Battling a Logia

"You want me dead? Do you even know what you're saying?" Enel looked at the people before him with amusement. "Do you really know what a god is?"

Enel swept his gaze over them one by one. "An old man fighting for the happiness of the sacred land, a warrior trying to reclaim his homeland, and Blue Sea pirates after gold." Looking down on them all, he said, "This world is full of petty strife. Whatever your reasons, the very existence of this country is a mistake."

"If you have time to spout nonsense, tell us what you're really after!" Gan Fall angrily leveled his spear at Enel.

"To return, Gan Fall." The others had no idea what Enel meant. "I have a place I must go. Where I was born, everyone believed it was the place where gods lived. They called it the Endless Vearth, a land that stretched beyond sight. That is the place of my dreams, where I belong! Fighting over a scrap of land like God's Island for hundreds of years—how utterly boring!" Enel looked at them with feverish eyes. "Your struggles have a deeper meaning. Think about it! Born in the sky despite not being clouds, living in the sky despite not being birds. This country's very foundations defy the laws of nature! Dust to dust, earth to earth, humans to humans, gods to gods. Each has its rightful place!"

"You can't mean—!" Gan Fall stared at Enel in alarm and fury.

"It's nothing so serious. I'm merely going to throw everyone down from here," Enel said without a care.

Everyone was stunned. None of them had imagined Enel would do something so insane.

"Sorry to interrupt." Li Ziming's sudden words drew everyone's attention. "A large portion of Sky Island's residents—no, of God's Island's residents—were born on Sky Island, weren't they?"

"That's right." Enel seemed in no hurry. He was curious to hear where Li Ziming was going with this.

"By your logic, you only want to throw down things that don't belong in the sky. But the people born on Sky Island belong here, don't they? Their existence follows the laws of nature. So why throw them down? If Sky Island's native residents don't belong in the sky, then what about all the people on the other sky islands? Do you plan to travel to each one? Is your real goal to destroy every sky island?" Li Ziming looked at Enel curiously. Enel seemed a little lost for words.

"The Endless Vearth sounds wonderful, but frankly, I'd say the sky is what's truly endless. The earth, when you get down to it, is surrounded by sky. Your dream was wrong from the start." Li Ziming mocked Enel without mercy. "I'm impressed you've kept chasing a mistaken dream for so long."

"You're dead." Enel's face darkened. He vanished and appeared beside Li Ziming in an instant. "Two million volts—Electro!"

"You let your guard down." Li Ziming coated his right hand in Armament Haki and sent Enel flying with a punch.

"The Rumble-Rumble Fruit is powerful. Calling it invincible wouldn't be much of an exaggeration. But your limited experience and the caliber of opponents you've faced have held back your mastery of it." Li Ziming walked toward Enel. "Logia users aren't invincible. Seastone and Haki are both effective against them. You can also exploit an elemental weakness." At that thought, Li Ziming felt a pang of regret. Crocodile had taken all the Seastone he had gathered to build that cage, and the Marines had seized it afterward. If he had kept some, dealing with Enel might have been easier.

"Haki? You've only got two fists. And can you protect everyone else?" Enel pointed at Gan Fall. "Twenty million volts—Electro!" A tremendous current roared toward Gan Fall. In an instant, he fell to the ground, his entire body charred black.

"One down, another to go." Enel pointed casually, and another bolt of lightning shot toward Robin.

"Damn it!" Li Ziming barely made it in front of Robin. He dropped his Armament Haki. It could bolster his defense, but against lightning this powerful, how much good that did depended on the user. Li Ziming didn't believe he could tear lightning apart with his bare hands, so he chose to meet Enel's attack with his strongest Devil Fruit ability.

"Explosion!" The energy from the blast canceled out the lightning's energy, gradually bringing Enel's attack to a halt.

"Not bad. You're only a Human-type, yet you can stand up to my lightning. Interesting. But what about this?" Enel unleashed three more bolts in an instant, sending them at Wyper, Zoro, and Robin. The power of a Logia was on full display.

"Don't worry about me!" Zoro was fast—or perhaps Enel had attacked without much effort. Either way, Zoro dodged with ease.

Wyper said nothing. With a Waver strapped to him, he was even faster than Zoro. After dodging, he charged straight at Enel.

"What is he trying to do?" Robin was unharmed under Li Ziming's protection.

"Seastone. He must have Seastone," Li Ziming told Robin. "If his attack works, restrain Enel the moment you get the chance."

"Got it." Robin was ready to use her ability at any moment. As soon as the Seastone pinned Enel down, she could sprout limbs and lock him in a joint hold.

"You're going to attack me?" Perhaps Enel had grown too arrogant. Even after Li Ziming's warning that Logia users were not invincible, he paid little attention to the charging Wyper.

"Enel!" Wyper planted his Waver directly against Enel's body.

"Hm?" Enel froze. He suddenly felt weak.

"Die!" Wyper pressed his right hand against Enel and activated the Reject Dial.

The tremendous force struck Enel. Unable to turn into lightning, he took the full impact. It felt as though a Sea King had crushed his organs. His heart stopped instantly, and he collapsed, blood pouring from his mouth.

"Robin!" Li Ziming shouted. Several arms sprouted from Enel's body and locked him tightly in place. Li Ziming hurried over. "Wyper, put the Seastone against him! Don't give him any chance to use his ability!"

Wyper was proud, but he knew how terrifying Enel was. He pulled off his left shoe and quickly pressed it against Enel.

But they had underestimated Enel's recovery—or the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. Lightning flashed. Enel restarted his heart and escaped in a flash, appearing beside Zoro a moment later.

"He restarted his heart with an electric shock?" Robin said in disbelief.

"There's no time to worry about that!" Li Ziming rushed toward Zoro. Two Devil Fruit users remained among them, and neither he nor Robin could use Seastone. Nami had no chance of getting close enough to use it on Enel. If they were going to stop him with Seastone, they needed Zoro and Wyper in the fight.

But Li Ziming was nowhere near as fast as lightning. Enel grabbed Zoro's two swords and knocked him unconscious with a surge of electricity. Then, while Li Ziming was away from Robin, Enel seized the chance to shock her unconscious too.

"Never thought I'd have to team up with you," Li Ziming said helplessly as he took his place beside Wyper.

"You think I want to stand next to you?" Wyper was just as irritated. "You Blue Sea people do nothing but slow me down!"

"Tch. Save it. Taking him down is what matters." With that, Li Ziming and Wyper charged Enel together.