"Join..." For the first time, Enel's expression wavered.
He froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha... interesting. Very interesting!"
"So, what you're saying is..." His laughter cut off abruptly, and his gaze turned cold.
"A mere mortal wants a god to lower himself?"
Before he had finished speaking, he thrust up his hand. A thick bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking straight at Gern's head!
Boom! Lightning exploded, sending smoke and dust billowing.
Yet when the smoke cleared, Gern still stood where he had been, completely unharmed.
"A Logia user? And lightning, at that." Watching the fight, Tesoro finally understood why Gern had come looking for this man.
"Lightning that can rival light... with proper training, he really would be a valuable fighter."
Meanwhile, Enel's pupils contracted at the sight of the unscathed Gern. "You..."
"Heh." Gern interrupted him with a chuckle. "Calling yourself a 'god' with just that? How naive."
"Insolence!" Enel roared. Lightning surged around his body as he raised the Golden Staff and pointed it high. "El Thor!"
A massive bolt of lightning crashed down, instantly turning the entire area into a lightning hell!
The Snake Princess and the other two quickly retreated beyond the lightning's reach.
"Gern!" Lipo cried anxiously, but Tesoro held her back.
"Don't worry," Tesoro said in a low voice. "At this level... Vice Admiral Gern probably won't even need Armament Haki."
Sure enough, Gern's figure remained standing tall amid the lightning.
He slowly walked forward, each step intensifying the tremors in the ground. "Enel, can your Mantra-your Observation Haki-hear my thoughts?"
Enel's expression finally changed.
He really couldn't hear them.
This man's thoughts were like an abyss, impossible to peer into!
"Impossible..." Enel muttered. "No one can shut out a god's hearing. At first, I thought it was