For the next three days, Enel was put through hell. As soon as he recovered his strength, Lin Yuan sent him off to collect gold.
Faced with Lin Yuan's overwhelming power, Enel could only start work with tears in his eyes. But he was still too weak to move the giant gold pillars.
With no other choice, Lin Yuan had to move the enormous gold pillars and bell towers aside himself. These relatively intact pieces of gold did not need to be melted down.
Enel's expression improved a little when he saw Lin Yuan helping, but shock flashed in his eyes when Lin Yuan casually hoisted a giant gold pillar weighing hundreds of tons.
Enel could only lift a few tons even when he gave it his all. At that moment, he felt the malice of the world deeply. Comparing yourself to others could drive you mad.
He could only turn his grief and indignation into fuel for training. Countless bolts of lightning flashed from his hands as he melted down the smaller pieces of gold.
One gold block after another took shape in his hands, each two meters long, wide, and high.
Whenever Enel made a block, Lin Yuan tossed it aside and cheerfully watched him work.
Every time Enel exhausted himself, Lin Yuan would cheerfully mock him a little.
At first, Enel had been angry enough to want to quit, but one look at Lin Yuan's half-smiling expression made him back down.
But as Enel repeatedly exhausted his strength and recovered it, he discovered that he had actually grown much stronger.
That immediately fired Enel up. After that, Lin Yuan no longer had to urge him on. He worked away with grunts of effort, refusing to rest until he had completely wrung himself dry each time.
Naturally, Lin Yuan was happy to see it. It saved him the trouble of wasting his breath.
After two full days of Enel's hard work, all the gold in Shandora had finally been melted down.
Lin Yuan counted 258 gold blocks, each eight cubic meters in volume, along with six giant gold pillars and thirteen gold bell towers of various kinds.
Lin Yuan made a rough estimate. In the original story, the gold Luffy had found in the Lord of Shandora's belly was worth about 300 million Beli.
But that had been the leftover scraps after Enel used 99.99 percent of the gold to build the Ark Maxim.
Lin Yuan, on the other hand, had taken everything in the City of Gold, Shandora. The gold was worth more than 200 billion Beli.
At the thought, a trace of wild delight appeared on Lin Yuan's face.
"Enel, that gold spear will be your weapon from now on. I still have a use for the rest of the gold. Come on, follow me back to Upper Yard."
Enel struggled to carry the gold spear, looking at it as though it were a treasure. But the thought that Lin Yuan had claimed the fruits of his hard work with a single sentence made his heart ache.
Still, when he considered that he probably wouldn't have gotten a thing without Lin Yuan, he came to terms with it.
"There's so much gold. Can you take it all with you?"
Enel knew exactly how heavy gold was. With his strength, he couldn't lift even one gold block, much less the hundreds here.
"With your strength, of course you can't. But that doesn't mean I can't."
Lin Yuan smiled as he spoke. What a joke. Even Kaido could use Flame Clouds to carry Onigashima, and his own strength was practically on par with Kaido's. Moving this gold would be a breeze.
Lin Yuan waved both hands, and countless Flame Clouds appeared, slowly enveloping all the gold blocks and giant pillars.
The Flame Clouds looked insubstantial and flimsy, but to Enel's surprise, they easily lifted the gold into the air.
Lin Yuan stood tall against the wind atop the Golden Bell as the enormous Flame Clouds carried the gold toward Upper Yard.
"Hey, I haven't gotten on yet!"
Enel shouted, struggling under the gold spear and feeling terrible. He hurriedly turned into lightning and flew onto the Flame Clouds.
Lin Yuan paid him no attention. Ever since obtaining so much gold, he had been thinking about his plans for the future.
Enel said nothing either. After running his hand over the spear a few times, he began training his body, gripping the spear in both hands and swinging it over and over.
Ever since experiencing the pleasure of growing stronger, Enel wanted nothing more than to grow stronger every moment of the day.
Lin Yuan thought about many things along the way. Watching Enel train, he asked, "Enel, could you use this gold to build a flying ship?"
Surprise flashed in Enel's eyes as he stared at Lin Yuan in disbelief.
"How did you know?"
Enel looked at Lin Yuan in shock. He did indeed know how to build a flying ship. During his many years on Sky Island, he had come across a set of blueprints by chance.
Although he didn't understand them very well, he knew they were blueprints for building a flying ship.
Lin Yuan smiled. It seemed he had been right. Enel really did know how to build the Ark Maxim. No wonder he had enslaved the Skypieans to build it in the original story.
It was a valuable asset. Although Lin Yuan could fly himself, an ark capable of flight had enormous strategic importance.
At this point, the World Government had not even built warships capable of crossing the Calm Belt, much less a flying ship.
But when he thought about how much gold it would take, Lin Yuan's expression soured. In the original story, Enel had used up all the gold to build the Ark Maxim.
Looks like I'll have to make a trip to Water 7! I wonder if Master Tom has a way to solve this problem.
Lin Yuan asked Enel for the Ark Maxim's blueprints. Enel had been unwilling at first, and only agreed after Lin Yuan promised to build him a flying ship of his own.
Before long, the two arrived at Upper Yard with a vast quantity of gold. Gan Fall and Saga, who had finished dealing with matters concerning the Skypieans and the Shandia People, hurried out to welcome them.
When they saw the Golden Bell, Saga and all the Shandia People were moved to tears once again. They all ran over and knelt before it.
Lin Yuan said nothing about it, instead ordering Gan Fall and Saga to place the Golden Bell in the square in front of the palace.
"Gan Fall, Saga, the Golden Bell will stay here from now on, as a testament to the peaceful coexistence of your two peoples. Today will be Sky Island's Peace Day every year. What do you think?"
Gan Fall and Saga exchanged a glance. Neither had any objections; in fact, they were even a little happy.
"Also, I brought quite a lot of gold this time. Put it in the warehouse for now. I'll need it later. As for running Sky Island, the two of you will govern it together for the time being."
"Tomorrow, I'll take Enel back to the Blue Sea for a while. I'll return after some time. Once I'm gone, you're not to fight anymore. Understood?"
Lin Yuan's words were cold. Gan Fall and Saga felt their hearts tighten, and cold sweat appeared on their foreheads.
They knew they absolutely had to obey Lin Yuan. Although Sky Island was vast, the thought of the dragon god Lin Yuan had transformed into left neither of them with any desire to resist.
The Skypieans and the Shandia People had also witnessed Lin Yuan transform into a dragon, and had long since come to regard him as a true god. In fact, many had knelt before him in devotion when they saw him just now.
"Rest assured, my lord. We'll govern Sky Island well."
"Good. Also, I have some insights into training from powerful people in the Blue Sea. Start training with them. If anyone awakens Haki, pay special attention to them. When I come back next time, I'll bring you more vearth!"
At that, Gan Fall and Saga's eyes grew eager. Both vearth and a way to become stronger held an irresistible appeal for them.
Next, Lin Yuan and the leaders of Sky Island held a grand ceremony before everyone, letting them all know that Peace Day had arrived.
A day later, after instructing Gan Fall and Saga on some important matters and plans for Sky Island's development, Lin Yuan took ten blocks of gold and flew toward the Blue Sea with Enel.
"Yahahaha! Sea, welcome your god!"