G-5 Branch, deepest underground level.
The air here was cold and damp, carrying a stench mixed with rust and despair.
Every wall, every bar, was forged from extremely high-purity Seastone. This was a special prison built specifically to confine the most vicious criminals and those with particularly troublesome abilities.
And in the deepest part, inside the only S-class cell, the once all-powerful "god," Enel, was slumped miserably against the icy wall.
Two full days.
It had already been two days since he regained consciousness.
In those two days, no one spoke to him. No one communicated with him.
Aside from twice a day, when a portion of water and coarse food, just enough to keep him alive, was shoved through a small window, the place was nothing but deathly silence.
What drove him even more insane was that the power within him, the strength capable of destroying heaven and earth, the very foundation upon which he proclaimed himself a "god", the power of the Goro Goro no Mi, seemed to be completely dormant.
No matter how he tried to summon it, there was no response.
The unique weakness radiating from the Seastone against his skin made him experience, for the first time, what it meant to be a "mortal."
But he was still a god.
At least, in his own mind.
"Yahahahaha… yahahahaha…"
His signature laughter echoed through the empty cell, though it sounded faint and hollow now.
"Foolish Blue Sea people… do you really think this can hold me? Gods are invincible! Once I leave this place, all of you will suffer divine wrath! I will turn this entire base, along with the surrounding seas, into a wasteland!"
He continued to spew threats. This was the last shred of dignity he had left to maintain his so-called divinity.
At that moment.
Clack
The heavy Seastone door let out a dull sound and slowly opened.
Several figures appeared in the doorway, backlit by the light.
At the front was a black-haired man wearing an admiral's uniform, lounging lazily atop a floating white cloud.
He yawned, clearly displeased by the gloomy environment.
It was Renzo.
Behind him followed Rehn, wearing a fanatical expression and clutching a small notebook as if ready to record at any moment, and Sanji, cigarette in his mouth, coldly surveying the surroundings.
Ain brought up the rear, expressionless, though her eyes carried a hint of curiosity.
"Oh? You've finally come, have you? Blue Sea people here to repent before me."
Enel lifted his head and looked at Renzo with what he believed to be the gaze of a god looking down upon mortals.
"Kneel! Mortal! Beg me for forgiveness, and perhaps I'll consider destroying only your body while sparing your soul."
However, the fear and kneeling he expected never came.
The man sitting on the cloud didn't even lift his eyelids. He merely muttered in annoyance to Rehn beside him:
"So noisy. Rehn, this is the 'mobile power source' you mentioned? Too loud. Low-quality product."
"Yes! Lord Renzo!"
Rehn immediately scribbled furiously in his notebook.
"Target 'Enel' exhibits severe personality defects, lacks understanding of the essence of 'efficiency,' and is extremely low in cost-performance as a tool! Requires 'optimization processing'!"
"Optimization? No, that's too much trouble."
Renzo waved his hand.
"Just scrap it and recycle."
"Scrap… recycle?"
Those words made Enel's arrogant grin freeze for the first time.
He didn't understand what they were saying, but he could feel an unprecedented, bone-deep contempt.
It wasn't disdain from an enemy; it was the indifference someone showed toward a flawed object.
"You lowly insects! How dare you… How dare you speak to a god like that?!"
Enel flew into a rage, struggling to his feet and trying to draw on his power, only to stagger weakly instead.
Renzo finally glanced at him properly, his gaze like one cast upon a monkey roaring uselessly in a zoo.
"The Goro Goro no Mi counts as one of the top-tier Logia fruits, doesn't it?"
Renzo suddenly asked, not Enel, but Ain, behind him.
Ain stepped forward and replied, "Yes, Admiral. According to records, the Goro Goro no Mi is regarded as one of the strongest Logia fruits. It allows the user to become lightning itself, granting the speed and destructive power of lightning. It can also manipulate electromagnetic waves, refine metals, and enhance Observation Haki through electrical signals, forming a large-scale perception ability. In theory, its development potential is limitless."
Renzo nodded, seemingly satisfied.
He looked back at Enel again, and that gaze sent a chill down the latter's spine.
"Your ability is quite good," Renzo evaluated.
"Speed, destructive power, wide-area perception… all of these are useful. They significantly increase efficiency."
Hearing praise for his power, Enel subconsciously puffed out his chest and sneered.
"Now you understand the greatness of a god? That's right! I am the strongest! My power is invincible! Release me, and I might consider letting you become my servants and rule this Blue Sea!"
He thought the other side had finally recognized his value and was backing down.
But Renzo's next words plunged him straight into an icy abyss.
"But," Renzo said casually, as if discussing what dessert to have with afternoon tea, "you, as the user, are complete trash."
"…What?"
Enel's smile froze again.
"Loud, arrogant, incapable of understanding your own situation, and utterly lacking the awareness of being a 'tool,'" Renzo criticized mercilessly.
"A good tool in the hands of garbage only lowers overall efficiency. That's… a shameful waste."
"You… you dare… insult a god!!!"
Enel trembled with rage, pointing at Renzo, unable to form a complete sentence.
Renzo couldn't be bothered to listen anymore. He turned to his most loyal subordinate.
"Rehn."
"Here! My liege! Lord Renzo!" Rehn snapped to attention, face flushed with excitement.
Renzo looked him over.
"You are loyal, and your understanding of 'efficiency' aligns well with mine," Renzo said slowly.
"But your flaw is obvious. As an executor, you're too slow."
Rehn's expression collapsed instantly. His bulky body shrank with shame, his voice trembling.
"My deepest apologies, Lord Renzo! I am utterly incompetent! I have failed your expectations! I have disgraced the name of 'efficiency' you bestowed upon me! Starting tomorrow, I'll run ten thousand laps around G-5 carrying a hundred tons! Please give me another chance!"
"No, that won't be necessary."
Renzo raised a hand lightly, stopping Rehn's self-flagellation.
A rare, almost demonic smile appeared on his face.
"I've decided to give you… an 'upgrade.'"
He extended a finger and pointed toward the utterly stunned Enel inside the cell.
"This Goro Goro no Mi," Renzo said in a tone that treated ownership as a given, "I've decided to grant it to you."
"..."
"..."
The entire prison fell into dead silence.
Ain and Sanji were both stunned.
Rehn's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open, his mind completely blank.
As for Enel, after a moment of confusion, he burst into earth-shaking laughter.
"Yahahahahahaha!!!"
He laughed so hard he nearly doubled over.
"Madmen! You Blue Sea people are all insane!!"
"Stripping me of my abilities and giving it to him? Do you not know that whoever obtains such ability has it for life! That's the law of the world! Common sense! Don't you even know that?!"
Enel laughed until he was out of breath, convinced this was the funniest joke he'd ever heard.
Yet none of the people at the door were laughing.
Sanji silently lit another cigarette, his eyes heavy as he looked at Renzo. He knew this admiral never joked.
Ain adjusted her glasses. Beneath the lenses, shock and curiosity sparkled, she had a feeling she was about to witness something that would overturn common sense.
And Rehn, after the initial daze, felt a surge of indescribable fanaticism and excitement, countless times stronger than anything before, erupt from the depths of his heart like a volcano.
With a thud, he dropped to the floor, not on one knee, but fully prostrate, slamming his forehead hard against the icy ground.
"Lord Renzo!!!"
His voice trembled, hoarse with overwhelming emotion, yet filled with unmatched loyalty and joy.
"Your grace is higher than the heavens and deeper than the sea! Rehn can never repay it! From this day forward, my life, my soul, everything I possess will be your most efficient tool!!"
Renzo nodded in satisfaction.
Ignoring Enel's gaze as it shifted from manic laughter to uncertainty and fear, he said calmly to Rehn:
"Get up. With the speed of lightning, your efficiency should improve… at least a little."
Then he slowly floated down from the cloud and walked step by step toward the Seastone door that separated "god" from "mortal."
"No… impossible… this is impossible…"
Watching the door open, watching that man approach step by step, the smile vanished completely from Enel's face, replaced by unprecedented terror and panic.
"You… who are you?! What are you trying to do?! Don't come any closer!!"
For the first time, Enel felt fear.
The man before him was neither mortal nor merely a marine admiral.
He was a monster, one who ignored reason and defied the rules of the world.
Renzo stopped in front of him, looking down as though at a lamb awaiting slaughter.
"Relax," Renzo said softly, his tone almost gentle.
"It'll be over soon. After all… dragging things out is terribly troublesome."