Chapter 37: The Thunder Awakens; Kuzan Arrives / The Thunder Awakens; Kuzan Arrives - One Piece: I Can See Skill Proficiency, So I Became a Legend

"Maybe it's time to make a choice!"

Outside the cabin, Enel behaved himself much better this time. Still, he put everything he had into each attack, as though he meant to blast the Blue Sea man before him to ash.

"Twenty million volts: discharge!"

"Thirty million volts: Lightning Bird!"

"Forty million volts: discharge!"

Dongze, meanwhile, looked grim. Lightning was one of nature's most powerful forces, and its destructive potential needed no explanation.

With Haki to protect him, he could withstand a few hits at ten or twenty million volts. Beyond that, he began to feel the pressure.

Haki could strengthen his defenses, but it could not do so without limit. If it could, everyone in the New World would simply train their Haki, become invincible, and be done with it.

Unfortunately, Armament Haki was not invincible. Once an attack exceeded what it could withstand, he would still be hurt.

His Armament Haki proficiency had already passed 550,000, and his Observation Haki had reached 540,000.

He had even unlocked Ryuo and the Voice of All Things.

But by his estimate, his current limit was only around a hundred million volts.

If Thunderclap Sword Intent still failed to unlock after all this, he would have gone through it for nothing.

When Enel's discharge reached sixty million volts, Dongze fixed his gaze on the panel. His previously calm heart leaped into his throat.

"Seventy million volts: discharge!"

Colorful light now flickered across Dongze's body.

He brought out his Ryuo, which spread in a faint layer over his skin.

Dongze felt over his body, gauging the strength of his Haki, and sighed inwardly.

So the order of reinforcement really does matter. The Haki around his hands could probably withstand a hundred-and-fifty-million-volt attack.

An idea suddenly struck him. If he fused the Iron Head Skill first, that might not be a bad move. Wouldn't it improve his chances of unlocking Thunderclap Sword Intent?

"Ah, of course! That old man's tricks run deep!"

Thunderclap Awakens, Kuzan Arrives

One thunderclap, ten thousand streaks of lightning.

A tremendous boom rang through the sky. Lightning poured down, turning everything brilliant white. The glare made it impossible to see anything above.

After a long while, Dongze landed on the deck with a heavy thud. He dropped onto his backside, gasping for air. At the sight of Thunderclap Sword Intent finally lighting up on the panel, he breathed a sigh of relief.

His hair was a bird's nest, and his whole body was charred black. Unlocking this Sword Intent had brought him to death's door and back.

He had not expected the static-like lightning clinging to his body to erupt at the last moment.

That final strike had released nearly two hundred million volts. If Thunderclap Sword Intent had not awakened at the last second, he would have died.

He shuddered at the memory of lightning forcing its way through every opening in his head and tearing through his body. A searing, numbing pain raked his nerves and nearly broke his mind.

Fortunately, Erosion Sword Intent had risen on its own at the last moment, shielding his brain from the lightning. Otherwise, he would be dead by now.

"No wonder I got no prompt during our earlier fight, before Enel used his big attacks! That threshold is no joke!"

The thought left him shaken. His journey through this other world had nearly ended here.

Once he had caught his breath, Dongze glanced at Enel. He was hardly better off, still reduced to a mass of lightning.

The instant Dongze had fallen into danger, the Erosion Sword Intent planted in Enel's head had erupted.

Enel had no Sword Intent to shield him. In an instant, the attack had forced him into his elemental form, and the spreading Sword Intent began eating away at his soul.

Only then did he fully understand how terrifying it was. It attacked not just the body, but the soul as well.

It was the manifestation of a rule: when the wind and sand passed, they buried everything. Erosion Sword Intent made that principle brutally clear. If the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had not resisted it, Enel might have been reduced to ash in an instant.

Not even a bone would have remained.

"Boss, spare me!"

Dongze heard the plea and, with some effort, waved a hand to suppress the raging Erosion Sword Intent.

His own condition was the result of his Armament Haki trapping some stray lightning. He had hoped to use it to improve his resistance to electricity, never imagining it would turn out like this. Enel was not to blame.

It took Enel quite some time to regain human form. When he did, he stared at Dongze in terror.

Seeing Dongze's condition earlier, he had thought he had blasted him straight to heaven. Instead, Dongze had endured nearly two hundred million volts.

Enel no longer thought of Dongze as human. To him, Dongze seemed closer to what he himself called a god.

Enel knew the power of his own attacks. He was certain no one could survive two hundred million volts of raging lightning.

Of course, Enel could never have imagined that a Devil Fruit User with the Gum-Gum Fruit existed in this world.

Now there was a true natural counter, one who would come away without a scratch. The Thunderclap Dongze had barely survived would probably feel like less than a fart to that person. At least a fart had a smell.

And then there was that Sword Intent. Enel had thought Dongze's death would set him free. He had not expected what happened instead.

Remembering it, he gave a bitter smile. What a vicious technique. If Dongze fell, Enel would fall with him. He was well and truly tied to Dongze's ship now.

"Dongze!"

Robin heard the commotion outside. After a moment's hesitation, she finally came out, only for her heart to lurch at the sight before her.

She hurried over and caught the unsteady Dongze. Urgency flashed in her eyes.

"I'm fine! I was just running an experiment!"

At his words, Robin's emotions tangled into a knot.

Remembering what he had told her the night before, she lowered her head. Her eyes reddened at once.

She did not know when he had found a place in her heart. After everything that had happened these past few days, his presence there had only grown clearer. She knew she cared about him.

"Maybe I should leave the ship after all."

"Not a chance!"

Dongze had only just suffered a severe injury and had no strength left. He had meant to sound fierce, but his words came out weak and breathless. Robin's nose stung, and tears spilled down her cheeks.

"..."

A little while later, Robin wiped away her tears. She helped Dongze up and took him back to the cabin.

Then she began preparing medicine, a skill she had taught herself recently. With her brilliant mind, making a few simple remedies to treat injuries and restore strength was easy enough.

Enel watched as Robin left him lying there without so much as a glance.

A strange loneliness welled up in him as he lay on the deck.

He was new here and already being treated differently. Anyone might have taken it badly, let alone the god of Sky Island, who had never been good with people.

"Hey, miss! There's another injured person over here!"

"I'm busy! You're the one who hurt Dongze, aren't you?"

"You've got to be joking. Me, hurt him? I was only following orders. Besides, the Sword Intent he left inside me nearly destroyed me. I can't even stand!"

"Oh, sorry. I don't know much about Logia users. I'm afraid I can't help."

"No, no, you can! Just make me something to eat!"

"Doesn't a lightning man eat lightning? I don't know how to cook that!"

Robin did not know exactly what had happened between them. All she knew was that Dongze was badly hurt, and she had no desire to help the person responsible.

Her deadpan reply put her wicked sense of humor on full display.

Enel stared at her. Did she really think a lightning man lived on lightning? He shook his head. If he could eat the stuff, he would hardly be human.

"Miss, it really wasn't me who hurt the boss—"

"Be quiet! I don't want to talk to you!"

By the time the scene shifted, three days had passed. Dongze and Enel had both more or less recovered.

With Enel aboard, the voyage had become far more lively.

No one would have guessed he was such a chatterbox. After Robin's sharp remarks a few days earlier, he had taken to seeking her out and arguing whenever they met. Robin never held back.

Every answer she gave made him jump with outrage.

Dongze, meanwhile, was getting familiar with his newly awakened Thunderclap Sword Intent. For the past few days, Enel had run whenever he saw him.

Perhaps because of that Sword Intent, Enel had dropped nothing else. Dongze could only sigh at how stingy his mysterious benefactor was.

His body had barely healed, yet the proficiency-grinding fiend was already at it again. Enel had suffered enough to think he might have been better off dead.

That afternoon, Enel froze and looked into the distance. Through his Observation Haki, he saw a young man riding a bicycle across the sea, making his way toward them at an easy pace.

"Who's that?"