Several days passed, during which Aeridar stayed at Enel's temple.
When Aeridar first saw Enel's temple, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. For a selfproclaimed god who ruled Skypiea, his residence was a three-story wooden building. It was pathetic.
So, Aeridar offered to give Enel a luxurious castle once he reached the Blue Sea, a place that would be a million times more impressive than his wooden temple. Enel was so excited that he almost dragged Aeridar to the Blue Sea on the spot.
In the following days, Enel was not only recuperating but also showed Aeridar the blueprints and the construction of his ark, the Maxim.
After seeing them, Aeridar was amazed by the sheer technological prowess. To think Enel could fly to the moon in this thing was incredible. He was secretly envious, but only for a moment.
After all, space radiation and the lack of air were difficult problems to solve. Enel might be immune to radiation and not need to breathe because he was made of lightning, but Aeridar was still a mortal. Although he was monstrously strong, he couldn't guarantee his immunity, and he definitely needed to breathe.
However, the Maxim's ability to fly was still strategically valuable. The power source was easy to solve since it ran on electricity. That could be handled by Dr. Vade.
And if Vegapunk could install Admiral Kizaru's laser attacks on the Pacifistas, could Dr. Vade also install Enel's lightning on the Maxim as a form of attack? Perhaps an electromagnetic cannon or a lightning laser?
That answer was probably yes, but Aeridar would have to ask when he got back. After all,
Vegapunk was a scientist said to be 500 years ahead of humanity's intelligence. Just because Vegapunk could do it didn't mean anyone else could.
After all, it wasn't like laser weapons existed in the modern day, or perhaps they were still in a lab somewhere, just like electromagnetic cannons were just recently leaving the lab and entering the testing phase.
The time had come to act. Enel's injuries were mostly healed, and they were ready to find the Shandian tribe.
Aeridar had been there once, but he didn't know if they had moved. It wouldn't be a problem if they had, though.
With Enel's wide-ranging Observation Haki and Aeridar's precise Observation Haki, it would only be a matter of time before they found them.
By the way, the Shandian villagers' secret village was called Hidden Cloud Village, which made Aeridar wonder if a ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village of the Land of Lightning had crossed over from the Naruto world.
Heh, just a joke.
Whoosh!
Aeridar flew through the air, with a bolt of lightning following closely behind him, as if it were swimming in the sky.
"Oh? These guys haven't moved after all." Looking at the clouds below, Aeridar felt a large number of voices below, and the hole he had violently created last time had been repaired without a single gap.
"So they're hiding here. It's a pretty good hiding spot." Aeridar stopped in the air, and the lightning bolt next to him also stopped, revealing Enel.
"Let's go down," Aeridar said calmly as he rapidly descended.
"Tch." Enel clicked his tongue but didn't say anything. He turned into a bolt of lightning once more and shot down.
Below the clouds was a primitive village. A little girl with dark red hair and eyes, wearing a yellowish-brown hat and a light orange dress, was running around, laughing. She was about six or seven years old and was carrying a white backpack.
"Huh?"
The little girl suddenly stopped, staring up at the clouds in fear.
"Aisa, what's wrong?" An old man dressed as a chief walked over and asked.
"G-Grandpa Chief… two people are coming down!" Aisa said in a panicked voice. "One of them is… Enel!"
"What?!" The old chief's face changed drastically.
"And the other one… is the monster who defeated Enel!" Aisa murmured in fear. "The sound… it's so loud!"
Boom!
Suddenly, the clouds above them exploded, and a large hole was torn open.
"What's going on?!"
"Someone's invading!"
"There's a big hole up there!"
"Get ready to fight!"
Immediately, the entire village was in an uproar. The warriors rushed out, pulling out their weapons.
"How polite. They're really welcoming me." Aeridar slowly descended from the hole, looking at the highly alert Shandian warriors with their weapons. He couldn't help but smile.
Zzzzt, zzzzt, zzzzt!
A bolt of lightning landed, transforming into Enel, who stood in the center of the village with his golden staff, disdainfully looking over the Shandian warriors.
"That monster!"
"E-Enel! A-and that monster!"
"Damn it, they've teamed up!"
"Damn it, is today the day we're going to be exterminated?!"
Seeing Aeridar and Enel arrive together, the Shandian people felt a sense of despair. They couldn't beat one, so how could they possibly beat two?
"Are you two here to exterminate us?" The old chief walked out, leaning on his staff, and stared at Aeridar and Enel.
"I'll give you two choices." Aeridar didn't waste any time and got straight to the point. He held up a finger and said playfully, "We'll allow you to live on Upper Yard, or rather, we'll give it back to you. However, as a price, you must give us your loyalty. Your entire tribe must pledge loyalty to us."
Before the Shandian people could say anything, Enel laughed cruelly and continued, "For the second choice, you can send out your strongest warriors, or all of you can attack at once. As long as you defeat either of us, we'll turn around and leave, and we'll give Upper Yard back to you. On the other hand, if you lose, you'll be exterminated! Yahahahaha!"
After the two choices were laid out, the area was silent. The Shandian people looked at each other. Both choices tempted them, but they were also incredibly difficult.
Stubborn and unyielding by nature, they had never pledged loyalty to anyone, but the price of losing, extermination, was something they couldn't bear.
"If we pledge loyalty, to whom would we be loyal?" The old chief asked, looking at the two invaders.
"Tch, save your pathetic little tricks," Aeridar sneered. "I need some of Skypiea's resources, so I'm going to set up a base here. But I can't accept you all as a hidden danger. Make your choice."