Chapter 171: Transformation and Ascension
In just a moment.
A streak of silver lightning suddenly whistled down, leaving a clear trail through the air. It twisted and turned before landing less than ten centimeters above Rhodes's palm.
"He can actually control thunder directly..."
Enel was stunned.
As a user of the Goro Goro no Mi, to control thunderclouds, he had to release his own electrical energy to stimulate the electrons within them, thus triggering a lightning strike.
But Rhodes had simply summoned the thunder itself.
Perhaps he'd eaten a fake Goro Goro no Mi.
RUMBLE!
The thunderclouds, stimulated by this, became violent. Silver lightning could be seen constantly piercing the sky, stretching for dozens of miles, as if trying to tear heaven and earth apart.
"No, I can't absorb it directly..."
Rhodes concentrated, frowning slightly.
He was a lightning manipulator, able to control and harness electricity, but that didn't make him immune to it. At most, his resistance was far stronger than an ordinary person's. If directly struck by this silver lightning, he'd still be injured.
A flash of inspiration crossed Rhodes's mind as he considered various possibilities. Finally, his gaze shifted to the bewildered lightning figure on Ark Maxim.
"Perhaps... I'm missing a converter."
With that thought, Rhodes seized Enel's moment of shock and leaped across dozens of meters directly to his side. With a gentle hand coated in Armament Haki, he plucked Enel out like pulling up a radish.
This grabbing sensation reminded Enel of his recent beating, and his mind suddenly cleared. He panicked and cried out:
"No, no, please don't—!"
His voice was pitiful, his injured, swollen body struggling weakly. He looked at Rhodes with the expression of a damsel facing a villain.
"..."
Rhodes was speechless and chose not to respond.
He controlled the silver lightning falling from the sky with his right hand, grasped Enel's body with his left, and thrust him directly toward the lightning bolt.
BZZZZZT!
Enel lit up brilliantly, like a human lightbulb, emitting blinding radiance.
Simultaneously, wisps of silver lightning emanated from him, striking Ark Maxim's deck and creating bursts of sparks.
"It works!"
Rhodes's eyes lit up. With a wave of his hand, the scattered silver arcs converged, intertwining with Rhodes's deep blue lightning.
"Wh-what's happening?!"
Enel squinted, peeking at Rhodes furtively but not daring to move, fearing Rhodes would throw him around again.
And so, Rhodes repeatedly summoned silver lightning bolts. Transformed through Enel—the Goro Goro no Mi user—they were stripped of their violent, unbridled nature and gradually merged with Rhodes's deep blue lightning.
Time passed.
The boundless thunderclouds in the sky dissipated somewhat, and the lightning in Rhodes's palm completely transformed into pale silver.
At the same time, the Book of Knowledge within his soul dimension suddenly trembled, releasing faint golden ripples. Within these ripples, the pale silver lightning—as if absorbing a tonic—instantly stabilized, its previously unstable form solidifying completely.
"Hahahaha..."
Seeing this, Rhodes casually tossed Enel aside and burst into laughter as pale silver lightning emanated from his entire body.
As a lightning manipulator, he could sense the transformation. The energy and power contained in this pale silver lightning were undoubtedly far more potent than his previous deep blue lightning!
With this power, Rhodes's lightning alone was enough to rival or even suppress Ace, the Mera Mera no Mi user.
"But there's more to it than that."
Rhodes's eyes flickered slightly, his entire body bathed in pale silver light. This transformed lightning animated his body with far greater efficiency than the deep blue lightning ever had.
Whoosh!
With a slight movement, he flashed forward, appearing instantly beside Enel, who was slowly crawling away.
This was true extreme speed!
Perhaps not as fast as Enel's lightning teleportation, but it was controlled, ultra-high-speed movement.
"A full thirty percent faster than before!"
Rhodes was immensely satisfied.
If before, his speed had only surpassed most "Admiral candidates," then now, with this enhancement, he should be able to rival Admirals—even surpassing some peak-level fighters who lacked speed.
At that moment, lying on the ground and watching Rhodes—glowing with silver light like a war god—Enel felt as if he were being blinded.
This terrifying, annihilating energy wave was felt most acutely by the Goro Goro no Mi user.
This demon had grown even stronger!
Enel trembled, despair washing over him as he pinned his last hope on the boundless thunderclouds still hanging in the sky.
Just then, chaotic footsteps echoed outside the palace.
It was Luffy, Robin, and the others. Having defeated Gedatsu and the other priests, they'd finally climbed the vines and arrived here, intent on helping Rhodes quell the thundercloud threatening to destroy Skypiea.
Behind them followed Wyper and the other Shandian warriors.
The Shandian who'd witnessed Rhodes beating Enel was none other than their leader, Wyper.
After witnessing Rhodes's battle, he'd hurried back to rally his people to overthrow the false god and reclaim their homeland. Even the thunderclouds overhead couldn't deter these Shandians desperate to reclaim their ancestral land.
But when Luffy, Zoro, and the others arrived at this divine palace and faced the vast, unfathomable thundercloud directly, they felt profound powerlessness.
A thundercloud of this magnitude was practically a natural disaster. How could they possibly stop it? What could they even do?
Wyper and the other Shandians gradually recovered from their excitement, traces of sorrow crossing their faces.
Was their newly realized hope of reclaiming their homeland about to be shattered by heaven itself?
RUMBLE!
The sound of muffled thunder continued.
Lightning uncontrollably shattered through the thunderclouds, crisscrossing heaven and earth, stretching to the horizon as if splitting the very sky apart.
No one had the courage to withstand such terrifying power.
But then—
From the immense Ark Maxim before them, a dazzling figure shimmering with silver light suddenly ascended into the air, soaring upward.
"What's he doing?"
Everyone looked up in astonishment.
Then they witnessed a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
The soaring silver figure raised its head slightly, eyes gleaming with tangible light, then suddenly shot skyward.
BOOM!
A sonic boom echoed through the air as a brilliant white vapor cone erupted.
In a flash, the silver figure slammed into the thunderclouds above—like a fearless warrior challenging heaven itself.
Almost instantly, the boundless thundercloud trembled, then flickered violently, illuminating with spheres of light like miniature suns—blindingly bright.
CRACK!
Like divine judgment itself, the earth shook.
Amidst everyone's astonishment and disbelief, the endless thundercloud suddenly contracted, transforming into a massive sphere of lightning tens of meters in diameter, held in the silver figure's hands.
"No way..."
Luffy, Zoro, and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates nearly had their eyes pop from their heads.
Then the silver figure, holding the lightning sphere, gave it a gentle push.
The sphere—tens of meters in diameter and containing enough power to destroy all of Skypiea—soared higher and farther into the sky, becoming little more than a black dot before suddenly exploding like magnificent fireworks in a dazzling spectacle.
Witnessing this scene, on Ark Maxim's deck, Enel's last ray of hope was shattered. The arrogance and pride in his eyes completely disappeared.
"Boss seems to have gotten even stronger."
Robin gazed at the fireworks display for a while, naturally knowing it was Rhodes's handiwork.
(End of Chapter)
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