Chapter 94: Skypiea – The Golden Bell & the Final Ascent
"Thunder Flame Dragon Mode!"
Sol let out a deep shout. In an instant, his entire body erupted with violent thunder-flame—blue-white lightning and crimson flames intertwined and coiled around him, forming a dazzling energy cloak. The overwhelming aura turned into tangible shockwaves that spread outward, causing even the ground to tremble slightly.
"Sol's so cool!!" Luffy and Chopper's eyes sparkled with stars; they jumped up and down cheering wildly.
"You… you're a god too?" Enel's pupils contracted sharply, but he immediately snarled ferociously: "Even if you're a Qinghai god, I—God Enel—will never lose!"
He raised both hands high. Violent lightning gathered in his palms, rapidly forming a dark-golden massive sphere. Though smaller than in the original story, the compressed lightning and swirling airflow inside made it far more solid, exuding a suffocating pressure.
"Thunder Greeting!!"
With Enel's furious roar, the apocalyptic thundercloud ball smashed toward Sol. Chopper, Robin, Raki, and the others turned deathly pale: "An attack of that scale… the whole area will be wiped flat!"
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art · Modified · Crimson Lotus Explosive Thunder Blade!"
Sol's fists were coated in pitch-black Armament Haki. His right arm ignited with blazing fire-dragon flames; his left arm wrapped in violent thunder. He suddenly bent his knees and leaped skyward, spinning at high speed in mid-air. The dual attributes fused perfectly, transforming into a roaring flame tornado threaded with lightning that shot straight into the heavens!
BOOM!!!
An earth-shattering explosion echoed across the entire sky island. Blinding light instantly illuminated the cloud sea. The terrifying shockwave flipped everyone on the ground—Luffy, Zoro, and even the unconscious Shandian warriors—tumbling away like leaves in a storm.
Enel staggered out of his Raijin form, floating in mid-air and breathing heavily, cold sweat soaking his back: "Damn it… that guy should've been blasted to bits, right?"
Suddenly, the dust below was torn apart by a powerful gust! Sol—bare-chested and muscular—used Moon Step explosions under his feet, rocketing upward like a cannonball!
"What?!" Enel's pupils shrank; before he could react—
Bang!
"God?!"
Boom!
"Wanna make us your priests?!"
Dong!
"So cocky huh?!"
Sol controlled his force with precision. Lightning-flame-wreathed fists rained down on Enel like a storm. The two fought from a hundred meters in the air all the way to the ground. Enel's face swelled visibly into a pig-head shape.
When the final dull thud echoed, Sol shook out his steaming fist and stood up, looking in surprise at Enel foaming at the mouth on the ground: "He passed out already? So-called god… way too weak to take a beating, huh?"
"Hm? What do you want?" Sol suddenly turned, sharp gaze locking onto Wiper who was staggering toward him. The Shandian warrior's forehead dripped blood, yet he stubbornly gripped his weapon.
Wiper had been jolted awake by the battle aftermath and personally witnessed Sol defeating Enel from start to finish. Now his eyes burned with resolute fire: "Get out of the way, Qinghai! I will end that demon with my own hands, reclaim Shandora, and fulfill the great warrior Kalgara's dying wish!" Before the words finished, he suddenly attacked—grabbing Sol's right wrist tightly: "You should be exhausted now, right?" At the same time his left hand flashed with cold light; the dagger aimed straight for Sol's throat. "Even if the method is dirty… as long as I can kill Enel…"
Crack! Sol twisted his hand effortlessly, pinning Wiper face-down to the ground. The dagger clattered away, and a stone rolled out beside it.
"Hey hey," Sol raised an eyebrow at the Sea Prism Stone ore. "You didn't seriously think I was a Devil Fruit user, did you?" Internally he was surprised: Where did this guy get such a rare mineral?
"P-Please show mercy!" Gan Fall arrived just in time on Pierre; the old man's voice carried pleading. "For my sake, could you…"
"Shut up, Skypiean!" Wiper roared even while pinned. "I don't need your fake kindness!"
"Tch, why do we suddenly look like the villains?" Sol sighed helplessly and released him. Wiper immediately struggled up and silently returned to Raki's side. For a moment, only heavy breathing filled the scene.
Robin timely broke the deadlock: "You're Shandians, right?" After Raki confirmed, Robin revealed what she had discovered during her earlier archaeology and continued telling another shocking story.
"Four hundred years ago, a Qinghai explorer lied and claimed he had found the Golden City. Though the world mocked him, his descendants stubbornly believed his words and have pursued the legendary Golden City for generations. It's said that ringing the Golden Bell will prove to the world that the Golden City truly exists in the sky!"
"What was that explorer's name?"
"Mont Blanc Cricket."
"Then… his ancestor four hundred years ago… could it have been Noland?" Wiper's voice already choked; tears streamed uncontrollably.
So during these long four hundred years, not only had the Shandians held on to reclaim Shandora—the descendants of Noland had also been searching for the Golden City all along!
"Then Robin, do you know where the Golden Bell is?" Nami asked urgently.
Robin gave a gentle smile and looked into the distance: "The Golden Bell should have been carried up to the sky island along with the entire Golden City by the upward current. After eliminating all impossible locations, the most likely place is—the top of that giant beanstalk." She raised her hand, pointing toward the sky. The towering plant seemed to connect heaven and earth.
"That place was once the location of the Shrine of the Gods. There's no Golden Bell there," Gan Fall immediately refuted.
Zoro folded his arms and suddenly interjected: "Have any of you actually climbed to the very top of the sky? Maybe it's just above the cloud layer."
Before Gan Fall could answer, Luffy had already dashed off excitedly: "I'm gonna go ring the Golden Bell! That way I can tell Uncle Cricket that the Golden City really is in the sky!"
"You bastard! Lighting the flame of Shandora is the mission of us Shandian warriors! Get out of the way!" Wiper roared and chased after him. The two raced ahead like gusts of wind toward the giant beanstalk, climbing the vines and disappearing into the clouds in the blink of an eye.
"Ah!"
"Hey! Nami-san! Robin-san! So you're here!"
A familiar voice came from the distance. Nami and Robin turned to see Sanji, Usopp, and Vivi riding Karoo rushing toward them.
"Vivi! How did you all get here?" Nami greeted them in pleasant surprise.
"We were a little worried about your situation, so we hurried over." Vivi took Nami's hand, eyes full of concern.
"Chopper! What was that huge boom in the sky just now? And then there was this super strong shockwave after!" Usopp flailed his arms dramatically, describing it exaggeratedly to Chopper.
Meanwhile Sanji glared unhappily at Zoro: "Damn moss-head! You took Chopper hunting and didn't come back for half a day—my soup almost boiled dry! And now you show up covered in wounds—what the hell were you doing?!"
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