In fact, upon witnessing the scene before him, Buggy couldn't help but be shocked. Enel, who stood in front of him, was completely different from the self-proclaimed god that Buggy had imagined.
There, amidst a collection of collapsed and broken houses, stood a two-story hut made of clouds. In front of the hut, a cleared open space stretched out, spanning less than a kilometre. The land was abundant with various fruits and vegetables, with the most prominent being the robust Skypie pumpkins.
Enel wore a white bandana covering his head and donned a set of flaxen short-sleeved shorts. Holding an iron watering can, he resembled a reclusive version of Thanos, in a sense. This sense of déjà vu made Buggy's mouth twitch.
However, the most striking thing was the enormous Golden Ark parked not far from the ruins. The Golden Ark was now engulfed in countless green vines, resembling a verdant cage. It would have been challenging to identify if it weren't for the glimmering golden surface illuminated by the sun.
"Master Buggy, isn't that person the one you mentioned earlier? The self-proclaimed god who aspires to traverse the universe?" Blueno scratched his bull's horns, feeling a little puzzled.
"You're correct," Buggy replied, also taken aback. "I didn't expect Enel to end up like this. Was he defeated by that guy, Luffy? Or is he merely depressed?"
The two of them didn't bother to lower their voices, catching Enel's attention almost instantly. Noticing the presence of two strangers near his residence, Enel was puzzled as well.
"Who are you duo?"
"We've come specifically to find you," Buggy cut straight to the chase. "You seem to be utterly disheartened after being defeated by a newbie pirate luffy, and you no longer yearned for the boundless land. Is this the life you longed for?"
Straw hat, Luffy?
The corners of Enel's eyes twitched as he immediately recalled the individual who remained unscathed after the 100 million volt vari. This reignited his secluded heart, stirring his very anger.
How was it possible for his Thunder Fruit's lightning to be completely ineffective against rubber, and ineffective in generating heat from lightning? Even if he could comprehend all of this, why couldn't he avoid an attack from someone who was completely oblivious to Observation Haki?
This was preposterous! Was there no justice in the world? In the face of such absurdity, Enel was defeated.
He contemplated that it was better to return home and tend to his farm than to pursue the infinite land.
"Who the hell are you guys?" Enel frowned slightly.
"I am the uncle of the straw-hat Luffy, the one who defeated you. I heard that you couldn't electrocute anyone even with the strongest logia so I came to witness this miracle myself," Buggy smirked.
Upon hearing Luffy's name, Enel's blood pressure began to rise. And now, upon hearing that his lightning couldn't bring about anyone's demise and that Buggy had come to Sky Island to investigate, Enel lost control of his anger. He wasn't the type to tolerate such provocation, and thus, he casually struck Buggy twice.
" I know that kid is made of rubber and is immune to thunder. He possesses the only Devil Fruit that is immune to my thunder in the world!" Enel's words grew more intense, accompanied by increasingly bright electric sparks. Eventually, a crackling "Zi La" of electricity filled the air. In no time, Enel appeared in front of Buggy, sneering as he said:
"But What right do you have!? Do you dare blaspheme the dignity of God? Prepare to meet your demise!"
"So fast!" Blueno, who initially paid little attention, was suddenly taken aback, involuntarily gasping.
"It's almost here."
Enel, who hadn't witnessed someone being shocked in a long time, suddenly smiled triumphantly. His figure flickered "zilazila" around Buggy, swiftly moving from the front, back, left, and right, entering a state of laughter:
"Hahahaha! Foolish humans, why would you dare to defy the gods? Can't you even catch a glimpse of God's shadow? To punish you for your previous insolence, I have decided to make you feel the pain first! Discharge: 20 million volts!"
While speaking, Enel once again appeared in front of Buggy in a flash, raising his blue-white finger and pointing it towards Buggy's chest.
Scoff!
In the next moment, a massive lightning pillar passed through Buggy's body.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
Seeing this scene, Enel burst into wild laughter, but his laughter abruptly stopped the next moment.
Buggy, standing unfazed in front of him, looked at him with a mocking smile as if nothing had happened.
"Huh? You do have some strength. No wonder you dare to challenge God! But I won't hold back now."
Enel sneered, and as he spoke, his body flickered, moving hundreds of meters away. However, just as he was about to raise his hand to unleash a discharge, he saw Buggy appearing in front of him.
This surprised Enel!
"How can this be?"
Enel couldn't believe that Buggy could keep up with him!
In reality, it was impossible for Buggy to match Enel's speed. After all, Enel moved at the speed of lightning and light. This kind of near-teleportation speed was manageable once or twice, but after numerous attempts, it was impossible to keep up.
The reason Buggy could seemingly keep up with Enel's pace was due to his natural observation skills with Haki, enabling him to predict the future.
With this ability, no matter how Enel blinked or evaded, Buggy could accurately anticipate his moves.
Unless Enel's observation Haki was superior to Buggy. But currently, not many people in the world could surpass Buggy in Observation Haki.
At least Enel couldn't!
Chi-la-- Chi-la-- Chi-la--
Enel continued his attempts to shake off Buggy, but no matter how he teleported and flickered, Buggy still accurately anticipated his movements and stayed close behind him.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Enel felt like he was going insane.
First, there was straw-hatted Luffy, who was impervious to electricity, and now this strange individual who matched his speed. For a moment, he considered retiring might be the right choice.
But Enel didn't give up. After another flash, he stood still and stared at Buggy with gritted teeth.
Just when Buggy thought he was done for, Enel sneered and said, "Your speed is impressive. You must have eaten a Devil Fruit that grants similar abilities, right? No wonder you dared to come here looking for me. But what use is your speed? I am Thunder itself. I am invincible. Any attack is futile against me!"
Boom!
Before Enel could finish speaking, Buggy punched him directly in the stomach. The force was so strong that it made Enel's mouth open wide, and he vomited a mouthful of sour water. His eyeballs nearly bulged out as he stared at Buggy in disbelief.
One strike!
With just one blow, this man became completely defenceless!
Straw Hat Luffy's uncle? What kind of monstrous family was this?
"I...but...it's...God!"
Enel drooled and screamed hysterically, appearing shattered.
He was devastated.
"A god toyed with," Blueno added, extending his palm to make a cutting gesture.
"Under Captain Buggy, there are at least five people who can toy with you, and in the New World, there are countless others who can defeat you."
Five more? Countless? Who did they think he was?
"Blegh!" Enel spat out another mouthful of acidic water from his stomach in anger, clutching his stomach and banging his head on the ground.
Enel's mentality completely collapsed. He felt utterly desperate. Could it be that he was nothing more than a useless failure?
How could anyone dare to humiliate him like this again and again? At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a hand reaching out to him.
Subconsciously looking up, he saw the man who had effortlessly beaten him, his back facing the light, looking at him with a warm smile and extending a hand.
"Enel, are you willing? Your talents should not be wasted here! You have no idea how gifted you are. In my opinion, with the right training, you could surpass even me. Don't you want to see a wider, boundless world? If you still possess the ambition and dignity of a god, then come with me. From now on, you shall be known as 'Enel God of thunder,' the right-hand man of the king of the world. Who else could be more deserving of the title god than you ?"
At that moment, Enel saw the light! Perhaps it was the appearance of light that made Enel instinctively feel a sense of pride.
"Of course, as a god, I shall be invincible in the future! If that's the case, why don't you become my right..."
Snapped!
Before Enel could finish his sentence, Buggy swiftly slapped him on the head with an emitted slap, sending half of his body flying into the clouds.
He was knocked unconscious and left hanging upside down in the courtyard.
Immediately, Buggy nonchalantly commented, "Alright, Blueno, note down the coordinates of this place and drag him away. I'll pack up the Golden Ark and leave this place."
A few minutes later...
Buggy manipulated the large clouds and, with the help of Blueno's spatial door, dragged the Golden Ark into space.
On the other side of the spatial door, Rayleigh and his group, who were chatting on the dock, were initially startled by the sudden appearance of a massive spatial door on the sea. But their shock escalated when they saw what lay beyond the door.
It was indeed the [ Golden Ark] and that eye-catching golden boat!
So much so that they automatically ignored Buggy and Blueno, who were using the Moonwalk technique to drag Enel towards them.
Swish Swish Swish!!!
Almost instantly, Rayleigh and his group, who were chatting on the dock, jumped onto the golden boat, expressing their surprise.
"Hiss—this boat isn't really made of gold, is it?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Duolingo. If it were all gold, how much would it be worth?"
"Wait! It actually seems to be entirely made of gold! Hiss! I suddenly don't feel like offering you free coating."
"I told you, Rayleigh, you're not being kind! Our decades of friendship and loyalty to family and friendship are worth more than that."
"Absolutely, I'll make you pay more!"
"Don't go overboard! Old Ray, you have become a money grubber like Shakky!"
After some commotion, they all settled on the Golden Ark and focused on Enel, who lay unconscious on the ground.
Crash!
Lucci poured a basin of ice water directly onto Enel. This made Enel shiver and slowly open his eyes.
Upon seeing dozens of pairs of malicious eyes in front of him, he instinctively surrounded his body with lightning and teleported tens of meters away.
"What is this...?"
"Thunder Fruit? Guys, Buggy has found what you're looking for. Here comes a great newbie!"
"The Thunder Fruit that claims to be the strongest Logia? Let me test this guy's strength first!"
"Wait, Bullet, don't!"
Boom!
Vomit!
Call out!
Boom!
Before Buggy could finish his sentence, Bullet swiftly launched a flash attack and struck Enel with a powerful Armament Haki-enhanced punch, causing him to vomit once again and sending his body flying.
He crashed into the golden statue on the Ark and remained affixed to it.
Rayleigh: ...
Gabban: ...
Everyone: ...
Bullet looked down at his clenched fist, seemingly in a daze as he stared at Buggy for a while before saying:
"Buggy, have I actually improved in strength? I managed to knock down an Admiral-level Logia user with my punch."
"Admiral my ass!"
Buggy said dumbfoundedly:
"This guy ate the Thunder Fruit and knows a little bit about it, but his knowledge isn't that extensive. It's not too low either; in fact, it might even be better than yours. However, he currently has some issues with his mentality, so I brought him back to train him properly."
Upon hearing Buggy's words, everyone suddenly realized.
Crash!
Lucci skillfully poured another basin of ice water onto Enel's head.
"Huh? Who am I? Where am I?"
Enel weakly opened his eyes. Clearly, he was pretending to be clueless.
Upon seeing the familiar clown's makeup, he immediately raised his hand and said, "Don't fight, don't fight! I'm willing to join you and become your right-hand man, okay?"
"Um?"
Before Buggy could respond, Gabban, who was standing nearby, stepped forward with his formidable Armament Haki, grinning widely and revealing his sharp white teeth as he said, "Thunder boy, if you want to be Buggy's right-hand man, have you ever asked for my permission? Wait until you defeat Bullet, then we'll talk about it."
As he spoke, Gabban pointed his finger towards Bullet. The latter cooperatively turned his head and bared his teeth at Enel.
Hiss!
Seeing that ghostly face, Enel shivered instinctively, remembering it vividly. This was the guy who knocked him out with a punch earlier.
The power of the Thunder Fruit should be the power of the gods! So why did it feel like anyone could beat him nowadays?
Clearly, back in Skypiea, when he was in Birka, he stood there and let thousands of people attack him, and it didn't affect him at all.
Why?
Enel's eyes were filled with confusion.
Seeing through his thoughts, Rayleigh took a sip of wine and laughed heartily.
"Enel, right? So, you're from Birka? That explains it. Sky Island doesn't have the concept of Armament Haki, so it's normal that you don't know it's the nemesis of Devil Fruit abilities. Your ability is called the Logia Devil Fruit in the Blue Sea, and the one you ate is undoubtedly the strongest among the Logia Devil Fruits—the Thunder Fruit."
"However, both your mastery of the fruit's power and your physical training are lacking! Otherwise, with the Logia's resistance to physical attacks, it's impossible for someone who has trained to be knocked out by Bullet's blow. If you follow Buggy to the New World like this, I'm afraid there will still be several people who can defeat you. How about this? In a few days, when I start training Luffy, you can join as well."
Enel looked at him blankly upon hearing Rayleigh's words.
Snapped!
Buggy stepped forward and slapped Enel on the head, sending him sprawling to the ground, and said with a smile:
"Don't just stand there, hurry up and thank Mr Rayleigh! You're fortunate to receive his teachings. You will stop being shit after training with him!"
Although Enel was a bit slow, he was still much smarter than Luffy. From the tone of the man who recruited him, he could hear the respect the man had for Rayleigh.
Especially when he heard that this man intended to teach that fellow Straw Hat Luffy! Thinking of this, Enel felt his motivation ignite once again! He immediately stood up and bowed to Rayleigh.
"Thank you, Mr Rayleigh."
Rayleigh smiled and waved.
"There's no need to be so formal. I'm glad to have a junior with such potential on board." Rayleigh took another sip of his drink, happy with the situation.
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