“Blue Sea person, if you can withstand this attack, I will acknowledge your status.”
Enel floated in the air, looking down at Lucas as he spoke in a deep voice.
The reason Enel had always acted so arrogantly in the original story was that everyone around him was simply too weak.
They were so weak that even if they all joined forces, they would still be utterly helpless against him.
To Enel, reaching the Fairy Vearth—the moon—was his only true goal.
But now that someone of comparable strength had appeared before him, he began treating Lucas as an equal rather than looking down on him as a god would look upon a mortal.
The corner of Lucas’s mouth twitched slightly.
So that’s how it is.
Looks like Enel isn’t an idiot after all.
Looking at the thunder dragon descending from the sky, Lucas gritted his teeth, gripped Kitetsu with both hands, and began moving his sword in a rhythmic pattern.
Phantom Sword Dance!
As his sword moved faster and faster, a powerful aura gradually gathered around him.
The pressure was even enough to make Enel feel a faint sense of oppression.
Is my Sword Aura about to fully condense?
The thought flashed through Lucas’s mind, but he had no time to dwell on it.
His entire concentration was focused on the sword technique before him.
“Ha!”
With a loud roar from Lucas, the countless sword arcs created by his movements finally took shape, forming an enormous butterfly-like blade of light.
He slowly but firmly brought his sword down.
The gigantic butterfly-shaped sword light shot forward and collided head-on with the thunder dragon descending from the sky.
This Phantom Sword Dance was even more powerful than when Lucas had used it against Crocodile.
His body had become stronger, allowing him to unleash a greater number of sword strikes.
BOOM!
A heaven-shaking explosion erupted.
A dazzling radiance, almost as brilliant as concentrated sunlight, filled the battlefield and forced everyone watching to close their eyes.
The ground cracked apart inch by inch.
The surrounding trees were swept up by the raging wind, instantly shredded into countless fragments.
The fragments were then scorched black by the lightning before being pulverized once more.
The collision between sword light and lightning transformed the area into a gigantic slaughterhouse.
Everything nearby was mercilessly cut apart, electrocuted, scorched, and pulverized.
“Is… is this really a power that a human can possess?”
One of the completely stunned Shandia warriors spoke in a trembling voice.
“Gods… They really are gods!”
Another warrior stood at the edge of the shaking island and cried out in terror.
Wyper suddenly kicked him away.
“They aren’t gods!
They’re human too!
Our opportunity has come.
Move!”
Hearing Wyper’s words, the others gradually recovered their senses.
Determination returned to their eyes as the group quickly headed deeper into Upper Yard.
Yet there was a trace of fear hidden deep within Wyper’s eyes.
Could they really be gods…?
Gan… you bastard.
How could you hand Upper Yard over to people like this?
…
Meanwhile, aboard the Holy Sword, Nami looked worriedly at Robin.
“How… how is the battle between the gods going?”
Robin slowly opened her eyes and shook her head.
“That terrifying clash between the sword light and lightning just now made it impossible for me to continue watching.
But from what I could tell, the Sword God didn’t seem to be at a disadvantage.”
Conis, standing beside them, looked astonished.
That man… no, that god… is he really as powerful as Lord Enel?
…
Lucas stood supporting himself with his sword.
Everything around him had been swept clean.
Within a radius of nearly a hundred meters, nothing remained.
Lucas took several deep breaths before looking at Enel in the sky, who also appeared slightly fatigued.
“Not bad… Your strength is impressive.
You certainly deserve the title of Thunder God.”
Although it appeared that Lucas had been forced onto the defensive and seemed to have fallen behind, swordsmen were among the most dangerous combatants in the world.
If Lucas fought Enel to the death right now, he still had confidence that he could take Enel down with him.
Enel understood this just as well.
Although Lucas looked somewhat battered, he had suffered no substantial injuries.
He had merely consumed some stamina.
Moreover, the clash between Phantom Sword Dance and the Thunder Dragon had still ended with the Thunder Dragon being cut apart.
Enel still had his Raigo, but he did not believe Lucas had already exhausted his arsenal of powerful sword techniques.
“You are strong as well, Blue Sea person.”
Enel paused.
“No.
I respect you as a being who stands on the same level as a god.”
Lucas raised his head and spoke indifferently.
“I am Lucas, the Sword God.”
“I am Enel, the Thunder God.
If we continue fighting, neither of us will be able to bear the consequences.”
“There are also some ants heading this way.
Shall we stop here?”
“Fine!”
Lucas immediately agreed.
He returned Kitetsu to its sheath and looked at Enel.
“I intend to stay here for a while.
I have no interest in your plans, and I won’t interfere with them.”
Enel looked at Lucas with some surprise before giving it only a moment’s thought and nodding.
After all, if Lucas insisted on staying here, there was nothing Enel could do to drive him away unless he was willing to fight Lucas to the bitter end.
But there was no reason to do that.
This was their first meeting.
They had no genuine grudge against each other.
All that talk about divine dignity and punishment had merely been posturing, born from the pride each of them possessed.
Now that they recognized each other as gods and equals, neither had any reason to consider the other an offender.
Lucas glanced at Enel and said indifferently,
“Those ants are yours to deal with.”
With that, he simply turned and walked away.
In this battle, he had destroyed the Thunder Dragon and injured Enel once again with Phantom Sword Dance.
His body had also been exposed to the lightning.
Fortunately, Kitetsu’s sword spirit had absorbed most of the electrical power, leaving him unharmed.
Instead, the lightning had stimulated the cells throughout his body, making them even more vigorous.
Furthermore, his battle with Enel had deepened his understanding of Sword Aura.
He seemed to be only one step away from reaching the Intermediate Sword Master stage.
His Observation Haki had also yielded many new insights, allowing him to grasp several finer details.
Although he couldn’t yet train it directly, after fighting a few more battles, he was confident he would be able to master it.
Lucas thought about this as he walked away.
The now-calm Enel had absolutely no idea that Lucas had already started treating him as a training dummy for his swordsmanship.
…
Back aboard the Holy Sword, Nami finally couldn’t hold back when she saw Lucas’s clothes hanging in tatters from his body.
“Lucas… are you all right?”
She didn’t even bother hiding her concern from Conis anymore.
“I’m fine.”
Lucas waved his hand to indicate that he was unharmed.
“I fought Enel to a draw.
But the Goro Goro no Mi really is an incredibly powerful Devil Fruit.”
“If Enel knew how to use Armament Haki and had stronger physical combat skills, he’d probably be comparable to Borsalino, the Yellow Monkey, one of the Admirals.”
Seeing that Nami and Lucas had stopped pretending, Robin naturally dropped the act as well.
She looked at the muscular body revealed beneath Lucas’s tattered clothes, and her pretty face flushed slightly.
“So your plan succeeded?”
Lucas flashed beside Robin in an instant and chuckled.
“Of course.
I’ll take you to find the Poneglyph right away.”
Robin dodged Lucas’s reaching hand with a laugh and slipped to the side.
Conis’s beautiful eyes widened at the sight.
Isn’t this person supposed to be a god?
Then why…?
Lucas didn’t particularly mind failing to get his hands on Robin.
Looking at Conis’s astonished little face, he chuckled.
“Hmm.
From now on, you’re my companion.”
He announced Conis’s place aboard his crew with absolute authority.
Conis shook her head, finally recovering from her shock.
She was just about to refuse when Lucas’s expression suddenly became stern.
“This is an order from God.”
“Uh… okay…”
Conis looked utterly helpless.
Staring at Lucas, who seemed to have mastered the art of changing expressions at will, she had no idea what she was supposed to do anymore.