After Eneru made his leave, Morgan's fight had left him assaulted with around 4 spears still in his back, numerous cuts and several blasts of lightning that shocked his body into the ground with no hint of remorse or mercy.
Morgan groaned as he slowly began to wake up and found himself back on the wall once more; Thankfully his reflexes allowed him to stay clinging to the wall and ready to start climbing. However something nagged at the back of his mind as he kept coming back; "I always climb up to the surface to get back…But what exactly awaits for me down there?" He thought to himself as he noticed a glimmer as The Spider showed itself on a nearby hold.
"I can see the question practically painted on your forehead and I can tell you that it is not an idea that you should consider, let alone entertain!" The Spider warned him as it climbed up to head level; "Naraka is a place where the abandoned souls of those who once wielded the power of Asura reside! A place where time slows to a crawl and nothing remains but a hellscape of endless fighting and uncontrollable anger."
"I get it, I get it! Any who fall down there suffer a damnable fate, you've made that real clear….But say I DO fall down there, would I be able to get back out again?" Morgan asked curiously; "Because I remember you saying that people can't get out if they give up….What if I don't give up and go down?"
The Spider sighed as they rubbed their legs against what would be it's temple; "The fact that you'd be trapping yourself down there with dozens of individuals who hold the same powers as you….And lack the restraint to use them, you think you have the capability to handle one of those alone along with not knowing if there's a way out or not?"
"If I can get stronger and not die as easy then that should be a good thing!" Morgan fought back on the topic since he realised that if he could fight stronger opponents and do it in a faster timeframe; it was every would-be fighting master's dream.
"I….This is honestly very unprecedented, you can return to the world of the living if you have the will, though I don't think that any one of the previous holders of this Fruit has ever been able to think of this idea let alone consider going into Naraka willingly." The Spider mentioned as it looked at Morgan who grew a small smirk as he contemplated something.
"Then let's find out." Morgan said as he let go of the wall and let himself fall backwards; Deciding to let chance decide itself as he watched the Spider freak out and try to thrust as many webs as it could towards him while yelling all manners of curse words in strange languages.
The wind slapped against Morgan's face as he fell further and faster from the wall and then finally sank beneath the storming clouds to Naraka below. The Spider hadn't been exaggerating once the view was clearer; Underneath the clouds was a bright red hellscape that housed only cracked earth and sand, broken monuments and temples along the sounds of thousands of wailing souls that had taken in the Fruit's power before him. "He wasn't joking…This place really does look like Hell…"
"Welcome to Naraka, Dead Man…Because if you aren't careful then you'll end up here too." The Spider mentioned as it crawled down on a thread; "You are extraordinarily lucky that I was able to find you in this maelstrom; Because if the Fruit users in Human Form don't beat you to death first, the ones that are trapped in Beast Forms or various other states will…And if you die down here then it stays that way for good." It warned as it saw a large musclebound man smash down a tree with his bare fists like it was a martial artist's practice board.
"Then I just have to make sure I don't die…." Morgan remarked but then winced as he pinched his nostrils with his fingers; "God, it smells so awful down here….It's like…just sniffing the air makes me feel pissed."
"That's the smell of unadulterated rage…It is the very air in Naraka that can fill even the most peaceful man into a violent rampage." The Spider mentioned as a taller, skinnier man screamed at a potbellied man before they started to fight each other. Though calling it a fight was inaccurate since the snarling, howling and feral swinging was like watching rabid animals tear at each other. "This is what awaits any man or woman who eats the Fruit and gives in."
"Then I guess all I have to do…" Morgan remarked and then placed the straw hat on his head; "Is just beat them into submission; I get stronger and they cool off a little to breathe…So how exactly does time pass in here, anyway?"
"If you are dead set on this….One Calendar Year in here would be around five minutes in the realm of the Living, that is the true punishment of this place….You could suffer a thousand lifetimes over and it would be nothing more then a drop in a bucket, so limit yourself to just that if you want to ensure your escape!" The Spider noted as it resigned itself to Morgan's stubborn intent as the howls and roars of the angered Dead slowly circled the Straw Hat Captain. "But I must warn you…even the most powerful warrior on the sea can fall prey to the wild animals that surround him."
"The only thing that surrounds me is rage…" Morgan responded and then cracked his knuckles as a bright red Aura surrounded his body like flames. "And Dead Men!" He growled as the rage inducing air got to him before rushing towards the mobbing crowd of his predecessors with an echoing battle cry.
——Meanwhile, Back on the Surface——
The meeting point for the game had bodies strewn about; Robin and Wyper both having been struck down by Eneru while Chopper, Gan Fall and Zoro were barely conscious from their collective battles leading up to this point. The only ones who seemed to be able to stand more were Eneru and Nami who had elected to join the Lightning Man in his "Fairy Vearth" albeit to try finding out a blind spot on the sly. "I can imagine you are wondering why I am looking to venture somewhere higher than the highest Sky Islands?" Eneru asked out loud as he continued marching into a cave outside of the shrines.
"Be…cause you want somewhere higher than the White-White Sea?" Nami guessed as she followed behind him, she knew that one wrong step meant that she would end up in the same way that Sanji and the others did. "Exactly so, Blue Sea dweller…No other being on the Blue Sea, the White Sea or the White-White Sea deserves to sit atop the heavens like I do." Eneru explained as he then entered into a larger cavern; housing the flying ship that the self proclaimed God had made known as the Ark Maxim; "Fairy Vearth is where I shall make my domain and the Ark Maxim will not only take me there…But it'll erase these lowly lands with it's departure."
Nami bit her lip and did her best to keep herself calm; "This guy is too far gone…I want to believe in Morgan that he can do what he did before but I can't just sit here and do nothing…" She then covertly pulled her Clima-tact out behind her back; "But if you wipe out the other lands, wouldn't you lose your worshippers? I thought God thrives on them."
Eneru looked to her from the throne he had made; "Why would it matter? These people aren't worthy of my attention anymore, there's no room in the sky for anyone besides God himself." He then used his Lightning to start powering the Ark into motion and bringing it into flight. "And I intend to reach the heavens without those monkeys weighing me down."
Nami had heard enough as she pieced her Tact together and readied it defensively; she hadn't intended on facing off woth him but the fact that they were too high to use her Waver but also because she knew that she'd regret it if she didn't fight for it like the others would've.
Eneru sneered as he saw Nami trying to stand her ground; "Yaaahahaha! You're only fooling yourself, girl…I am lightning and you are just a weakling. El Thor!" He tapped on the drums to ready a lightning strike aiming at the temple that Nami had been placed in as bait for Morgan before the entire thing vanished into light and all that was left was a pile of scorched rubble and the remains of the broken down monument. "No one will come for you here, there is NO ONE left here that can stand between me and my rightful place here…But I suppose now is a good enough time to show you." Eneru then raised a hand and blasted a powerful bolt at Nami but before it could connect, Sanji jumped between them and took the blast of lightning head on to protect Nami; "Fool…You'd stand against God so fruitlessly?"
"Not…fruitlessly…You gave me a light, that's all…" Sanji croaked before collapsing under his own weight to the sound of Nami screaming out his name; "Come on Morgan…You've taken a long enough nap…either wake up or we're all done."
Three minutes had passed as Eneru began releasing his storms over the White Seas indiscriminately with Mamaragan to start his rampaging sendoff with a "gift" to the Skypeians, those that stayed did so out of blind hope that God would save them while others ran for the ships to evacuate. Though it looked like Eneru was doing more than just that as he kept making light potshots and being entertained by the fact that it took Nami all she had just to deflect them while staying on her feet. "As fun as this is…You're starting to bore me, girl." The Lightning Man frowned as he decided to finish things.
Nami grit her teeth before using her thunder clouds to try dispersing his lightning with little effect, however small thunderclouds were no match for a man who could shoot and become lightning in a split second. "When Morgan gets back…You'll-"
"That weak little heathen? You watched him lose to the might of God and get put down like a dog, what lunacy makes you think that he'll come back from it?" Eneru asked her while laughing mockingly as he pointed his staff at her with the tip crackling with electricity.
"Because I've seen him take on people just as strong as you…And when you started threatening us, he won't back down until you go down." Nami taunted him but felt herself clam up when Eneru swatted the Climatact out of her hand and then started inching toward her.
"Such loyalty is misplaced, if you had chosen to stay with me then you would've…." Eneru crooned but then stopped as he heard another rumble of thunder in the air broke his own Ark's spewings. "What?"
Nami peered over the edge and saw that dark red clouds were swirling around where the Temple of Asura once stood, which then quickly followed with the crackling with red and white lightning before a pillar of light shot out and pierced the clouded canopy to let loose a small glimmer of the sky behind it, which then heralded the return of Morgan with the sound of a roar of thunder that almost seemed to resembled the sound of a demented battle cry; "Took you long enough, Morgan~"
——At the Temple——
The ground shook and trembled as the pillar of light blasted away the rubble before dissipating and what emerged from the epicentre was Morgan D. Ford; the entire top half of his combat gi had ripped apart and even his pants were torn and resembled worn and dirty hakama around his boots, the markings had formed all over Morgan's body and spread to his face like a biological tattoo as he let loose a cry of anger as he re-entered the world of the living. "I…I'm back…" He muttered to himself as he clenched his fist tight and saw the Ark Maxim slowly circling around the giant Beanstalk; "You…Up there….I'll get him!" Morgan then rushed off with breakneck speeds as he departed the temple and began to jump across the other derelict buildings at such a speed he never had before.
Morgan's training in Naraka was the very epitome of hellish as he had to survive the suffocating air that reeked of rage and be able to fight back against his fallen predecessors for an entire year straight. Proving it's worth when he was able to close the distance between him and the beanstalk in a matter seconds before leaping up to start climbing the stalk towards the Ark Maxim. With each new twist upwards; Morgan felt his anger renew his body and bolstered his resolve to beat Eneru into the ground.
Nami would have felt the swell of relief but something seemed…Off about Morgan as he landed on the deck of the Ark Maxim; His body was now a bright pink/red to clash with the tattoo like markings along his bare upper body and the sharp look in his eyes now had more bite to it as he found his gaze on Eneru in front of him but the biggest change was that his arms were now clad in what looked like armour plating from shoulder to fingertip. "Morgan?"
"Sorry, I took a little longer than I wanted to get he-" He explained but froze when he saw the collapsed body of Sanji and then redirected his now fierce glare on the God that was equally shocked to see him breathing; "This was you…Wasn't it?" He growled and his fists clenched hard with the sound of metal creaking.
"Well well…I must say I'm surprised that you can still walk straight after my act of Divine Judgment on you; Several Holy Spears and my smiting bolts but you still stand…You are as tenacious as you appear, heretic!" Eneru sneered as he pointed his staff at Morgan; "Though it is amusing that you've chosen to appear before my divine being that fits your status as a follower to an unholy beast! Now I can feel my conscience clear once I send you deep into the depths below."
"Quiet..." Morgan snapped and then cracked his neck with no hint of hesitation; "I clawed my way through the forces of Hell and back into the World of the Living just to spite you…Now I'm going to make sure no one else suffers because of you." Morgan then sprouted two pairs of arms to make his six handed stance in a ready attempt to fight.
"Hmph…I guess I shouldn't make light of you if you willingly defy me like this…Then I will strike you down like the Demon you are!" Eneru then dissipated into lightning and then reappeared on the deck to face off.
"Considering how you chose to attack me from behind your "Followers" I'd much rather kick you off your perch and into the sea." Morgan snarled as he sprung off his position with a rocket like speed and began to land rapid punch after punch on Eneru. "AAAAAATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!"
Eneru stood there and let the hits connect as they barely seemed to phase him, let alone hurt him; "Yahahahaaha! You must have lost it, Physical attacks don't hurt me and even then; These weak punches barely even feel like pain…" Eneru smirked as he watched Morgan layer strike after strike, though he did get knocked back a few yards when Morgan finished with a palm strike to his chest. "You see? A hundred of those weak punches and you failed to even land a scratch on my perfect body….I even let you physically hit me and you could do nothing but flail!" He started laughing hysterically as Morgan stepped back
Morgan watched Eneru intently as he steadied himself; "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you…Ever since you took my life before, I've taken the time to get better at handling those powers you got upset at me about." He then cracked his knuckles; "So you may want to start taking this seriously if you don't want to end up dead."
"What are you talking about? You've barely eve-" Eneru started to talk but then he noticed that the places that Morgan punched has began to bruise and then each spot burst into a blue flame like he had been shot with blue bullets before sending him off his feet and hitting the ground on his back; "BA-GWAH!" He yelled out as he clutched his chest but noticed that he wasn't burning or shot though the bruises remained. "What was that?" He thought as he staggered to his feet while Nami looked in awe.
"That…That was just like when he fought off the giant snake…But what did he do? Just a bunch of weak punches and suddenly Eneru got all bruised up." Nami thought to herself as she picked up Sanji and started to move away from the two since it looked like a nasty fight was about to break out.
"Asura no Ken: Hyakuretsu Ken….One of the first of Asura's techniques that Gan Fall taught me with what he knew…Though it's a little weak since I've been trying to get a handle on it for a while…Mantra Control is a lot different to Haki…" Morgan briefly explained before he got into a stance once more; "But that doesn't matter, I always learn faster by doing anyway..."
Eneru felt his brow twitch as he was annoyed at the aching on his body, Wyper nearly killed him with a Reject Dial but knowing that this guy could hit him and not suffer the feedback meant only one thing; "You can hurt me…I won't allow someone like you to walk away from me, let alone leave the Ark." He growled and then poised his staff; "GLOAM PADDLING: TRIDENT!" He yelled out as he heated the staff into molten gold and transformed it into a trident; "If I can't afford to let you near me, then I'll just take you at your word…Then I'll throw you and the woman off of the top of the Stalk for good measure just to make sure you don't come back."
Morgan felt his anger burn with this threat; "You could've just stopped there, Before I only used this if I have to…Now I have no choice BUT to use it to beat you down!" He yelled as he rushed forward and collided with Eneru who seemed to move just as quickly to bounce off of each other in volleys of blows.
Nami was speechless as she saw the two collide with each other in barely visible blurs, however she could tell that the two were matching each other in those brief moments; Morgan blocking the trident or Eneru blocking his fist on his forearm. "What in the hell did Morgan do to be able to keep up with lightning…Let alone be willing to use his Devil Fruit this much."
As the fight intensified and Eneru got more irritated at the fact that Morgan wasn't backing down along with the fact that he could hurt him, he decided to up the intensity with this man he called a Heretic; "Be gracious that I show you this form! Because now I will show you the wrath of a vengeful god! 200 Million Vari: AM-" Eneru laughed maniacally but was cut off when a spiralling bullet of burning hot energy burned the imprint of a fist on his chest.
"Shakanetsu Dangan no Ken!" Morgan yelled out as he then rushed forward while Eneru was stunned from the impact and then swung his leg up in a rising snap kick to send the God skyward. A red energy built itself up at Morgan's feet before he sprang up and used the energy like a jet to catch up with the slowly falling Logia User, he then placed Eneru's neck on his shoulder and grabbed onto his thighs; "Time to come back down to reality!" Morgan yelled as he began the descent back down.
Eneru struggled but found himself unable to pull free; "Y-You think this simple hold can break me? I'll just use my powers and break free!" He gloated before noticing that his grip wasn't budging; "I…I can't get out?"
"Haki allows me to perceive the untouchable; including lightning…So now all you can hope for is to drop like a stone!" Morgan grinned but then felt the weight shift as Eneru's struggling pulled the two away from the ark and over the edge.
"Then I shall kill you from the fall! Once you let go then I can restart my heart and get back up he-" The boasting was cut off as the other 4 hands grabbed onto his head, arms, and legs before tightening into a vice like grip.
"Then let's see if a God can come back from a broken body!" Morgan yelled as he decided to go all in and held on tight while both of them sped up; His body slowly forming the red and orange aura from Naraka as the two became a comet that seared the air from the Ark Maxim all the way down towards the temple at the base of the Stalk.
Robin who had regained consciousness and had started to move the remaining survivors like Zoro and Wyper with her powers noticed the bright red comet streaking across the sky and slowly descending. "A Red Star and these dark clouds…That's a foreboding sign if I've seen one…I should hurry and get these people moving." She mused to herself as everywhere was starting to look like the end of the world.
The Red Comet then burned through the Stalk and landed at the base of the lost city with Morgan in a sitting position with Eneru suffering the effects of the hold and the fall; "ASURA DRIVER!" Morgan yelled out before he let go and dropped the now unconscious Eneru on the ground with an unceremonious thud. "It….Is finished…." Morgan remarked as the creaking of the stalk could be heard and seen while it began it's slow fall across the White-White Sea.
"Cap…Tain…." Robin watched in amazement as this man rode from the sky on a red star and crashlanded with the man who claimed to be God. "You're using what was given to you, glad to see you're coming ar-Captain!" Robin was beginning to compliment him but that soon turned to worry as she saw the markings vanish in a blink and he finally collapsed to the ground.
The Ark Maxim had started to slowly dip back into the treeline and the storm clouds started to dissipate once the main power source was halted; Thankfully with the lower altitude of the ship, Nami was able to grab Usopp and Sanji onto her Waver and make their escape.
DAOOOOONG!
DAOOOOONG!
The sounds of thunder gave way as a haunting yet beautiful sound of the fabled Golden Bell that had rang out for the Sky People and for Mont Blanc Noland echoed through the Islands and out to sea, all the way down for his Descendant Mont Blanc Cricket to hear with the budding tears of a man vindicated of a several generational stigma.
"Damn it brat…You proved it…The Sky Islands and the City of Gold are real…"