"There's still a chance—as long as I reach it!"
The fleeing Enel was as panicked as a dog with its tail between its legs, but at that moment, light filled his eyes. The exit was right ahead.
As long as he escaped and seized that weapon, he could still reclaim his throne as a god. Everything could still be salvaged.
But what he didn't see—In that radiant gap of light, a faintly translucent specter appeared, almost blending into the background. It held a small, dark pearl in its hand.
The ghost grinned wickedly toward the flashing thunder and crushed the pearl.
Crack—!
King takes the throne!
Standing atop the raging waves, Ren raised his Ambition Flintlock. The air around him began to blur.Light replaced everything in an instant.
From the light stepped out a Six-Winged Angel, finger tightening on the trigger.
Bang—!
The surging thunder ahead of him trembled for an instant—Then transformed back into Enel's figure, clutching his chest as he staggered midair and crashed toward the deck.
The Seastone bullet that pierced his flesh robbed him of his Devil Fruit powers. The fallen god—weak beyond precedent!
The Thunder Spear in his grasp began to surge out of control, rampaging with uncontrollable lightning that lashed into Enel's body like chains of purple electricity. Lightning coursed through his muscles, paralyzing his limbs in an instant.
He crashed into the deck of the Ark Maxim, scraping a long gouge across it before collapsing on his knees before the Six-Winged Angel.
Standing amid the light, Ren reached into the void, and the Cursed Blade: Thousand Edge materialized in his grasp. He looked down at Enel, who struggled to lift his head—his lightning-tempered body twitching under the shock.
Their gazes met. Ren's expression was calm as he activated the orange glove on his hand.
"You see, you call yourself a god, yet you've fallen from your throne. Now you'll suffer this final strike."
"..."
Enel's face went ashen, lips parting as if to speak, but no words came.In the end, he simply forced himself to stand—tall, trembling, lightning still stabbing through him, but refusing to kneel.
He didn't bother to remove the bullet; his foe would act faster. Rather than die in disgrace, stripped of all dignity, he would face death as a god—upright and unbowed.
Enel raised his chin slightly, staring at the victor before him. "I have to admit... you're stronger now. But my defeat isn't the defeat of God. If I can't surpass you sheep...then I'll simply accept that I'm a failed god."
Ren said nothing. The prepared strike fell.
The high-frequency blade sliced through flesh and bone with ease—a head rolled, the corpse blackened and burned, still standing for a heartbeat before going still.
At that same moment—Ren reached out with his orange glove and seized something intangible.
But before he could do anything—his Spider-Sense flared violently, and a wave of bone-deep pain exploded through his body.
Enel wasn't gone—He was a demon. The demon within the Devil Fruit!
Ren's expression hardened. Furious lightning surged from the orange glove—terrifying purple-white arcs erupted into existence, spreading like an ocean tide.
The sea of thunder expanded in a flash, enveloping the entire front half of the Ark Maxim. Everything was erased in the storm.
"Ren!"
Zoro's face paled as he lunged forward, but before he could reach the storm, an outer arc of lightning struck him, hurling him back. He collapsed unconscious, eyes rolled white—his body suffering horrific burns.
That was lightning surpassing Enel's own—the Thunder Demon sealed within the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!
Within a kilometer radius, everything around Ren was wiped from existence, erased as if by an invisible eraser. Nothing survived within the thunder's domain.
And even that—was merely a fraction of the demon's true power.
Yet just as the sea of thunder began to expand outward, it suddenly vanished.
Only a smoking shell fell from the sky, crashing onto the lower deck.
The once-mighty body was reduced to a charred husk, blackened flesh clinging to bone.His torso and arms were scorched through, only the skeletal hands remaining—still clutching a golden fruit.
A faint whiff of cooked meat spread through the air. For any human, this was a mortal wound—death in seconds, even with immediate treatment.
But then—from within the silence came a rhythmic heartbeat.
Upon closer look—dark violet Haki flowed across his body, protecting his heart, lungs, brain, throat, and half of his face.
His heart pounded. His lungs expanded. He began to breathe.
And with that breath—his vitality began to return.
[Passive: Breathing Regeneration]
Origin: Call of Duty
Type: Constant Rule Passive
Effect: When injured or fatigued, restores HP and stamina through rhythmic breathing as long as not under attack. Recovers 1% HP every 5 minutes and 1% stamina per minute, regardless of injuries.
Cost: None
Property: Rule-type Ability
Rule-type abilities defied all logic. Even Death itself had to retreat before them.
Thus—Death's footsteps receded.
The corpse that had seemed lifeless began to pulse. Flesh wriggled, reformed, reshaped.Time passed. The body rebuilt itself piece by piece.
After six long hours, Ren's eyes snapped open. He looked around warily—and saw Zoro collapsed nearby, unconscious but still gripping his swords tightly. A long trench stretched hundreds of meters behind him, carved by the path of his crawl.
Ren's memories surged back.
Enel had died. He had secured the fruit as planned. Then—the demon inside the fruit had gone berserk.
It made sense. After all, Devil Fruits were called so because humans believed demons resided within them. The most powerful proof of that—was the Zoan awakening.
When a Zoan Fruit awakened, the beast within would surface, wrestling for control over the host. Those who triumphed became awakened users. Those who lost—became mindless beasts like the jailers of Impel Down.
That meant even the Rumble-Rumble Fruit contained a demon of its own. Normally it would never awaken before reaching the threshold of full power—
But Ren had forcibly seized the fruit mid-rebirth using the orange glove.
[Fisherman's Glove]
Origin: Unknown Dimension
Type: Rule-Type Item
Effect: Can grasp any "existent target," including air, wind, even space itself. Can also seize conceptual entities—but only guarantees the act of grasping succeeds.
*Note: "A fisherman never returns empty-handed."
It had been one of the rewards he extracted from his crewmates. Unfortunately, it had perished in the storm just now.
The rampage of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's demon had unleashed lightning far beyond Enel's level—likely equivalent to a Logia awakening or greater.
Ren didn't mourn the loss. If not for that glove tanking the first blast—buying him time to trigger his Translucent Body and shield his organs with Haki—he'd be dead.
Thanks to the Third Calabash Brother Template, his body barely endured the current long enough for him to capture the lightning demon with the prepared fruit. Otherwise, Ren would already be ash.
But—he succeeded.
In his hand lay a strange fruit, golden and spiked like a durian, covered in swirling patterns of lightning.
A Devil Fruit.
A Logia-type—Rumble-Rumble Fruit.
If anyone who understood Devil Fruits saw this, the world would erupt. Because it would mean the unbreakable rule—Devil Fruits rebirth at random—had been shattered.
Ren, having long anticipated the power of his Dimensional Roulette, wasn't surprised. He gave Zoro a Health Potion, ensured he was safe, and turned toward the devastation.
A kilometer-wide crater yawned between the Ark and the mountain valley—everything within a 600-meter radius erased by the thunder's fury. Only the Lightning Core at the Ark's heart had survived by virtue of distance.
Enel, of course, was gone—utterly annihilated.
Ren felt conflicted. For all his delusions, Enel's faith in godhood wasn't entirely absurd.In the endless sky, where few understood the sea below, worshiping lightning as divine made sense. And Enel truly wielded the power of a god.
Even at the end, he had faced death with dignity—a powerful opponent to the very last.
He lost only because Ren had too much information—and prepared the perfect counter. Compared to the arrogant Crocodile, Enel was far more dangerous.
He wasn't brainless—just blinded by his own divinity.His combat instincts were exceptional.
Ren admitted to himself—he hadn't won by luck.He'd won by sheer strategy and preparation.
Perfection was impossible, but what he lacked in precision, he made up for in quantity.
Every "piece" on his board—Nami, Robin, Zoro, even the Shikigami—was a calculated resource.Like a chess player scattering his moves, he simply used what worked best at the right time.
His core plan had been simple: Transform the battlefield to limit Enel's lightning-speed and Mantra detection. Use seawater to force him out. Taunt him into emotional instability to disrupt his Mantra.Then—leave an "escape route" open.
A lightning god could dodge bullets—but not if he ran straight into one.
The ghost that crushed the pearl had been one such "extra piece. "Everything had been part of the plan.
Except for the final part—the demon's rampage.
Even Ren hadn't expected his gravest injury in Skypiea to come from a Devil Fruit itself.
He exhaled. "This time, Nami's definitely paying for the repairs."
After cleaning up the aftermath, Ren activated his Den Den Mushi wristwatch. With Enel's death confirmed, communications came online.
Under his command, the Angels of Glory entered from Upper Yard, taking control of the Kingdom of God, including Angel Island. Conflicts flared, but were swiftly crushed.
Ren contacted Weatheria, reported the situation, and received orders to await their arrival. Haredas had already departed on a weather ship. Meanwhile, Urouge returned with Zoro to the Enlightenment for treatment and oversight.
Then came another surprise—the Shandians.
Unexpectedly, Nojiko had encountered and defeated a group of Shandian warriors—and let them go. Not out of mercy—she simply didn't want to kill, but refused to leave empty-handed.
So she took their hair and nails instead—and crafted Vivre Cards.
That technique had come from the Sky Pirate Alliance incident—where pirates had tracked Weatheria by stealing scholars' hair to make their own Vivre Cards.
Now, those cards would expose the Cloud Hidden Village as the Shandians returned.
Meanwhile, Ren uncovered another issue in Upper Yard:
Nola, the giant sky serpent—once the guardian of Shandora—a creature over four hundred years old, nearly a kilometer long, its scales harder than steel.
Ren considered slaying it but decided it wasn't worth the trouble. He instead moved toward the Giant Jack vines leading to the surface.
The remaining Skypieans—priests, soldiers, guards—still refused to believe Enel was dead. That didn't stop Ren from beating them unconscious and binding the lot.
More pressing was his next deal.
"Well then," said Robin, dressed in a checkered shirt, standing on the cloud edge at the top of Giant Jack. "I'd like a ride."
"The crow form isn't ideal for searching the Golden Belfry," she added, extending her hand.
"Fine," Ren replied, scooping her up in a princess carry. With a beat of his six wings, they soared through the clouds—Elytra for speed, Phantom Wing Flight for agility, while Shikigami scouts fanned out below. Flocks of crows spread wide across the sky, seeking their goal.
At last, they found it—a floating island of cloud in the distance, crowned with the Golden Belfry.
"There it is?" Robin's voice trembled with excitement. She leapt from his arms, rushing toward the Poneglyph beneath the great bell.
Ren examined the massive, gold-built structure. The sheer quantity of gold—measured in tons—was staggering.
"So this is the Poneglyph... I wonder what it records."
The Crow's gaze flicked toward Ren, eyes narrowing.After everything that had happened, this man seemed increasingly unfathomable. Perhaps his Devil Fruit truly granted foresight—for how else could his every move align so perfectly?
As if sensing that thought, Ren glanced back with a faint shrug."I know the location of one of the Three Ancient Weapons. But if you want details, you'll have to ask your historian."
Robin nodded, eyes widening. "Yes... it records the resting place of Poseidon."
Her brows furrowed. "Why do they all record weapons? What use is that to me?"
Behind her, the Crow hesitated.The Revolutionary Army cared deeply about the Ancient Weapons—but couldn't act without risking Robin's trust.
"Maybe the ancients thought their successors would need them," Ren said, pointing beside the stone." But if you want something truly useful—look at the writing to the side."
"To the side?"
Robin turned—and froze. Carved beside the Poneglyph's text, in a bold, unmistakable hand, was a name.
"Gol D. Roger?!"
Indeed—engraved upon the golden wall were the words left by the Pirate King himself.
The man who had ignited the Great Pirate Era—the one the world called the most evil of all.
Whatever his reasons, the results of his actions were undeniable.
(End of Chapter)