A Fated Showdown (1)

Amidst the ruins of the city, as the rubble on the ground trembled, Luffy, shrouded in 'smoke', slowly stood up.

Enel's previously nonchalant expression turned somewhat surprised.

Enel sat on the Golden Staff and slowly floated out of the shop.

His feet didn't want to get stained with the dirty mud of this world.

"This is the royal city... you..."

At this moment, a soldier mustered up his courage and spoke up.

There are many residents in the city, and judging from the destructive power of this One Piece's attack, it is very likely that he will destroy the city.

Before he could finish speaking, the soldier was struck by electric current and died instantly.

"Hello!"

Luffy brushed the dust off his clothes, tearing his tattered robe to the ground, watching Enel's blatant disregard for human life. His gaze turned serious and sharp, extremely aggressive. At this Luffy looked completely different from the carefree and idiotic man he had been moments before.

As he walked, he stared intently at Enel and shouted.

Then he gave a thumbs-up, pointed in a direction, and said, "Come with me somewhere else, I'm going to... teach you a lesson you bastard!"

This Luffy seems more in line with his identity as One Piece, both in his eyes and his expressions.

The deaths and injuries of innocent people seemed to ignite the anger in Luffy's heart.

"OK."

Enel snorted, rested his chin on one hand, tilted his head slightly, and lazily replied.

Then, Luffy turned to leave.

However, the next second...

Amidst the dense ranks of soldiers around them, lightning flashed once more, and one after another, corpses were charred and fell to the ground.

Pell and Jaka, who were acting as adjutants, managed to dodge in time and escaped with their lives.

Hahahaha!

Enel excitedly opened his arms.

His fingers twitched. "A mere mortal... dares to make a request of a god."

"God can do whatever He wants... The only thing a foolish mortal like you can do is accept judgment and obediently be punished by me!"

"If you want me to leave without killing anyone... sure."

"Kneel down and beg me, and maybe if I'm in a good mood, I might agree to your request."

Enel's smile was extremely malicious.

At this moment, the evil thoughts in his heart were magnified infinitely.

He's just messing with Luffy.

Hahahaha!

Enel's arrogant laughter sent chills down the spines of everyone still alive nearby.

"You!"

Luffy was enraged, veins bulging on his forehead, and was about to attack Enel without saying a word when his pupils contracted and he was instantly dumbfounded.

The person froze in place.

One of the Hell Pirates grabbed Nami, who was slumped on the ground, and pressed a finger against her Nami with a blank expression.

The meaning is self-evident: it's a warning to Straw Hat not to act rashly.

The person holding Nami and using her as leverage is Rob Lucci.

His actions were not stopped by Oboro, which means that the captain tacitly approved of them.

Although they all disliked Enel, he was now a member of the crew.

We still need to take the right stance.

"Luffy..."

Nami, tears streaming down her face, looked at her captain.

"Nami!"

Luffy shouted.

"Alright."

Just as everything was getting chaotic, suddenly, a voice came from inside the tavern.

It is Oboro.

As soon as he said that, Enel stopped laughing and looked over.

With his hands in his pockets, Oboro Ta Bu out from the shadows inside the tavern, glanced at Rob Lucci, and said, "Let her go."

Upon Rob Lucci the sound, Lucci released Nami.

The woman immediately roared and cried at Luffy.

"Before I came here, I said that everything that happened in Alabasta was your business alone. In other words, we wouldn't interfere... Now that a conflict has arisen, let's resolve it quickly." Oboro said coldly to Enel, then looked at Luffy, "One hour from now, southeast of the city, we'll be waiting for you there."

Enel frowned. What did that mean? Did Oboro think he couldn't quickly kill this Straw Hat right now? "Alright!"

Luffy clenched his fist, fearlessly demonstrating his power to the entire Hell Pirates.

"Let's go."

Then, Oboro strode away without hesitation.

The members of the Hell Pirates quickly followed.

Although Enel was unhappy with Oboro's interference, he still dared not go against the latter's wishes to his face.

As Long walked forward seemingly casually, he was actually glancing at the roof of a building in the distance out of the corner of his eye, under the brim of his hat.

There... someone is spying on us.

They are from the Baroque Works.

Crocodile must have been the first to know when they entered the city... Besides, there's a grudge between Oboro and Crocodile.

The employees of these Baroque Works had already begun their activities, observing closely from the shadows.

Luffy's appearance was within Oboro's expectations, but she didn't expect it to actually happen... After all, the entire Alubarna territory is quite large.

He didn't offer any hints or express his opinion early on, precisely to create a misconception for Enel.

It was his own choice to provoke Luffy.

Upon arriving in the Blue Sea, Enel was easily overwhelmed by even a random young lad... This would severely damage Enel's arrogance. Being defeated by Ace is a different matter... Ace was his chosen target, so Enel would undoubtedly believe Ace was strong. With this preconceived notion, even a brutal beating wouldn't significantly alter Enel's mindset... Therefore, Luffy is a better candidate to help Enel recognize his own limitations.

As for Ace ... Oboro believes he will definitely come.

Such a big incident has been caused; a little inquiry would reveal the truth.

What's more, now his younger brother Luffy has also been dragged into this.

Not taking action within the city was not only to allow Enel to gain a more thorough understanding of his defeat, but also...

Another point is to introduce a key figure.

Crocodile, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

In the open desert, it's very difficult to hide in the shadows and investigate.

Given Luffy's personality, once he's promised, he'll definitely come.

Moreover, it wasn't just him, but the entire Straw Hat Pirates.

Perfect timing... Oboro wanted to take a look at the others besides Luffy and Nami.

Half an hour later, in the scorching, dry yellow sand, the Hell Pirates eagerly awaited their arrival.

"Straw Hat Luffy, from the East Blue... On their ship, it seems that besides him, the only other notable person is a bounty hunter, I think his name is Roronoa Zoro, who is a swordsman." Dom and his group walked to the shade of a unique and tall plant growing in the desert to cool off.

"If the captain hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have known there was such a person in the East Blue."

"However, that Straw Hat seems pretty strong... Enel's lightning didn't cause him any serious injuries."

"It is a bit strange..."

The group discussed it.

"The Straw Hats' reputation has only recently begun to spread, mostly due to their experiences in the East Blue, while the events that occurred in the Grand Line haven't yet been widely known..."

"Hahaha... I don't know why the captain is paying so much attention to them. With their strength and bounty, they don't seem like much."

Dorans grinned.

Especially that woman from just now... she was also one of their crew members.

"Hey, Enel... with your abilities, you're not going to have any problems with this kind of trash, are you?"

Dom glanced at the 'Skypiea God' who was unwilling to join them and gave a deliberate sneer.

Enel could definitely hear their conversation.

He knew Oboro well. Seeing that the captain had intentionally led the straw hat here meant that... Enel probably didn't want to deal with the other party so easily.

If things go wrong, we could end up losing everything.

So, he might as well provoke someone.

"Scum, watch your tone when you talk to me." Enel expressionlessly.

"Snort."

Dom scoffed.