Chapter 63 Even light cannot escape darkness.
Wiper, who was watching the battle, also heard the conversation between Bane, Issho, and Nami.
At that moment, Wiper finally understood the phrase "frog in the well. "
He realized that Enel was very strong. He also saw that Zoro was even stronger than he had expected. Still, Zoro could not defeat Enel.
This should have been concerning, but the two people next to him showed no worry. It was as if they were aware of Eneel's strength, yet believed they could still beat him.
This left Wiper with a complex feeling. Perhaps he should leave this well and see the wider world.
After more than ten battles, just as Issho and Bane had predicted, Zoro still could not harm Enel.
After dodging a lightning strike, Zoro returned to the deck.
Enel seemed to regain his confidence as well. He did not chase Zoro. Floating arrogantly in the air, he said, "You are not bad. You are much better than my subordinates. If you submit to me now, I can give you power and status, second only to mine. "
Zoro, however, ignored Enel. He calmly placed his three swords back into their sheaths one by one.
"It looks like I can't win," Zoro said to Bane calmly.
After hearing this, Wiper suddenly understood Zoro's earlier words to him.
Admitting one's weaknesses is also a brave act. This kind of regret can lead to greater growth.
In the original story, Zoro had a strong spirit. He raised the Wado Ichimonji in the East Blue Sea and cried that he would never lose again, but later, on Sky Island, he still lost to Enel.
Yet, this did not stop him from becoming stronger.
"But you didn't lose either," Bane said without hesitation.
Zoro did not argue with this. Instead, he looked at Bane with a rare seriousness and said, "I have a request. "
Bane was taken aback. Honestly, Zoro had rarely made requests of him on their journey, so Bane was surprised at this moment.
After a moment, Bane regained his composure, a pleased smile appearing on his face. He said, "Go ahead. "
"I want the power of the Thunder Fruit, and I want to be like you," Zoro said calmly while looking at Eneel.
The key part of this sentence was not the Thunder Fruit, but "like you."
Maybe the others didn't get it, but Bane definitely understood Zoro. Zoro knew that even though Bane had special abilities, he wasn't afraid of the sea.
Bane didn't think there was anything wrong with that. If he were Zoro, he would want to avoid being cursed by seawater if he could.
What really surprised Bane was that Zoro actually wanted to become a devil fruit user! "Didn't you say before that you had no plans to develop special abilities? " Bane couldn't help but ask.
He had asked Zoro this a long time ago. Although Zoro didn't mind becoming a devil fruit user, he hadn't planned to. But now, he was actively asking for the Thunder Fruit.
What was happening?
This was progress and change! To be honest, Bane felt quite relieved! When Bane asked again, Zoro was quiet for a moment, then he said honestly: "You are a monster. I've always tried to catch up with you, but no matter how hard I work, the gap between us keeps getting bigger. It's so wide that I worry I won't be able to catch up. If this keeps up, I might not see you again. "
After hearing this, Bane went quiet, but surprisingly, Enel didn't step in. He just watched them talk from a distance, seeming very interested.
"I have always believed you will become the strongest swordsman, Zoro. You will reach the highest level of power, so. . . " Bane started to say.
He wondered if he was pushing too hard and hurting Zoro's confidence. But before he could finish, Zoro replied: "I have never doubted this, but I don't want you to wait for me at the end. I want to move forward with you, that's all."
Zoro was still very confident. He believed he would eventually reach a high position, but he didn't want to lose Bane along the way.
Seeing Bane quiet, Zoro suddenly smiled and asked, "Are you worried I might become stronger than you now? "
"Hahahahaha," Bane laughed, then said with a hint of regret: "I originally wanted to give him a choice, but it seems he has no choice now, tsk." Yes, Bane had intended to give Enel a choice from the beginning, but now that Zoro had spoken, it was clear Enel had no options left.
But that was fine. No one really seemed to like Enel anyway, especially after he called Issho a blind man without any care. Although Issho is open-minded and won't let it bother him, he must not feel good about Enel.
"Hey, hey." Enel still wore a playful smile. He looked at Bane and the others and said, "You can't even touch a god like me, but you're still dreaming about my power. Don't you think that's ridiculous and funny? "
Bane ignored him. There was nothing to say to a dead man.
He turned to Issho and paused for a moment at the cane sword in his hand, before saying, "Issho, do you want to do it, or should I? "
Issho rubbed his forehead slightly and said, "I still have some confidence in my own strength, but against someone like this, I can defeat him but not capture him. It all depends on your methods, Bane."
Issho showed again just how Terrifying the Thunder Fruit is
Yes, Issho believed he could easily crush Enel, but if Enel wanted to escape, he really couldn't catch him.
There was no chance. Enel could appear on the other side of the island, or even farther, just by thinking about it. If he was determined to run, few people in the world could catch him.
This is one of the main reasons the Thunder Fruit is called 'invincible. ' Many can defeat it, but almost no one can capture it.
At that moment, since Zoro had spoken, Bane naturally wanted to capture Enel alive and then kill him.
"In that case, I'll show off my skills. " Bane said with a smile.
As he spoke, dark elements began to flow from his fingertips, like thick liquid dripping onto the deck.
For some reason, Enel, who had been very confident, felt a strange unease seeing the dark elements drip.
Perhaps all people with devil fruit abilities instinctively fear this dark power.
"Are you also a devil fruit user" The smile on Enel's face slowly faded and became serious.
However, Bane did not respond. The dark elements continued to drip from his fingertips, merging on the deck as if they were alive, twisting and dancing, eventually forming several black spheres.
Each sphere was the size of a basketball and looked ordinary, but it seemed to attract attention, making it hard to look away.
When these spheres floated behind Bane, mysterious forces began to stir within them. They seemed to pull and tug at each other, causing the surrounding space to distort slightly.
This kind of power surprised Issho a little. He felt something like gravity from it? No, not quite—more like attraction? A strong attraction? It seemed to consume everything, but it had several focus points.
Without saying anything, Bane's eyes suddenly changed. He raised his hand and waved it. Dozens of dark elemental balls floated behind him and shot at Enel like a line of cannonballs.
Enel was not willing to be outdone. He struck the ring drum on his body and several bolts of lightning burst out.
However, the previously indestructible thunder quickly fell apart and vanished after hitting the dark power, getting eroded and consumed by the darkness.
This made Enel panic. His feet slipped, and his body turned into lightning, disappearing instantly.
When he reappeared, he realized he was surrounded by dozens of dark balls without noticing when it had happened.
Without thinking much, Enel decided to put some distance between himself and the dark balls again. But this time, it was different. The instant movement he used to do easily became distorted in that moment. His body fell apart and the elements split into five or six pieces, as if he had been chopped into bits. He could no longer control his body.
He sensed that the attraction from all directions was forcibly holding him in place. If he tried to use his ability to flash and teleport, he would be pulled and torn into the pieces he had become, making it impossible for him to escape the area.
"Even light cannot escape darkness," Bane said softly.
He applied the strong gravitational force of the Dark-Dark Fruit to dozens of energy balls, forming an uneven gravitational zone for Enel. Nothing inside could escape the darkness, not even thunder.
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