"Enel, I've tested what I needed. This battle is over!" Ace said calmly, retracting his massive flame avatar form.
"If you think you can defeat me, Blue Sea dweller, then come try it!" Enel shouted furiously, electricity crackling across his body.
"Then I'll show you the true power of Haki!" Ace raised his hand. A wave of invisible Armament Haki coated his arm. In a flash, he appeared in front of Enel, even though the latter was still in his Amaru form—his gigantic God of Thunder form.
"W-Wait, wait!"
Despite his overwhelming size and power, Enel suddenly felt fear. As Ace drew closer, he panicked and tried to beg for mercy.
"If you don't experience it yourself, you'll never understand the might of this power. Wake up, Enel!"
"Armament – Heavenly Flame Strike!"
BOOM!
Ace's Haki-infused punch smashed into Enel's face. The lightning avatar disintegrated in mid-air as Enel was blown away and crashed violently into the ground, reverting to his original form.
After a full year of rigorous training, Ace's strength now completely overwhelmed Enel, who had never encountered the concept of Haki before.
---
"Lord Enel!"
The priests and the God's Guards were stunned by the scene. In a panic, they rushed toward their fallen god.
"It's over!" Camachili, the priest, said in disbelief. "Enel has been defeated... What do we do now?"
Weber, the Shandia warrior, remained silent for a moment before gritting his teeth and replying, "We charge. This is our chance—take down Enel once and for all!"
"Understood! We'll follow your lead!" the Shandian warriors shouted together.
"Grab your weapons! Follow me!" Weber hoisted his shoulder cannon and charged toward the upper levels of the shrine. The warriors of Shandia followed without hesitation.
But before they could reach Enel, a group of priests and God's Guards blocked their path.
"The Shandians will not be allowed to harm Lord Enel!" a priest declared.
"Don't get in our way, priests. This is our only chance to take back our homeland!" Weber roared.
Understanding each other's intent instantly, both sides launched into fierce combat.
---
"You're all too noisy."
Ace's calm voice cut through the chaos. Everyone froze.
Then, a burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from Ace's body, sweeping across the battlefield. In an instant, the weaker warriors from both factions collapsed unconscious—Shandians, priests, and God's Guards alike.
Only a few remained standing: the four high-ranking priests of Upper Yard and the elite Shandia warriors, including Weber.
"What was that just now!?" Weber shouted, panicked. He raised his cannon and aimed it at Ace. "What did you do to them!?"
"Relax. I only knocked them out temporarily. I wanted them to calm down," Ace replied sternly, not bothering to stop as he walked past the tense group toward Enel.
As Ace passed, the remaining fighters could feel their bodies trembling involuntarily.
That fear—it came from sheer overwhelming power.
---
"Well? Have you experienced it now? The power of Haki?" Ace asked, standing over Enel, who lay flat on his back, eyes dull and limbs barely able to move.
"So... this power... it's called Haki?" Enel muttered. His face was pale, and he stared up at the sky in disbelief.
"Yes. And it's very powerful," Ace replied with a faint smile.
"Yeah... Very powerful," Enel murmured. He raised one trembling hand to his face, and tears flowed down from the corners of his eyes. "I... lost!"
"Yeah, you did. And you lost badly," Ace said as he sat next to him. "But if you can accept that defeat, you can grow stronger."
Ace looked down at Enel, his eyes firm but sincere.
"Enel, become my crewmate."
"What?" Enel blinked in shock.
"Stop pretending to be a god. Join me as my partner. I'll teach you Haki, show you the world. With your power and potential, we could roam the seas together. That's a life worth living."
"You Blue Sea dwellers… are you mocking me?" Enel asked bitterly.
"No. I'm inviting you," Ace said seriously.
"Yahahaha! What if I refuse?" Enel sneered after a moment.
"Then I'll beat you again," Ace replied without hesitation, clenching his fist. "And I'll keep beating you until you say yes."
Ace wasn't about to give up on a talent like Enel. He knew that people like Enel only respected overwhelming power. Back when they first met, Ace recognized Enel's rare Logia ability and potential. But to truly win him over, Ace knew he had to destroy his delusions of godhood.
More importantly, Ace needed something Enel possessed—or rather, something he would build.
The flying ark: Maxim.
---
Ace's flames had already reached a scorching 10,000 degrees, but he had hit a bottleneck. To go beyond, he needed to get closer to the sun—much closer than the Blue Sea allowed.
He remembered that in the original history, Enel used his flying ark Maxim to leave Skypiea and fly straight to the moon. That ship might be the key to breaking his current limit.
However, Enel hadn't completed the ark yet.
"Luffy and the Straw Hats arrive in Skypiea about a year and a half from now..." Ace calculated silently. "That's too long to wait."
He turned to Enel. "Enel, I remember you were secretly using gold to build a flying ship. How far along is the construction of Maxim?"
Enel stared at him in shock. "How do you know about Maxim?"
"I have my ways. Just answer me."
Enel sighed. "Maxim is still under construction. It'll take at least two more years to complete."
"Two years? That's too long." Ace frowned. "Can you finish it earlier?"
"Impossible," Enel shook his head. "The ship was designed to use my lightning as its power source. The internal mechanisms are extremely complex. A year is the earliest possible timeline."
Ace narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Then… what if we skip the flying part? How long would it take to finish just the basic structure and make it seaworthy?"
---
To be continued...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 30+ advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at [email protected]/Translatingfanfics