Footsteps echoed in the empty forest, growing steadily louder.
"Seems I've won."
Kai stopped in front of Enel, with a slight smile on his face. "So, what do you say? Will you submit to your God King, 'God'?"
"Dream on! If you dare, release me and let's fight again, fair and square! I absolutely won't lose!"
Enel roared with outward strength masking inner weakness, unconsciously changing his self-reference from "this God" to "I."
Kai's face showed a strange expression upon hearing this. Did he think repeatedly losing and getting captured would somehow work out?
"Ridiculous. A loss is a loss. I've never seen a god who welches on bets like you."
Violet stood with hands on her hips, mercilessly mocking, her pretty face full of disdain.
Enel's expression stiffened. Knowing he was in the wrong and unable to refute, he could only stare intently at Kai's eyes, maintaining his only remaining dignity.
"If we don't fight again, you may have my person but not my heart! Given any chance, I'll definitely escape!"
"Fine then."
With Kai's indifferent words, that mountain-like, terrifying pressure suddenly vanished from Enel's body.
Enel's whole body lightened as long-lost control returned. Electric current once again flowed smoothly through his body. He looked at the still-composed Kai with complex eyes, not immediately elementalizing to escape.
He never thought the man who beat and embarrassed him would give him another chance so easily. If their roles were reversed, Enel would have already finished his opponent with a blast of lightning.
"Hey, Kai! Watch out! He might just run!" Violet loudly warned.
Kai merely smiled at Enel, tone carrying almost certain trust. "I believe him. Since calling himself a god, he should have some divine pride and backbone, right?"
Though Enel disregarded life and was moody, he wasn't cowardly. Otherwise, in the original plot's battle with Luffy, he could have completely utilized the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's unparalleled mobility for long-range attrition, fleeing immediately if things went south.
At the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's speed, throughout the entire seas, those who could truly catch him were countable on one hand. Much less Luffy at that time.
"Hmph! This God naturally keeps his word!"
Enel looked as proud as ever. He stretched his body, still a bit stiff from being paralyzed, but he knew this was his last shot. Without waiting, he used his strongest move.
"200 Million Volt Raijin!"
A huge burst of blue lightning shot out from his body. Thick, powerful electricity quickly wrapped around him. In seconds, he turned into a giant figure of lightning, over ten meters tall, looking just like a thunder god.
The giant was made of blinding thunder, with electric arcs crackling all over. The electric field alone was strong enough to fry anyone who got too close.
Kai watched Enel control his lightning form, crossing his arms and looking him over with interest. It reminded him a lot of some techniques he'd seen before.
This wasn't Awakening or true elemental form—just a layer of high-voltage lightning covering his real body. Still, it was pretty powerful.
Kai figured that, just by attack power alone, Enel in this 'Raijin' form was a real threat. If he fixed his Armament Haki weakness and got more battle experience, he could even reach Marine Admiral level.
As for losing to Luffy? Could only say that I was too unlucky, encountering the Gomu Gomu no Mi, this completely unreasonable natural counter. No matter how strong the voltage, before such fundamental restraint, it couldn't cause the slightest harm.
"I'll show some 'sincerity' too."
Kai gave a small smile, then his body grew larger. In the next moment, he transformed into Dragon-Man Kai.
You're transforming, too?
Enel frowned. His Mantra kept warning him of danger over and over, which got on his nerves, so he just turned it off. Either way, he wasn't going to run from this fight.
"Perish!"
The lightning giant's palms suddenly thrust forward. A massive lightning torrent, like an unbound thunder dragon, roared straight toward Kai.
"Well done."
Kai's mouth still curved in that indifferent smile. Pitch-black Haki instantly covered his entire body. Not only didn't he retreat; he stepped forward, actually charging into the lightning torrent.
Where pitch-black dragon claws passed, the lightning torrent was torn to shreds. After dragon claws tore through lightning obstacles, momentum undiminished, they reached straight toward the lightning giant's core.
Rip!
The imposing lightning giant proved worthless before dragon claws, instantly collapsing to reveal Enel's true body.
Under Enel's shocked, confused, and horrified gaze, dragon claws had already casually pressed against his chest.
"Ugh!"
An indescribable, tremendous force penetrated his body. Enel felt his internal organs instantly displaced, eyes suddenly bulging as uncontrolled blood spurted forth.
Kai slightly bent his arm.
Bang!
Enel was heavily smashed into the ground. Dust shot skyward. When it settled slightly, the ground had been forcibly smashed into a several-meter-diameter cracked crater.
Enel lay miserably at the crater's center, completely unconscious.
"Oops, seems I used a bit too much force."
Kai returned to normal, looking at the unconscious Enel at the crater bottom while scratching his head. Whatever. Didn't affect the final result anyway.
"Hiyori, bring him. Let's continue!" Kai called back.
Kozuki Hiyori nodded slightly, slender hands lightly raising to manipulate flame clouds wrapping Enel's unconscious body, leaving only his head exposed. He was thus dragged by flame clouds, floating beside the group, following everyone forward.
The surrounding surviving soldiers had long since collectively petrified, brains completely blank. Who are we? Where are we? What just happened? God lost just like that?
"Hey, wake up."
Kai snapped his fingers crisply, awakening the dazed soldiers. "Take us to find Shandora, that city built from gold."
"Go-gold?" Soldiers looked at each other, faces full of confusion. "What's that?"
"They don't know what gold is?"
Everyone was somewhat surprised.
Kai then realized that the Sky Islanders truly didn't know what gold was because they didn't use it as currency. Before Upper Yard was brought skyward by the Knock Up Stream, Sky Island fundamentally had no gold mineral.
Kai explained, "Gold is a golden, sun-glittering metal. Enel should have ordered you to collect this stuff."
As he knew, Enel occupying the Upper Yard was largely to collect gold for building his Ark Maxim.
The soldiers finally understood. Oh, that stuff.
"Please follow us."
The soldier captain was extremely respectful. Under soldiers' guidance, Kai's group entered Upper Yard's dense primeval jungle.
"Please be careful, everyone."
As he led the way, the captain warned them, "There's a giant python in this jungle that's very dangerous and highly poisonous."
Before finishing, Yamato's delighted shout from deep in the jungle interrupted him.
"Kai! Kai! Come quick and look!"
Before he could answer, a strange-smelling wind blew from the forest. Suddenly, a huge creature burst out—a giant python with blue-black stripes, two whiskers, and golden eyes, easily several hundred meters long.
"You mean this one?"
Kai pointed at the giant python, which obediently stopped beside everyone.
Yamato stood on the python's head, waving to everyone.
"Y-yes, that's it." The soldier captain's mouth twitched, showing an awkward yet polite smile.
What could he say? Even God could be easily defeated. What about one Python?
"How about it? My Jörmungandr."
Yamato grinned while patting her newly-acquired mount underfoot. The giant python's head bore a conspicuous lump, silently testifying to that earlier "friendly exchange's" intensity.
Mm, still Yamato-style naming. But perfect timing!
"Let's go!"
Yamato raised her arms. At her command, Jörmungandr charged at full speed toward the soldier captain's direction.
Soldiers trembled with fear, sprawled across the great snake's broad spine, tightly gripping scale gaps, not daring to breathe heavily. They never dreamed they'd one day ride this forest overlord.
With Jörmungandr charging straight through, the original half-hour journey was forcibly shortened to just ten minutes.
"Wow!"
When Jörmungandr suddenly burst from the dense jungle, eyes opened wide, and Kai was mentally prepared, everyone involuntarily exclaimed at the scene before them. Before them was brilliantly spectacular scenery beyond words!
It was a city, a city entirely constructed from gold!
Sunlight fell, countless golden surfaces reflecting dazzling golden radiance. Everywhere eyes reached was golden. At the city center, a massive golden bell tower stood quietly.
Here, there'd be no complaints about excess. They'd only lament insufficient density. The only regret was that in city corners, a conspicuous blank space was probably collected by Enel.
After the initial shock, everyone quickly calmed. Not pouncing on gold like ordinary pirates, they merely toured with sightseeing mindsets, carefully browsing this ancient, glorious golden metropolis.
At the city center, an astonishingly thick green vine rose from the ground, piercing straight into the clouds. Kai looked up. His gaze penetrated the thin cloud mist. A tiny Sky Island floated at the vine's top.
The Golden Bell Shandians desperately sought, Shandora's light, was on that Sky Island above.
With ease, Kai brought down the Golden Bell, along with the Poneglyph below.
"This, this is..."
Upon seeing the Poneglyph, Robin immediately ran over eagerly. However, after quickly scanning its contents, she let out a disappointed sigh.
It wasn't what she'd hoped for. This Poneglyph recorded information about the Ancient Weapon "Poseidon," but didn't contain any Void Century history she longed to know. As for Poseidon itself, she already knew about it. She even knew who the current Poseidon was.
What a pity.
"Eh? Jörmungandr, what's wrong?" Yamato suddenly looked strangely at the giant python beside her.
Currently, this externally fierce snake was staring at that massive Golden Bell. Its cold golden vertical pupils actually had large teardrops rolling down, crying like a child.
Kai looked at the crying great snake, sighing lightly. "Remember the Liar Noland story? It witnessed Noland and Calgara's friendship. Their mutual friend."
He then narrated the story of Noland and the Shandians to his companions.
Emotionally rich Bonney and Chopper immediately teared up. Even others showed moved, sighing expressions, lamenting this profound friendship buried by history's dust.
"So you have such a sad past?"
Yamato restrained her usual liveliness, rarely gently patting the snake's cool head, tone full of understanding and sympathy.
Bonney tearfully tugged Kai's sleeve, looking up pleadingly. "Kai, let's help Shandians fulfill their promise, okay?"
"Of course, no problem." Kai rubbed Bonney's pink head.
Out of respect for Shandians' 400 years of unyielding, death-defying promise-keeping, this small effort meant nothing.
Soon, under everyone's gaze, Kai walked before the massive Golden Bell. He extended his hand, covering the golden bell wall, exerting a slight force.
Dong!
Dong!
Dong!
A grand, distant bell sound, seemingly spanning 400 years, rang steadily and powerfully once, then again!
Bell sounds spread in circles, penetrating cloud seas, echoing through skies, transmitting toward unknown distances.
The Shandian village
Shandians' secret settlement.
A dark-skinned, lean warrior held weapons, conducting a routine expedition mobilization. This was the Shandian tradition before reclaiming Upper Yard and Shandora. Countless ancestors departed after such ceremonies, embracing certain death with resolve, never returning.
"Today, we must embrace..."
His words abruptly stopped.
Distant yet clear bell sounds seemingly from soul depths penetrated cloud layers, entering every Shandian's ears.
"This, this sound is...?!"
A white-haired, wrinkled elderly Shandian suddenly raised his head, his turbid eyes widening instantly. He looked toward the sound of the bell, tears streaming uncontrollably. "Can't be wrong, can't be wrong. That's the Golden Bell's sound! Shandora's light!!"
Though never personally hearing this bell sound in life, that melody had long been branded deep in every Shandian's blood and soul!
Hearing this bell before death, he had no regrets.
Jaya Island shore
A diamond-headed middle-aged man, Mont Blanc Cricket, was about to dive with two subordinates, continuing his daily journey to the ridiculed golden city.
Suddenly, melodious bells sounded from the sky, echoing between sea and heaven.
The man's descending motion suddenly froze. He abruptly raised his head, carefully listening. His eyes rapidly shifted from initial confusion to disbelief, finally transforming into ecstatic brightness!
"Could it be... no, it must be!"
He suddenly understood something, his body trembling slightly with excitement. The next second, he splashed down to his knees on the beach. Tears like breached floodwaters surged uncontrollably.
Facing the sky where the bell sounds came, using all his body's strength with tearful choking, he roared, "My ancestor Noland, he wasn't a great liar!"
"Shandora truly exists!!!"
Four hundred years of injustice, family shame, completely washed away this moment!
Jaya Island vicinity, Marine flagship
On deck, the clown-masked CP0 agent also heard bell sounds. He tilted his head slightly but paid no mind to any task-irrelevant noise in this sea area, merely concentrating on awaiting Kai's group's arrival.
Not far away, Aokiji, lying on a deck chair with his eyes closed, slowly raised his eye mask, slightly surprised as he glanced toward the direction of the bell sounds.
He seemed to be contemplating something, but moments later merely murmured, ambiguously, "Ara ara," then pulled down his eye mask again and continued his afternoon nap.