"Oh my, oh my, how frightening," drawled a lazy, almost mocking voice. "The Thunder-Thunder Fruit, known as the most powerful among all Logias... that really is a troublesome ability. His speed's almost as fast as mine, you know? Gray Country's getting scarier by the day. To think you've been hiding such a powerful force here—probably something even the World Government hasn't caught wind of yet." Borsalino's lewd grin gleamed faintly as he turned to Rosinante.
Rosinante gave him a cool glance. "He's still just a sprout. Calling him a 'force' is premature. Your World Government wouldn't even bother looking at someone that young."
"You can't say that," Borsalino said, eyes narrowing with amusement. "That's the Thunder-Thunder Fruit we're talking about—the one famed for its unmatched attack power. The World Government's been searching for it for years. Who would've thought it'd end up in your hands?"
"Just luck," Rosinante replied with an easy smile. "That fruit was on Skypiea, after all. Its destiny was always tied to Gray Country."
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Roswald's face was twisted with rage. "Number One! What are you doing?! Are you planning to die here? Kill him already! Don't tell me you can't even handle a brat like that!"
Bewick's heart trembled under the shout. His face flushed with humiliation and fury. Despite all his strength, despite his experience as a veteran pirate, he couldn't take down a mere child—and the longer he fought, the more terrified he became.
"RRRAAAAHHH!" He roared like a beast driven to the brink, his bellow shaking the air.
It was the roar of a dying animal—wild, desperate, unrestrained.
That very desperation pushed his power to its peak. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he charged, his massive arms whipping through the air. Fierce gusts trailed behind every strike, his attacks coming faster and stronger, abandoning all defense for an all-out assault.
"Oh? The big dumb bear's finally going all in?" Enel said mockingly, lightning dancing across his body. "Too bad… even when you go all out, you're still weak."
No matter how violently Bewick attacked, Enel seemed to predict every move. Before Bewick's claws even swung, Enel was already out of reach—sliding away like lightning, every motion effortless.
He could see the attacks before they happened.
He could even feel Bewick's intent before it took shape.
"Such frightening talent," Borsalino murmured, watching with an odd smile. "At that age, and he's already mastered Observation Haki to this degree? Another prodigy in the making… oh, how terrifying, how terrifying."
"Enel," Rosinante's calm voice cut through the chaos, "we still have work to do."
Enel's lightning eyes flickered toward him. "Ah, His Majesty is getting impatient again? Fine, I was starting to get bored anyway."
In a flash of blinding blue light, he vanished.
"W-Where did he go?!" Bewick spun wildly, searching. His senses screamed danger, but he couldn't pinpoint it.
"The fight's already over," Borsalino said lazily, his smile half-hidden behind his hand. "You may have Armament Haki, but your Observation is pathetic. Without that, you'll never survive in the New World. Even if you escape today, you won't last long."
A thunderclap answered his words.
ZAP!
Lightning burst from thin air, and Enel reappeared behind Bewick like a phantom. His expression was cruel, almost divine. "One hundred million volts… Discharge."
He pressed a glowing hand against Bewick's back. A surge of blinding energy exploded outward.
Electricity wrapped around Bewick's enormous frame like a cage of death. His screams were drowned by the crackling roar of thunder. For an instant, his skeleton flashed visibly through his charred skin.
"Monster…" he rasped weakly as the current finally died away. Then he collapsed, lifeless.
When the light faded, Bewick's entire body was pitch-black—burned to cinders, smoking where he had stood.
Enel turned his head, a sinister grin curling his lips. "So, would you like to try how it feels to be roasted alive?"
His golden eyes locked onto Roswald.
Roswald's knees buckled instantly, and he fell to the floor with a strangled cry. The memory of Bewick's death still hung in the air—the smell of burnt flesh, the eerie silence after thunder.
Around them, the guards, servants, and onlookers all trembled, too afraid to breathe under Enel's gaze.
And then—
"Oh dear, oh dear. That's not very polite, you know? I can't just stand by and let you harm Saint Rozwald," a slow, teasing voice drawled from behind. "Tell me, young man—have you ever been kicked by light?"
Before anyone could react, Borsalino was already there—right beside Enel, his body half-luminous, one hand tugging at his own drooping cheek, and one glowing leg rising lazily into the air.
His leg shimmered—pure light condensed into motion.
The next instant, that light moved.
A golden flash—so fast it seemed time itself had stopped—shot straight toward Enel's waist.
Enel's eyes widened. He had sensed Borsalino's presence with Observation Haki—but that kick... that impossible speed… it felt like reality had frozen around him.
He couldn't move.
He couldn't react.
A single heartbeat away from being struck by a light-speed attack—an Admiral's strike that could have crippled or killed even a Logia user like him—
CRACK!
A dark, obsidian hand shot out from nowhere, seizing Borsalino's glowing leg mid-kick.
It was Rosinante.
He smiled faintly. "Told you, didn't I? He's not someone you should be picking a fight with—at least, not yet."
Enel exhaled slowly, sparks flickering over his shoulders. "So that's the power of the Light-Light Fruit... such speed. But it won't be long before I catch up."
In truth, the Thunder-Thunder Fruit's speed rivaled light itself. But the fruit's power was only as strong as its user. Enel's control was far inferior to Borsalino's. That kick—delivered with the precision of a veteran Admiral—was simply beyond his reaction time.
"You can't pluck a bud before it blooms," Rosinante said with a faint smile. "He still has to grow, to blossom... and bear fruit."
"Oh my, oh my, how terrifying," Borsalino muttered, raising both hands in mock surrender, lips curled in that same infuriating grin. "Looks like my little prank backfired, huh?"
"Your act's unconvincing," Rosinante said evenly. "That sneak attack of yours only worked because he wasn't expecting it. Now that he's alert, you won't land another blow. And since we're being honest…" His gaze hardened, voice dropping to a quiet, dangerous tone. "You owe me an explanation."
He stepped forward, the air between them thick with pressure.
"Attacking one of my crew out of nowhere?" Rosinante's eyes gleamed beneath his hat brim. "You didn't think I'd just pretend not to see that, did you?"