaha..."
Enel laughed when he heard the recognition, lazily scratching one of his elongated earlobes, "Interesting... So, what do you want from me, mortal?"
"Tell me... Let me hear it."