Battle's End

"What a wonderful sound." Li Ziming had never found the sound of gold so pleasing before. Perhaps it was because he had never heard it before?

"You're awake?" Robin looked at Li Ziming. "Though it seems everything is already over."

"At least I won't miss the final banquet, right?" Li Ziming smiled. "Still, it really is a little embarrassing. I never thought I'd end up being completely useless."

"That's not the only thing you should be embarrassed about. The Poneglyph by the Golden Bell wasn't about the weapon of the king, but about the Ancient Weapon known as Poseidon." Robin looked at Li Ziming. "Has this generation's Poseidon appeared?"

"Yeah. What, interested?" Li Ziming shook his head. "But Fish-Man Island is quite troublesome. Setting aside how troublesome its ruler is, our strength is still far from enough."

"Indeed." Robin nodded. She also felt that their group's current strength was still far too lacking.

"Ah! That golden ship is flying away!" Nami shouted as she watched the golden ship slowly rise into the air. "Hurry up and shoot it down for me!"

"Our navigator really is obsessed with money." Robin spoke helplessly. Though they had defeated Enel, he was still a Logia user. With Ark Maxim in tow, he was not someone they could bring down.

"Yeah, but I really don't want to let Ark Maxim get away." Li Ziming tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Help me up, will you?"

"What are you trying to do now?" Robin looked at Li Ziming irritably. "You're already this badly injured, so stop doing unnecessary things." Though she said that, Robin still helped Li Ziming up and let him lean against her.

"We can't just let that guy leave like this." Li Ziming focused for a moment, faintly sensing something familiar up there. Then he activated his ability. "Air Detonation!"

The sudden Explosion shocked everyone. Gold rained down from the sky, and Enel's face was filled with disbelief. After being attacked by Luffy, he only had enough strength left to barely keep Ark Maxim flying. He had no ability left for anything else. Falling from that height meant certain death for Enel.

"I never thought that, in the end, I'd die here." Enel closed his eyes. His life flashed before him like a revolving lantern. When he was young, the awakening of his Mantra had made others see him as a monster. Later, he obtained the Rumble-Rumble Fruit and finally gained power. He gathered a group beneath him and became a so-called god. Yet at the beginning, all he had wanted was a better life. Slowly, he got that life, and he was finally able to chase his dream—the Endless Vearth from his dreams. But who could have imagined that he would be defeated by a Blue Sea person, only to die by falling to his death?

"Heh, what an un-godlike way to die." The impact of the ground felt to Enel like one of Luffy's punches, instantly knocking him unconscious.

"That golden ship fell down!" Nami's eyes began to shine. "Let's go get that gold!"

"Let's wait until everyone wakes up. That gold is just sitting there; it won't grow legs and run away. What everyone needs now is to recover from their injuries." Li Ziming spoke helplessly to Nami. "Pretty much everyone has serious injuries. We're really not in good shape right now."

"I agree with that." Robin nodded.

"Besides, we should think of a way to get even more gold, shouldn't we?" Li Ziming's earlier words were utter nonsense to Nami, but that final remark about getting more gold went straight to her heart.

"Mm, you're right. We really do need to recover." Nami said that, but if her eyes did not shine like Beli, Li Ziming felt she would have been more convincing.

"Those old guys must have heard it, right?" Luffy grinned proudly, showing off his white teeth.

"If they didn't hear it, we can just ring it again." Li Ziming looked at Luffy with amusement. "Honestly, I really want to ring such a huge Golden Bell myself."

"Then I'll be third!" Usopp immediately said.

"I'm fourth." Chopper was not about to miss something so interesting.

"I'm fifth!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

"Idiot Luffy, didn't you already ring it?" Nami scolded her captain irritably.

"But I still want to ring it again!" Luffy said unhappily. "That sound was really nice!"

"You guys..." Nami was helpless. She had been planning to make these guys help carry the gold.

"Nami, ring the Golden Bell of love with me!" Sanji wore a lovestruck expression.

"Curly brows." Zoro immediately began mocking him.

"What did you say, moss head?!" Sanji's eyes blazed as he glared viciously at Zoro.

"You wanna fight?!" Zoro glared right back, equally displeased.

"You two really get along well." Li Ziming teased.

"Who gets along with that bastard?!"

"Should we save this guy?" Zoro looked toward Chopper, who was currently treating Wyper.

"..." Chopper said nothing and merely lowered his head to examine Wyper's body.

"Save him. After all, what Sky Island needs now isn't war, right, God?" Li Ziming's sudden use of the word "God" startled everyone.

"God?" Nami asked in alarm. "Is Enel not dead yet?"

"He means this old man." Gan Fall sat on the ground. "That is merely a matter of the past. This old man feels that Sky Island no longer needs a god."

"But they need a leader." Li Ziming shrugged. "You've rested long enough. Go back and take a look. I think many people are hoping you'll return."

"This old man still wants to go home and grow pumpkins." Gan Fall said so, but his face was glowing with renewed vigor. "Still, it seems this old man cannot rest just yet."

"Do your best, old man." Luffy gave Gan Fall his blessing.

"That's right, that's right. Build Sky Island properly."

"We'll come back to play again next time!" The Straw Hat Pirates all offered their blessings. The atmosphere was quite harmonious for a moment, while Li Ziming vanished from where he stood.

"I'm not dead?" Enel felt water moistening his lips. "Where is this?" He forced his eyes open. The surroundings were dim, and his weak body left him without even the strength to stand.

"You're awake?" Conis walked in, carrying water, food, and some medicine.

"I saw you fall from above. You were seriously injured, so I prepared some medicine." Conis slowly approached Enel.

"Hmph, do you really not know who I am?!" Enel's tone was extremely cold.

"..." Conis said nothing, but her body was clearly trembling.

"Oh my, aren't you my cousin's neighbor's third uncle's maternal nephew?" The string of titles left even Enel somewhat confused, and Pagaya's appearance startled him.

"What do you want?" Enel laughed. "I never thought that a god would..."

"Speak properly!" Pagaya smacked Enel on the head with one hand, knocking him senseless.

"I am a god!" Enel spoke with remarkably little confidence now.

"Alright, alright. From now on, you'll be called Ai. You can be an apprentice here. Remember to eat properly." Pagaya completely ignored Enel and walked straight out.

"Don't mind him. Dad is just like that." Conis seemed to have also overcome her fear of Enel. "Um, do you want to go outside for a walk?"

"..." Enel found himself unable to process this. Why were they treating him like this? He had nearly killed their people.

"Confused?" Li Ziming walked over at that moment.

"Ming!" Conis exclaimed in surprise.

"Did you come to kill me?" Enel seemed to relax. "Fine. Go ahead."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Li Ziming rolled his eyes. "If I wanted to kill you, there would have been no need to save you in the first place."

"You saved me?" Enel frowned. "What do you want?"

"Your help." Li Ziming was straightforward; he wanted Enel to owe him a favor. "We'll encounter many troublesome matters in the future, so I hope to receive your help." Li Ziming was utterly sincere.

"Help?" Enel laughed. "The victor wants the loser's help?"

"A victor does not mean someone is omnipotent. In some matters, simple strength is not enough. When we do certain things, we must have the help of companions." Li Ziming shrugged. "So I'm asking you to help us."

"Hah." Enel looked at Li Ziming with complicated emotions. "You really are an incredibly annoying guy."

"So you're agreeing?" Li Ziming was somewhat delighted.

"Those people don't need a god anymore anyway, and I'm tired of it now. Maybe being a Waver mechanic wouldn't be so bad." Enel shrugged.

"You've finally decided to abandon the past." Li Ziming said approvingly. "Not bad, not bad. My giving you a new look wasn't in vain."

"A new look?" Enel hesitated, then looked toward Conis as if asking for help.

"I'll get a mirror." Conis was kind-hearted and immediately ran out.

"Um, I'll help." Li Ziming's behavior made Enel feel even more uneasy.

At last, Conis brought over a mirror. Enel looked at himself in it. His long earlobes had been cut off, his short golden hair stood straight toward the sky, and the lightning-shaped scar over his right eye made him look even more imposing.

"Oh, right. There's also a note Mr. Ming left behind."

"You could consider changing your name to Laxus..."