Wyper's biggest desire was to take back Upper Yard, the land that originally belonged to the Shandians, from the Skypieans.
Now, despite being injured, he was so close to Gan Fall. There was no way he would let this chance slip to kill the Skypiean god.
"Give it up! Why can't you Shandians and Skypieans just live in peace and share Upper Yard together?" Gan Fall asked earnestly, even though he had a perfect opportunity to land a fatal blow on Wyper. He held back because he wanted to reason with him.
Gan Fall truly wished for the fighting between the Shandians and Skypieans to stop.
"Dream on!" Wyper growled through gritted teeth. "Ever since you Skypieans drove us Shandians out of Upper Yard, there's no chance for peace! Die, you filthy Skypiean!"
Wyper activated the Reject Dial hidden in his arm. A massive surge of force erupted from his palm, shooting toward Gan Fall's head.
Gan Fall sighed, feeling a deep regret. The foolish mistakes of their ancestors had left them with consequences to bear. This was the reality they lived in now.
As the former god of Skypiea, Gan Fall wasn't just any ordinary warrior. The moment Wyper used his Reject Dial, Gan Fall quickly dodged, narrowly avoiding the full force of the attack.
"The Reject Dial takes a toll on your body. You should stop using it so recklessly," Gan Fall said, frowning with concern.
Wyper ignored his words, turning his arm toward Gan Fall once more, the Reject Dial ready to unleash another devastating blow. "My life's not for you to worry about!"
"Wyper! They're still breathing, but they won't last long. If we don't treat them now, they'll die!" one of Wyper's comrades shouted.
At the same time, Gan Fall's reinforcements arrived.
Wyper looked around at his comrades.
Most of them were injured, especially the two who had been burned by Takumi's Fire Dragon Jutsu.
The Shandian who had called out was crouched beside the two burnt men, checking on their condition.
Clenching his teeth in frustration, Wyper then glanced at Gan Fall's soldiers, who were now backing him up. After a moment of hesitation, Wyper reluctantly shouted, "Retreat!"
With that, he and his wounded comrades quickly began retreating toward their base in the Hidden Cloud Village.
Gan Fall didn't pursue them.
Instead, he watched Takumi, who was leading Conis back to the shore where her Crow was docked. "The blue sea people are far stronger than I imagined," he murmured to himself.
Takumi brought Conis to the shore.
"You can make it back on your own, right?" Takumi asked casually.
Conis nodded. "Angel Island is just nearby. I'll be fine."
Before boarding her boat, Conis hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Even though a lot happened today, I'm really glad I got to visit Upper Yard. Thank you, Takumi."
"It's nothing," Takumi replied indifferently.
Conis smiled warmly. "Well, I guess I'll be heading back."
Takumi nodded once more.
With that, Conis steered her Crow toward Angel Island.
Takumi stood at the shore, watching her ship sail away. After ensuring there were no dangers in the area, he turned back toward the forest, resuming his quiet yet fulfilling hunting routine.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, another year passed.
Through these four years of training in Upper Yard, Takumi had significantly improved his physical strength, mastery of Haki, and overall combat skills.
On this particular day, Takumi was chasing a giant beast through the forest, as usual, when suddenly a massive thundercloud appeared in the northern sky above Upper Yard, flashing with terrifying bolts of lightning.
He stopped in his tracks, gazing up at the ominous cloud, and for the first time in a long while, a ripple of excitement surged through him.
This strange phenomenon could only mean one thing—after waiting nearly four years, the Thunder God, Enel, had finally arrived!
Without a moment's hesitation, Takumi changed direction, running swiftly toward the area covered by the thundercloud.
His heart hadn't raced like this since he first came to the world of pirates.
Enel's arrival didn't just signal the progress of his mission—it brought the promise of returning to the blue sea, a hope he had held onto all these years.
Though the fruit wine on Sky Island wasn't bad, Takumi missed the strong liquor from the blue sea much more.
At the same time...
Beneath the thunderclouds, Gan Fall's Skypiean forces were once again locked in battle with Wyper and his Shandians.
"What... what is that?!"
"Is it a thundercloud? Are we about to get hit by a storm?"
"But I've never seen a thundercloud this big before…"
"I have a really bad feeling about this."
Both the Skypieans and the Shandians stopped fighting as they all looked up at the dark sky above them.
Gan Fall and Wyper both wore uneasy expressions.
They had no idea what caused the thundercloud to appear, but the sight of it filled them with dread.
Before anyone could react, a massive bolt of lightning shot down from the cloud, striking a Shandian warrior who couldn't dodge in time.
"Ahh!" the warrior screamed in agony as his body was charred black, collapsing to the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head.
Wyper scowled, glaring at Gan Fall. "Your reinforcements?!"
Gan Fall opened his mouth to deny it, but before he could say anything, another bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, striking a Skypiean guard behind him.
The guard let out a strangled cry before collapsing to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
"What's going on?! What kind of lightning is this?!"
"Oh no, we need to run! If we get hit, we're done for!"
Panic spread as the warriors scrambled in fear.
One of Wyper's men, Braham, rushed over to check on their fallen comrade. "He's still alive!" he called out.
But just as he finished speaking, another lightning bolt crashed down, striking Braham directly.
"Braham!" Wyper shouted in alarm, running toward his fallen comrade.
Realizing how serious the situation had become, Gan Fall called out, "We need to call off the battle! Everyone retreat and tend to the wounded!"
But whoever was behind this thundercloud didn't seem interested in letting them escape.
As everyone frantically tried to flee, a barrage of lightning bolts rained down from the sky, striking them one after another.
Even Gan Fall and Wyper, despite their strength, couldn't completely avoid the strikes, though they managed to dodge the fatal blows.
When the lightning finally stopped, Gan Fall and Wyper stood, battered and bruised.
Looking around at their injured comrades, Wyper roared in fury, "Damn it! Who's doing this?!"
"Ehehehehe..."
A booming laugh echoed from above, spreading across the sky from within the dark thunderclouds.
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