“Enel’s lightning?” Nami and Robin asked at the same time, both looking puzzled.
“Oh, right.
The god of this Sky Island is named Enel.
He ate the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and became a man of lightning.
He’s incredibly powerful.
If he weren’t so overly reliant on his Devil Fruit and actually knew how to use Armament Haki, he’d definitely have the strength of an Admiral.”
Lucas shrugged casually, spreading his hands.
“A-Admiral?!”
Robin’s body trembled slightly, as though she had thought of something.
A flash of panic crossed her eyes before quickly disappearing.
“Don’t worry.
With those two weaknesses, he’s still not quite at an Admiral’s level.
Even if I can’t beat him, it’ll be difficult for him to defeat me.”
Seeing the concern on Nami’s face, Lucas laughed, dispelling her worries.
“Besides, his lightning will make excellent material for body tempering.
Real lightning from nature is far too terrifying and difficult to control.
But with this guy’s lightning, I should be able to work with it.”
“What’s more, there’s been an unexpected bonus.
Ever since I started playing the role of a god, I’ve found that my swordsmanship has improved again.
That’s quite a pleasant surprise.”
Lucas was in an especially good mood, so he elaborated a little.
His words left Nami and Robin utterly stunned.
Using lightning to temper his body?
Only Lucas could come up with something like that!
And pretending to be a god could actually improve his swordsmanship.
The man really seemed as though he didn’t belong to this world.
Everything about him was more bizarre than the last.
Neither Nami nor Robin knew that, entirely by accident, they had guessed the truth about Lucas.
He really wasn’t from this world.
But that secret would never be revealed to anyone.
Even to the woman he loved most, Lucas would never tell her.
Perhaps one day, when he stood at the very pinnacle of this world, he would reveal everything.
Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on Lucas’s lips.
He gently wrapped his right arm around Nami’s slender waist.
He then reached out with his left hand toward Robin, but Robin lightly stepped aside and avoided him, leaving Lucas helpless.
After traveling across the Sea Clouds for some time, Lucas and the others finally set foot on Upper Yard.
Although Conis was terrified and deeply worried, after Lucas gave her an order in the name of God, she obediently followed the three of them into Upper Yard.
Looking at the jungle ahead, Lucas’s expression turned cold and stern as he walked deeper inside.
…
Swamp Trial, Ball Trial, String Trial, ?
Looking at the four paths ahead, Lucas’s expression darkened.
“How dare you subject a god to your Trials?
You shall receive my punishment!”
With that, he gripped his sword with both hands, his arms trembling slightly.
He gathered his strength.
Iai Slash: Breaking the Void!
A gigantic sword arc suddenly erupted.
In an instant, it swept across all four paths ahead, completely destroying them.
The sword arc continued forward without losing momentum, flattening countless towering trees in its path.
Amid the tremendous roar, the entire island of Upper Yard shook.
The people of Sky Island all looked toward the source of the disturbance in horror.
“What was that?”
“Is someone destroying the sacred land of Upper Yard?”
“N-No… I heard that another god has arrived here and challenged our God.
Could this be… a battle between gods?”
As the thunderous rumbling continued to shake Upper Yard, the Sky Islanders whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with awe and fear.
Elsewhere, the Shandia warrior Wyper stared grimly toward Upper Yard.
“What happened over there?
How can that Blue Sea person be so powerful?
Did he start fighting Enel?”
“No… That’s not right.
Enel probably hasn’t even made a move yet.
Otherwise, the disturbance would be much greater.”
“If they’re fighting each other, we can take advantage of the opportunity and reclaim the sacred land of Upper Yard in one stroke!”
The Shandia warriors’ eyes burned with fervor.
Wyper grinned viciously and waved his hand.
“Let’s go!
We’re taking back our homeland!”
…
“I-Is this his true strength?”
Conis stared in shock at Lucas as he calmly lowered his sword.
“S-So powerful… Is he really a god?”
Just then, four figures stumbled out from deep within the jungle, looking utterly battered.
“What happened here?
Was it a natural disaster?
Or did God make his move?”
Ohm swung his blade, cutting down a tree branch that came crashing toward him.
He looked around in astonishment.
The round-headed Gedatsu wore a terrified expression.
“N-No!
It wasn’t God!
It was that Blue Sea person.
His… his sword…”
Lucas noticed the four men and looked at them coldly.
Their Observation Haki has reached this level?
They can actually sense what’s happening from more than a hundred meters away?
With that thought, Lucas slowly walked toward the four priests.
His all-out attack just now had consumed some of his stamina.
However, after spending some time training on Sky Island, his physical attributes had improved another level.
The exertion was still well within what he could endure.
“You four.
Which one of you is the god here?”
Lucas stared coldly at the four men.
His voice carried a chill capable of freezing the heart.
His Sword Aura had already been released.
This… this pressure…
The four men immediately felt their breathing become difficult.
It was as though Lucas himself had transformed into a sword capable of cleaving through the heavens.
The overwhelming aura made it difficult for them even to raise their heads.
“You insolent fool… How dare you offend God… You will be—argh!”
Shura spoke with difficulty, yet there was still an arrogant edge to his voice.
He continued to regard Lucas as nothing more than a lowly mortal.
Lucas had no patience for someone who failed to recognize the situation.
The other three priests stared in horror at Shura.
A cross-shaped burst of blood suddenly erupted from Shura’s chest.
His body collapsed straight to the ground.
And Lucas’s sword hand seemed to have moved only once.
“S-So fast!”
All three remaining priests possessed Observation Haki.
They had sensed Lucas’s sword being drawn.
Yet they had been completely unable to evade it!
Observation Haki was not omnipotent.
It could allow someone to perceive or anticipate an incoming attack, but it did not automatically grant the ability to evade it.
If an opponent’s speed reached an overwhelming level, even sensing the attack would not necessarily allow one to block it.
“Looks like none of you three is the god.”
Lucas looked coldly at the remaining priests.
“Then you will also be punished for showing disrespect to this god!”
“N-No!
H-How dare you attack a priest of God?
You will suffer God’s punishment, you…”
Ohm spoke in terror before suddenly falling silent.
After all, Lucas was also calling himself a god.
A god giving divine punishment to another god?
The logic was rather difficult to understand.
“Your God?”
Lucas’s eyes turned cold.
“I’m looking for him right now.
I want to see whether that man is actually qualified to call himself a god.”
With that, Lucas swung his sword three more times.
The remaining three priests were cut down and collapsed to the ground.
These priests, who had seemed so powerful in the original story, were utterly helpless before Lucas.
And, in truth, that was to be expected.
Against ordinary people, the four priests were indeed formidable.
But Lucas was a genuine Sword Master.
Although he was only a Beginner Sword Master, he would not be intimidated even if he encountered an Advanced Sword Master!
If Enel himself wanted to deal with his four priests, the result would probably be the same.
Instant defeat.
The gap in strength was simply too enormous.
Throughout all of Sky Island, Enel, possessing the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, stood completely above everyone else in terms of combat power.
That was precisely why he could proclaim himself a god.
If not for Luffy’s natural resistance as a rubber man, combined with the effects of protagonist plot armor, everyone else joining forces still wouldn’t have been able to defeat Enel!
That was the difference between high-level and low-level combat power.