"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The neatly constructed houses that had once lined the area like a planned grid collapsed as if they were LEGO bricks knocked over by a rowdy child.
Using the advantage of its age and natural resistance, the Wooden Giant held Thunder God firmly in place.
Wherever it passed, the ruins were overtaken by blooming flowers and thick vines.
Now that he had the upper hand again, Aramaki—who had just been acting all cautious—immediately reverted to form, shouting with smug arrogance.
"Lahhahaha! That bastard Doflamingo thought he could meddle in the New World's affairs. This time, you pathetic worms who dare rebel against the World Government, who defy the Celestial Dragons… you're all going to die right here!!!"
His declaration echoed all the way to Upper Yard, reaching the ears of the evacuated citizens. Fear and fury spread among them like wildfire.
"Our homes… they're gone again…"
"Damn the World Government! Is this really how the Celestial Dragons see the people?!"
"We're human too! Damn it…!"
"..."
"You fools! You think you understand the young master's vision? You're nothing but a spared failure. This time... you're the one who dies!"
Sensing the weapon being readied in the sky above, Enel didn't retreat—instead, he advanced.
Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto wrapped his arms around Aramaki.
A blinding light pierced everyone's eyes.
"One Billion Volts!!"
Bzzzzzzzt!
The so-called fireproof wood finally reached combustion point.
And that wasn't all.
Even hiding within the creature's body, Aramaki himself was overwhelmed by the surge of electricity.
The Wooden Giant froze—its systems short-circuited, temporarily shutting down.
But Enel wasn't finished.
The weapon he had prepared—that was just the beginning.
The clouds tore apart. The Gungnir he had launched high into the heavens had long vanished from sight, replaced by a colossal rotating spear of pure lightning.
"Gungnir!!!"
This wasn't the crude version Enel once used. Five years of growth had brought him back to the destructive heights he reached on Raijin Island.
A streak of light descended—far too fast for even seasoned warriors to follow.
"BOOM!!"
The Wooden Giant was obliterated, reduced to sawdust in an instant.
"BOOM!!"
The dense cloud-island below it was pierced through like butter.
"BOOM!!"
Even the White-White Sea didn't escape—beneath the ruptured clouds, you could already glimpse the ocean far below.
Aramaki vanished from the battlefield.
"A Logia… the Rumble-Rumble Fruit really might be the strongest of them all,"
Judge muttered, observing the battlefield.
"Shurororo… but it's all thanks to the BOSS's genius," Caesar grinned sycophantically.
"If it were up to Enel alone, do you think he could've developed this much destructive power?"
Judge scowled. This bastard always found a new angle to kiss up to the boss.
Changing the subject, he snorted.
"Shame about the Woods-Woods Fruit. That user's dead, and we're almost out of lab samples."
...
What no one noticed was that deep within the surveillance feed, something remained in the immigration zone where Aramaki had fallen.
Green leaves shimmered faintly, greedily absorbing the surrounding light, darkening the area around them.
Back at the House of Defeated, two figures quietly pocketed the keys forged from cloud-island matter.
Noticing each other's movements and the slight smile forming on the other's face, Bullet twitched and turned his head away.
"Blind bastard. Disgusting."
"No need for hostility," the man known only as Issho replied calmly. "Though I am curious… why don't you take this chance to leave?"
Facing Bullet's turned back, he pressed further.
He himself had acted for the sake of peace and to strike at the corruption of the World Government.
But what of this former prison-mate?
A man whose heart burned with an unmatched thirst for battle.
"This dump is the home of a so-called failure like me. It's no place for some Celestial Dragon lapdog to step foot."
His fists clenched slightly.
That lightning kid… looks like he'd be real fun to beat into the ground.
...
Back on the battlefield—
Whoosh!
A golden staff crackling with electricity slowly rose from a massive crater.
Enel's Mantra (Observation Haki) swept over the battlefield.
Aramaki's life signature was gone.
Bzzz...
Stray bolts of electricity flowed back into Enel's body as his true form gradually materialized beside the massive crater he had created.
He grabbed the golden staff and sneered as he gazed at the destruction he had wrought.
"Hahaha… hahaha… HAHAHA! That's all he had? And he dared to challenge the young master?!"
But in the middle of his laughter, Enel's expression froze.
Damn it! He'd forgotten about those weird flowers.
He had intentionally left them here—after all, the young master was always on the lookout for rare and strange blooms.
Once he saw these, he'd definitely let Enel take a break and go have some fun.
Enel felt giddy at the thought.
But as he imagined the scenario, his body suddenly froze again.
"Shit… I really shouldn't stay here. Let Caesar, that curly-horned freak, come research this crap."
Below him, a flower with a wicked smile began to bloom.
Enel was just about to leave when his body froze again—and this time, a wave of drowsiness flooded his mind.
Then, in an instant, a massive mouth devoured him whole.
"Lahhahaha! Got you, you lightning bastard!!"
Aramaki's body regenerated from within the massive, blooming flower.
On his shoulder sat the very flower that had swallowed Enel.
"We really are the perfect team!"
Beneath the flower, a swollen bulge around the stem was shaped unmistakably like Enel's outline.
The previously terrifying maw slowly closed up, turning back into a delicate white flower that nodded and smiled gently.
"Lily"
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Fanfic is finished 527 chapters in total on p@treon/tambeerg