Dream of Returning Home, Romance Never Dies

"I have not come to bring peace to the world; I have come to bring war to the world."

Roman chuckled softly and shook his head.

"Enel, your perspective is still too narrow. Add a few more sentences after that—"

"Today I spread Lightning Flash, and in the future I will surely sweep away the world. All that is corrupt, reactionary, and backward; all that is domineering, unearned, and oppressive, will be reduced to ashes in the dazzling Electric Light, and from the ashes will be a thriving nation."

See? This really elevates the style.

Isn't it better than your destructive, chuunibyou-ish setting?

Luffy's dad was overjoyed!

"Roman, what are you muttering about?"

"Without."

Roman put away the two sheets of paper covered in Electric Light and looked at the others. Thanks to Chopper's miraculous healing, the Straw Hat crew, though still looking charred like 'Africans,' seemed to be mostly recovered.

Unfortunately, I'm running out of energy.

Even if they obtained the paper representing the 'Rumble-Rumble Fruit,' it could only be given to Nami to develop. Roman was too busy developing his own Super Creation for papermaking; where would he find the time to develop the theft... no, recording function that extended from his superpower?

If Devil Fruit ability is not developed and utilized over a long period of time, it can only play a basic role.

Just like how Nami can only create a small whirlwind with Crocodile's Suna Suna no Mi, Wapol's Munch-Munch Fruit is mostly just a convenient 'dimensional bag' and 'refrigerator' in the hands of Nami and Roman.

Otherwise, Roman could have just used his rubber sheet to solo Sky Island... but he'd probably still get blasted by Enel's lightning strike! After all, it's not a genuine Devil Fruit, so it definitely doesn't have that kind of overpowered counter-ability. Besides:

"The Art of the Thief" is not true theft, but simply recording and preservation, which is actually quite limited.

In other words, even if Roman smeared Luffy's blood on the book, he could only turn the pages into rubber. This is because the Rubber-Rubber Fruit is a superhuman ability, and its effects only apply to the book itself—unlike the Explosion-Explosion Fruit, which allows the user to throw a part of themselves out and explode.

Unless Roman goes completely mad and smears Luffy's blood all over his body... then he's really wandered onto the wrong set!

"Roman, what are the results of the investigation?"

Luffy was holding a piece of bread and reluctant to take a bite, asked.

"What's going on with that big-eared monster?"

Even Luffy, after a series of battles, is already exhausted. Continuing to fight would truly be a desperate 'fight'—fighting with his future lifespan!

"As for that guy's situation, you guys can see."

Pointing in the direction where the Ark 'Maxim' fell, the Ark Maxim, which started to take off again, shocked everyone!

"How could this be?"

"That guy is still alive!!"

"So soon?"

"It's all over, it's all over..."

"Let me go see him again—"

"Don't panic,"

Roman waved his hand at the horrified Straw Hat crew and Luffy, who was about to stand up.

"That guy has lost all fighting spirit, and strictly speaking, his target isn't us. So:"

Let him go.

It's not about letting the tiger return to the mountain, but rather about showing leniency when possible. Otherwise:

If they really fight to the death, it's hard to say who will live and who will die.

"God, return to where God belongs."

Sitting on the golden throne of the Ark Maxim, Enel, panting, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit's reputation for invincibility isn't just hype! It boasts top-tier attack power among Logia Devil Fruit users, a superhuman physique forged through constant lightning tempering, and a wide-range enhancement of Observation Haki...

"Anything that blocks my view should not exist in this sky..."

"I was so stupid. Why did I have to be so foolish as to bother with those ants on the ground?"

"Hahaha, no one is allowed to take that from me! That's my... dream of the Infinite Continent..."

Leaning back on his golden throne, Enel looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. In a daze, he recalled his hometown: Bika.

When did it start?

It all started when my father carried me, still an infant, to an abandoned temple outside the city. There, I would read aloud the blood-written words inscribed by my ancestors, over and over again. It was my daily task...

He still had to silently recite the ancestral precepts ten times every day, even while eating, bathing, and sleeping. He even had to think about them constantly, because his father would ask him unexpected questions. If he couldn't answer within three seconds, he would receive a severe beating...

Or perhaps it was the sight of his grandfather, who, despite the Great Priest's insults and ridicule, held his father's hand tightly as he died. Even now, Enel vividly remembers his devilish face.

'Let's find a way back to our true home, the Infinite Continent!'

'Go back, go back! Go back! Otherwise, I will haunt you even as a ghost, I will curse you in hell for the rest of my life!' After saying this, he died in agony.

Enel's father, who inherited the title of 'Great Priest' mocked by Bika, passed on his grandfather's words to him without reservation before his death. His words were like a knife to the heart of the boy! The man still remembered that image vividly...

"What 'Great Priest'?"

Bullshit!

"I am a god now!!"

Yes.

As the Ark Maxim continued to ascend, the bright celestial bodies in Enel's pupils grew larger and larger.

"So beautiful~~"

"Go, Ark Maxim. March towards that Infinite Continent that shines in the night sky, our true home!"

Grand Line

Jaya Island.

Clang~~~~ Clang~~~~ Clang~~~~~~!

"Boss, that voice is..."

Ever since the Straw Hat crew took to the skies with the Sky-Piercing Current, neither the deep-sea salvage team nor the deep-sea exploration team has gone out to work. They've been staying on this small island, waiting for something, no one knows what. Until today—

"Yes, that's right."

Uncle Wenblan-Kulika, a diamond-shaped man with a chestnut on his head, looked up at the sky.

"How romantic!"

"A bell rang from the sky..." The ape looked shocked.

"That's truly terrifying..." the Masira echoed.

"One hypothesis about the giant human figures that appeared alongside the Thick Clouds is that there were people living in the sky. When the sunlight refracted their shadows, it formed a huge 'monster'."

"So,"

The middle-aged man with the diamond-shaped face looked up at the huge shadow of the 'boy' in the sky, and the papers scattered all around him.

"Kid, the Golden City —it's right there, isn't it!"

Tick-tock, tick-tock,

"Hey, boss, are you feeling unwell?"

Faced with the concern of the apes and Masira, the uncle, who had wiped away his tears, shook his head.

"They're safe and sound... that's wonderful!!"

He had to entrust his life's dream to someone else. If this led to... no one was more worried about the Straw Hat crew's flying journey than Wenblank-Kureike.

"Ape, Masira."

The middle-aged man with the diamond-shaped face turned around and bowed to the two men who had taken it upon themselves to become his subordinates and had been fishing in this area for ten years.

"For the past ten years, you've all been there for me! Thank you..."

"Boss! We did it voluntarily!"

"Yes, please don't send me away..."

"What are you saying?" the diamond-faced uncle laughed as he straightened up!

"My 'duel' with my ancestors is over, so the next step—"

"I'm going to find the legendary 'Emerald City'!"

"You're willing..." Before the diamond-faced uncle could finish speaking, the apes and Masira excitedly pounced on him.

"We are willing!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

A man's romance never ends!

P. S.: I added Enel's backstory. If Oda ever proves me wrong... well, my book might not even live to see that day, so it doesn't really matter~~ Hehehe~~ Three chapters finished, going to rest now.