Ganfor looked at Luka helplessly. "You've defeated me, and with your power, you can become the god. So why do you want my help?"
"First, I don't want to face opposition and become hated because I seized power by force."
"Second, I want the gold here, and I'll need a workforce to extract it for me."
"So do what I tell you, or refuse... and I'll kill everyone here."
I have no goal in obtaining the gold now, but I'm sure I'll need it at some point, so there's no harm in taking it and keeping it.
As for the main reason I want to control the situation here, it's to learn Observation Haki — the Skypieans are skilled in it.
And the secondary reason is that I'll likely spend some time here to grow stronger, so if I control the place, I'll spend my days in luxury.
And there's also a pointless war going on here — no harm in stopping it since I'm here.
Ganfor looked at Luka and said, "Then there's no other option... but for your information, I have authority over the Skypieans, but the Shandians are a proud people and won't submit to you."
"Your task is the Skypieans. As for the Shandians, I'll take care of it."
The old god sighed and said, "Years of effort to maintain balance, pleading here and there… ended at the hands of a boy."
He added, "We'll need an official appearance on Angel Island and certain rituals… a new god can't appear without introductions."
"Fine, arrange it. I'll be there in two days." (Luka)
"And the Shandians… they're extremely stubborn… they won't accept it easily." (Ganfor)
"When they realize that the only way to survive is to follow my will, no one will refuse."
I bid farewell to Ganfor and headed to the Shandian camp.
---
The clouds slowly withdrew under his feet as he walked confidently over the thick clouds, his features reflecting unwavering coldness. When he passed the last bend between the white fields, the village appeared before him… the hidden Shandian village in the clouds.
Massive conical tents decorated with ancient symbols stood tall, as if guarding a lost legacy. Tall wooden poles with blazing flames announced the identity of the earth people who refused submission. Twisting, climbing trees rose into the sky as if competing with the clouds, and narrow paths snaked between the tents as if designed to confuse strangers.
Luka stood at the edge of the village, his eyes scanning the details — the silent warriors who spotted him from behind the tents, the children frozen in place, and the women who stopped cooking when they saw the stranger. He raised his hand calmly and brushed some dust off his cloak, as if preparing for a conversation no less important than any battle he had fought.
Then, without showing any hostility, he continued walking toward the heart of the village, his eyes fixed on the largest tent in the center, where the authority — or what remained of it — resided. There was no threat in his steps; he focused his gaze on the largest tent and kept moving.
Suddenly, a shout erupted from one side of the village, and soon ten Shandian warriors surrounded Luka, their faces covered with tribal masks and their bodies taut like bowstrings. They didn't wait for orders; they pounced on him instantly, as if defending a sacred place desecrated by his presence.
One of them threw his spear directly at Luka's chest — it pierced through his body and came out the other side without a drop of blood. For a moment, the attacker froze in place, eyes wide in astonishment.
"What…?!"
But his voice vanished in a terrifying roar of thunder.
Luka hadn't moved from his place — he just turned his head toward them, his eyes glowing with intense electric light. In an instant, his body ignited in a blinding blue flash, and a surge of lightning exploded around him, sweeping through the circle that surrounded him.
The sound of bodies hitting the ground and stifled cries followed, then an eerie silence. Five of them fell motionless, four collapsed trembling from the shock. The last one knelt, staring at Luka as if facing a god, not a human.
Luka stepped forward slowly — carrying no sword or weapon, just the sound of thunder trailing his steps in the air.
"That was a warning. Whoever attacks me… will suffer the consequences."
The eyes of the remaining scattered warriors around the tents fell upon their fallen comrades, and a heavy silence spread. The children hid inside the tents, the women ran for cover, and the men clenched their fists… but they didn't move.
Luka continued walking toward the great tent, his eyes glowing with the same lightning that began to cloud the sky above.
The current leader of the Shandians emerged from the tent — a tall man with thick white hair, his face carrying fierce features despite his age, which had surpassed sixty. His muscles were still taut like an old sword not yet dulled, a necklace of strange bones on his chest, and a leather sash engraved with the symbols of his ancestors.
This was the current Shandian chief… "Kaldius."
He looked at the bodies on the ground. "You bastard… to dare kill our brothers on our land. Looks like you're asking for death."
"They tried to kill me. All I did was self-defense."
"I'll tear you apart with my own hands."
---
Kaldius let out a feral roar and charged forward, fists crashing together like rocks. His veins bulged, chest rising and falling with unstoppable rage.
"We'll see if that electric body of yours can withstand the wrath of Shandia!" he yelled, grabbing a massive axe from inside the tent.
Behind him, dozens of warriors emerged — men and women, faces painted for battle, holding swords, spears, and axes, roaring as if their ancestors' spirits pushed them to fight.
Luka stood still, his eyes scanning the approaching faces — not with arrogance, but hesitation. He pursed his lips and raised his hand as if to stop them with a word, but one warrior fired an arrow at him — it pierced his chest and came out the other side.
Luka sighed silently and whispered:
"I'll scare them a little so they retreat…"
The first wave of warriors charged at him. He raised his right hand, focusing his energy — not only from his fruit, but his mind.
In a moment, one of the large tents lifted off the ground and flew like a missile, crushing three fighters at once amid screams of shock.
Then he slowly spread his arms, and the very air around him moved like a hidden vortex, choking the oxygen around a group of advancing warriors — they fell to the ground gasping, unable to breathe.
"Fall back!" someone shouted… but Luka wasn't done.
He focused his gaze on the trunk of a giant tree near the tents. In an instant, it was uprooted by an unseen force, and a wave of pressure hurled it into another group, crushing them beneath it.
Meanwhile, lightning danced on his fingertips, firing short, precise bolts. Each spark hit its target and dropped it — some rebounded off weapons, others pierced bodies directly.
Kaldius tried to charge with his axe, but Luka extended his left hand and, with a flick of his fingers upward, lifted the chief's body into the air for a few seconds, then crushed him with immense mental pressure — like an invisible wall breaking his ribs — and dropped him motionless.
"Retreat… I don't want to kill anyone!" he shouted in a booming voice, his eyes glowing with a mix of lightning and resolve.
But no one retreated. The warriors advanced, weapons screaming above their heads.
Luka was shocked by their reaction. "Is this stubbornness or stupidity? But since they won't back down… I won't either."
The air around him trembled, thickened until it felt like the sky was pressing down on the earth. Lightning burst from his shoulders, chest, and back — every electric pulse slicing through the air in bright blue streaks, lunging at his enemies like flaming serpents.
One raised his sword — Luka snatched it with mental force and hurled it like a spear into another's chest. A metal spear flew from the ground and circled from behind, striking three fighters at once.
Tents flew, shattered over those hiding in them. The ground itself seemed to tremble under the weight of invisible waves of pressure that Luka unleashed unconsciously.
This wasn't a fight… it was an overwhelming onslaught with two powers no one could resist, even if he hadn't mastered them yet.
And after minutes that felt like an eternity, a suffocating silence fell over the place.
Smoke rose from bodies, burning tents, and broken poles.
The village was no longer a village… it was a field of ash.
Luka stood in the middle of the village. "You brought this on yourselves."
Now only a few people remained in the village, all gravely injured. Since I used my psychic power to control homes and trees, the losses were massive.
I flew into the sky and, using the lightning fruit, rained down bolts on the village, destroying it and killing those who survived the battle.
---
The next day, I went to Ganfor and told him what happened.
Ganfor stared at Luka in utter shock, his pale face growing even paler with every word. He stood silent, as if his feet were rooted to the ground, his eyes trembling between belief and denial. Finally, he spoke in a hoarse, stunned voice:
"You… burned the entire Shandian village?! Killed them all?!"
Luka didn't even blink — calm as ever, his voice carried the cold of a merciless thunderbolt:
"You told me they wouldn't submit, and your instinct was right. I couldn't risk leaving them as a threat behind… and if I ignored them, the war would've continued and more would've died — so I resolved it at the root."
He stepped closer to Ganfor, his face void of regret — only a mix of resolve and cold will.
"Listen to me well, Ganfor. You'll stand before everyone… on Angel Island, during the ceremony, and you'll tell the whole truth."
"Tell them Luka, who toppled God Ganfor, is the one who ended a centuries-old war… in one day."
"Tell them Luka crushed their enemies and erased the Shandian threat forever."
"Tell them the new god isn't just a ruler… but a savior. A hero. They'll get the message."
Then he smiled slightly — but it didn't carry warmth… only a searing promise of domination.
"Make them fear me first… then they'll love me later."
Ganfor swallowed hard — there was no choice but obedience. Luka had created a new god.