Just as the golden staff was about to strike the pirate captain's wrist—
A jet-black layer of Armament Haki surged over his skin.
Enel's keen Observation Haki caught it instantly. He shifted, transforming into lightning and flashing to the side, brow furrowing in concentration.
The pirate captain's twisted grin only widened as he watched Enel dodge. He switched Admiral Zephyr's child to his left hand and, with his right, drew a long blade from his waist.
Vmm—!
Armament Haki coated his entire arm and blade, turning both pitch black.
He sneered at Enel. "Come on, kid."
Enel's eyes narrowed, electric light crackling in his hands. The golden staff softened and reshaped, morphing into two short, dagger-like blades.
He vanished in a flash, reappearing behind the pirate captain. Traces of lightning still danced across the scorched deck.
His right-hand blade stabbed for the captain's heart, the left for his kidney.
Clang!
The pirate captain barely reacted in time, half his body instantly shielded in Armament Haki. Enel's blades struck sparks against the hardened skin.
The captain spun, slicing through the air with a thunderous slash—but hit nothing but empty space.
Bzzz—!
Electricity crackled as Enel reappeared, balanced atop the pirate captain's blade. Twin daggers in hand, he drove them straight for the captain's eyes.
The captain raised his left arm—still clamped around the child's neck—to block.
Clang!
Enel's blades bit into the captain's forearm, but the pirate only grinned wider. "Take a look, brat."
He jerked his left hand for emphasis, making Zephyr's child struggle even harder. The boy's face turned crimson, his life force rapidly fading—Enel could sense it through Observation Haki.
But Enel's expression didn't flicker. His daggers pressed against the captain's Haki-coated arm, eyes locked on the pirate's face.
The captain met his gaze, mocking. In his mind, a hundred ways to torment this Marine youth flashed by.
Suddenly, he saw a glint in Enel's eyes—then, nothing but endless darkness.
A crisp, youthful voice echoed in the void:
"Thunder Heat Blade!"
Pain exploded in his forearm, then numbness, then a tidal wave of agony.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
"Someone—kill this brat!"
The pirate captain lashed out wildly, swinging his blade in a frenzy. Pirates surged forward, charging at the youth cradling a small child.
——
Just a moment earlier—
Enel stared into the captain's eyes, inspiration flashing in his mind. He gathered his power, channeling it into his gaze. As the pirate met his eyes with a sneer—
Twin bolts of lightning shot from Enel's eyes, searing into the captain's own.
Then, pouring his ability into both golden daggers, he slashed. Under the fusion of thunder and heat, the captain's forearm was severed in an instant.
Enel snatched up the detached limb, rescuing Admiral Zephyr's child and pulling him close.
He took the golden dagger from his left hand, channeling his power. The two daggers melted and twisted, morphing into a miniature Ark Maxim.
He tossed Zephyr's child into the air, flashed upward as a bolt of lightning, and reappeared with an armful of clothes. Spreading them atop the tiny Maxim, he caught the falling child and gently set him down.
Ruffling the boy's hair, Enel soothed him, "Big brother will come get you soon. Be good, okay?"
He pressed a hand to the Maxim. As lightning surged into it, the propellers spun at full speed. The craft shot skyward, becoming a tiny black dot floating in the clouds.
With the child safe, Enel unleashed his full power.
He turned to face the oncoming pirates. His body flickered, elementalizing into pure lightning, his eyes blazing with divine fury. The ground beneath their feet became a spiderweb of invisible, crackling energy.
As the pirates closed in, Enel channeled his power into his daggers, tracing the hidden web with a single sweep.
A flash of blue light filled the pirates' eyes.
Suddenly, their vision dropped—staring at headless bodies, their own. Familiar... isn't that me...? Then, darkness claimed them all.
Like wheat before a scythe, the pirates fell in rows, heads tumbling from shoulders.
The slaughter stunned the rest, freezing them in their tracks. Cold sweat poured down their faces as terror gripped their hearts.
The pirate captain, now blinded by Enel's lightning, sensed something was terribly wrong. The crowd that had just rushed in fell silent. The stench of blood filled the air.
Damn it...
Panic rising, he pressed his thumb and forefinger to his lips.
Whistle—! Whistle—! Whi—!
A lightning spear pierced his arm and throat before the third whistle could finish, sending him writhing in agony.
BOOM!
The spear shot through, blasting into a pirate ship behind and detonating it. The violent explosion tore the vessel apart, dragging it beneath the waves.
Enel's eyes, aglow with lightning, swept the surroundings as he floated into the air.
Endless bolts rained down from his body, thunder plowing the earth. In his hands, lightning spears formed and hurled down.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The near-solid spears battered the sea and ground, each explosion deafening. Enel's gaze was cold, godlike, judging the survivors below.
Moments later, every pirate had been annihilated by his thunderous wrath.
But Enel didn't relax—he sensed a powerful presence racing toward him from within the island.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four crescent-shaped sword slashes tore through the air, aiming for Enel.
He flickered, elementalizing to dodge, then reformed his body, fixing his gaze on the newcomer.
A man, older than the previous pirate captain and bearing a strong resemblance, burst onto the scene, clothes in disarray, a long blade in hand—as if he'd just finished some unspeakable deed.
He swept the area with Observation Haki, but found no trace of his brother's presence.
Eyes bloodshot, he glared at Enel floating above.
"You dare! You actually dare!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!"
Driven mad by rage, killing intent and Haki exploded from him, as if shattering some invisible cage.
The overwhelming pressure of Conqueror's Haki crashed down on Enel.
His form wavered in the air, momentarily unstable. He felt the mental shock—so this is Conqueror's Haki...
Enel frowned. This swordsman was far stronger than the last. He quickly weighed his options.
Suddenly, he sensed something else.
Relaxing, he let himself drop to the ground, shooting a mocking smile at the swordsman.
The berserk pirate, seeing Enel's arrogance, let Haki surge through his body. His newly awakened Conqueror's Haki radiated out in waves.
Armament Haki gathered in his hands, coating his Great Grade Blade, "Cloud Cutter," in obsidian black.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Enel. "You little—!"
BOOM!!!
It was as if a meteor had crashed behind the pirate swordsman.
A volcanic roar erupted, heatwaves blasting outwards. An overwhelming pressure, coupled with an even more suffocating Conqueror's Haki, descended.
It crushed the swordsman's own Conqueror's Haki with ease, pinning him in place.
A cold, indifferent voice sounded behind him:
"What did you want to do to my boy?"
It was as flat as if he were addressing a corpse.
Sakazuki's massive hands landed on the swordsman's shoulders.
Crack!
Bones shattered beneath his grip.
Rip!
With a single motion, Sakazuki tore both the man's arms clean off, sending them flying.
His right foot, wrapped in Armament Haki, flashed twice—two afterimages, two wet explosions. The swordsman's legs burst into clouds of blood.
His mutilated torso plummeted from the air, only to be caught by Sakazuki's right hand, fingers locked around his neck.
With a casual twist, he handed the corpse to his left hand, spinning the swordsman's limp body to face him.
His left hand clamped the man's neck, holding him up at shoulder height. Sakazuki stared at him with icy detachment, right hand slowly reaching for the top of his head.
He pressed down, then pulled.
CRACK!
It was like lifting the lid off a pot.
As the swordsman's eyes filled with boundless terror, Sakazuki's hand reached into the exposed skull.
Agonizing pain exploded in his brain—then darkness. Endless, hopeless darkness.
THUD!
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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