On the deck.
Blue lightning crackled around Enel as he rose to one knee, leaning on his golden staff. He glared up at the gaps in the clouds as if he could see the Straw Hat Boy through the White Sea, gnashing his teeth. "That rubber brat... just got lucky. A god's failure is but a momentary lapse!"
When his gaze swept over the people on the deck, he suddenly let out a mocking laugh. "To have fished this god out of the White Sea—you lot have some discernment."
With sparks dancing at his fingertips, Enel spoke with an air of superiority. "A god is ever magnanimous. Kneel and bow before me now, and I shall permit you to follow me to the Limitless Land, to become God's People."
In his eyes, these people were merely slightly stronger ants. Had they not saved him, they would have had to prove their worth through the rules he set to earn the right to eke out an existence in the god's domain.
This was already God's Grace.
Bahr watched this so-called "god" who treated him like an insect, and a fire burned in his chest. What the hell was this kid playing at? Did he really think he was some chosen deity?
And after Bahr had helped him, this was the attitude he got?
Truly, kindness shouldn't be given so freely!
"Kid," Bahr narrowed his eyes, his expression lazy but his tone brooking no refusal. "You're not bad. My ship's in need of a deck-scrubbing lackey. You're hired."
He knew Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit was considered one of the strongest among the Logia-type Devil Fruits, but his own Space Fruit was no pushover either.
Besides, at this stage, Enel only knew how to use Observation Haki and hadn't even mastered Armament Haki. Relying solely on his Devil Fruit ability, even that rubber brat Luffy had beaten him. What was there to fear?
What? Did he think he could pull out some plot armor and pull off a scripted victory?
Enel frowned, a flash of anger crossing his green eyes. Clearly, he hadn't expected an ant to dare speak to a god in such a tone.
After sizing Bahr up, he pointed his golden staff at him. "You're not bad for an ant. You have some qualifications to serve as this god's personal attendant."
Chin raised, he declared, "Remember, this is the honor bestowed upon you by a god. Kneel at once and give thanks for this supreme glory!"
"....."
Kneel? Give thanks? Glory? Was this guy insane?
"Ahahahaha..." Miss. Valentine tiptoed over to Bahr, looping her arm through his and nudging her chin toward Enel. Her laughter made her ample curves tremble. "Boss, this 'god' must've gotten his brains scrambled in that fall!"
Taking the boss as a "personal attendant"? What a joke. In her eyes—and heart—her boss was an overwhelmingly powerful existence, someone who'd even dare to fight a real god.
"Brain damage from a high-altitude fall is a possibility..." Nico Robin said with a straight face, as if diagnosing an illness.
Enel's pupils constricted sharply, his expression shifting unpredictably. Miss. Valentine's exaggerated laughter, in particular, was a blatant insult to him.
"Ant... you dare challenge a god's dignity!" The three Tadpole Drums on Enel's back erupted with a blinding blue light, electricity crackling along his golden staff.
"God my ass?" Bahr arched an eyebrow, his voice icy.
Ever since this guy woke up, it had been nothing but "god" this and "god" that—first wanting to recruit him as an attendant, then proclaiming to bestow "God's Grace." Was this how he treated his saviors? Like some lowly servant?
He knew Enel was arrogant and delusional, but he hadn't expected it to be this extreme. The guy was living in his own world, completely divorced from reality.
Delusions of grandeur were a disease, and they needed to be cured.
Watching Enel raise his golden staff with an air of self-importance, Bahr's anger flared. "Kid," he said darkly, "say 'god' one more time in front of me, and I'll knock your teeth in."
"The foolishness of mortals is truly beyond saving." Enel's face darkened. With a flick of his wrist, his golden staff sliced through the air, aimed straight at Bahr's chest. "Since you refuse to recognize your place, let lightning cleanse your sins!"
The Tadpole Drums on his back boomed like war drums, electricity spider-webbing along the staff. "Tremble! This is the power of a go—"
Before he could finish, Enel's vision blurred. When it cleared, he found himself right in front of Bahr.
"Listen up..." Bahr grinned, the Haki-wrapped fist at his side stirring the air. "Around here, even gods crawl on their bellies!"
The Armament Haki-clad fist slammed into Enel's stomach like a cannon. With a dull "thud," Enel's spine bent like a drawn bow. The next instant, he was sent flying like a broken kite, shattering the railing in a shower of splinters and sparks, his body leaving a trail of afterimages in the air.
"...He actually injured a god?" Pagaya's eyes widened in shock, his wings trembling uncontrollably, feathers drifting loose.
"That's it?" Bahr shook out his hand, his face full of disdain. "And you had the nerve to mouth off to me?"
If he couldn't budge monsters like Garp or Aokiji, that was one thing. But a guy like Enel calling himself a god? Just some arrogant fool riding high on his lightning powers!
Bahr's title of "Blasphemer" wasn't for nothing. He specialized in beating down self-proclaimed deities.
"Boss, you're so cool!" Miss. Valentine squealed, bouncing up and down, the curves beneath her dress swaying violently with each movement, the hem nearly flipping up.
"Damn right." Bahr smirked, thoroughly enjoying the ego boost Miss. Valentine provided.
What was the point of having power if you couldn't show off in front of women? Was he supposed to flex and roar at some muscle-bound brute instead?
Now that would be insane!
Enel tumbled through the air, the punch leaving his organs in agony, nearly making him vomit blood. Gritting his teeth, he used his lightning to halt his momentum, hovering above the sea, his golden hair whipping wildly in the wind and electricity.
Wiping the blood from his lips, he stared blankly at the crimson stain on his fingers.
Since becoming a "god," this was only the second time he'd bled—first against that Straw Hat brat, and now against some Blue Sea "ant."
"Ants! All of you are ants!"
Enel's eyes bulged like copper bells as he slowly straightened, his body wreathed in lightning. "You dare make a god bleed?!"
His scream tore through the air as blinding blue light erupted from his body, and he charged at Bahr like a madman.
This insect who dared defy a god's majesty would be reduced to ashes by his lightning!
Bahr was busy flexing his fist at Miss. Valentine when his brow suddenly furrowed. A bolt of lightning as thick as a wrist shot toward his face like an arrow, tearing through the air with a sharp "crack!"
Yet Bahr didn't even raise a hand. A distorted ripple appeared before him, and the lightning struck it with a "boom," exploding into a ball of sparks without so much as singeing a hair on his head.
Enel's pupils shrank to pinpricks. "'God's Sanction'... was blocked? What kind of trick does this ant have up his sleeve?"
"That's it?" Bahr dug at his ear, his face full of contempt. "I wouldn't even hire you to scrub my deck—you're too clumsy. Go home and play in the mud!"
The words ignited Enel's fury. With a roar, he slammed his golden staff against his shoulder, the three Tadpole Drums unleashing an ear-splitting hum. "30 Million Volt Thunderbird!"
—That's exactly why I can't stand Enel's personality. He's no different from the Celestial Dragons. Just kill him already.