The moment the White Dragon gently bumped against the cloud dock of Birka, Bardock's Observation Haki instantly picked up numerous signatures rapidly converging on their position. Among the incoming crowd, there were four distinct auras that felt decently strong.
"Listen up, crew," Bardock commanded, standing at the bow of the ship. "The warriors of this island possess a technique they call 'Mantra'. It's literally just Observation Haki. They will try to predict your moves. Do not let it throw you off. Move out!"
"Understood!"
Robin, Bonez, Sai, Perona, Leo, and Mansherry (riding on Reindeer Chopper's back) immediately disembarked, fanning out on the cloud beach in a defensive formation.
Bardock chose to remain on the deck of the White Dragon. He wasn't in a rush to fight just yet. He knew firsthand that Enel's raw, electrical movement speed was insanely fast. Until the 'God' showed up, Bardock was going to act as the ultimate bodyguard, ensuring none of his crewmates got speed-blitzed or seriously injured.
The welcoming party finally emerged from the dense, depressing streets of Birka. It was a small army consisting of exactly 57 individuals. Bardock nodded in recognition. It was exactly the lineup he remembered: the four Divine Priests and their squad of 53 Divine Enforcers. Surprisingly, they were all here in Birka; Enel hadn't wiped out the island yet.
"Hey, you lot! You're from the Blue Sea, aren't you?"
A bizarre, spherical man wearing a massive, puffy white coat stepped forward. This was Satori, the 'Priest of the Forest'.
"Leave all of your belongings—including that massive ship—right here on the dock. Do that, and we might just spare your lives," Satori offered with a sickeningly sweet smile.
Of course, it was a completely empty promise. If they surrendered their ship and all their supplies, they would literally have no way to survive or leave the sky island. It was a death sentence either way.
"Alternatively, you can choose to challenge us in combat," a tall, stern man riding a massive, fiery-plumed bird added. This was Shura, the 'Sky Rider'. "If you actually manage to defeat us... we won't stop you from leaving."
He didn't mention, however, whether their 'God' would personally strike them down with divine lightning if they won.
"I strongly advise you to just accept your fate and surrender. It's the only way you'll live a little longer," a calm, imposing man wearing sunglasses finished. This was Ohm, the 'Sky Breeder'. He rested a hand on the hilt of a strange, cloud-forged sword capable of shapeshifting into various forms.
As for the fourth and final Priest? Gedatsu, the 'Sky Boss', was currently standing completely still, violently biting his lower lip and rolling his eyes back into his head. Gedatsu was a profound idiot with absolutely zero physical coordination or basic common sense. He frequently forgot how to breathe, blink, or speak unless one of his subordinates explicitly reminded him to do so.
(He was also incredibly durable, considering he canonically survived falling 10,000 meters from Sky Island straight down to the Blue Sea without suffering any major injuries.)
"Enough talking. Let's get this over with!" Daz Bonez growled, stepping forward. He had been relegated to glorified landscaping duty for the past month and was absolutely desperate for a real fight. He locked eyes with Ohm. 'That guy's a swordsman. Perfect.'
"Ah! I claim the guy on the giant bird! Negative Hollows!" Perona cheered happily, immediately launching several ghosts at Shura. Taking out the aerial cavalry first was standard tactical procedure.
"I'll handle the fat one, then," Sai said, cracking his knuckles and walking toward Satori. "He looks like he can take a punch."
(Sai was actually completely wrong in his assessment. Gedatsu was by far the most durable of the four Priests.)
"Robin, I'll take care of the last guy!" Leo shouted, buzzing his wings and pointing his spear at Gedatsu.
Gedatsu, meanwhile, was currently crying profusely because he had forgotten that he needed to blink his eyes to keep them moist.
"Be careful, Leo," Robin warned, frowning at the crying Priest. She couldn't understand Gedatsu's bizarre behavior. Was he deliberately acting like an absolute moron to lower their guard? As Bardock often said, was this the classic 'playing the pig to eat the tiger' strategy?
The battles erupted simultaneously. The Divine Enforcers wisely chose not to interfere, leaving the fights to the Priests.
Watching from the ship, Bardock casually swept his eyes over the skirmishes. The gap in combat power was painfully obvious. These Birkan Priests were far, far weaker than his crew.
Perona ended her fight the fastest. Shura was highly skilled with his Mantra and possessed a massive aerial mobility advantage, but he had absolutely no idea how to defend against intangible ghosts. The moment a Negative Hollow phased through his giant bird, both Shura and the mount instantly lost their will to live, plummeting out of the sky. Before Shura could even hit the ground, three more ghosts swarmed him, rendering him completely catatonic.
Daz Bonez's fight ended shortly after. Ohm's shapeshifting 'Iron Cloud' sword was definitely a neat gimmick, but against a man whose entire body was made of highly tempered steel, it was completely useless. Ohm's Mantra allowed him to dodge for a few minutes, but eventually, Bonez grew bored. With a single, devastating Atomic Slash, he cleaved right through Ohm's Iron Cloud defenses, leaving the Priest bleeding and unconscious on the ground.
Sai and Leo finished their fights at almost the exact same time.
Satori's Impact Dials initially managed to successfully clash against Sai's Hasshoken shockwaves, but the moment Sai decided to actually try, he unleashed his ultimate technique: Drill Dragon Nail. The concentrated, armor-piercing kick instantly shattered Satori's defenses and sent the spherical Priest flying across the city.
Gedatsu actually proved to be surprisingly competent in combat once he remembered how to move. His Jet Dials allowed for highly unpredictable, high-speed attacks. Unfortunately for him, he was fighting a Tontatta. Dwarves were globally renowned for their imperceptible speed and massive physical strength. Furthermore, Leo had recently mastered Soru (Shave). Gedatsu was completely outmaneuvered, brutally beaten, and literally sewn directly to the cloud street by Leo's Devil Fruit ability, rendering him completely immobilized.
The four Divine Priests of Birka had certainly tasted defeat before, but to be completely and utterly decimated simultaneously in less than five minutes?! It was completely unprecedented!
The 53 Divine Enforcers stared at the fallen Priests in absolute, mind-numbing horror. Their brains simply couldn't process what had just happened.
"T-this is bad... The God is going to be furious...!" Yama, the massive Commander of the Enforcers, stuttered, trembling uncontrollably.
KRACK-A-BOOOOM!
A blinding, violent flash of lightning tore through the sky, striking the center of the cloud dock with a deafening roar.
As the ozone-scented smoke cleared, Enel appeared. He wore his signature white bandana over his head, exposing his incredibly long earlobes. He was bare-chested, wearing baggy orange pants, and a massive, solid gold ring holding four taiko drums was embedded directly into his back.
His expression was terrifyingly dark.
Allowing these 'challenges' against his Priests was merely a twisted game he played to flex his divine authority and alleviate his boredom. For his elite Priests to be completely humiliated so quickly... it was an absolute insult to his divine face! How could he not be furious?!
"To think... I actually have to step in and handle this trash myself. You four are utterly incompetent!" Enel scoffed, looking down at the unconscious Priests.
Instantly, all 53 Divine Enforcers fell to their knees, pressing their foreheads into the cloud in absolute, terrified submission, silently begging for mercy.
"Hey, Enel," Bardock called out, finally stepping off the White Dragon and walking toward the lightning user. "Don't you think this whole 'I am God' routine is a little bit cringe?"
Enel's eyes snapped toward Bardock. "A mere mortal dares to mock a God? Know your place! El Thor (Judgment of God)!"
Enel casual raised his hand. His wrist instantly transformed into crackling electricity, and a massive, concentrated pillar of lightning blasted horizontally toward Bardock.
Facing the incoming lightning bolt, Bardock didn't dodge or attempt to block it with his staff. He wanted to physically test the raw voltage of Enel's attacks. Considering El Thor wasn't his strongest move, Bardock was confident he could easily tank it using only his physical durability and a thin layer of Armament Haki.
The lightning engulfed him completely.
Bardock felt his entire body violently vibrate. His muscles spasmed slightly, and a sharp, stinging numbness washed over his skin. But when the light faded... he was completely unharmed.
"Not bad," Bardock smirked, rolling his shoulders to shake off the numbness. "You electrocuted me, so it's only fair I punch you in return."
Because metal conducts electricity exceptionally well, Bardock deliberately chose not to use the Jingu Bang. He wanted to conserve his Armament Haki for offense, rather than wasting it trying to insulate a massive metal pole. Raw hand-to-hand combat was the smarter choice.
"I am lightning incarnate," Enel sneered arrogantly, crossing his arms. "Go ahead, mortal. Punch me a hundred times if you wish. Let us see if your pathetic fists can harm a God."
Seeing Bardock easily tank his lightning had surprised him slightly, but Enel was completely confident in his Logia intangibility. He didn't even attempt to dodge. He was going to stand perfectly still and let this arrogant mortal realize the absolute futility of fighting a God.
BAM!
Bardock's Haki-coated fist slammed directly into Enel's face.
The sickening sound of crunching bone echoed across the dock. Enel's face violently deformed under the apocalyptic impact. The 'God' was launched into the air, spinning violently ten and a half times before crashing head-first into a dense cloud wall, his legs awkwardly sticking out in the air.
"WHAT?!" "Impossible! Did God just get hit?!" "He didn't just get hit, he got blasted away!" "But God is made of lightning! How can a physical fist touch him?!" "Is... is that man a God too?! Only a God can harm a God!" "..."
The Divine Enforcers erupted into chaotic, terrified whispers.
Meanwhile, Robin, Bonez, and the rest of Bardock's crew remained completely calm. The moment Enel had arrogantly crossed his arms and allowed Bardock to hit him, they knew the fight was already over. Enel had absolutely zero concept of Armament Haki.
"YOU INSOLENT BASTARD! 60 Million Volt: Hino (Lightning Dragon)!"
Miraculously, Enel managed to rip his head out of the cloud wall and immediately retaliate. Despite relying entirely on his Devil Fruit, his baseline physical durability was surprisingly high. He hadn't been instantly knocked out, even though Bardock had used roughly fifty percent of his base human strength for that punch.
A massive, hyper-charged dragon of pure lightning erupted from the drums on Enel's back, roaring as it lunged at Bardock.
This attack was significantly more lethal. Bardock's Observation Haki had easily predicted the move the moment Enel generated the electrical charge. Activating Soru, Bardock instantly vanished, completely dodging the lightning dragon.
"Rankyaku: Armament Sever!"
Appearing in the air above, Bardock launched a massive, Haki-infused vacuum blade from his leg, aimed directly at Enel's chest.
Having just learned a very painful lesson about physical attacks, Enel refused to tank the hit. His body instantly dissolved into a flash of lightning, completely vanishing from the area.
A millisecond later, he materialized directly behind Bardock, launching a vicious, high-speed roundhouse kick aimed at Bardock's spine.
If Admiral Kizaru were here, he would undoubtedly nod in approval and utter his famous catchphrase: Speed is weight.
CLANG!
Bardock spun around instantly, raising his Haki-coated shin to perfectly block the lightning-fast kick.
Realizing his physical attack was blocked, Enel instantly transformed back into lightning, teleporting twenty meters away to create distance.
"So you possess Mantra as well," Enel glared, wiping a trail of blood from his nose. "No wonder you are so difficult to deal with."
"Pfft..."
Seeing the self-proclaimed 'God' trying to act incredibly serious and intimidating while half of his face was grotesquely swollen like a bruised tomato, Bardock completely broke character and burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, 'God', but it's really hard to take you seriously when you look that ridiculous!"
"Tch...!"
Enel reached up and touched his swollen cheek. He hissed in pain as the bruised flesh flared.
"YOU'VE PUSHED ME TOO FAR, MORTAL! 200 MILLION VOLT: AMARU (THUNDER GOD)!"