Cowards Retreat, the Brave Press On

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~"

"The celebration is ready."

On the Ark Maxim, Enel, covered in bruises, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

On the deck of the Ark, there were huge, golden spikes as sharp as knives everywhere! After discovering that Luffy was incredibly fast but also afraid of slashes, Enel immediately changed the terrain to his advantage.

Anyway, he could transform into lightning and move freely through the gold, able to attack or defend as needed.

"As an uninvited guest, it's time for you to bow and leave!"

"OK,"

Luffy, covered in blood, bared his teeth and looked fearlessly at the big-eared man opposite him.

"But you have to get out of here in your spaceship right now!"

"We finally made it to the Sky Island, and there's thunder and dark clouds. I haven't even told Uncle Diamond Face that we found the Golden City... and he beat my companion up like that."

"That won't do! I'm a god!"

Enel stretched his shoulders; he had to admit his physique was incredibly strong. He could withstand Luffy Second Gear for half a day without much training, making him far tougher than any of CP9's stubborn, iron-clad Six Powers Tekkai.

"Life and the earth are mine! I can do whatever I want with them—"

Call out--!

Facing Luffy, who suddenly turned and charged at high speed from the golden spikes, Enel, who deliberately provoked him with his words, sharpened his eyes and said, "Here I come!"

His golden trident thrust out instantly, but it only left a blur! At the same time, Enel released his grip, discarding his weapon in this crucial close-quarters combat moment. That was because:

Snap!

"Rubber Boy, I've seen through your moves!"

"Your Mantra."

Enel took a direct hit from Gear Second Gear Luffy to his chest, grabbed Luffy's arm, and flew backward. It was clear he deliberately chose to retreat at that moment to absorb the force, in order to:

"Thunder Metallurgy!"

With his back pressed against the golden wall of the spaceship, Enel took Luffy's punch head-on for this moment of turning the tide.

Splash!

The liquid-like gold not only absorbed the impact on Enel but also bypassed him, Luffy! Luffy's expression changed, and he abruptly retreated. His body moved away, but his fist...

"Hot! Hot! Hot! My hand!!"

His entire forearm and fist were fused with gold. Fortunately, Luffy had some heat resistance in Second Gear, otherwise he would have been severely injured, if not killed. In just an instant, the roles of offense and defense were reversed.

Clang,

A huge golden ball landed on the deck of the ark and was kicked aside by Enel.

"Huff... huff..."

"I am the supreme god, there is no need for me to lower myself to the level of a blue ocean monkey like you."

Enel, panting heavily from the beating, supported himself on his knees; his stamina was nearing its limit. Fortunately, the script still unfolded according to his plan.

"You bastard! Keep fighting me—"

Enel sneered as he looked at Luffy, whose arm was restrained by the golden clamp.

"I refuse."

"What if you turn around and bite me? Wouldn't that be a bad deal?"

"Lightning Flash!"

Although Enel's lightning and all its derivative abilities couldn't harm Luffy, they could be transformed into shockwaves that impacted the golden sphere, sending it hurtling towards the ark.

"This golden ball is a reward for your strength."

Glug glug~~

The giant golden ball rolled down the ark! The immense force acted on Luffy, and although Luffy tried his best to grab the deck with his other hand, he could only helplessly be dragged down the spaceship by the golden ball after Enel casually blasted the deck with a bolt of lightning!

"As long as your movements are restricted, no one can oppose me."

Enel spoke lightly, but deep down he was terrified.

Actually, after sealing Luffy's arm with gold, the best thing he should have done was press his advantage! However, this was the first time he'd been cornered, the first time he'd been beaten so badly, the first time...

Too many unexpected events have led this man, who considers himself a 'god,' to choose a 'cowardly' way of dealing with the situation.

"The Ark Maxim will never fall,"

"After this fight, I'm going back to my old home on the moon."

"Once I blast you and the entire Holy Land into the Blue Sea, I will be invincible!"

Dissatisfied with the lack of power of the Magatama Thunder Drum on his back, Enel, who had planted several 'flags' on himself, turned around and looked at the other side of the deck.

"Why didn't you take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack?"

Whew~ Whew~

The giant white paper bird did not answer, but silently flapped its wings Luffy after Luffy as he fell.

"Hmph, a duel between captains?"

"What a foolish thing to do..."

"Hey, Roman."

Nami, who had set up a large number of lightning protection metal wires around her, looked up at the dark clouds in the sky.

"What kind of weather is that? It feels like the whole sky is crackling with lightning... Could this also be Devil Fruit ability?"

That's outrageous! Even though there were three Devil Fruit user on the ship and quite a few Devil Fruit users along the way, Nami never imagined that Devil Fruit could control such amazing natural disasters!

Crocodile, who was tricked by Nami's artificial rain, has something to say...

"So, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit is really a bug?"

Sitting beside him, Roman sighed. Just looking up at the stormy sky, no sane person would even entertain the thought of fighting back. Forget the current Straw Hat crew, even if you brought over all the top fighters from Marine Headquarters—

How many people are confident enough to fly and stand up to Enel?

Ascending into the sky using Geppo amidst thunder and lightning—one would likely perish halfway there...

"Doctor, I need a doctor!"

Chopper, covered in wounds and leaning on a wooden cane, arrived at the ruins led by the scout paper bird. His shouting as he walked made Roman raise his eyelids.

Is this the legendary 'healer cannot heal himself'?

"Perfect timing, we need a doctor too."

On the other side, Sanji, charred black, appeared carrying Usopp was also charred black, which startled Chopper so much that he quickly dropped his stick!

"Aaaaaahhhhhh~~~ Put him down right now, I'm going to give him CPR!!"

"Cough cough, Chopper, I see heaven~~"

"Don't die, Usopp!"

·······

You all look very energetic.

"Uh~~"

In another instance, Zoro, with his abnormal physique, and Wipper, the great warrior of Shandia, also woke up, drawing Roman's attention.

Why does it seem like I'm the weakest one in the family? Wait, thank goodness Nami is underneath me...

"Roman, I feel like you were thinking something rude just now."

"Absolutely not, that's just your imagination."

Roman waved his hand and looked to the other side, where a huge golden sphere rolled in! It instantly caught Nami's attention.

"Roman, Nami ~~"

As for Luffy, who rolled in with the golden ball, Nami automatically ignored him. Anyway:

Chew, chew, chew~~

"That big-eared monster is really awful; he got this huge lump of gold into my hands."

Seeing Luffy munching on meat while complaining, everyone just smirked and remained silent. —If every fight rewarded you with a giant golden ball, being a pirate would probably become the World's Greatest lucrative profession in no time.

Crackle! Bang!

A bolt of lightning as thick as a water vat struck not far away, Nami, Chopper, and the newly awakened Usopp tremble.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared as dazzling beams of light crashed down, relentlessly ravaging the land thousands of meters above the ground! Faced with such a terrifying natural disaster, it was like the end of the world!

"Well, let's find a safe place..."

"Where is there any safe place now?" Roman shrugged. "We've already made a killing this time, let's just get back to the Going Golden Merry and get out of here. Wouldn't it be great if I could just drop a landing mountain back to the ground after we leave the Sky Island?"

"No!"

Luffy a serious, stern face.

"I've finally made it to the Sky Island, I'm not going to watch it get blasted off the sky!"

"I also need to inform Uncle Diamond Face that Golden City is here—I'm going to go and beat that Enel to a pulp."

"Then how are you going to go up and find Enel?"

Roman pointed to the huge golden ball hanging on Luffy's hand. —This overwhelming aura of wealth makes any other decoration pale in comparison to Luffy.

See that? A gold bracelet weighing several tons...

We can't afford to mess with them.

"With this hanging on me, I can't drag you with my current strength."

To be honest, Roman really envies Luffy's ability to eat a huge meal and instantly recover full health and mana, while Roman, after resting for a while, has only recovered a little bit of his strength.

"It's Roman's job to figure out how to get me up there!"

"I knew it,"

Facing Luffy, Roman dusted off his pants and stood up. He pointed his thumb to a massive vine beside him. This vine stretched across the entire Sky Island, reaching high into the sky. If this were used as a bridge...

"Go, Luffy!"

"The lives of our entire regiment are in your hands."

"Good!"

P. S.: Ugh, I'm feeling dizzy. Three chapters tomorrow. That's all~~~ (I'm definitely not going to play games, really!)