Chapter 141 — Enel and the Straw Hats (Part 1)
A week earlier, on Skypiea.
The Straw Hat Pirates had just met Mont Blanc Cricket, a descendant of the great explorer Mont Blanc Noland from four hundred years ago. After hearing Cricket's story about the legendary Sky Island, Luffy's eyes lit up with excitement. The mere idea of such a place was enough to set him on fire with curiosity.
Thanks to Cricket's help — and a rather ridiculous series of "friendly" misadventures — the crew located the Knock-Up Stream, a massive upward current that could send them straight into the sky. Against all odds, they made it to the legendary Sky Island.
Enel, the self-proclaimed "God" of Skypiea, was aware of the newcomers' arrival, but at first, he had no interest in dealing with them. That changed quickly. Within days, the Straw Hats had thrown the entire Upper Yard into chaos. The Skypieans were restless, the Shandians were riled up, and the balance of Enel's rule was being shaken.
When Luffy learned of the Shandians' long struggle and the truth about their lost homeland, his sense of justice kicked in instantly. He declared — with all the subtlety of a cannon blast — that he would defeat "God" himself and help the Shandians reclaim their home.
Normally, that would have made Enel laugh. But the current Enel was far stronger than in the events of the original Sky Island battle. In the past year, he had mastered Armament Haki, refined his Goro Goro no Mi powers to devastating precision, and trained his four priests to use Haki as well.
In this reality, the gap in power was enormous. Even Zoro, the Straw Hats' swordsman and second strongest fighter, could not defeat a single one of the priests at full strength. Sanji might last a little while, but the others would be completely overwhelmed.
If Luffy hadn't, by pure chance, spotted a picture of Ace hanging in Enel's shrine and shouted his brother's name aloud, the Straw Hats' journey might very well have ended on Sky Island.
---
"Hahahaha! So you're Ace's crew?" Luffy grinned, grabbing Enel by the neck as if they were old friends.
Enel pried Luffy off him with a single finger, scowling in disgust. "You're telling me this reckless fool is Ace's younger brother?"
He had sensed through Observation Haki that Luffy wasn't lying — but the difference in personality was staggering. Ace was disciplined, powerful, and calculating. This one… was Luffy.
"Don't be like that," Luffy said, latching onto Enel again with a big grin. "If you're Ace's partner, then you're my partner too! So, tell me — how's Ace? I haven't seen him in ages."
"I wouldn't know," Enel replied, pushing him away once more. "I haven't seen him in a year. And by the way… your crew is about to get wiped out by my men. Are you fine with that?"
"What?!" Luffy's eyes went wide. He released Enel instantly and bolted toward the forest.
"When you get there, at least half of them will already be dead… Forget it. I'll handle this." Enel raised his hand toward the sky.
BOOM!
A deafening clap of thunder split the air as Enel's body turned into pure lightning and vanished.
---
Elsewhere on Upper Yard, the "timid trio" — Nami, Usopp, and Chopper — were running for their lives from the God's Guards. Suddenly, a blinding flash of lightning crashed to the ground in front of them, and Enel appeared.
"Th-thunder?!" Usopp's knees buckled.
"Y-yeah, we all saw it," Nami and Chopper stammered in unison.
"Lord Enel!" The God's Guards immediately dropped to their knees, their earlier ferocity vanishing in an instant.
Enel ignored them. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the three terrified Straw Hats, transformed into lightning again, and vanished.
---
Back at the Shrine, another bolt of lightning struck, and Enel appeared before Luffy — with Nami, Usopp, and Chopper dangling in his grasp.
"Luffy!" the trio cried in unison, scrambling to hide behind him.
"Luffy, be careful," Nami whispered, peeking from behind his shoulder. "He's dangerous."
"Don't worry," Luffy said casually. "He's not an enemy."
"What?!" All three looked at him in disbelief. In an instant, their fear melted away. They stepped toward Enel curiously, circling him as if examining a strange animal.
Enel gave them a flat look, then released a small bolt of lightning from his fingertip. In the blink of an eye, he was gone again.
"Definitely a Devil Fruit ability," Nami muttered, still staring at the spot where he'd vanished. "A Logia… and lightning, no less. Even among the Logias — known as the strongest class of Devil Fruits — that's one of the most powerful."
"If he were an enemy, we'd be hopeless," she admitted.
She turned to Luffy. "You said he's 'one of our own'? Explain."
"He's Ace's partner," Luffy replied simply. "So, he's our ally."
"Ace?" Usopp blinked.
"My brother," Luffy said proudly.
"Brother?!" the three of them chorused.
"Portgas D. Ace," Luffy confirmed with a serious nod.
"You mean… the famous 'Fire Fist' Ace — one of the most well-known pirates in the world — is your brother?!" they shouted in unison.
"Yep," Luffy grinned. "And he's really strong. I never once beat him when we were kids."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 40+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics