Seeing his opponent suddenly whip out a Den Den Mushi and issue a command, the smile on Eneru's face instantly vanished, his eyes turning cold.
As Rat put away the Den Den Mushi and adopted a cautious stance, Eneru spoke, his voice dripping with indifference.
"Did you know? Those who lack tact receive divine punishment."
The moment the words left his mouth, he didn't rush to attack. Instead, he raised his right arm high. A massive surge of lightning began to coalesce around his limb, instantly radiating a blinding, blue-white glare.
"Here it comes...!"
Rat quickly raised his longsword in defense, his eyes locked onto his opponent's movements, ready to dodge or parry at a moment's notice.
Yet, Eneru paid him no mind. Instead, a playful smirk curled at the corner of his lips. Once the lightning had fully condensed, he unleashed the crackling current on his arm, sending it skyrocketing into the upper atmosphere. It pierced through the heavy clouds and vanished from sight.
"Huh?!"
Rat frowned, an ominous feeling settling in his gut as he stared at the inexplicable smile on the tall man's face.
A moment later, the lightning that had vanished into the heavens reappeared.
Boom—!!
A colossal pillar of lightning, resembling a massive laser cannon, plummeted from the high sky.
However, its target wasn't Vice Admiral Rat; it was another Marine battleship nearby. The lightning pillar struck the ship's bow at terminal velocity, instantly vaporizing its forward cannons. The current expanded outward upon impact, dealing continuous, devastating damage to the vessel.
When the lightning pillar finally dissipated, nearly one-third of the battleship's bow had been obliterated, leaving behind plumes of thick black smoke. Severe structural damage took its toll, and the Marine ship began to tilt, slowly sinking into the sea.
"This...!"
Witnessing the catastrophic scene, Rat and the surrounding Marines widened their eyes in sheer disbelief. They had never imagined the lightning could possess such terrifying power.
Rat's mind instinctively flashed to Admiral Kizaru's laser beams. At this point, he was absolutely certain that his opponent was a Logia Devil Fruit user. Nothing else could explain such catastrophic, destructive force.
While he stood momentarily stunned, another blinding flash of blue-white light illuminated the deck.
Rat snapped back to reality and looked over, immediately spotting the dazzling current condensing around the tall man's arm once more.
"Stop right there—!"
Knowing exactly what Eneru intended to do, Rat barked an order and charged forward, sword drawn.
"To be honest, I planned to play around with you for a bit longer," Eneru muttered to himself, completely unbothered by the incoming assault. Then, his tone plunged into ice. "Unfortunately, your little stunt just now has completely ruined my mood."
After all, he couldn't let these ships destroy the city. If it was ruined, he would be subjected to Will's brutal cane-wielding special training later.
Abandoning his plan to use the Marines for combat practice, he decided to prioritize wiping out these three annoying battleships.
With a flick of his wrist, the lightning on Eneru's arm shot toward the sky once more.
Unable to intercept him in time, Rat halted his advance and looked up at the flash disappearing into the clouds. Without a second thought, he leaped high into the air, sprinting across the sky toward the remaining intact battleship.
He knew his opponent was trying to dismantle the Marines' firing squads to safeguard the city. To prevent that, he had to give everything he had to intercept the attack and save the last two ships.
Right on cue, the blinding current split the heavens again, morphing into a massive pillar of lightning that violently crashed down toward the bow of the ship below.
"Don't you dare—!!" Rat roared, his expression fierce. He accelerated his trajectory through the air and swung his pitch-black, Haki-clad longsword with all his might against the descending thunderbolt.
Boom—!
With a deafening roar, the pillar of lightning shattered mid-air. The blinding current burst outward, leaving several Marines who failed to dodge smoking from head to toe. Even the ship's deck suffered minor scorching.
Fortunately, the forward cannons were successfully protected.
As the residual electricity dissipated, Rat touched down on the bow. The pitch-black coating receded from his body, leaving only his sword still enveloped in Haki. While he hadn't sustained any critical injuries, he looked distinctly disheveled, his clothes and Marine cloak covered in obvious scorch marks.
Standing on the deck of the neighboring ship, Eneru wasn't particularly surprised. He was no longer the ignorant man he used to be; he understood the mechanics of Armament Haki perfectly now.
Seeing his opponent landing and attempting to catch his breath, Eneru's lips curled into a faint, indifferent smirk. He suddenly spread his arms and murmured softly:
"Discharge...!"
Lightning rapidly coursed through his body, arcs of wild electricity leaping across his skin.
"20 Million Volts—!!"
Zzzzzzzzt—!!!
Accompanied by a low hum, a chaotic roar of electrical currents erupted. Dazzling blue-white lightning exploded from Eneru, instantly blanketing the entire deck.
The Marines caught in the radius screamed, convulsing violently as the current wracked their bodies. The pure volume of electricity even blasted holes straight through the ship's bulwarks.
As for the forward cannons Eneru had targeted earlier? They were blown to pieces by the electrical torrent, their mangled remains sinking into the ocean depths.
When the lightning finally cleared, Eneru was the only one left standing on the battleship. Everyone else lay charred and unconscious, smoke drifting from their bodies.
"Damn pirate! If you have the guts, face me head-on—!!"
Rat's eyes flared with rage. Leaping high into the air, he brought his sword down in a ferocious arc, unleashing a massive, crescent-shaped flying slash straight at Eneru.
"Heh."
Eneru scoffed. He bounded upward and swung his gold-and-black trident, shattering the flying slash into pieces.
Landing atop a ruined section of the bulkhead, he watched his opponent rush him again. Eneru smiled, raised his hand, and lightly tapped the Taiko drum behind his left shoulder.
"30 Million Volts: Thunder Beast—!!!"
Zzzzzzt—!!
The moment he struck the drum, a blinding flash erupted. A bolt of blue-white lightning surged forth, rapidly shaping itself into a ferocious, massive wolf made of pure electricity that snapped its jaws as it lunged forward.
"What?!"
Rat's eyes widened in mid-air. He quickly raised his sword to block, but the Thunder Wolf was simply too massive. The moment it collided, it clamped its jaws directly around his upper body, dragging him backward through the air before slamming him violently into the hull of the battleship behind him.
Boom—!
Following the explosion, the smoke quickly cleared to reveal a massive, cratered indentation in the ship's side.
Rat stood in the center of the crater, the pitch-black Armament Haki slowly fading from his skin. Though tiny static arcs still crackled across his uniform, he didn't seem to have taken fatal damage. In that split second, he had decisively cloaked his entire body in Armament Haki, mitigating the brunt of the electrical impact.
Even so, the sheer potency of the current left his body feeling incredibly numb, a direct byproduct of the lightning strike. Furthermore, maintaining a full-body Haki defense had drained a significant amount of his stamina, causing his breathing to grow ragged.
Rat hadn't anticipated that the man's lightning would be this powerful. Even his current level of Haki couldn't completely neutralize it. Given his current stamina reserves, he couldn't keep his full body coated for long. Realizing that a quick victory was out of the question, Rat's expression turned grim.
Eneru chuckled heartily as he watched his opponent struggle to recover. After his recent experiences in the Blue Sea, he had fully regained his legendary confidence.
In his eyes, absolute monsters like Will were a rarity in this lower world. With his current strength, neither CP9 nor these Marines dispatched by the Buster Call were any match for him.
With that thought, Eneru raised his arm, aiming directly at his opponent as dazzling lightning began to pool in his palm once more. He was going to make this Marine taste "Divine Punishment" again.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield.
Will zipped through the sky at extreme speeds. It didn't take him long to spot three other Marine battleships anchored offshore.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
At that very moment, the three ships were systematically bombarding the metropolis, igniting massive fires across the coastal districts. Plumes of thick smoke choked the once-peaceful streets, and countless buildings had already collapsed into rubble.
The sight caused Will's eyes to turn incredibly cold, his muscles tightening in tandem. Just as he prepared to descend upon the ships and tear them apart, a Sea Train suddenly roared down the floating tracks not far away.
Both Vice Admiral Strawberry on his flagship and Will in mid-air turned their attention to the arriving train. Sensing several familiar auras inside, Will's eyes flickered. He changed his trajectory and flew straight toward it.
Inside the train, Rob Lucci and the rest of CP9 had already spotted the three battleships operating in the area. Consequently, the Sea Train didn't pull into the station; instead, it ground to a halt right on the floating tracks.
Lucci and the others sliced open the roof of their carriage, leaping out onto the top of the train together. The moment they stepped outside, they saw a bare-chested Will descending toward them.
Though slightly caught off guard by his appearance, they quickly composed themselves.
Looking at Lucci and the others, who were fully decked out in sleek, professional black suits, Will gave a subtle nod of approval. Without wasting breath, he cut straight to the point.
"Judging by your outfits, I assume Enies Lobby is history."
"Correct," Rob Lucci replied calmly, his hands tucked into his pockets as Hattori, the pigeon sporting a matching black tie, sat perched on his shoulder. "Every defensive force on the island has been neutralized."
Standing nearby, Kaku added with a grin, "Including that massive Tower of Justice. We leveled it completely."
Fukurou couldn't resist unzipping his mouth, blurting out, "Chapapa! We also found two Devil Fruits and a massive stash of treasure hidden away in that garbage Spandam's private vault!"
He turned and pointed toward the rear cars of the train. "The treasure is packed into the carriages behind us. Good thing we brought enough extra cars, or we wouldn't have been able to fit it all. I honestly have no idea how that piece of trash hoarded so much wealth. As for the two Devil Fruits, Kaku and Kalifa ate them."
The moment Fukurou finished speaking, the group carefully watched Will's reaction. Seeing that his expression remained entirely unbothered, they internally breathed a massive sigh of relief.
In the past, any spoils of war had to be strictly surrendered to the World Government. This was their first time executing a mission and dividing the loot amongst themselves, so they were naturally a bit tense. Fortunately, Will wasn't angry, proving he had no intention of going back on his word.
Kalifa glanced at Will's chiseled torso, quickly adjusting her glasses as a slight blush crept up her cheeks. "Also, Boss... I carried out your orders and warned the two Giant gatekeepers. Thanks to the intel you provided, we saved a massive amount of time and avoided a pointless fight with them."
Will didn't care much about the change in how they addressed him. Hearing the report, he nodded in satisfaction. "Very well. In terms of efficiency, you guys truly are top-tier professionals."
He turned his gaze toward the three Marine battleships, his voice dropping several degrees. "You mentioned earlier that you wanted to help repel the Buster Call. There happen to be three ships over there. I'll obliterate one of them right now. The remaining two, along with the Vice Admiral leading them, are yours to handle. Don't disappoint me."
Before Lucci or the others could even formulate a response, Will leaped high into the air, instantly tapping into the latent power surging within his body.
Pulling his arm back to chamber a strike, a massive concentration of Armament Haki flooded his right arm, dyeing it a deep, obsidian black.
"Haki Release: Empty Image—!!"
With a low roar, Will violently threw his pitch-black right arm forward, slamming his fist directly into the open air before him!
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