Lin Yuan was in a good mood. In particular, after seeing that Enel had awakened Observation Haki, he had decided to take him under his wing.
Although Enel was part of the reason he had come to the Sky Island, Lin Yuan had wanted to observe him before deciding whether to recruit him.
Enel was in a miserable state right now, but Lin Yuan hadn't found him as arrogant as he had been in the original story.
Perhaps it's because he hasn't gained the power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit yet. Enel hasn't become blindly conceited. For now, I suppose he's just doing his best to stay alive!
Lin Yuan had made up his mind, which was why he had agreed to Enel's request.
"Tell me exactly what you need."
Enel looked at the man before him. Although Lin Yuan had demanded that Enel follow him as soon as they met, Enel hadn't sensed any hostility or disdain from him.
That made Enel feel a little better. For all these years, all he had experienced was ridicule, mockery, beatings, and abuse.
He had once hated everyone and wanted to destroy everything. Even though he was tall and large, he had still been bullied.
Enel could sense Lin Yuan's goodwill toward him. He couldn't explain it, but he could feel it.
"There's an altar here with two sacred objects inside. I heard they can grant any wish, even make someone a god. I want it."
"But that place is sacred to the Skypieans, and it's guarded. I haven't had a chance to get in, and I've almost been killed several times."
Enel stopped there and said no more.
The smile on Lin Yuan's face grew broader. It seemed he had come to the right place. Now that he had found Enel, could the Rumble-Rumble Fruit be far away?
"All right, I can help you get it, but how can I be sure you won't betray me once you have it?"
Enel's face flushed red. He wanted to say something, but he realized that whatever he said would sound unconvincing.
That's right. Even if I'm telling the truth, how can he believe me? I can't guarantee anything!
Enel was at a loss for words. Just as he was wondering what to say, Lin Yuan walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"All right, come with me! With your current strength, you're still far too weak to be my partner. But since I've agreed to help you, you can't betray me either, or the consequences will be severe!"
Lin Yuan spoke softly, but for some reason, Enel felt pressure for an instant-terrifying pressure. It was as though one of the beasts fighting over food in the forest had fixed its gaze on him. No, it was ten thousand times more terrifying than those beasts.
Enel's body stiffened, but the feeling quickly vanished, so quickly that he thought he had imagined it.
Enel followed Lin Yuan in a daze. Neither of them spoke as they walked through the forest.
Suddenly, Lin Yuan seemed to remember something and asked with a smile,
"By the way, where is this sacred place you mentioned?"
Enel froze, then his face darkened. But remembering what he had felt earlier, he could only put up with it.
"You're going the wrong way. Follow me!"
Lin Yuan didn't mind. He had already spotted the so-called sacred place while looking for Enel; he had only done it on purpose.
With Enel leading the way, the two walked for a full hour before stopping.
"You're a little out of shape, kid! We've barely walked any distance and you're already worn out. You should know that even after fighting for ten days and ten nights, a strong person would still have strength to spare."
Enel curled his lip, not believing Lin Yuan at all. As far as he knew, anyone who could fight for an hour was strong. Ten days and ten nights? Only a god could do that.
"We're here. That's the sacred place, and what I want is inside!"
Enel pointed to a building in the distance and spoke quietly to Lin Yuan.
"Oh, I see. Wait here."
With that, Lin Yuan vanished in an instant. Before Enel could react, Lin Yuan had disappeared from sight.
He jumped in fright. If not for what had happened earlier, he would have thought he was dreaming.
By then, Lin Yuan had arrived in front of the so-called sacred place. He stood quietly in a tree, observing it.
From where he stood, the so-called sacred place looked more like a place of worship. It was open at the top, and inside stood a winged humanoid statue.
The statue looked much like a Skypiean, except its wings were much larger, and it had four of them. Both its hands were raised, as though it were waiting for people to worship it.
There was a fruit in each of its hands. Lin Yuan smiled when he saw them.
Well, that was easy. The Rumble-Rumble Fruit! Since the other one is here too, it's probably a rare fruit as well.
Lin Yuan didn't immediately go and take them. Instead, he looked around again, and only after finding nothing wrong did he float straight over.
I wonder why Enel destroyed this place, and even all of Birka. Was it revenge because he had become a god?
With Lin Yuan's strength, avoiding the Sky Island guards' notice was effortless.
He came to the altar. There was no one inside, and the humanoid statue held a fruit in each hand, one with gold patterns and the other with silver patterns.
Lin Yuan didn't stand on ceremony and took them both. The fruit with the golden thundercloud pattern was indeed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit. As for the fruit with the silver ripple pattern, Lin Yuan had never seen it before.
Still, he felt that the fruit was fated to be his and tucked it into his clothes without a trace of guilt.
He looked around and found nothing else of value. Lin Yuan curled his lip, then vanished again.
Far away in the forest, Enel stared intently at the sacred place, a little worried. He didn't know whether that man could help him obtain the sacred object.
"Hey, stop staring. Let's go!"
Suddenly, a voice sounded behind Enel, startling him so badly that he nearly jumped.
Enel was dumbfounded. He stiffly turned his head and stared hard at Lin Yuan.
Smack...
"Stop spacing out. I got it. Let's go!"
To save time, Lin Yuan simply picked Enel up and flew into the air on Flame Clouds, quickly leaving the place behind.
"Aaaaah..."
Enel's miserable cries rang through the sky. He had never imagined that one day someone would grab him by the neck and fly through the air with him.
He stared in terror at the forest rushing past below, clutching Lin Yuan's pant leg tightly for fear of falling.
"You, let go! It's safe up here!"
Lin Yuan glared at Enel, his face dark. Who would have thought that the man known as the thunder god would be afraid of heights? He had nearly pulled Lin Yuan's pants off.
Only much later, after seeing that Enel had quieted down, did Lin Yuan find a place to land.
"Here, this is the sacred object you mentioned. It really can make someone a god. Do you want it?"
Lin Yuan played with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit for a moment, reluctant to part with it. But he didn't have anyone suitable among his subordinates for now, or he wouldn't have given it to Enel.
Enel's eyes lit up as he looked at the golden fruit in Lin Yuan's hand, a trace of longing appearing on his face.
"I can give it to you, but you'll have to follow me from now on. After all, your strength is still far too lacking!"
Enel gave Lin Yuan a long look, then nodded.
"All right..."