As Max and Enel faced each other atop Skypiea's highest temple, storm clouds gathered overhead, drawn by Enel's electric aura. He sneered, lightning crackling across his skin. "To challenge a god…you're either brave or a fool. So, tell me, which is it?"
Max's lips curled into a smirk. "Neither. I simply have no patience for self-proclaimed gods."
Enel's eyes narrowed. "You mock me?" He raised his hand to the sky, summoning a massive bolt of lightning. "Then be silenced by divine wrath!" With a violent crack, the bolt exploded toward Max.
But Max raised his own hand, and dark energy spiraled up his arm, forming a barrier that absorbed the lightning, dissipating it like mist. Shadows stretched from his feet, curling around him like a shroud. "You're right about one thing," he murmured. "There is wrath. But it's mine."
Enel's smirk faltered. "As expected you are an God too, no mortal can absorb my lightning so easily." He lunged forward, closing the distance in a flash of light, but Max's shadow tendrils erupted, countering his speed, blocking his path.
The shadows morphed into dark claws, slashing toward Enel, who dodged, zipping around Max at lightning speed. "Your tricks are slow!" Enel mocked, appearing behind Max and swinging his electrified staff down, only to see Max vanish, replaced by a mass of shadows.
From behind him, Max's voice echoed, calm and taunting. "Perhaps it's your judgment that's slow." The shadows surged, forming into the shape of a clawed hand that grasped at Enel, wrapping around him.
"Get off me!" Enel spat, electricity surging from him, the intense charge sparking with raw energy as it tore through the shadows. With a scream, Enel broke free, sending bolts of electricity hissing through the air in every direction.
Max absorbed the scattered bolts with a grin. "Your pitiful Electricity can only strengthens the shadows of mine."
"Enough!" Enel's eyes blazed with rage, and he shot skyward, gathering a ball of lightning between his hands. "This is God's Judgment! No mere darkness can withstand it!"
Max watched calmly as the ball of lightning grew into a miniature sun, illuminating the entire sky. But instead of backing down, Max whispered a spell, his words echoing through the air, "Death's Embrace."
Suddenly, ghostly hands surged from the shadows below, reaching up to grasp Enel's ankles, pulling him down. His eyes widened as he tried to pull away, but the hands tightened, dragging him toward the ground. "What…what is this?!"
Max stepped closer, dark energy coiling around him like a living storm. "Death magic," he said simply. "It's not something a god like you would understand."
'Wait, why am I calling him a God?, this guy Chunni is contagious' Max wipes his temple.
Enel gritted his teeth, his voice filled with both fear and fury. "You can't contain me!" He tore free, only to be hit by another shadowed hand wrapping around his midsection. Lightning crackled around him as he struggled, but the shadows seemed to drain it, dulling his powers.
Desperately, Enel lashed out, sending a bolt of lightning straight at Max, but Max sidestepped, reappearing close enough to see the shock in Enel's eyes. "How…" Enel stammered, his confidence crumbling.
"This fight is over," Max said coldly. With a flick of his wrist, he cast "Eternal Night."
In an instant, the world plunged into complete darkness, and Enel found himself unable to see or sense anything. The ground beneath him, the air around him, even his own breath—all vanished into a void.
"What…where are you?!" Enel shouted, his voice echoing, desperate.
From somewhere in the darkness, Max's voice reached him, calm and unyielding. "Do you still believe you're a god? Can you still claim that title when you're powerless?"
"Show yourself!" Enel screamed, firing random bolts of lightning, but each one dissipated harmlessly into the dark void. Fear took over his voice as he stumbled forward. "What kind of demon are you?"
"Demon? Maybe," Max said from behind him, and before Enel could react, he felt a hand press into his back, filling him with a suffocating cold. "But I am also death incarnate....he is damm contagious!!"
Max's touch sapped Enel's strength, his lightning flickering and fading until he fell to his knees. He gasped for air, weakened, barely able to move as Max stood over him, the shadows fading to reveal the broken, humbled "god."
"Remember this, Enel," Max said, his voice low and final. "No matter how powerful you think you are, there will always be someone stronger, someone who will trample even the Gods".
Enel looked at Max, gritting his teeth as he tried to stand and attack, but before he could move, Max appeared behind him and knocked him out with a swift blow.
"What should I do with you?" Max mused, glancing down at the fallen "god."
Enel's affinity with the Lightning Fruit was impressive. In only a few years, he'd developed it to an awakened level, ruling over Skypiea where no other strong fighters lived to challenge him. But Max saw potential in him; if Enel were to face the formidable opponents on the Blue Sea, he'd likely reach Admiral-level strength, perhaps even rival the Four Emperors.
And beyond his powers, Enel had an inventive mind—a scientist of sorts, like Usopp, who could create all kinds of useful gadgets and tools.
"Alright, you're coming with me," Max said, hoisting Enel over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He secured him onto the back of his Shadow Wyvern and took off, heading toward the Grand Line and the notorious Golden Lion Shiki.
The Shadow Wyvern sped through the clouds, and soon they would reach the Grand Line. Max glanced back at the still-unconscious Enel. "Alright, time to introduce you to the real world. Just remember, you're no god here, only a recruit."
Max continued guiding his Shadow Wyvern toward the location of Golden Lion Shiki. This time, he planned to use the Night Apostle skill on Shiki—a skill reminiscent of Lumia's Death Guardian. While Lumia's Guardian brought forth undead beings, the Night Apostle was different; it transformed individuals into fully revived, living beings, almost like reincarnations with new bodies and enhanced abilities.
If he used this skill on Shiki, the legendary pirate would be reborn with a youthful, stronger body. His memories and experiences would remain intact, but he'd recognize Max as his master. Designed by the Night Monarch, this forbidden skill was intended to create fiercely loyal subordinates, bound by the very magic that revived them.
***
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It's 22 chaps ahead