Sky Island, Little Western Sky.
Once, this had been a small Sky Island with simple, honest people.
The islanders were self-sufficient, living comfortable lives with ample food and clothing.
However, decades ago, a vicious band of pirates arrived at Little Western Sky through The Peak of the Western Sky, launching a bloody massacre of burning, killing, and looting that caused a horrific tragedy.
A native boy witnessed his family being slaughtered with his own eyes.
His sister, in order to shield him, was…
The boy, the only one to escape alive, wandered the island like a walking corpse, utterly lost and hollow.
No one knew how much time had passed when, starving and weak, he found a strangely shaped fruit by the White-White Sea.
Driven by hunger, the boy didn’t care about anything else.
He quickly devoured the fruit, whose taste was just like shit.
The moment he finished eating it, he immediately realized that something was wrong.
He had gained the power to control thunder and lightning.
Although he had only just obtained the ability, the sheer power of the Logia-type Goro Goro no Mi made up for his lack of experience.
Just the ability to transform into lightning was already something the pirates of the Four Seas had no way of dealing with.
Relying on the power of the Goro Goro no Mi, the boy successfully killed the pirates who had slaughtered his family, becoming the hero who saved the island.
Afterward, the boy was chosen to become the island’s ruler, taking on the responsibility of protecting it.
At first, the young man was passionate and full of vigor, perfectly fulfilling his duty as the island’s ruler and ensuring that the island would never again be disturbed by pirates.
But as time passed, power and ambition gradually began to grow and swell within him.
With treacherous advisers constantly whispering poisonous words into his ears, he gradually forgot his original purpose and began imposing a tyrannical rule over the island.
After tasting the intoxicating pleasure of having complete control over the lives and deaths of others, he began to proclaim himself a god, ruling Little Western Sky through divine punishment by lightning.
Anyone who opposed him or showed him disrespect would, at best, become a slave.
At worst, they would be sentenced to death on the spot.
Even his childhood friend, someone he had grown up with, received no mercy whatsoever.
He had completely lost his original self.
Only at the very last moment of his life, one second before death arrived, did scenes from all those years flash through his mind.
Only then did he finally awaken.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
He died!
And a young man inherited his power!
Everything was as if history had come full circle.
But Ren would absolutely never walk the same path.
“Why are you bringing him with us?”
Seeing Ren dragging the corpse of the divine old man along, Rocks couldn’t help raising an eyebrow.
“Let’s take him with us for now.
We might find some use for him!” Ren replied.
Judging from the divine old man’s arrogant, high-and-mighty attitude just moments ago, Ren had thought of Enel, the Goro Goro no Mi user from the future.
They were the same kind of person.
That being the case, his reputation among the island’s residents probably wasn’t very good.
By bringing the old man’s corpse along, the island’s inhabitants would learn that the two of them had helped remove the mountain weighing down on them.
After becoming their “heroes,” it would be much easier for them to replenish supplies and handle other matters on the island.
Besides, there was another, most important reason.
Ren could use this opportunity to harvest another wave of Reputation.
Ten minutes later.
Ren and Rocks arrived at the town where the natives lived.
When the island’s residents saw two outsiders dragging a corpse into town, they were all horrified.
One after another, they hid inside their homes, daring only to observe from the shadows.
“Mommy, Mommy, look!
That…
that looks like the symbol of God, doesn’t it?”
A young child recognized the divine old man’s clothing.
“Shh!
Don’t say things like that.
God will get angry.”
The adults immediately became tense.
If those words got out, those people wouldn’t care whether the speaker was a child or not.
The entire family would suffer for it.
However, it didn’t take long for more and more people to realize what was happening.
Although the man’s face was still a bloody mess and impossible to recognize, those distinctive clothes were something only the most honored existence on the island had the right to wear.
One native gritted his teeth, gathered his courage, and walked out of his home, following behind Ren and Rocks.
Once there was a first person, there was naturally a second and a third.
In the end, almost every household had opened its door.
The natives followed Ren to a large plaza.
Ren swung his great hammer and nailed the corpse of the divine old man to a cross.
“Who are you?”
Someone in the crowd finally mustered the courage to ask.
“You’re asking who we are?
We’re nothing more than travelers passing through.”
Ren’s tone was calm.
“He…
could that person be…
God?”
Another person asked.
Ren nodded.
“Yes.
Your God is dead!”
The moment those words were spoken, the enormous plaza fell silent for a moment.
Then, an earth-shaking uproar erupted.
“Woooah!
God…
he really is God!”
“God is dead…
Hehehehahaha…
God is dead!”
“So even God can die!
That’s wonderful, truly wonderful!”
“God is finally dead!
We don’t have to live in fear every single day anymore!”
“Thank heavens…
Thank you!
Thank you, travelers!”
The native inhabitants of the island cried and laughed, looking almost insane with joy.
Reputation +1!
Reputation +1!
…
Before long, Ren’s Reputation had broken into the triple digits, and it was still climbing.
Seeing this scene, Rocks raised an eyebrow.
Then he looked toward Ren and finally understood what his vice-captain had been planning.
His vice-captain really was a rare all-around talent!
Suddenly.
A tremendous commotion erupted in the plaza.
The crowd of natives quickly parted to both sides.
A squad dressed in uniform and fully armed appeared.
At the head of the group was a man with a small mustache.
His beady green eyes were filled with shrewdness and scheming.
“The Enforcement Squad!”
“The Enforcement Squad is here!”
Whispers spread through the crowd.
The natives all lowered their heads, trembling with fear.
They had celebrated far too early.
Even if God was dead, God’s Enforcement Squad was still here.
“A bunch of ants!
What are all of you gathered here for?
And what were you saying just now…
God is dead?
You actually dare say such blasphemous things?
I think all of you want to be exiled!”
The beady-eyed man, the chief of the Enforcement Squad and God’s military adviser, sneered mercilessly again and again.
The islanders immediately fell silent, too frightened to even breathe loudly.
“But…
God really is dead.
If you don’t believe me, just look over there.”
A child only a few years old pointed toward the cross in the plaza.
“Heh.”
The military adviser of God sneered.
Only then did he finally raise his eyes and look over.
The moment he saw that familiar figure, his beady green eyes suddenly widened.
“God…
It’s really God…”
“God…
is actually dead!”
“Who did this?!”
The members of God’s Enforcement Squad were all utterly shocked.
After the initial astonishment, the beady-eyed military adviser quickly regained his composure.
“What are you making such a fuss about?
All of you, shut up!”
As the number-one man beneath God, his words carried enormous weight.
The commotion in the plaza immediately died down.
“Now, I announce something.”
“Although God has died, the island cannot remain without a ruler for even a single day.”
“So from this moment onward, I, the person with the highest status beneath God, will inherit the divine position.”
“Who supports me?
Who opposes me?”
As he spoke, the beady-eyed military adviser swept his sharp gaze across the plaza.
The islanders, who had long been conditioned to endure oppression and manipulation, didn’t dare show the slightest hint of opposition.
The beady-eyed military adviser nodded in satisfaction and prepared to ascend the throne and become the new god.
Just then.
Zzt—!
A flash of electricity streaked through the air.
Silently and without warning, Ren appeared in front of the beady-eyed man and reached out, grabbing him by the throat.
“So you’re the fucking god, huh?!”