62: Chapter 62 Facing Enel

The air crackled with sonic booms.

Rice's foot stepped into the void.

High-frequency contraction of his leg muscles released immense physical kinetic energy.

The soles of his shoes crushed the local air pressure, and a ring of pale-white sonic boom clouds exploded beneath his feet. His body transformed into a black afterimage, shooting straight toward the top of the giant vine high above.

The towering giant tree below his line of sight rapidly shrank. The wind speed intensified.

The cold air sliced against Rice's bronzed chest like blades. The pores on his skin contracted. The flow of blood in his body accelerated, and his heart, like a heavy-duty pump, forced oxygen-rich blood into every limb and bone. His left foot stepped into the void once more. [Moonwalk: Chain Air Explosion].

Boom. Boom. Boom. The continuous sound of compressed air formed a line in mid-air.

Rice's figure climbed at high speed along a vertical trajectory, breaking through the obstruction of the clouds.

Above him was a massive flying object that blotted out the sky.

The Ark Maxim. The massive pure gold prow was carved with a ferocious face. Hundreds of high-speed rotating wooden propellers were installed on both sides of the hull. The propellers sliced through the air, emitting a low, physical hum.

Blue-white electric arcs shot out from the bottom of the ship, and high-voltage current coursed along conductive metal circuits, driving this tens-of-thousands-of-tons aerial fortress as it slowly broke free from the vines' restraint.

Inside the Ark. The Throne of God.

Eneru leaned back against the wide, pure gold chair back. He held a long golden staff in his right hand. His left elbow rested on the armrest. In his mind, the electromagnetic radar of his Mantra fed back high-frequency energy fluctuations.

The vital signs of the four priests had completely vanished. Below, a life form containing violent blood energy was charging upward at a speed that defied the laws of gravity.

"A bug from the Blue Sea. To think you could crawl all the way here alive."

Eneru stood up. Sparks of electricity flickered across his bare upper body. The four drums on his back emitted a low resonance. He walked to the edge of the Ark's deck, his gaze piercing through the clouds, locking onto the black afterimage approaching at high speed.

He raised the golden staff with his right hand, the tip pointing downward. A voltage of ten million volts gathered at the tip of the staff, forming a blinding thunderball two meters in diameter.

"Judgment of God."

The thunderball transformed into a straight beam of light, crashing down with a roar.

Rice was in mid-air. His Observation Haki captured the high temperature and pressure falling from above.

There was no escape route. There was no need to dodge. The muscle groups in his right arm expanded instantly, and pitch-black Armament Haki spread like ink, covering his entire forearm. He clenched his fist. His knuckles cracked as they rubbed together.

Facing the falling thunder pillar, he threw a punch upward.

His fist collided with the front of the thunder pillar.

The violent lightning energy dissipated in all directions along the physical defense constructed by his Armament Haki. The temperature of tens of thousands of degrees attempted to carbonize Rice's flesh. The power of lightning deep within his cells awakened.

His Physical Body transformed into an energy receiver, forcibly draining a portion of the current.

The ten million volts of electricity released by the Logia Devil Fruit far exceeded the physical level of the lightning in Loguetown.

The Armament Haki on the surface of Rice's right arm vibrated violently, and the surface of his skin instantly carbonized, splitting open into fine bloody gashes.

The blood had barely seeped out before it was evaporated into a red blood mist by the high temperature.

The thunder pillar was forcibly split in two by his black iron fist, transforming into two broken streaks of electric light that grazed past both sides of Rice's body, slamming into the vines below. The skin of the vines turned charred black and ignited into a large fire.

Rice gritted his teeth, his speed not diminishing in the slightest. One last Moonwalk step.

His figure crossed the bottom edge of the Ark, appearing directly in front of the pure gold prow. He pulled his right leg back, bending his knee.

[Tempest Kick: Severing Flow].

His thigh exerted force, and his lower leg kicked forward like a battle axe.

A crescent-shaped vacuum slash over ten meters wide tore through the air, striking the Ark's pure gold hull. A harsh sound of metal cutting rang out. The half-meter-thick pure gold armor plate was forcibly cut open by the vacuum slash, creating a huge crack.

The fractured surface was as smooth as a mirror. Following the crack, Rice's body slammed into the interior of the Ark like a cannonball.

The deck collapsed. Heavy wooden planks and pure gold decorations shattered under the physical impact.

Rice landed on his feet, stepping onto the golden plaza in the center of the Ark. The moment his soles touched the ground, two clear footprints were indented into the pure gold floor.

Fifty meters ahead, Eneru stood before the Throne of God, a trace of cold murderous intent appearing in his eyes.

"To think you could withstand lightning with your Physical Body. You wild monkey from the Blue Sea, you have piqued my interest. However, a Mortal can never reach the realm of God."

Eneru struck the drum above his right shoulder. A massive wolf-like beast composed entirely of lightning formed in mid-air.

[Thirty Million Volts: Thunder Beast].

The Thunder Beast charged, emitting a shrill hiss as it lunged at Rice. Its speed approached the speed of light.

Rice stood where he was, a wild, arrogant arc tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"God? Today, I'm going to drag you down from your pedestal and shove your head into the mud."

Black Haki instantly covered his entire body. Instead of retreating, Rice advanced.

His legs exploded with power, blasting a large crater into the ground. His figure sprinted toward the Thunder Beast. He reached out with his left hand, spreading his five fingers, and grabbed the Thunder Beast's illusory lightning neck.

His powerful Armament Haki forcibly captured the solid form of the lightning.

Thirty million volts of electricity surged up along his left arm, and the muscles on the left side of Rice's body went into high-frequency spasms. A piercing, needle-like pain shot through his nerve fibers.

"Shatter for me!" He squeezed his five fingers with force. Bang.

The thirty million volt Thunder Beast was forcibly crushed, turning into countless tiny electric sparks that dissipated into the air. The palm of Rice's left hand was severely burned, revealing the bright red muscle fibers underneath.

Rice did not slow down, crossing the distance of several tens of meters.

He appeared before Eneru. He pulled his right fist back to his waist, twisted his waist and abdomen, and concentrated all his physical kinetic energy into a single point. He threw a punch. The target: Eneru's face.

Eneru's pupils constricted slightly. His Mantra had predicted the trajectory of this punch in advance.

His body instantly transformed into pure lightning, shifting backward and dispersing. The black iron fist smashed into the afterimage, and the terrifying force of the punch pierced the air, blasting the pure gold throne behind him into a pile of twisted scrap metal.

"You dodge fast." Rice retracted his right fist.

His Observation Haki locked onto Eneru, who had reformed his body ten meters away. His legs exerted force again. [Shave].

The air crackled, and Rice instantly appeared at Eneru's side. His right leg swept out like a steel whip, striking directly at Eneru's waist.

A flash of annoyance crossed Eneru's eyes. He blocked horizontally with the golden staff in his hand.

Clang! His leg bone collided with the pure gold staff, erupting with a metallic roar like a great bell. Eneru used the gold to conduct electricity, instantly injecting ten million volts of current into Rice's right leg. Crackle.

The skin on Rice's right leg carbonized, and his muscle fibers went into a brief state of rigidity due to the intense high-voltage stimulation. Eneru seized this millisecond-long opening. He pointed with his left index finger. "Discharge: Ten Million Volts."

A thick bolt of lightning struck Rice's abdomen at point-blank range.

Rice let out a muffled groan, his body sliding backward for over ten meters, his feet plowing two deep trenches into the pure gold deck. A large patch of charred burn was left on his abdomen, with blood seeping out along the edges.

"Recognize reality. The reaction speed of a Logia user is something the Mortal body can never reach."

Eneru twirled his golden staff and spoke coldly. His Mantra could perceive every signal of Rice's muscle contractions, allowing him to dodge and counterattack in advance.

Rice straightened his body. He looked down at the wound on his abdomen.

His lungs inhaled a large amount of oxygen. His heart accelerated its beating. "So what if you have fast reactions? As long as I land one punch, your bones will break."

Rice let his arms hang down, his body leaning forward. [Rokushiki: Shave] combined with [Paper Art].

His figure transformed into over a dozen flickering afterimages, darting at high speed across the golden plaza like a ghost.

The airflow was shredded, emitting a shrill whistle.

Eneru frowned slightly. The signals received by his Mantra became extremely chaotic.

The opponent not only skyrocketed in speed but was also deliberately disrupting the precursors of muscle exertion. Eneru struck the drums on his back.

[Sixty Million Volts: Thunder Dragon].

A massive lightning dragon roared as it charged out, opening its blood-thirsty maw to bite at one of the afterimages.

Bang. The afterimage dissipated.

Rice's real body had already appeared directly above Eneru. He interlaced his fingers, clenching them into a heavy fist, and like a heavy hammer, he smashed down from above. His target was aimed directly at Eneru's crown.

Eneru had no way to dodge and could only raise his golden staff to block head-on.

Boom! The heavy hammer smashed into the center of the staff. The terrifying physical kinetic energy was like a landslide, forcibly bending the pure gold staff. Eneru's knees went soft, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. The pure gold deck collapsed beneath his feet, and his legs sank into it.

Rice did not give Eneru a chance to catch his breath.

Utilizing the reaction force from the downward smash, he flipped his body in mid-air.

His left foot kicked heavily onto Eneru's shoulder. Crack. Eneru's collarbone let out a crisp snap, and his body rolled away to the side. Blood spilled from the corner of Eneru's mouth.

This was the first time he had bled since ruling the Sky Island.

The two opened up distance on the deck.

Rice panted heavily, his burns continuously seeping blood. His bronzed skin was covered in charred marks. Eneru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes becoming crazed and venomous.

"Bug... How dare you spill the blood of God!"

Eneru discarded the golden staff. He raised both hands, palms facing the sky.

The power of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit operated at full capacity. A terrifying voltage of two hundred million volts gushed out from his body, shooting straight into the clouds.

Above the Ark, the cumulonimbus clouds rolled violently.

The charge inside the clouds reached its saturation limit.

A thick thunder pillar over ten meters in diameter descended from the sky, completely enveloping Eneru's body.

The high-voltage current did not destroy his body but instead fused deeply with his cells.

Eneru's body size began to expand rapidly.

Pure lightning constructed massive limbs and a torso.

Ten meters. Twenty meters. Thirty meters.

A lightning manifestation dozens of meters high formed with a boom on the Ark's deck.

Blinding blue-white plasma swirled all over his body, and the surrounding air twisted and boiled under the temperature of tens of thousands of degrees.

The Ark's wooden structure began to self-ignite, and the pure gold decorations melted into liquid gold under the high temperature, flowing along the gaps in the deck.

[Two Hundred Million Volts: Thunder God].

The massive Thunder God lowered his head, his eyes shooting out two beams of materialized electricity, looking down at Rice below.

"Turn to ash in despair! Mortal!"

The Thunder God raised his right foot, like a collapsing mountain, and smashed it down toward Rice. The massive sole had not yet arrived, but the violent wind pressure had already blown away the surrounding debris.

Rice stood where he was. The wild wind blew the black bangs on his forehead.

Facing this thirty-meter-high lightning manifestation, his black eyes burned with violent Battle Intent. The gap in physics and the gap in energy reached their peak at this moment.

"I never believe in God."

Rice's legs exerted sudden force. Facing that descending giant lightning foot, he leaped up.

The muscles in his right arm piled up layer upon layer, his fist clenched tight. Armament Haki covered his fist. He threw a punch.

His black iron heavy fist collided with the center of the Thunder God's massive sole.

Rumble rumble rumble—!!!

200 million volts of lightning energy surged through the point of impact, frantically pouring into Rice's right arm.

The Armament Haki on Rice's arm vibrated violently, and his flesh turned a dark, branding-iron red under the intense heat.

His muscle cells could no longer absorb this level of voltage and began to die off in swathes.

Blood sprayed from Rice's pores, turning into a red mist.

His freakishly tough bone density held up against the Thunder God's stomp.

A harsh cracking sound came from the ulna and radius of his right arm as fine cracks spread across the surface of the bones.

Physical kinetic energy was canceled out.

Two violent forces fell into a stalemate in mid-air.

A white shockwave mixed with lightning spread outward in a ring.

The deck of the Ark Maxim was completely blown away by this shockwave.

Hundreds of load-bearing wooden pillars snapped in half. The pure gold railings were melted and torn apart.

The massive Ark tilted violently in mid-air.

"Get down!" Eneru roared crazily from within the Thunder God.

The giant foot exerted force again, crushing downward heavily.

Rice's body was like a meteor, forcibly stomped into the ground.

Boom. The pure gold deck was smashed through. Rice fell into the second deck of the Ark. The deafening sound of breaking wooden planks was incessant.

The Thunder God raised its hands, its giant lightning palms closing together like swatting a fly, slamming fiercely toward the second deck.

The two giant lightning palms closed. Boom! The entire second deck instantly turned into a sea of lightning and fire.

A 200 million volt current ran wild in the narrow, enclosed space.

Eneru gritted his teeth, maintaining the output of the lightning palms. "Die! Die!"

Deep in the ruins, Rice knelt on one knee on the broken planks.

There wasn't a single intact patch of skin left on his entire body. Blood was constantly draining away. Breathing became exceptionally difficult.

The high-temperature air inhaled into his lungs burned his respiratory tract.

His left arm was fractured and hung limply at his side. Severe pain constantly assaulted his brain's defenses.

"This level... I can still fight."

Rice slowly stood up. His heart rate reached its limit. Blood surged frantically through his damaged vessels.

He closed his eyes. He eliminated all distracting thoughts from his mind.

Observation Haki contracted, and Armament Haki flowed back.

A kingly Aptitude that had been dormant deep in his Soul, surpassing all living things, erupted under the pressure of near-death.

Conqueror's Haki surged out from within Rice like a materialized black tsunami.

Black electric arcs ran wildly across his skin. The surrounding space twisted violently under this pressure.

Rice opened his eyes.

His black pupils turned a pure dark red. His pectoralis major, rectus abdominis, and latissimus dorsi—all the muscle fibers in his body became dense to the extreme at this moment.

[Iron Body: Steel].

Armament Haki was firmly embedded into the gaps of the muscle fibers.

The black lightning of Conqueror's Haki covered the surface of his skin like a thick layer of armor.

[Six Styles Profound Truth: Iron Body: Conqueror's Infusion: Black Armor].

Rice's torso turned into an indestructible dark fortress.

The 200 million volt lightning plasma could no longer penetrate even half an inch into his flesh.

The high heat was forcibly isolated by the Conqueror's Haki.

Rice raised his head, his gaze locking onto the position of the main body in the chest of the Thunder God above.

He raised his right arm. His index and middle fingers were pressed together and extended straight out.

Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki flowed along his meridians, frantically compressing toward his fingertips.

A black-red energy ball formed at his fingertips, radiating a pulsation that could destroy everything.

He bent his knees. The solid wooden floor beneath his feet instantly turned into powder.

[Six Styles Profound Truth: Lightning Flash].

Rice's body turned into a black-red meteor tearing through the air, shooting straight into the sky. His speed broke the sound barrier several times over.

The sea of lightning and fire along the way was forcibly cut open by this meteor, creating a vacuum channel.

Eneru's pupils contracted sharply. His Mantra sent out an unprecedented death warning.

"How is this possible! How can you still move!" Eneru gathered all his remaining lightning, his hands converging to form a giant lightning shield in front of his chest.

Rice's figure instantly appeared in front of the Thunder God's chest.

His pressed-together fingers, carrying that ball of black-red energy compressed to the extreme, stabbed straight forward.

[Six Styles Profound Truth: Conqueror's Infusion: Meteor Finger Pistol].

His fingertips made contact with the lightning shield. There was no resistance.

There was no explosion. Only a crushing, unstoppable physical penetration.

The black-red Finger Pistol easily pierced through the 200 million volt lightning defense as if cutting through tofu.

The lightning manifestation was like fragile glass, shattering inch by inch from the point of fingertip contact. The lightning filling the sky collapsed.

Rice broke through the blockade of the lightning storm. His fingertips accurately stabbed into the center of Eneru's sternum.

Crack. Eneru's sternum shattered.

The violent Conqueror's Haki and the physical piercing power of the Finger Pistol poured into Eneru's internal organs without reservation.

His heart stopped beating. His lungs tore. Blood mixed with fragments of internal organs sprayed wildly from his mouth.

Eneru's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string.

He crashed through a dozen pure gold bulkheads in succession. Finally, he slammed heavily into the gear room at the stern of the Ark.

The giant bronze gears were stopped by his body. Eneru collapsed into the ruins of the gears, covered in blood, on the verge of death.

His once arrogant eyes were filled with bloodshot veins.

The Ark lost power control. The massive hull shook violently in mid-air and slowly fell toward the sea of clouds below.

Rice steadied himself in mid-air. [Moonwalk] stepping on the air. He slowly landed in the ruins of the gear room.

He deactivated [Black Armor]. A tearing, severe pain came from his muscle fibers.

Blood seeped from his fingertips. Every breath tugged at his internal injuries.

This brutal fight finally came to an end.

Rice walked to the ruins. He looked down at Eneru, who was collapsed on the ground.

"You frog, king of the bottom of the well. You have no idea how deep the sea outside is."

Rice's voice was hoarse and low.

"My Physical Body needs high-intensity lightning stimulation. Your 200 million volt hide is just a qualified battery. From today on, your life belongs to me. You are responsible for recharging my cells."

Eneru's pupils dilated. Humiliation. Fear. Unwillingness.

But in the face of absolute physical power, he didn't even have the qualification to refuse.

Rice turned around and walked toward the broken edge of the Ark.

"Get up. Don't make me say it a second time." Rice leaped off the falling Ark.

His feet stepped on the Void, his figure turning into a black afterimage, descending toward the ship below.

On the deck of the ship, Rice descended from the sky.

His feet made contact with the dark gold wapol metal armor, emitting a dull metallic clanging sound. The wounds on his body were deep enough to see bone.

Chopper ran over hurriedly on his short legs, carrying a medical wooden box on his back.

His hooves flipped open the box lid, taking out white bandages and green anti-inflammatory medicine.

Rice looked down at this blue-nosed reindeer.

He sat cross-legged on the deck. "Hurry up and treat it. I still have to go up the mountain to ring the bell later."

Nojiko stepped forward and put on white medical gloves.

She used a cotton ball dipped in medicine to apply it to Rice's back. The medicine sizzled as it touched the charred flesh. Rice frowned slightly. His formidable cell division speed rapidly repaired the damaged subcutaneous tissue.

Makino walked over carrying a huge wooden basin. She soaked a towel and wrung it out.

She wiped the bloodstains on Rice's cheeks. "Captain. The Ark is falling towards the depths of the forest. Do we need to follow it?" Makino asked softly.

"No need." Rice closed his eyes.

"Let Momoo rest. There's nothing useful in that pile of rotten wood. The real valuable stuff is hidden at the top of the vine."

He opened his eyes and swept his gaze over everyone on the deck. "Nami, prepare supplies for departure. Paula, Mikita, keep watch around us. Once I ring that broken bell, Makino, take your toys and go eat all the gold on this island."

The wounds were treated. His left arm was fixed with a splint.

Rice stood up. He tore off the extra bandages wrapped around his body. His sturdy muscle blocks were exposed to the air again. He walked to the edge of the ship, his gaze locking onto the giant vine in the center of the island that shot straight into the clouds.

"I'm going."

Rice exerted force with his heels. The dark gold metal armor sank, creating a shallow pit. His figure turned into an afterimage and disappeared from the deck.

Deep in the Upper Yard. The surface of the giant vine was covered with rough bark.

Rice's figure shuttled at high speed among the vines. Every jump spanned hundreds of meters of vertical height. The air became thinner and thinner. Clouds swirled around.

At the top of the vine. On a flat ground made of pure white clouds, a magnificent ancient ruin stood. In the center of the ruins, a huge pure gold bell hung.

The golden bell.

The surface of the bell was carved with complex ancient text.

After four hundred years of wind and rain erosion, it still emitted a dazzling golden luster.

Rice landed on the flat ground. He walked to the golden bell.

He looked up, staring at this historical relic that had been coveted and fought over with bloodshed by countless people.

There was no battering ram.

There was no need for a battering ram.

Rice spread his legs. He lowered his waist and abdomen. His intact right arm stretched backward.

Muscle fibers layered over each other. Pitch-black Armament Haki covered his fist. He took a deep breath. His chest rose high.

"Noland's lie ends today."

He threw a punch.

His black iron fist slammed heavily onto the surface of the pure gold bell. Dong—!!!

A dull, melodious metallic resonance exploded ten thousand meters in the sky.

The sound waves appeared as materialized ripples, spreading wildly in all directions. The surrounding white clouds were shaken away by the sound waves. The immense volume pierced through the thick cumulonimbus cloud layer, penetrated tens of thousands of meters of airspace, and transmitted straight down to that deep blue sea below.

On the coast of the Saruyama Alliance base on the east side of Jaya Island.

Cricket lay on the beach. His decompression sickness had already been suppressed by medicine.

He stared blankly at the sky. A melodious bell sound penetrated the clouds and clearly reached his eardrums. Cricket sat up abruptly. His eyes widened.

Tears streamed from his eyes. "The City of Gold... is in the sky..." He knelt on the beach, covering his face with his hands, and wailed.

The four hundred years of the Family's disgrace were completely washed away by this dull physical resonance.

Sky Island.

The lingering sound of the golden bell echoed in the air.

Rice retracted his right fist.

He looked at the shallow fist mark smashed into the surface of the bell.

He turned around and looked down at the vast sea of clouds below.

Domineering, violent, a physical iron fist that crushes everything.

The old order was ground into dust under the metal ram of the White Dove.